ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the funds of knowledge as a new approach to study Latina/o students' transition in and out of college. It examines what funds of knowledge can do to improve researchers' and practitioners' understanding of underrepresented students' educational trajectories and experiences in college. The chapter focuses on critical race theory while specifically combining community cultural wealth and funds of knowledge to explore the experiences of previously incarcerated, formerly gang-involved men and women who are now attending community colleges. The connections between funds of knowledge and community cultural wealth have only been mentioned peripherally in previous literature. The chapter represents one of first to integrate the two frameworks, highlighting their complementarity, and applying the complementary framework to a study of critically important populations. Future research on funds of knowledge needs to continue using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to study different dimensions and variations of funds of knowledge as they apply to academic preparation and college access among Latina/o students.
