Research Grant Application -- Sociology
Title of Proposed Project: Recognizing the Cultural and Social Capital of
Underrepresented Students
Abstract:
The purpose of this research is twofold. The first is to explore the types of cultural and
social capital students learn from their home and neighborhood environments. The
second is to examine how professors, academic staff and other students influence the
development of underrepresented students’ cultural and social capital. The theoretical
foundation of this study is based on the conceptual frameworks of cultural capital, social
capital, and the hidden curriculum. This research project is a qualitative longitudinal
study about underrepresented students’ transition to and success in college. I conduct
interviews with students who attend a medium-size Midwest Catholic University. I
employ open and closed coding techniques and use the method of analytic induction to
analyze the data. One major anticipated outcome of this study is to publish articles that
will identify institutional mechanisms that foster and/or impede students’ academic
success, which would improve college access and retention programs.
NARRATIVE:
1. Background, context, and goals for the project
The racial and socioeconomic diversity among college students is steadily
increasing each year and for colleges and universities to remain competitive in the 21st
century, they will have to “rethink” how they educate and serve a more diverse student
population (Rendón & Hope, 1996; Hobbs & Stoops, 2002). Several scholars emphasize
that underrepresented students enhance the college environment by bringing crucial skills
such as mastering multiple languages, and navigating multiple social institutions and
cultures, which have helped them to survive poverty, racism, and discrimination (Jalomo,
1995; Trueba, 2002). Therefore, the purpose of this research is twofold. The first is to
explore the types of cultural and social capital students learn from their home and
neighborhood environments, which help them achieve academic success. The second is
to examine how professors, staff, administrators, and other students (majority and
minority) influence the development of underrepresented students’ cultural and social
capital.
Research Questions
I address the following two research questions. First, what types of cultural and social
capital do students bring with them to college? Second, how do students acquire and
develop cultural and social capital during their college experience?
Conceptual Frameworks
The theoretical foundation of this project is based on the conceptual frameworks
of cultural capital, social capital, and the hidden curriculum. Cultural capital refers to the
dispositions and behaviors formed during the early socialization process (Bourdieu,
1986). Social capital refers to the knowledge, skill sets, and resources that are transmitted
within informal networks (Coleman, 1988, 1990). Hidden
curriculum refers to the unwritten and unspoken values and norms that govern the
interactions among students, faculty, and administrators (Apple, 1990).
2. Plan of Work
Research Design/Methodology
This research project is a qualitative longitudinal study about underrepresented
students’ transition to and success in college. I conduct in-depth two-hour interviews with
students. I interviewed twenty-two students from two pre-college programs at a mediumsize Midwest Catholic University. Every year, I will continue to interview these students
until they graduate or leave college. This spring (2009), I will interview students who
have completed their third year in college about their academic and social integration
experiences on campus. The University of St. Thomas’ Internal Review Board granted
me approval to continue with the study.
Analyzing the data
The interviews are transcribed verbatim and the transcripts represent my primary
data. I will have approximately 1300 pages of transcripts to code and analyze (summer
2006-2008). I will code the data by employing a combination of open and closed coding
techniques. For example, I will read all the responses for each interview question three
times and record the themes that emerge from that particular question, and then I will
repeat the same process with the next interview questions. This process is known as open
coding (Strauss and Corbin 1990) because it allows me to conceptualize and categorize
the data free from any structural constraints of preconceived categories, and as a result,
new themes will emerge from the data.
In addition to open coding, I will utilize closed coding techniques to analyze the
data. Closed coding (Strauss and Corbin 1990) allows me to analyze the data through the
lenses of preconceived categories of social capital (e.g., norms, sanctions, closure, and
information channels). The closed coding technique is a crucial component of the
analytic induction method. The importance of using the analytic induction method is
that it allows me to analyze new themes and categories that emerge from the data with
preconceived categories that are associated with the conceptual frameworks of cultural
capital, social capital, and the hidden curriculum.
Justification for the course release
If I am granted a course release I am confident that I will be able to code and
analyze all the interviews from 2006-2008 by March 2010 (see Timetable). During the
rest of the spring semester, I will prepare a paper for publication in a peer-reviewed
journal.
3. Project’s Value
This project would enhance my overall teaching because it will give me deeper
insights into how students of color and first-generation college students achieve academic
success. I will incorporate the knowledge I gain from this project into my Race &
Ethnicity and Social Stratification courses, which will benefit all my students (regardless
of their ethnicity or socioeconomic background). Moreover, I believe one of the biggest
beneficiaries of this project will be the University of St. Thomas because this research
will offer fresh insights into how to better connect students’ home culture with the
academic culture of higher education.
This research is significant because it allows educators and scholars to examine
how students acquire and develop cultural and social capital from their pre-college
experience to graduation. In addition, this study will identify institutional mechanisms
that foster and/or impede students’ academic success. This study combines sociological
and educational theoretical lenses to investigate issues of access and equity within higher
education. In sum, the empirical evidence generated from this research will provide
innovative strategies on how to restructure and improve college access and retention
programs in order to effectively and systematically reveal the hidden curriculum to all
students.
4. Evaluation and Dissemination of the project
The major goal of my research project is to investigate how students’ cultural
capital and social capital influence their transition to and success in college. I will address
internal validity concerns by providing students with opportunities to read a sample of
their transcripts and offer feedback on the coded themes. I will also address reliability
concerns by having colleagues code different sections of the data and compare their
themes and categories with my themes and categories. Another goal of the research
project is to help colleges design effective access and retention programs that bridge the
gap between students’ home culture and the university culture.
Since I have received generous support from the University of St. Thomas, I will
submit a summary of the findings to the Office of Academic Affairs, Office of
Institutional Diversity and the Multicultural Student Services. Furthermore, I plan to
write at least three articles that I will submit to peer-reviewed journals. For example, I
will submit manuscripts to the Harvard Educational Review and Review for Higher
Education Journal because these journals would be a good-fit for my research findings.
Finally, I plan to write a book on the overall findings from this longitudinal study.