{"title":"Aspiration and Opportunity: First-Generation Immigrants and Refugees at Community College","authors":"Aaron Leo","doi":"10.1177/00915521211026680","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Objective: This article explores the experiences of 32 first-generation immigrant and refugee students as they transition into and out of community college. The challenges students face and the resources on which they draw in their educational pursuits are viewed through Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital. Method: This project utilizes an applied ethnographic approach that primarily elicited participant-observation and interview data. Results: Findings demonstrate that prospective community college students articulated uncertainty about the college process and concern over the quality of community colleges. Current and former community college students validated these concerns as they described their struggles to overcome both in- and out-of-school challenges. In many cases, such obstacles resulted in the leveling of previously high aspirations. Contribution: Although the growing number of immigrant and refugee students in the United States are disproportionately represented at community colleges, little is known about their experiences in these institutions. This article adds to our understanding of immigrant and refugee students’ experiences in community colleges through their own words.","PeriodicalId":46564,"journal":{"name":"Community College Review","volume":"49 1","pages":"435 - 456"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2021-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1177/00915521211026680","citationCount":"4","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Community College Review","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521211026680","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 4
Abstract
Objective: This article explores the experiences of 32 first-generation immigrant and refugee students as they transition into and out of community college. The challenges students face and the resources on which they draw in their educational pursuits are viewed through Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital. Method: This project utilizes an applied ethnographic approach that primarily elicited participant-observation and interview data. Results: Findings demonstrate that prospective community college students articulated uncertainty about the college process and concern over the quality of community colleges. Current and former community college students validated these concerns as they described their struggles to overcome both in- and out-of-school challenges. In many cases, such obstacles resulted in the leveling of previously high aspirations. Contribution: Although the growing number of immigrant and refugee students in the United States are disproportionately represented at community colleges, little is known about their experiences in these institutions. This article adds to our understanding of immigrant and refugee students’ experiences in community colleges through their own words.
期刊介绍:
The Community College Review (CCR) has led the nation for over 35 years in the publication of scholarly, peer-reviewed research and commentary on community colleges. CCR welcomes manuscripts dealing with all aspects of community college administration, education, and policy, both within the American higher education system as well as within the higher education systems of other countries that have similar tertiary institutions. All submitted manuscripts undergo a blind review. When manuscripts are not accepted for publication, we offer suggestions for how they might be revised. The ultimate intent is to further discourse about community colleges, their students, and the educators and administrators who work within these institutions.