More than meets the eye: Community cultural wealth as a theory for mentoring international students

Abstract

International students bring rich and complex experiences to postsecondary education in the United States. Unfortunately, they too often encounter many challenges along their academic journeys. This article suggests that the practice of mentoring might be enhanced by deploying Yosso's theory of community cultural wealth as a way for faculty members to acknowledge, affirm, and appreciate the capital that international students bring to mentor‐mentee relationships. Three forms of capital, in particular, are examined in relation to mentoring international students: aspirational, familial, and linguistic.