Creating College-Going Cultures for Students of Color in the US: Finding a Balance between Targeted and Normative Models of Intervention

Abstract

The paper examines two race-based intervention programs, focusing on the distinction between models of intervention based on targeted and indiscriminate (i.e., normative) college-going cultures. We unpack the concept of the “college-going culture” – defined as a set of expectations and norms that socialize students to view themselves as college-bound – and add nuance to it by illustrating how racial/cultural community and school environments, respectively, act as spheres of influence. Findings are based on semi-structured interviews with 46 alums of two effective, race-based intervention programs. Within one program, participants experienced culturally relevant programming but felt excluded from the college-going culture of the wider school environment. In the other program, students were included in the larger college-going culture of the school, but often felt culturally isolated. Participants’ narratives provide insight into the strengths and pitfalls of both intervention programs, and the paper concludes with a diagram outlining elements essential in optimal college-going cultures.

Citation

Vue, R., Haslerig, S., Jayakumar, U.M. and Allen, W.R. (2012), "Creating College-Going Cultures for Students of Color in the US: Finding a Balance between Targeted and Normative Models of Intervention", Camp Yeakey, C. (Ed.) Living on the Boundaries: Urban Marginality in National and International Contexts (Advances in Education in Diverse Communities, Vol. 8), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 179-197. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-358X(2012)0000008013