Understanding the Role of Social Capital and School Structure on Latino Academic Success

This paper investigates the role of social capital and school structure on the academic success of Latino students. A review of the literature on previous explanations of Latino failure, research on academically successful Latinos, and the role of social capital and school structure on Latino academic success are investigated. The research shows that the way students are tracked in school plays an important role in gaining access to school agents and other academically successful peers. These relationships give access to social capital and increase college access. Implications for policy and practice are discussed. Many American schools in urban areas are made up largely of students who are defined by a variety of risk factors (Mehan et al., 1996). Yet despite the presence of multiple risk factors, not all students at urban public high schools do fail. There are thousands of students throughout these schools who despite their risk factors are able to achieve success similar to that of the most privileged. Are these students successful simply because they work harder than their peers? Are their peers failing because they chose not to study? Or is there something else contributing to these successes and failures that we are failing to notice? Recent research on academically successful minority youth has found that relationships with school personnel and college-bound peers can play an important role in the lives of students (Stanton-Salazar, 2001). In particular these relationships can serve as sources of information and support that provide the resources necessary for minority youth to achieve levels of academic success that are on par with the some of the most privileged members of society. Yet in order for these relationships to develop, minority youth must be in close contact with these individuals. Throughout the country, schools create structures that either allow or deny access to these individuals. It is through the structuring of programs and classes that youth are given the access to these institutional agents and high achieving peers who are so critical to college access for minority youth. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the literature on previous explanations for the academic failure of Latinos and why these explanations are unable to explain the academic success of some Latino students. In order to better understand Latino academic success, this paper will explore the role of social capital on the achievement of Latino students. 1 Gonzalez: The Role of Social Capital and School Structure on Latino Academic Success