Navigating Barriers, Leveraging Capital: English Learners' Experiences in College

Abstract

English learners (ELs) have high aspirations for postsecondary education, yet many do not complete a college degree, suggesting that they often encounter obstacles to fulfilling their goals in college. To better understand the factors that create barriers to postsecondary success among ELs, this paper draws on data gathered during an 18‐month critical ethnography of 16 ELs and 4 staff members at a community college in upstate New York. Through Bourdieu's framework of cultural capital, findings detail how participants often felt underprepared for both the academic and institutional challenges they encountered at college. Many students also experienced obstacles as they attempted to balance their education with a daunting work schedule. Despite these difficulties, participants leveraged varied forms of nondominant capital as they sought to overcome the obstacles they encountered. This paper calls attention to the resources and assets ELs possess while providing useful insights into institutional arrangements and policies which are needed to ensure that ELs are ready not only for college coursework but are also prepared to navigate the college process.