Nevertheless, She Persisted: The Educational Journeys of Latina Principals
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Abstract
Latina principals play an important role in addressing the challenge of Latinx educational attainment (completing high school, college and graduate school). This study utilizes the theory of community cultural wealth (Yosso 2005, 2006) to explore the student and career experiences of Latina principals of Title I schools in a large southwestern city. The study addresses three key research questions: (1) How did Latina principals experience community cultural wealth as students during their K-16 educational journey? (2) Based on these experiences, how do Latina principals recognize and use community cultural wealth in their current professional practices? (3) Does the analysis of their experiences identify any new forms of capital to enrich the extant scholarly understandings of community cultural wealth? Data were drawn from qualitative semi-structured interviews with Latina principals in nineteen Title I schools. The study demonstrated that the Latinx community possesses unrecognized reservoirs of strength that played a significant role in the academic and professional achievements of the Latina principals who were interviewed. The study also revealed that the various forms of community cultural wealth are closely intertwined, thereby contributing to the success of these principals. Two additional forms of cultural wealth were also identified -- ganas capital and raza capital.