“What Do I Need That For?”: The Misalignment of Masculinity and College Preparation in an Urban School

Young Black and Latino men face profound academic obstacles in transitioning to college. Few studies have interrogated college readiness practices in urban schools through the lens of masculinity. Drawing on a yearlong ethnography, this study investigated how young men respond to college-readiness p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Urban education (Beverly Hills, Calif.) Vol. 60; no. 1; pp. 123 - 153
Main Author: Kolluri, Suneal
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.01.2025
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects:
Academic readiness
College Preparation
College Readiness
Ethnography
Higher education
Latin American cultural groups
Masculinity
Men
Seriousness
Urban areas
Urban schools
Young men
college prepatory
gender
identity
subjects
programs
urban education
black males
latinx
ISSN:0042-0859, 1552-8340
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Young Black and Latino men face profound academic obstacles in transitioning to college. Few studies have interrogated college readiness practices in urban schools through the lens of masculinity. Drawing on a yearlong ethnography, this study investigated how young men respond to college-readiness practices while enacting masculinity. Many young men were not convinced that working hard in their classes was necessary for their college futures. College preparation stressed seriousness and vulnerability, but masculine intellectualism was playful and tough. The contrast implies the need for college readiness practices better aligned with common experiences of masculinity in urban contexts.
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ISSN:0042-0859
1552-8340
DOI:10.1177/00420859221126708