Debunking the Grit Narrative in Higher Education examines pressing structural issues currently impacting African American, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Latinx, and Native American students accessing college and succeeding in U.S. postsecondary environments. Drawing from asset-based work of critical race education scholars such as Yosso, Ladson-Billings, and contributing author Solórzano, the authors interrogate how systems and structures shape definitions of academic merit and grit, how these systems constrain opportunities to attain access and equitable educational outcomes, and challenge widely held beliefs that Students of Color need grit to succeed in college. Dominant narratives of educational success and failure tend to focus mostly on individual student effort. Contributing authors explore the myriad ways that institutional structures can support Students of Color utilizing their strengths through critical perspectives, asset-based, anti-deficit perspectives to access postsecondary environments and experience success. Scholars, scholar-practitioners, students affairs professionals, and educational leaders will benefit from this timely edited book as they work to transform postsecondary institutions into entities that meet the needs of Students and Communities of Color.
Author(s): Angela M. Locks; Rocío Mendoza; Deborah Faye Carter
Edition: 1
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2024
Language: English
Pages: xxv; 262
City: New York
Tags: Higher Education Management; Teaching & Learning; Multicultural Education; Higher Education; Education
Cover
Half Title
Endorsement Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Preface
Background and Context
COVID-19 Pandemic, Racial Trauma, and Precarity
Grounding our Ideological Orientation
References
Acknowledgments
List of Contributors
Chapter 1: Introduction: The Problem with Grit
The Problem with Grit
Background
The Objectives of the Book
The Organization of the Book
Summary
References
Part I: Contexts and Foundations: The Origins of Grit
Chapter 2: Critiques of Grit as a Measure of Academic Achievement in STEM Higher Education
What is Grit?
How is Grit Measured?
What is Grit’s Relationship to Academic Achievement?
Critiques of Grit
Grit’s Modest Predictive Power
Conceptual Muddiness and Grit
Historical Origins: Debunking Grit as “Neutral” or “Universal”
Grit in Higher Education: An Examination of Students of Color in STEM
Grit as an Exclusionary Concept
Promising Institutional Interventions for Student Achievement in STEM
Discussion and Conclusions
References
Chapter 3: Challenging Everyday Structural Racism: A Critical Race Analysis of Grit in STEM
My Introduction to Race, Ethnic, and Gender Studies
Recognizing Relational History to Name and Recognize Systemic and Everyday Racism
My Introduction to Paulo Freire
My Journey to Critical Race Theory
My CRT>grit>STEM Analysis
The Intercentricity of Race and Racism with Other Forms of Subordination
CRT>grit>STEM Analysis
The Challenge to Dominant Ideology
CRT>grit>STEM Analysis
The Centrality of Experiential Knowledge
CRT>grit>STEM Analysis
The Commitment to Racial Justice
CRT>grit>STEM Analysis
The Transdisciplinary Perspective
CRT>grit>STEM Analysis
Recent CRT Work in the Medical Sciences
Conclusion
Notes
References
Chapter 4: The Grit Narrative: Shifting the Gaze and the Danger
Framework
Critical Inquiry
Indigenous Feminist Theories
Grit and Resilience Assumed
Indigenous Students and Grit
Assumptions of Grit
Role of Invisibilization in Grit Narratives
Dangerous Thinking and Privilege
Time and Again
References
Chapter 5: Sometimes You’re Gritty, and Sometimes You’re Not: The Racialization of Grit for Asian Americans
An Axe to Grind with Grit
A Note about Asian American Things to Our Readers
The Conceptualization of Grit in Higher Education
The Meritocratic Asian American
Racialized Grit and the Model and Deviant Minority
A Cautionary Tale for Higher Education
References
Part II: College Structural Barriers and Research Studies
Chapter 6: More than Grit: Toward Critical Race College Retention and Persistence for Latina/o/x Students
Theoretical Frameworks
New Juan Crow in Education
Community Cultural Wealth
Literature Review
Surveillance and Policing in K-12
High-Stakes Testing
Inadequate Academic Resources
Enacting Community Cultural Wealth to Access and Transition to College
Methods
Findings
Navigating a New Juan Crow Education
Enacting Community Cultural Wealth within New Juan Crow Education
Maintaining College Aspirations
Transitioning to College
Persisting in College
Discussion and Implications
Conclusion
Note
References
Chapter 7: Gritty Enough?: African American Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Student Success Factors
Why African American STEM Achievement Matters
Population Growth and the Diversity of the STEM Pipeline
What Is Grit?
Reliability of Grit Measures
Historical Context
Methodology
Participant Sample
Data Collection, Instrumentation, and Analysis
Researcher Positionality
Findings
Pre-College Factors Contributing to Student Success
College Achievement
Programmatic Support
Building Community
Representation and Confronting Negative Stereotypes
Faculty Involvement
Post-Graduate Involvements
Discussion
Pre-College Factors and the Application Process
Learning and Growing in College
Opportunities for Further Exploration
Conclusion
References
Chapter 8: Beyond the Bootstraps Mentality: The Fallacy of Grit as a Measure of Success for Black and Latine/x Men in California Community Colleges
Segregation and Structural Inequality
Community Colleges
A Landscape of Black and Latine/x Male College Enrollers
Theoretical Framework
Degree Aspirations for Men of Color
Finances and Family
“Traditional” Students
Career Goals
Institutional Contexts
External Context
Academic Achievement
Method
Sample
CCSSE Benchmark Scores
Measures of Degree Aspirations
Analyses
Descriptive Statistics
Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA)
Logistic Regression
Findings
Pre-College Characteristics
Academic Achievement and External/Institutional Indicators of Success
Discussion
Transfer Aspirations
Non-Traditional College Students
Financing Educational Costs
Withdrawing from College
Challenge and Support
References
Part III: Educational Practices Supporting Achievement
Chapter 9: Returning to Campus: Equity-Minded Approaches to Degree Completion
Grit as a Concept for Student Success?
Need for More College Graduates
Higher Education Agenda Centers Traditional College Students
Some College, No Degree
Higher Education’s Limitations in Serving Those with Some College, No Degree
Policies and Practices that Put Adult Learners Behind
If You Need Another Reason to Care: Equity
What Needs to Be Implemented to Serve All Students
An Inclusive Campus Culture that Values the Returning Student
Supporting Adult Learners Who Are Parents/Caregivers
Evaluating the Landscape to Understand How Existing Policies and Practices Impact Returning Students
Articulating the Skills and Experience Returning Students Bring to the College (Credit for Prior Learning)
Keen Attention to College Affordability and Financial Aid Structures
Admissions Processes Designed for the Returning Student
Flexible and Predictable Course Scheduling in Various Modalities
Systemwide Efforts Can Create Consistency for Returning Students
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
Colorado’s One Million Degrees
Indiana’s “You Can. Go Back.”
Tennessee’s Reconnects
Michigan’s Reconnect
Recommendations
Grit Fails Students Facing Structural Barriers, Like Returning Students
References
Chapter 10: A Counternarrative to Grit through Scholarship on Latinx/a/o Students and HSIs: A Systematic Review of the Literature
Overview of Key Terms
Conceptual Framework
Methodology
Findings
Providing a Counternarrative to Grit
Understanding/Conceptualizing Servingness
Cultivating a Culture of Care
Implications for Research and Practice
Decolonize Grit to Remove Barriers
Bringing a Culture of Care to Campus Life
Note
References
Chapter 11: Holo i ka ʻAuwai, Flowing with the Power of the Stream: Empowerment-Based Evaluation and Research
Concepts for Empowerment and Capacity Building
The Historical Context of the Community and Relationships Across Communities: The Epistemology of Place
Intergenerational Engagement
Through the Lens of Story-Making: Collaboration Over Competition
Research and Evaluation Methods for Empowerment and Capacity Building
Asset Mapping
Q-Sort Methodology
Digital Storytelling
Pláticas
Conclusion
References
Chapter 12: Centering the Student in Undergraduate Research as a Retention Strategy
Undergraduate Research Experiences (UREs) Overdue for a Critical Analysis
Varying Forms of UREs
Critiques of Grit and in Undergraduate Research Practice
Access to Research Opportunities
Disciplinary Differences
Faculty Roles and Interactions
Reimagining Undergraduate Research Experiences as a Retention Strategy
Program Priorities Defining Success and Outcomes
Faculty and URE Relationship
Student-Centered Staff
Peer Advising: Helping with Retaining Students
Exemplar Programs
Extended Pipeline Approach: Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF)
Comprehensive Engagement Model-Meyerhoff Scholars Program
Federally Funded Model: The Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program
Retention Program Model-Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP)
Key Components to Reimagining Undergraduate Research Experiences as a Retention Strategy
Ethic of Care in URE Practices
Principles of Practice: Racially Inclusive Practices in Undergraduate Research
Summary
Note
References
Chapter 13: Conclusion: The Problem with Grit is White Supremacy
Eugenics, the Frontier, and Grit
Character Education as Tools of Exclusion
Academic Achievement
Institutional Contexts and Support
Implications
References
Index
