Familial Capital, Narratives of Agency, and the College Transition Process for Refugee-Background Youth

Abstract

This study examines the role of family in the college transition process for students with refugee backgrounds in New England (United States). Extant research finds that the investments immigrant and refugee families make in their children's education are often overlooked, and that the family is sometimes seen an educational obstacle, rather than an asset. Using the framework of familial capital, with a focus on narratives of agency, this study offers a counter-story to such discourse, highlighting numerous ways that families have contributed to their children's educational goals, decisions, and achievements. Analysis of student interviews reveals how families cultivate aspiration and resilience, remove barriers to educational success, and empower their children to serve as agents of change. These strategies and decisions represent a sustained commitment to educational access and achievement-one which must be acknowledged as part of a culturally relevant curriculum. Findings from this study have relevance for practitioners in both secondary and postsecondary settings and suggest possibilities for future research into the role of family and community in students' educational decision-making processes.Educational research has long established that familial expectations and behaviors play an important role in students' transitions to postsecondary education (e.g., Hossler, Schmit & Vesper, 1999;McCarron & Inkelas, 2006). Parents and other family members not only assist with logistics such as applications and campus visits, they also help to instill and reinforce educational attitudes, values, and behaviors (McCarron & Inkelas, 2006;Perna & Titus, 2005). Of course, the nature of these familial investments varies according to family background. Research has found that for students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, familial involvement is often indirect and takes place largely in the home and co-ethnic community, rather than at school (e.g., Farah, 2015;Vald es, 1996;Wilkinson, Santoro, & Major, 2017). These forms of familial involvement often remain invisible to school staff, who may assume that those students' families are not interested or invested in their children's education (Auerbach, 2006;Roy & Roxas, 2011). A number of scholars have highlighted the need, therefore, for a broader and more culturally relevant conception of the family's contributions to educational success (e.g., Davis-Kean, 2005; Yosso, 2005). Attention to these forms of contribution-what many scholars call "familial capital"-deepens our understanding of educational processes and outcomes, and also offers a counter-story to discourses that construct certain families as an obstacle, rather than an asset, in the educational process, including the transition to higher education (Gofen, 2009; Yosso, 2005).

University Applicants from Refugee Backgrounds and the Intention to Drop Out from Pre‐Study Programs: A Mixed‐Methods Study

“…Studies of the situation of refugee students have often constituted them as a student group of their own by pointing out their specific needs (Lambrechts, 2020). Our results indicate that a deficit perspective on refugees is inappropriate since they bring a specific range of needs and resources (Harvey & Mallman, 2019;Ramsay & Baker, 2019;Shapiro, 2018), whereby resources tend to be overlooked compared to other international students. Considering not only refugees' needs and resources concerning successful study preparation, but also suitable conditions for implementing inclusive concepts and responsive support at the HEI level, a sustainable discourse between the relevant actors is urgently needed.…”

The Counter-Deficit Lens in Educational Research: Interrogating Conceptions of Structural Oppression

“…Also, teachers might better understand poverty and work to undo its impacts with families (Cho et al, 2015). Shapiro (2018) viewed refugee students as potential agents of social change, challenging unjust social structures as well as oppressive cultural expectations in their households (e.g., parental requirements that daughters marry early). Deeb-Sossa and Manzo (2018) describe an example of how assets in marginalized communities helped to change social structures that contributed to their marginalization.…”

Foregrounding Family: How Salvadoran American Boys Formulate College‐Going Mindsets at the Nexus of Family, School, and the Self

“…Similar to what Varghese and Fuentes (2020) reference as college capital , or what Shapiro (2018) describes as familial capital , I focus on how families of color shape mindsets through imparting what I reference as college‐going familial capital (Carey 2016). This term encompasses “the rich knowledge, information, inspiration, and resources students of color gain from their families (nuclear, extended, and fictive kin), transferred through lessons, values, practices, and beliefs, that serve as rationale, motivation, and support for securing postsecondary educational attainment” (Carey 2016, 720).…”

“…Assuredly, when crafting interventions, educators would benefit from learning from the culturally rooted narratives of their Latinx students’ college‐educated family members (see Garcia and Mireles‐Rios 2020). Yet, narratives from families with minimal or no overt college knowledge reveal a wealth of untapped lessons and family histories that can inform educators’ practices (Carey 2016; Kiyama 2011; Shapiro 2018; Varghese and Fuentes 2020). These narratives also reveal the central role of familial norms at the intersection of ethnicity, gender, and class that are nestled in the college pathways of Latino boys and young men (Ovink 2014).…”