%0 Journal Article
%T It¡¯s Capital! Understanding Latina/o Presence in Higher Education
%A Mar¨ªa Isabel Ayala
%A Sheila Marie Contreras
%J Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
%@ 2332-6506
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/2332649218757803
%X Latina/o educational differentials have been studied predominantly from a deficit standpoint that emphasizes a lack of cultural capital. More recently, researchers began to reject this deficit perspective, foregrounding instead the cultural capital that enables Latina/o students to succeed academically. The very idea that Latina/o students possess cultural capital is new to higher education, which has historically undervalued Latina/o student experience and community history. Cultural capital, however, plays a crucial role in Latina/o student academic achievement. The authors¡¯ study of junior- and senior-level Latina/o students attending a primarily White four-year research university in the Midwest examines Latina/o community cultural wealth, particularly with regard to navigating the academy. The authors also suggest institutional changes to develop policies that address Latina/o student presence from a capital rather than a deficit perspective
%K capital
%K community cultural wealth
%K Latinas
%K Latinos
%K higher education
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2332649218757803