Promising practices to promote and sustain a college-going culture: a charter-school case study

2019-04-26The main function of a school is to prepare students to become contributing members of society. Individuals with a college degree have greater job opportunities, earn higher incomes, actively participate in civic engagement, and have a better quality of life. Education plays a particularly critical role in ending cycles of poverty and creating a pathway to economic self-sustainability for low-income and under-represented students. Yet, an achievement gap exists in college enrollment and graduation for the students who need it most. Research clearly shows the need for high schools to establish college-going cultures that encourage students to pursue post-secondary education. These cultures promote college talk, build student social capital, provide counseling, challenge students with rigorous work, and engage parents in the education process. Like other school reform initiatives, establishing a college-going culture requires principal leadership. School is one of many systems that influence the achievement of low-income and under-represented students. Brofenbrenner’s Ecological System Theory provided an ideal model for studying the interdependent systems that promote college-going cultures. The study used a qualitative case-study design to examine the strategies of school leaders to promote and sustain college-going culture at a California charter high school. The research explored barriers and promising practices to promote and sustain a college-going culture for low-income and under-represented students. Most important, this study provided a roadmap for low-income and under-represented students to learn and thrive in a college-going culture, providing access for these students to permanently end the generational cycles of poverty for themselves and their children