Abstract

This qualitative case study examines the community cultural wealth of a group of Latina mothers, who lived in a state of the Midwestern United States of America (US), and its influence on their children’s education. The mothers were new arrivals or had been in the US for one to three years, spoke Spanish as their primary language, and represented different ages and occupations. The mothers were not able to participate in school activities commonly expected of mainstream parents, such as attending parent-teacher association meetings and volunteering in the classroom. Nevertheless, the study demonstrates that these mothers used different types of capital, or community cultural wealth, to support and enhance the bilingualism, biliteracy, and academic achievement of their children. The mothers used navigational, aspirational, social, resistance, linguistic, and commitment capital. The last one is a form of capital that had not been identified in the extant literature. Thus, despite facing institutional obstacles, having low incomes, and a few years of “formal” education, these mothers were resourceful and creative, and demonstrated tremendous resiliency, intelligence, and commitment to achieve a “better life” for their children.