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Entering the Big Zone: Accruing Social Capital in a Developmental Learning Community for Nontraditional Student Success

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION

Entering the Big Zone: Accruing Social Capital in a Developmental Learning Community for Nontraditional Student Success

by

Theresa Marie Lorch

Doctor of Philosophy in Education

University of California, Los Angeles, 2014

Professor Walter R. Allen, Chair

Over the past decade, three rationales have emerged for improving the rate of postsecondary participation among the Latina/o population in and through the higher education pipeline. The first rationale pertains to the importance of educational access and equity to ensuring the U.S. remains a global competitor on the world stage (Bowen, Kurzweil, & Tobin, 2005). The second relates to the importance of a diverse workforce to ensuring greater social mobility within the U.S. (Rhoads & Torres, 2006; Russell, 2010). The third rationale points to the importance of adequately addressing the dual concerns of educational social justice and equity and the necessity for creating a fair, open, educational pipeline encouraging and cultivating rather than undermining and curtailing the life chances of students (Zhou, 2005).

Taking into consideration these three rationales, this case study focuses on the ways community colleges bolster the success of Latina/o students, and nontraditional students of color in general, through institutional innovation intended to improve student persistence rates and encourage transfer aspirations. This case study examined the experiences of 44 Latina/o community college students who were participants in a "Zero-Year" Developmental Learning Community (DLC). The DLC represents a one-year gateway program specifically designed to help students navigate their precollegiate year of entry into college. I analyzed data from interviews with program participants from across the 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 DLC cohorts. Based upon my analyses, two themes emerged as important factors in the academic careers of the DLC Latina/o participants:

* The importance of the program structure in a conducive environment for accrual of social capital and academic capital,

* The pivotal role of program culture for accrual of cultural capital transmitted by high performance and values of transfer-readiness for student success.

DLCs are environments created to support students' persistence and transfer aspirations by creating the physical space, social relationships with faculty, staff and peers, academic skill development, and cultural supports necessary to achieve these goals. The DLC's purpose is to equip students with knowledge and understanding of the collegiate culture and its values. Consequently, students gain awareness of how the community college system operates so they can persist and transfer. Specifically, students develop bonding and bridging social capital, which is transmutable to academic and cultural capital. Together, social, academic, and cultural capital assist students' preparation to transfer.

Findings from this research study provide university administrators, policy makers, faculty, and scholars with a better understanding of the role community colleges can play in motivating and supporting the success of Latina/o and nontraditional community college students of color.

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