Doctoral Dissertation Research: Youth, Poverty and Educational Success

博士论文研究：摘要本研究的目的是调查为什么一些与贫困作斗争的年轻人能够克服障碍，在剥夺和不平等的环境中取得成功，而其他人则陷入同样的贫困困境。基于三年的人种学研究，我提供了一个关于16个来自低收入城市的年轻人生活的整体透镜。我阐明了如何组织日常活动可以授予获得学术成功所需的技能和社会关系，并分析如何培养和分享这些有价值的社交网络和技能。而不是主要集中在教育环境，我记录的经验，十六个青年提出了一个整体的透镜对他们的生活。这种详细的民族志跟随年轻人进入他们生活的多个组成部分，包括学校，工作，家庭，邻里，同龄人群体，浪漫关系，爱好，课外活动和休闲。总之，我的目标是产生一个更深入的了解类的影响，在年轻人的教育成果，同时检查什么是需要克服困难。该项目产生的数据主要包括根据参与者观察和对一群青年及其网络的深入访谈得出的人种学数据。考虑到美国的贫困率在2010年上升到15.1%，这是自1993年以来的最高水平，并且那些在贫困中成长的人在实现教育成功方面面临巨大障碍，继续探索贫困阻碍教育成就的过程以及如何克服障碍从未如此重要。在政策层面上，我的论文阐明了从高中到大学的过渡可以更好地促进年轻人的方式。我将表明，教育表现是由生活的多种情况下的影响，展示的渠道内外的学校，可以进行干预，并强调资源和技能，有助于实现这一转变。

Doctoral Dissertation Research: Youth, Poverty and Educational SuccessRanita RayAbstractThe goal of this research is to investigate why some young adults battling poverty are able to overcome barriers and achieve success in an environment of deprivation and inequality, while others fall prey to the same predicaments of poverty. Drawing on three years of ethnographic study, I provide a holistic lens on the lives of sixteen young adults from a low-income city. I illuminate how the organization of daily activities can grant access to the skills and social relations required for academic success and analyze how these valuable forms of social networks and skills are cultivated and shared. Instead of primarily focusing on educational settings, I document the experiences of sixteen youth presenting a holistic lens on their lives. This detailed ethnography follows the young adults into multiple components of their lives, including school, work, family, neighborhood, peer groups, romantic relationships, hobbies, extra curricular activities and leisure. In sum, I aim to generate a more thorough understanding of the effect of class on educational outcome among young adults while simultaneously examining what is takes to overcome hardships. Data generated by this project mainly includes ethnographic data drawing on participant observation and in-depth interviews among a group of youth and their networks. Broader Impact of StudyConsidering the fact that America's poverty rate rose to 15.1% in 2010, its highest level since 1993 and those growing up in poverty face tremendous barriers in achieving educational success, it has never been more important to continue to explore the processes through which poverty hinders educational achievements and how some overcome the barriers. At the policy level, my dissertation illuminates ways in which the transition from high school to college can be better facilitated among young adults. I will show that educational performance is influenced by multiple contexts of life, demonstrate the avenues inside and outside school where interventions can be made and, highlight the resources and skills that are helpful in making this transition.