Fracturing Opportunity demonstrates a simple yet profound idea - that educational opportunity
is learned. And if it is learned then it can be taught and taught more equitably. This book
brings sociocultural theories of learning and development to bear on the persistent problems of
inequality in college access and presents an innovative framework for understanding and
addressing the historic inequities that plague educational opportunity. Through ethnographic
documentation of Mexican migrants' educational experiences the book moves beyond traditional
inquiry on aspiration academic preparation and college matriculation to explore the deeper
more fundamental sense-making processes that mediate how students among the most vulnerable
cultural communities in the United States engage in college-going. This is an excellent text
for educators and researchers interested in equal educational opportunity generally Mexican
migrant and Chicano education in particular and scholars interested in applied critical
sociocultural theory and critical ethnographic methods.
