Considering research, practice, and policies on opening pathways to overcome educational disparities, this book provides new quantitative and qualitative evidence to introduce a multi-level theory on how youth navigate across the cultural worlds of their families, schools, peers, and community programs to access academic opportunities.

• Part I - Introduction


• Chapter 1. The Academic Pipeline Problem: A Local, National, and Global Dilemma


• Chapter 2. Asking Better Questions: Challenges and Useful Strategies


• Part II - Five Questions


• Chaper 3. Autonomy or Connections? Identities as Intergenerational Projects


• with Harold D. Grotevant


• Chapter 4. Capital, Alienation, or Challenge? What Matters for Pathways to College


• with Robert G. Cooper, Margarita Azmitia, Gabriela Chavira, and Yvett e Gullatt


• Chapter 5. Brokers and Gatekeepers: How Can Youth Bridge Their Cultural Worlds?


• with Gabriela Chavira and Dolores D. Mena


• Chapter 6. From Fragile Bridges to Alliances: Opening Institutional Opportunities


• Chapter 7. Soledad's Dream: How Immigrant Youth and a Partnership Build Pathways to College


• with Elizabeth Domínguez and Soledad Rosas


• Part III - Looking Ahead


• Chapter 8. Implications and Future Directions


• with Robert G. Cooper




• Appendix 1. Tools for Advancing Research, Practice, and Policy


• with Dolores

Catherine R. Cooper, Ph.D. is Professor of Psychology and Founding Director of the Doctoral Program in Developmental Psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is Director of the Bridging Multiple Worlds Alliance, a growing network of researchers, educators, and policymakers focused on understanding how culturally diverse youth build pathways through school and on finding approaches to foster their success.