ERIC Number: EJ986511
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Dec
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
Reference Count: 90
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0042-0972
Capitalizing on Participation: Latina/o Adolescents and the Classroom Economy
Patchen, Terri
Urban Review: Issues and Ideas in Public Education, v44 n5 p511-533 Dec 2012
Interactions with capital--how it is identified, accumulated and exchanged--occur within fields of action, and every field has its own set of rules, or "habitus," shaping the ways in which these interactions unfold. Classrooms, the fields in which students interact in schools, shape and privilege certain ways of thinking and acting, thereby building (or neglecting) opportunities for students. Yet little research has focused on student perceptions of classroom interaction, and particularly whether or how classroom participation might be a form of capital for them. Deploying data collected through classroom observations and interviews with Latina/o students at a large urban high school, this study focuses on examining the ways in which distinct groups of Latina/o students (in a set of schools within a school) understand and experience classroom participation. Findings reveal that while a shared understanding of classroom "habitus" may be more common than previously thought, we cannot just tell students to participate, or merely depend upon a general belief in the value of participating. Instead, we must simultaneously and explicitly bolster student participation and the cultivation of student networks so that a shared "habitus" turns the promises of participation into meaningful and equitable "praxis".
Descriptors: Hispanic American Students, High School Students, Class Activities, Student Participation, Student Attitudes, Social Capital, Urban Schools, Observation, Interviews
Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A

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