Extending a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Approach to Understanding and Addressing Postsecondary Awareness and Access

Postsecondary education enrollment is declining across the United States. The U.S. Department of Education's Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) initiative focuses on increasing the college-going rate of students living in low-income neighborhoods through targeted university-community partnerships (UCPs). Here, we reflect on our program's use of a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to explore family postsecondary perspectives during the pandemic with the goal of developing community-level interventions. We outline the implementation of this approach in defining community, sharing planning power with partners, and responsive sampling. Reflection on the relevance, inclusion, and value of CBPR in education research is included.