Poverty PhDs: Funds of knowledge,poverty, and professional identity in academia

In contrast to the common deficit approach, this self-study explores the relationship between the funds of knowledge possessed by people of poverty and their development of professional identity in academia. All three authors have moved beyond conditions of financial poverty, but all find that the mental conditions of poverty persist. We conclude that select skills and dispositions developed in conditions of material poverty helped us to navigate graduate school and continue to productively inform, yet complicate, the development of our professional academic identities. We tease apart the myth of meritocracy and identify the value of transferable funds of knowledge developed in poverty. We document how our own practices have changed as a result of recognizing our funds of knowledge developed in poverty.     

Machismo and higher education: Examining the relation between caballerismo and ethnic identity,support seeking,and sense of connectedness among college Latinos

Latino men, part of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing minority group, stand to benefit from new knowledge related to factors that positively influence college persistence. In this study, the investigators examined whether machismo—a multidimensional and gendered social construct—was directly and indirectly associated with three outcomes associated with postsecondary success: connectedness at school, ethnic identity, and support-seeking behavior. Hierarchical moderated regression analysis on data from 140 mainly Mexican American undergraduates partially supported the hypotheses. Implications for college counselors and program coordinators are discussed, along with limitations of the study and areas for future scholarship.