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##  The Technical, Cultural, and Political Factors in College                       Preparation Programs for Urban and Minority Youth. ERIC Digest                  Number 158.                                                                  

The need to develop college preparation programs for minority youth             living in low-income neighborhoods has been gaining momentum due to             recent policy and statistical trends. The number of Asian American,             Latino, and African American students enrolled in higher education              has increased, but not in proportion to the increase in these groups            at large in the United States; the gap between the number of white              students and the number of African American and Latino students has             actually grown, with socioeconomic status the greatest determinant              of college enrollment and persistence for all students. Moreover,               current policies at state universities pose access threats to urban             and minority youth (Fenske, Geranios, Keller, & Moore, 1997). And,              finally, it is probable that newly-passed legislation to deny                   affirmative action and eliminate re-mediation programs in higher                education in states such as California, New York, Texas, and                    Washington will restrict rather than expand access (Tierney & Jun,              n.d.). 
Numerous programs have been implemented in schools and                 colleges across the country to increase post-secondary                          attainment--access to, enrollment in, and graduation from                       college--for urban and minority youth. However, little research has             been compiled to determine whether any particular program components            are vital to the success of these programs (Tierney & Jun, n.d.).               Thus, the solution to helping these students through the academic               pipeline to post-secondary attainment is often limited to creation              of a program with a set of specific components, such as college                 preparation courses, test preparation workshops, and help with                  filling out financial aid application forms (Bartolome,                         1994). 
While program components such as these are necessary for               college preparation, they are not sufficient for effectively working            with poor and minority youth (Oakes, Quartz, Gong, Guiton, & Lipton,            1993). Thus, this digest, in reviewing essential components of                  pre-college programs, suggests that they must also attend to the                cultural norms of the community and their own political contexts in             order to increase students' access to, enrollment in, and graduation            from college. TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF PROGRAMSCollege preparation            must begin for students as early as possible, focus on readiness                rather than re-mediation, and provide multiple services over an                 extended period of time. The technical components of pre-college                programs cover the structures, strategies, and knowledge necessary              to prepare students for admission, enrollment, and graduation from              college. 
Structures 
The structure of a program comprises its                organization, staffing, schedules, services, physical location, and             material resources. Because programs are usually created at a local             level to meet a local need, they encompass a variety of                         structures. 
Organization and management can take the form of                  secondary and post-secondary partnerships, community-school                     collaborations, or whole school reform plans. One example, the                  Liberty Partnerships Program of New York, offered at sites                      throughout the state, relies on cooperation between a university or             a not-for-profit community organization and a public or private high            school with a commitment to education, sociology, and psychology.               The program's focus on the whole child results in employment of                 family-focused social workers, college-focused counselors, and                  academic-focused support staff. The program requires student                    participation in after-school programs, in-school tutoring, and                 summer enrichment and re-mediation. Another example, the I Had A                Dream Foundation (IHAD), originally targeted a specific group of                sixth graders in a single school and offered only financial support             for future college attendance. Now, IHAD operates in 62 cities in               schools, community centers, and inner-city housing projects. A                  professional staff and volunteers at each site commit to 12 to 15               years of service to a specific cohort of students who are provided              with tutoring, mentoring, academic enrichment, cultural and                     recreational activities, as well as the promise of financial                    assistance. 
Strategies 
Strategies are the curricular and                    teaching methods instructors and program staffs use to provide                  students with the information and experiences necessary for                     post-secondary attainment. Like the structures of college                       preparation programs, strategies vary widely, but usually include               some of these: mentoring, tutoring, critical problem solving, test              preparation, peer mentoring, direct teaching, individual and group              counseling, motivational speakers, college visits and courses, and              summer enrichment programs. 
Content 
Program curriculum,                     supported by high quality teachers and materials in resource                    centers, must cover the full range of knowledge needed by                       college-going students. It commonly provides rigorous academic                  training in subjects such as algebra, geometry, calculus, biology,              chemistry, physics, foreign language, and honors or Advanced                    Placement English. Curriculum also includes techniques for academic             problem solving and test preparation training for the PSAT, SAT, and            ACT. 
In addition, students need to master non-academic skills.                They must be able to form relationships and networks with                       individuals who have the capacity and commitment to connect them to             resources and opportunities: college faculty, prominent business                people, corporate leaders, and members of professional                          associations (Stanton-Salazar, 1997). They must practice their                  speaking and writing skills, become comfortable in different types              of social interactions, and develop the ability to find needed                  resources in a college environment. Field trips to museums and                  cultural events, visits to college campuses, mentor programs, career            days, financial aid and admissions workshops, and motivational                  seminars can all aid in the acquisition of these skills (Hagedorn &             Fogel, in press). 
Counseling components offer support throughout              students' junior and senior high school years as they select                    courses, prepare college applications, and negotiate the financial              aid process. Ideally, programs also offer financial                             support. INTEGRATION OF CULTURAL FACTORS INTO PROGRAMSJun and             Tierney (1999) caution that a "cookie cutter" approach to college               preparation comprised solely of technical components is not enough.             Students' cultural beliefs and norms must be integrated into program            curriculum, teaching strategies, and educational resources, and they            must be built upon in a positive manner (Jun & Tierney, 1999;                   Knight, Newton, & Oesterreich, 2000). 
The Neighborhood Academic               Initiative (NAI), for example, assumes that student success is                  directly connected to the student's local neighborhood contexts.                Operating in an area of Southern California where social problems               such as drug use, crime, and unemployment dominate the news, college            preparation programs might be inclined to remove students from their            community in the belief that the environment is an impediment to                learning. NAI, conversely, assumes that learning will occur only if             families and neighborhoods are connected to schooling and college               preparation and, therefore, focuses on the strengths of its                     students, their families, and the environments in which they                    live (Tierney & Jun, n.d.). 
At a New York City Liberty Partnership            Program site in a predominantly Dominican community center, strong              traditions of familismo permeate the program, with family members,              staff, and students drawn together into kinship-like relationships.             Thus, parents expect the staff to advocate as comadres (co-parents)             to phone the schools, talk with counselors, monitor student grades,             and navigate the school system. Similarly, at Frederick Douglass                Academy in New York City, a contemporary segregated African American            school, a whole school reform effort focused on college preparation             emerges out of the black traditions of collective survival, racial              uplift, and connectedness. Students are taught to respect each other            and work together for the uplifting of the African American                     community through close-knit relationships with staff (Knight et                al., 2000). THE POLITICAL CONTEXT OF PROGRAMSThe complexities             inherent in implementing effective pre-college programs are                     augmented by both internal and external politics. Program policies              and practices must be sensitive to the agendas and concerns of the              government and private agencies that fund, license, and/or host                 them. They must also respond to the sometimes conflicting goals and             priorities of individuals with a stake in them: administrators and              teachers, community members, parents, and the students                          themselves (Knight & Oesterreich, in press; Oakes et al.,                       1993). 
Further, college preparation is framed by shifting trends              in college admissions, affirmative and anti-affirmative action                  legislation, changing patterns of funding from the national to the              state level, and more stringent high school graduation requirements.            For example, when the City University of New York opted to end                  re-mediation and require students to pass three entrance exams to               attend its four-year colleges, preparation programs responded with              special test preparation and tutoring for the three exams. And                  recent trends of using college preparation programs as bridges                  between secondary and post-secondary institutions, thereby extending            their presence to college campuses, has provoked questions about                which institution has decision-making authority. Groups on every                level of the college preparation process argue for desirable                    outcomes and the means to achieve them, while also trying to protect            their own interests. CONCLUSIONCollege preparation programs               working to bridge the racial and economic gaps in the college                   admittance, attendance, and graduation rates must recognize the                 multiple factors impacting on their efforts and on students' lives.             College preparation is more than a series of well-orchestrated                  mechanical and sequential services; it is an inherently complex and             value-laden process. Attention must be paid to the inextricably                 intertwined technical, cultural, and political components to create             not only well-intentioned but also well planned and implemented                 programs which can change the landscape of post-secondary attainment            for minority youth from low-income                                              neighborhoods. REFERENCESBartolome, L.I. (1994, Summer).                  Beyond the methods fetish: Toward a humanizing pedagogy. Harvard                Educational Review, 64(2), 173-194. (EJ 482 759) 
Fenske, R.H.,                Geranios, C.A., Keller, J E., & Moore, D.E. (1997). Early                       intervention programs. Opening the door to higher                               education. (ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report, Vol. 25, No. 6).                 Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education. (ED 412                 863) 
Hagedorn, L.S., & Fogel, S.F. (in press). Making school to               college programs work: Academics, goals and aspirations. In L.S.                Hagerdorn & W.G. Tierney (Eds.), Extending their reach: Strategies              for increasing access to college. Albany: State University of New               York Press. 
Jun, A., & Tierney, W.G. (1999, Spring). At-risk urban            students and college success: A framework for effective preparation.            Metropolitan Universities, 9(4), 49-60. (EJ 584 060) 
Knight, M.G.,            Newton, R., & Oesterreich, H. (2000, April). "It doesn't happen by              accident": Creating successful cultures of college preparation for              urban youth. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American              Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA. 
Knight, M.G., &            Oesterreich, H. (in press). (In)(Di)Visible youth identities:                   Insights from a feminist intersectional framework in college                    preparation policy. In L.S. Hagedorn & W.G. Tierney (Eds.),                     Extending their reach: Strategies for increasing access to college.             Albany: State University of New York Press. 
Oakes, J., Quartz,                K.H., Gong, J., Guiton, G., & Lipton, M. (1993, May). Creating                  middle schools: Technical, normative, and political considerations.             The Elementary School Journal, 93(5), 461-480. (EJ 464                          549) 
Stanton-Salazar, R.D. (1997, Spring). A social capital                   framework for understanding the socialization of racial minority                children and youths. Harvard Educational Review, 67(1), 1-40. (EJ               538 761) 
Tierney, W.G., & Jun, A. (n.d.). Tracking school success:            Preparing low income urban youth for college. Los Angeles: Center               for Higher Education Policy Analysis. 
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This Digest was                 developed by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, with funding            from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S.                   Department of Education, under contract no. ED-99-CO-0035. The                  opinions in this Digest do not necessarily reflect the position or              policies of OERI or the Department of Education                              **Title:** The Technical, Cultural, and Political Factors in College                       Preparation Programs for Urban and Minority Youth. ERIC Digest                  Number 158.                                                                  **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, Institute for Urban and                  Minority Education, Box 40, Teachers College, Columbia University,              New York, NY 10027. Tel: 800-601-4868 (Toll Free); For full text:               http://eric-web.tc.columbia.edu.                                             **Descriptors:** Access to Education,  College Preparation,  Cultural Awareness,                 Disadvantaged Youth,  High School Students, High Schools,  Minority             Groups,  Program Effectiveness, Urban Schools,  Urban Youth                  **Identifiers:** ERIC Digests                                                                 
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