Dissertation

The Development of a College-Going Culture in a Predominantly Latino Elementary School

College enrollment for the Latino/a population has improved over the past 30 years, yet even with this growth, Latinos/as continue to trail their Caucasian and Asian peers in college enrollment and attainment (Camacho-Liu, 2011; Fry, 2011; Krogstad, 2016; Krogstad & Fry, 2014; Santiago, Calderon-Galdeano, & Taylor, 2015; Zarate & Burciaga, 2010). One possible method for improving college attainment for Latino/a students is through early college-going culture development in their schools. For this reason, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the methods and strategies implemented at one predominantly Latino/a elementary school for fostering a college-going culture and thus providing descriptive data on how a college-going culture is being developed at this school site. This study was grounded in the following theories: critical race theory, social capital theory, and Starrat's Framework for building ethical schools. These theories guided the data collection and analysis. The collection included a school-wide teacher questionnaire, observations, and individual and group interviews, as well as a document review. The findings revealed two grand themes for the development of a college-going culture in a predominantly Latino/a elementary school: 1) Intertwining school-wide programs with the day-to-day classroom learning, which drives the development of a college-going culture, and 2) The trusting relationship between the school leader, teachers, and parents strengthens the development by everyone supporting each other in fulfilling their unique roles. These grand themes are supported by additional subthemes, all evidenced in the data. Key words: college-going culture, elementary school, early college exposure.

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