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theses

Low-income, college-aged, African American youth are not always afforded the social or cultural capital that encourages them to aspire to attend college. This dissertation will explore how fictive kin relationships in the family and community can be viewed through the lenses of social and cultural capital theory. For the purpose of this study, fictive kin is the relationship by which extended family and community relationships can grant an individual social capital beyond that defined by socioeconomic status. These relationships serve as networks of support and structure that ultimately help facilitate college admission and stimulate the aspiration to attend college. This dissertation proposal examines how fictive kin is used as cultural and social capital to facilitate college aspirations among African American, low-income, and first-generation students who attend one specific postsecondary educational institution. This examination will include family resources (such as the community) and existing fictive kin (“like family”) relationships that may help cultivate students’ aspirations to attend college. The exploratory component of this case study will allow participants to present their experiences with kin relationships in their family or community that helped develop their aspirations toward college during their formative years. Low-income, African American students often rely on peers, extended families, or community networks for aspirational or motivational support, given that their parents most likely did not attend or finish college. Precollege programs and community organizations such as the church and mentorship networks help improve access for lower-income and first-generation students. Such initiatives in almost every state across the nation have had some impact on improving access and completing college for these students. The participants in this study reveal the impact that their fictive kin relationships via extended family “like family” or in the community have had on their aspiration to attend college. The participants shared their intimate stories on who helped them aspire to college, and the researcher was able to extract important themes that are essential to the college aspirations of low-income, first-generation, African American youth. Low-income, college-aged, African American youth are not always afforded the social or cultural capital that encourages them to aspire to attend college. This dissertation will explore how fictive kin relationships in the family and community can be viewed through the lenses of social and cultural capital theory. For the purpose of this study, fictive kin is the relationship by which extended family and community relationships can grant an individual social capital beyond that defined by socioeconomic status. These relationships serve as networks of support and structure that ultimately help facilitate college admission and stimulate the aspiration to attend college. This dissertation proposal examines how fictive kin is used as cultural and social capital to facilitate college aspirations among African American, low-income, and first-generation students who attend one specific postsecondary educational institution. This examination will include family resources (such as the community) and existing fictive kin (“like family”) relationships that may help cultivate students’ aspirations to attend college. The exploratory component of this case study will allow participants to present their experiences with kin relationships in their family or community that helped develop their aspirations toward college during their formative years.

ETD_7305

Ed.D.

Includes bibliographical references

by James H. Whitney III

doi:10.7282/T3D220R4

ETD doctoral

The author owns the copyright to this work.