Examining Moments of Possibility Toward College Readiness in a Literacy‐and‐Songwriting Initiative

Abstract

The authors examined how middle and high school students participating in a literacy‐and‐songwriting initiative in Detroit, Michigan, experienced moments of possibility that supported the youth in envisioning themselves as college bound. The authors explain how they drew from culturally relevant and sustaining educational approaches to design literacy instruction for youth of color that built from students’ interests as strengths, challenging educational disparities related to college readiness and access. The authors describe three workshops that they facilitated with youth participants, examine and share examples of multimodal artifacts generated by youth participants during the workshops, and provide recommendations for adolescent and adult literacy educators seeking to enact similar approaches for supporting students’ college readiness in their own work.

“Whatever You Become, Just Be Proud of It.” Uncovering the Ways Families Influence Black and Latino Adolescent Boys’ Postsecondary Future Selves

“…These investigations were designed to explore how ethnically and racially marginalized adolescents conceptualize college, career, and life condition as complimentary, overlapping, and aligned domains. In this study, I, like others (see Caraballo & Filipiak, 2020; Marciano et al, 2020; Savitz-Romer & Bouffard, 2012) sought to expand myopic college and career “readiness” discourses and interventions that dominate the landscape of many urban U.S. high schools serving Black and Latino adolescents from low-income communities (see Conley, 2007). Findings stress how vital it is for school stakeholders to reinforce and complement messages about interconnected future life pursuits that Black and Latino youth glean from their families and communities.…”

Fostering college aspirations: engaging English teachers in students’ future pathways

“…In an effort to increase the enactment of a culturally relevant school-wide college-going culture in classrooms, secondary English teachers may emphasize and facilitate college talk with students while English teacher educators may emphasize with preservice teachers the importance of college talk with their future students (McClafferty et al, 2002;Bryan et al, 2017;Marciano et al, 2020). According to McClafferty et al (2002), college talk is "clear, ongoing communications with students about what it takes to get to college so that they understand what is required and expected of them if they want to stay on a college path" (p. 10).…”

“…We also want to note that many of these tips are connected to the Common Core State Standards for English, specifically the College and Career readiness anchor Standards for reading and writing (Common core state standards for English language arts literacy in, 2023). This is crucial to note considering English teachers can continue providing students’ instruction to advance their academic growth in the classroom, while simultaneously supporting their college readiness and access (Marciano, 2015; Marciano et al , 2020).…”

Guest editorial: The role of English teaching and teachers in supporting youths’ university futures and literacies

“…Our conversations included the firm advocacy we each have, situated within a larger commitment for supporting students’ university-going futures, especially students of color (Carey, 2019; Turner, 2019; Gibbs Grey, 2022; Marciano et al , 2020; Marciano and Watson, 2021; Tachine and Cabrera, 2021). We also discussed our frustrations with persistent barriers many marginalized students find difficult to surmount throughout the university-going and university completion process (Huerta et al , 2018; Marciano, 2021).…”