Critical race methodologies in the first-year writing classroom: creating agency and improving student engagement to address the marginalization of latino/a students

The marginalization of Latino/a students in the first-year writing (FYW) classroom is the result of the growing number of this student population and the institution’s failure to acknowledge the role of cultural factors in impacting higher educational attainment. This study uses the theoretical framework of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and its subgroup Latino/a Critical Theory (LatCrit) in the FYW classroom through the use of pedagogical practices that create a culturally conscious classroom along with opportunities for repurposing students’ funds of knowledge. Qualitative data were gathered, and three individual case studies were created using three Latina students from a FYW course at California State University, Fresno. Each case study demonstrates the need for redefining academic literacy in institutions of higher education in order to create access for Latino/a students. Additionally, when discussing prior knowledge, funds of knowledge must also be acknowledged in order to combat deficit-based approaches that negatively impact the learning and higher educational experience of Latino/a students. Conclusively, this study demonstrates that institutions and teachers of writing need to be culturally conscious in order to create equitable spaces in FYW that contribute to alleviating the marginalization of Latino/a students.