Conclusion: The future of funds of knowledge in higher education

In 2012, we proposed funds of knowledge as a new approach to study Latina/o students’ transition in and out of college (Rios-Aguilar & Kiyama, 2012). We acknowledged that “although we have gained a new perspective on the meaning of various funds of knowledge, we are still restricted in our knowledge of how these funds of knowledge are applied to the transitions into and out of college” (Rios-Aguilar & Kiyama, 2012, p. 13). This limitation of our own research at that time is what compelled us to further explore the ways in which funds of knowledge could be useful in the study of issues of college access and success; pedagogy and curriculum development; and as a framework for policy and practice within the context of higher education. To that end, the goal of this edited volume was not to repeat work done previously, but to elaborate a funds of knowledge approach for the context of higher education. In doing so, we advanced an understanding of funds of knowledge by relating it to other key conceptual frameworks used in the field of education, including the forms of capital, critical race theory, community cultural wealth, and critical pedagogy. We strived to offer a perspective that takes into consideration both the strengths and the weaknesses of a funds of knowledge approach to higher education research. As demonstrated throughout the volume, we did not suggest that funds of knowledge was the cure-all strategy to the problems related to college access and success for all underrepresented students. Instead, in this book, we carefully examined what funds of knowledge can (and cannot) do to improve researchers’ and practitioners’ understanding of underrepresented students’ educational trajectories and experiences in college.