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The Color of Success 2.0

Race and Transformative Pathways for High-Achieving Urban Youth

Second Edition

Gilberto Q. Conchas

Foreword by: Cynthia Feliciano

Publication Date: July 26, 2024

Pages: 240

Available Formats
PAPERBACK
ISBN: 9780807769904
$37.95
HARDCOVER
ISBN: 9780807769911
$114.00
EBOOK
ISBN: 9780807782491
$37.95
The Color of Success 2.0 9780807769904
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  • Description
  • Author
  • Reviews
  • Contents

Description+

The Color of Success 2.0 is a powerful update of Gilberto Conchas’ groundbreaking exploration of the educational trajectories of urban youth.

The first edition of The Color of Success was a groundbreaking, asset-based exploration of the educational trajectories of high-achieving, low-income students within urban schools. The author brings his now seminal book up to date with insights based on existing and new research, current policies, and innovative pedagogical approaches.

Conchas utilizes a critical lens to examine the intersectional identities of racially minoritized students, the role of existing power hierarchies within schools, and offers specific structural approaches that create educational opportunity. This book amplifies student voice; explores school, family, and community partnerships; promotes culturally relevant pedagogy and teacher preparation; includes a new chapter on Black male optimism after the historic election of President Barack Obama; and offers a thought-provoking additional chapter on the role of educational leaders in promoting successful school pathways; plus it contains a thoroughly revised quantitative chapter on social capital.

With a sense of urgency, readers will gain vital insights for understanding what is needed to create, promote, and expand equitable school environments and transformative pathways for racially minoritized urban youth.

Book Features:

  • Takes a rare look at Black, Latinx, and Vietnamese urban school success stories, instead of those depicting failure.
  • Includes narratives and perspectives of students’ daily struggles, affirmations, and successes in their quest to navigate school and beyond.
  • Uses mixed-methods research to respond to the challenges of a new post-pandemic political reality of racial unrest and an unequal social landscape.
  • Examines the role of educational leaders’ responsibility as change agents to provide equitable and dynamic pathways for success.

Author+

Gilberto Q. Conchas is the Wayne K. and Anita Woolfolk Hoy Endowed Chair of Education at The Pennsylvania State University. His books include Race Frames in Education: Structuring Inequality and Opportunity in a Changing Society, coedited with Sophia Rodriguez.

Reviews+

“This updated edition is a timely and practical resource for practitioners and researchers alike…. Conchas’s work, once again, confirms that positive reforms are possible. Anyone who shares a commitment to social justice in education will find compelling and valuable insights towards this imperative goal in the pages that follow.”
—From the Foreword by Cynthia Feliciano, professor of sociology, Washington University in St. Louis

“The Color of Success 2.0 interrogates the paradox of social inequity and equal opportunity and cogently concludes that we can't afford to give up on public education. Conchas centers the voices and perspectives of Vietnamese, Latine, and Black youth and educational leaders to highlight what it takes to support student success. This is an important book that meaningfully extends the original text.”
—Stacey J. Lee, Vilas Research Professor & Frederick Erickson WARF Professor of Educational Policy Studies, University of Wisconsin–Madison

“Conchas radically transformed our understanding of high-achieving youth of color in the first edition of his book. This student-centered, strength-based second edition has been powerfully reimagined with updated literature and fieldwork, critical analysis, and contemporary political context, making it essential reading for anyone compelled to support minoritized students’ academic success.”
—Terah Venzant Chambers, professor and associate dean, Michigan State University

“Conchas revisits and expands upon his groundbreaking exploration of how minoritized youth achieve academic success against the odds in urban, low-income communities. Diving deeper into the sociocultural processes that facilitate these achievements, Conchas’s work stands out for its focus on what works, providing a beacon of hope and a guide for educational practice and policy. This edition delves into the powerful role of institutional agents and educational leadership in fostering environments where students not only succeed academically, but thrive. Amidst a backdrop of increased racial disparities and political polarization, Conchas’s work is more urgent than ever, offering actionable insights for educators, policymakers, and anyone committed to educational equity. This book is an essential resource for understanding and implementing transformative pathways in today’s educational landscape.”
—Victor M. Ríos, MacArthur Foundation Chair and professor of sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara

“Conchas has done it once again. In The Color of Success 2.0 he beautifully sheds a much-needed spotlight on the intersectional complexities of young people’s lives. But he does it by invoking their voices, their perspectives, and highlights the genius they possess despite structural barriers that limit their possibilities. This book is a bold call for educational leaders to listen, learn, and act!”
—Tyrone C. Howard, professor of education, UCLA School of Education & Information Studies

Praise for the First Edition

“At last! Gilberto Conchas marshals the power of mixed-method research to examine and explain achievement in urban high schools.”
—Jeannie Oakes, Presidential Professor and Director, UCLA's Institute for Democracy Education & Access (IDEA)

“This brilliant and important book sheds light on a phenomenon of great and growing importance: What works in the schooling of minority youth? The answers are riveting and a lasting tribute to the human spirit to reach higher.”
—Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco, The Courtney Sale Ross University Professor of Globalization and Education, New York University

“Going beyond conventional accounts of school failure, Gilberto Conchas provides insight into the cultural processes and structural forces that contribute to high achievement among urban youth.”
—Hugh Mehan, Director, CREATE, University of California, San Diego

“A stereotype-breaking book that turns school failure on its head.”
—Patricia Gándara, University of California, Davis

Contents+

Contents

Foreword to the 1st Edition  vii

Foreword to the 2nd Edition  xi

Preface  xv

Acknowledgments  xix

Introduction: Race and Transformative Pathways to High-Achieving Urban Youth  1
The OG: The Color of Success  2
The Color of Success 2.0: New Research, Emerging Research, and Praxis  3
Minimizing Inequity and Promoting Opportunity  5
Semantic Conventions  6
Case Study Research Approach and Design  7
On My Subjectivity as a Chicana/o/x Researcher  11
Organization of this Book  14

1.  A Critical Perspective of the Challenges Confronting Students of Color: Toward a Conceptual Framework of Transformative Urban School Pathways  18
Issues Associated With Educational Inequity  19
Cultural-Ecological Explanations of Low Academic Performance Among Racially Minoritized Students  21
Complicating the Cultural Ecological Framework  24
School Processes and Engagement Among Students of Color  25
The Student Voice of High-Achieving Minoritized Youth  27
Confronting Segregation and Stereotypes  28
Valuing Minoritized Students’ Experiences to Promote Urban School Success  30
Conclusion  30

2.  Balkanization in Urban School Spaces: Integrated and Segregated Organizational Cultures and Structures Side-by-Side  32
Racial Segregation, Engagement, and Performance  33
Baldwin High School as the Case Study Setting  33
Why a California High School?  35
The General School Climate as Perceived by Teachers and Students  36
Non-Belonging Student Perceptions of the General School Pathway  38
The College and Career Academies  41
Mediating Distinct Peer Relations  50
Conclusion  51

3.  “We Just Make the Best of What We Have”: Immigrant and U.S-Born Vietnamese American Youth Surfing the “Model Minority” Wave of Success  52
Background on Asian American Student Achievement  53
Vietnamese Origin Students at Baldwin High School  56
Gender and the Construction of Student Ability  58
Academic Identity Groups among High-Achieving Vietnamese Students  59
Understanding the “Model Minority” Stereotype  59
Structuring Competition Versus Collaborative Learning  61
Benefiting from the “Model Minority” Typology  62
Conclusion  64

4.  “I Want to Make a Difference”: Understanding Immigrant and U.S.- Born Latina/o/x Students’ Variability in Academic Aspirations, School Engagement, and Optimism  66
Background on Latina/o/x School Achievement  67
School Opportunity Structure and Racial Perceptions  68
Identity Formation Among Latina/o/x Students  70
Responses of High-Achieving Latina/o/x Students  71
Creating Optimism Despite Inequity Among Medical Academy Latina/o/xs  77
Conclusion  79

5.  “Nothing Can Stop Me Now”: Constructing Black Student Aspirations, Expectations, and School Success  81
Background on Black Student Achievement  81
The Situation at Baldwin High School  84
The Academy Experience at Baldwin High School  88
A Closer Look at Black Males, Aspirations, and Expectations  93
A Closer Look at Black Females, Aspirations, and Expectations  96
Conclusion  98

6.  “(Obama) Becomin’ President Kinda Raise the Bar on What You’re Doin’ ”: Perceptions of Opportunity and Constraining Aspirations Among Black Male Youth During a Time of Historic Change  101
Oppositional Culture as Institutional Phenomenon  103
Historical Significance of the Election of Barack Obama  104
Promoting Academic Achievement for Students of Color  105
The Palmview Male Cooperative  107
PMC Students on Social Mobility, Racial Inequality, and Marginalization  109
The PMC as a Source of Social Capital, Cultural Capital, and Brotherhood  114
The PMC and Academic Achievement  122
Conflicting and Constraining Student Perspectives on Aspirations  123
How Can We Explain This Perplexing Phenomenon?  126
Conclusion  129

7.  Institutional Change Agents: Student-Centered Approaches, Culture Shifts, and the Construction of Pathways for Urban School Success  131
College and Career Academies as Small Learning Communities  134
Unraveling School Success’s Approach to Providing TA  136
Overview of School Success  137
School Success and Technical Assistance  137
Why and How School Success Promotes the Four Pillars of Linked Learning  141
Discussion of School Success’s Current State and Future in the School Change Landscape  149
Conclusion  153

8.  “We Are Like a Family . . . We Know Each Other Well and Get Along”: Teacher and Peer Relationships as (Pre)conditions for the Potential Realization of Social Capital  155
Preconditions for the Realization of Social Capital  157
Time Students Spend on Homework Outside of School  160
A Novel Approach for Examining Familial and School Preconditions for Social Capital  160
Findings From the Data in Five Steps  166
Conclusion  177

9.  Racial Inequity and Transformative Educational Pathways Informing Policy and Praxis: Wrapping It all Up  180
Institutional Processes, Social Support Systems, and School Success  181
Student Ideology, Institutional Mechanisms, and Social Support Systems  182
Summary of the Key Findings and Policy Recommendations  186
Implications for Further Research  190
Policy and Praxis Limitations  191
Conclusion  193

References  195

Index  213

About the Author  220

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