ABSTRACT
This book attempts to broaden our understanding of the way in which academic interventions help working-class minority students succeed academically and gain access to higher education. By analyzing the accounts of students’ schooling experiences, I identified key moments that significantly changed the course of their educational trajectories by triggering the accumulation of social and academic capital that facilitated school success and advancement. The findings highlight the critical role of educators when they make efforts to gain students’ trust, provide mentorship and advocacy, and transmit valuable educational capital. Using Bourdieu’s theory, this research explains the ways in which the acquisition and use of academic capital are mediated by social interaction between educators and students, which is an important step in understanding the sociocultural factors that affect postsecondary transition for working-class and minority youths (Horvat, Weininger, & Lareau, 2003; Lareau, 2002; Lareau & Horvat, 1999).
