The Place in Which I Fit: Culturally Based Organizations and the Development of Cultural Wealth for Historically Marginalized Undergraduate Women At a Predominantly White Institution

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Date
2021
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Publisher
University of Alabama Libraries
Abstract

College participation rates of women with marginalized identities have doubled in the last 30 years, yet their college completion rates do not compare to their White counterparts. While this is an issue faced by many marginalized populations, much of the research has focused on the equity gaps of minoritized men. With minoritized women becoming a greater portion of the higher education population, more attention needs to be paid on the success and well-being of these women. Social capital, proposed by Bourdieu (1986), has shown to be an important success factor, as belonging to certain networks provides greater access to information, social support, and resources; however, this concept overlooks other assets marginalized people may have. Yosso’s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) framework offers an alternate view. Informed by social capital, it also considers critical race theory, intersectionality, gender and migrant studies, and sociology, and it challenges the idea that capital is limited to dominant groups. This research utilized interpretive qualitative methods to gain a better understanding of how historically marginalized women experience college and develop and utilize cultural wealth through culturally based organizations while attending a Predominantly White Institution (PWI). This study views how minoritized undergraduate women leverage aspirational, navigational, social, linguistic, familial, and resistance capital while participating in a culturally based organization through an anti-deficit lens. The research found that the participants utilized cultural wealth in all categories, with a particular emphasis in the areas of familial and social capital. The findings of this research add to the literature, and can be useful in the development of policy, resource allocation, and programming that support improved campus integration, institutional satisfaction, and post-college success for minoritized women.

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Electronic Thesis or Dissertation
Keywords
College students, marginalized, minority, Undergraduate Women, women of color
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