Moving Beyond Transactions: Understanding the Relationships between College Access Professionals and Underrepresented College-Bound Families

Journal of College Access Volume 9 Issue 1 Article 5 5-2024 Moving Beyond Transactions: Understanding the Relationships between College Access Professionals and Underrepresented College-Bound Families Stephany Cuevas Chapman University, Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jca Part of the Higher Education Commons Recommended Citation Cuevas, Stephany (2024) "Moving Beyond Transactions: Understanding the Relationships between College Access Professionals and Underrepresented College-Bound Families," Journal of College Access: Vol. 9: Iss. 1, Article 5. Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jca/vol9/iss1/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Western Michigan University at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of College Access by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact . Moving Beyond Transactions: Understanding the Relationships between College Access Professionals and Underrepresented College-Bound Families Authored by Stephany Cuevas (Chapman University) ABSTRACT school counselors, to help them navigate their way into higher education spaces (Harris & Kiyama, 2015). Nevertheless, due to their role demands, teachers and school counselors may not have the time, capacity, or knowledge to serve as college-specific student resources (American School Counselor Association, 2022; Kalamkarian et al., 2020). Thus, college access professionals (CAPs) help fill this need: CAPs are educators who work closely with students, specifically in college-going and college-related aspects. College access professionals might include college advisors, professional/trained mentors, career advisors, and other college-going specialists (American School Counselor Association, 2022). Framed by family engagement frameworks, this study presents four types of interac ons college access professionals (CAPs) have with the families of underrepresented college-going students—inconsistent communica on, transac onal exchanges, student-family media on, and trus ng rela onships—to explore the nature of family-educator partnerships for students’ college access. Drawing from in-depth qualita ve interviews with a diverse sample of 20 CAPs, this study demonstrates that the nature of these interac ons and their corresponding family engagement prac ces are influenced by CAPs’ job requirements and previous experiences working with families. This ul mately shapes their ability to invest in and develop strong, trus ng partnerships with students’ families. By understanding these family-educator interac ons, college access programming can work toward benefi ng from family-educator partnerships, which can lead to successful college acceptance and matricula on for underrepresented, college-bound students. Keywords: college access, family engagement, firstgenera on students, college counseling F However, to date, there is a limited understanding of the relationships between CAPs and students’ families. Most family engagement research focuses on relationships between families and teachers or school counselors. Since CAPs are a central part of students’ college-going support ecosystem, especially for underrepresented students, it is essential to understand how they engage with students’ families for student success. Framed by the importance of family-school amily engagement research has documented that when students, families, and educators partner with each other, students are more likely to apply to, be accepted by, and matriculate into institutions of higher education (Kalamkarian et al., 2020; Mapp et al., 2022; Tierney, 2002). Underrepresented collegebound students often depend on school-level “institutional agents,” such as teachers and Volume 9 | May 2024 | Issue 1 43 Moving Beyond Transactions partnerships, this study explores the nature, effectiveness, and potential of college access professionals’ (CAPs) family engagement practices. Specifically, it presents four different types of interactions CAPs have with the families of underrepresented students— inconsistent communication, transactional exchanges, student-family mediation, and trusting relationships— and analyzes the elements that influence them, including their job requirements and conditions. Findings suggest that these interactions, while promising, are limited in their relational nature. Since both CAPs and families play an essential role in student success, it is crucial to understand how to improve and support relationships between them. that make it difficult for them to do so (Bryan, 2005). Literature Review Families as an “Untapped Resource” in College Access Work There is overwhelming evidence about the importance of family engagement for students’ college access (Bryan et al., 2018; Cuevas, 2020; Hines et al., 2014). Research shows that the families of first-generation college-going students are critical players in students’ college-going even if they did not earn a college degree in the United States themselves and/or have limited college knowledge. Families support students by motivating them to pursue higher education, modeling a passion for lifelong learning, and monitoring their grades and extracurricular activities, for example (Auerbach, 2004; Cuevas, 2020; Fan et al., 2009; Hines et al., 2014). In short, families play different and essential roles in supporting students’ collegegoing goals. This study defines underrepresented students as students traditionally underrepresented in colleges and universities, such as firstgeneration college students, students of color, students from lower socioeconomic households, and students with disabilities. Family engagement is broadly defined as “collaborative relationships and initiatives between school professionals, families, and community members…for the purpose of implementing programs that address students’ complex needs; increase their educational resilience and strengths; and foster their academic, social/emotional, and college-career development” (Bryan at el., 2018, p. 1). Here, educational resilience refers to students’ ability to succeed academically despite “risk factors” (such as poverty, discrimination, and adverse environments) Volume 9 | May 2024 | Issue 1 This research has also documented family's frustration with their inability to better support students: Families of first-generation college-going students want to have the information necessary to help students directly with the college-going process; they want to have the knowledge and tools to help students successfully apply to colleges and universities (Cuevas, 2020; Tierney, 2002). For instance, college access programs often fail to share college knowledge information with families. 44 Moving Beyond Transactions social justice, and strengths-based principles to foster resilience and embrace strengthsbased, equity-focused, and culturally appropriate partnerships (for mo (...truncated)