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Bañuelos, N.I., & Jang-Tucci, K. (2025). Investigating the relationship between community cultural wealth and cultural capital in higher education: A quantitative study. Innovative Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-025-09844-7
Abstract
This manuscript investigates the relationship between Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital–what we refer to as Bourdieusian Cultural Capital (BCC)–and Yosso’s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) framework. We examine two core assumptions about these concepts: (1) that CCW and BCC represent distinct forms of capital, and (2) that CCW is a resource unique to Students of Color. Drawing on survey data from two larger studies of college students (N = 892), we examine whether commonly used quantitative measures of BCC and new measures of CCW capture different cultural signals, and whether students’ reported levels of each vary by race/ethnicity, subjective social class, and parental education. Our findings support the conceptual distinction between CCW and BCC, although some forms of CCW (e.g., aspirational, navigational, and familial capitals) overlap more with BCC than others. Notably, White students’ report access to resources that approximate CCW, challenging the notion that these forms of capital are tied exclusively to racialized experiences. We call for more conceptual precision–both in measuring cultural capital and in developing programming for students.
Keywords: Career and Technical Education (CTE), Student Success, Postsecondary Education, Employability Skills, Workforce Development, Career Readiness, Educational Pathways, Soft Skills, STEM Education, High-Impact Practices, Online Learning, Remote Work Preparedness, Industry Partnerships, Vocational Training, Educational Equity, Alternative Postsecondary Pathways, Technical Skills, Professional Development, Transferable Skills, CTE Policy and Funding
Thompson, M. N., Perez-Chavez, J., & Fetter, A. (2021). Internship experiences among college students attending an HBC: A longitudinal grounded theory exploration. Journal of Career Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072721992758
Abstract
Hora, M.T. (2025). Teaching transferable skills using a sociocultural perspective: A guide for faculty and institutions for creating college courses that highlight disciplinary knowledge, professional norms, and habits of mind. Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Excerpt: We are in a moment in the early 21st century where higher education in both the U.S. and around the world is increasingly focused on students’ post-graduate success in the labor market, or what some call “career readiness.” This focus is sparking conversations about credentials, artificial intelligence (AI), career pathways, “hot” new jobs, and whether certain skills are being taught in college – competencies popularly known as soft, non-cognitive, social-emotional,
or transferable skills (e.g., critical thinking, communication, teamwork). Increased attention to transferable skills is an immensely positive development, as students will need these competencies to not only thrive in the rapidly changing world of work, but also to properly address problems facing society such as rampant misinformation, a climate emergency, and dizzying technological advances.
But the higher education sector is not well prepared to teach students transferable skills, largely because faculty are too often not trained in how to teach and design a course, much less the more challenging task of teaching complex skills like critical thinking or teamwork. While faculty professional development (PD) is becoming more common, many focus on technique alone (e.g., active learning, inclusive pedagogy) without addressing the problem of skills development, or rely on overly brief one-time workshops on “teaching soft skills.” While some promising examples of robust skills-oriented faculty PD do exist, they are limited by the dominant discourse of skills as generic, de-contextualized “competencies” or “soft skills.” This generic perspective is most evident in influential lists such as the NACE Career Competencies or the AAC&U’s Essential Learning Outcomes (ELOs) – where complex transferable skills such as communication are unfortunately reduced to descriptors such as, “clearly and effectively exchange information, ideas, facts, and perspectives.”
Bañuelos, N., Jang-Tucci, K., & Benbow, R. J. (2022). Hispanic/Latino Student Community Cultural Wealth, social networks, and career development at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater: A report by the Networks and Cultural Assets Project (NCA). University of Wisconsin–Madison, Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions.
This report contains findings from a pilot study by the Networks and Cultural Assets Project (NCA) focused on the career development, cultural assets, and social networks of Hispanic/Latino students at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater (UWW), a public comprehensive university of about 11,000 undergraduates in rural southeastern Wisconsin. In partnership with UWW staff, NCA seeks to better understand student resources by drawing on the Community Cultural Wealth framework and social network analysis.
Keywords: Community Cultural Wealth, Latina/o college students, social network analysis, career development, asset-based research, cultural capital, social capital