Abstract
This phenomenological study explores the perspective of inclusionary practices of culturally relevant pedagogy in academic spaces and validation theory of Chicano/a students in the secondary high school in the Puente Project to understand how this program empowers students to have a sense of belonging inside and outside of a high school classroom. The study focused on the Community Cultural Wealth model coupled with Validation Theory to understand the transformative nature that occurs among Puente students in classroom spaces. Critical Race Theory and Latino Critical Theory also framed this study to understand the historical educational exclusion of students of color in public spaces. A qualitative phenomenological design was used to explore the lived experiences of high school Puente students. Ten high school students who completed the 2-year Puente English courses were interviewed. Participants were chosen based on completion of the program, at random, and selected from a specific cohort of students. Data were collected through one-on-one and semi-structured interviews to capture the lived experiences of Puente students. The findings showed that the Puente Project increases the Cultural Wealth Capital of students in positive and transformative ways. The explanations and statements from the interviews supported the six Community Cultural Wealth themes. Aspirational, familial, social, and linguistic capital showed the highest growth. Navigational and resistance capital showed the lowest growth.This study revealed the importance of creating inclusive spaces in educational settings through pedagogical practices of the Community Cultural Wealth model. The data also revealed the critical practice of Puente faculty authentically validating the Cultural Wealth Capital of students, which positively changed the trajectory of their educational experiences. Future studies focusing on the implementation of the Community Cultural Wealth model to Puente middle school and Puente community college students could provide more insight into the transformational experiences at different levels of education. Interviewing Puente faculty could provide more insight on how they approach Cultural Wealth Capital with their students.