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Institutional diversity's impact on Latinx students' self-efficacy and sense of belonging

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Institutional diversity's impact on Latinx students' self-efficacy and sense of belonging

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Institutional Diversity’s Impact on Latinx Students’ Self-Efficacy and Sense of Belonging
by
Abel Guzman

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education

May 2021

© Copyright by Abel Guzman 2021
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Abel Guzman certifies the approval of this Dissertation

Darnell Cole
Adrian Huerta
Bryant Adibe, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2021
iv

Abstract
This qualitative study seeks to understand how twelve Latinx college students at one Hispanic
serving community college perceive institutional diversity among faculty, administrators, and
curriculum impacts their sense of belonging and self-efficacy to persist. The study uses Tinto’s
(1975) Model of Institutional Departure as a framework to answer the following research
questions: What role does institutional diversity among faculty and administrators play in
creating a sense of belonging among Latinx students? How do Latinx students perceive the level
of representation of Latinx educational administrators and faculty in relation to their self-efficacy
to persist? How does culturally relevant curriculum impact Latinx students' sense of belonging
and self-efficacy? Responses from one-on-one interviews and post-interview journals provide an
insight into how institutional diversity factors into sense of belonging, self-efficacy, and
perception of curriculum. Interviews were conducted with twelve Latinx students currently
attending or who recently graduated from Rural Community College (RCC) (a pseudonym).
Analysis of the twelve interviews as well as seven post-interview journals produced the
following themes: Latinx faculty create spaces of belonging for Latinx students, Latinx faculty
enhance Latinx student self-efficacy through empowerment, and inclusive curriculum fosters
inclusive classrooms for Latinx students. These findings prompted recommendations for practice
around diversification of personnel, support of extracurricular activities, culturally appropriate
outreach, structured mentorship programs, and expansion of culturally relevant curriculum. This
study provides findings and recommendations similar colleges can use to move from being
Hispanic enrolling institutions to true Hispanic Serving Institutions.

v
Dedication
I want to start by thanking God who has blessed me with so many opportunities and a strong
network of support and love that has helped me throughout my educational journey.
To all my amazing teachers and counselors throughout my life who made sure I was prepared for
a college education, thank you!
To my extended family, including aunts, uncles, cousins, and in laws, you all played a part in
helping me get to this point. Your support throughout my life does not go unnoticed. A special
shout out to Becky and Tony. You were intentional about exposing me to college campuses
when I was a kid, and that really made an impact in my life. I am forever thankful for that.
To my immediate family: Javi, Stephanie, and Darlene, you are my inspiration to set the example
for what is possible. I am proud of each of you for your accomplishments. Ama, si se pudo! Soy
el hijo mas suertudo del mundo. Tu carino y apoyo atravez de toda mi vida es una bendicion que
me ayudo a lograr esta meta de ser Dr. Guzman. Este doctorado lo comparto contigo. Te quiero!
Apa, te nos fuiste muy temprano, pero tus ensenansas me siguieron motivando y inspirando para
lograr esta meta. Te dedico este doctorado. Te quiero y te extrano.
To Gael, you came into our lives at one of the craziest times as I was just starting this program
and your grandpa had just passed. You gave me the joy and motivation I needed to keep going. I
cannot wait to spend more time with you now that I am done with school. I love you, son.
To the love of my life, my biggest cheerleader and supporter, my ride or die, and the most
beautiful wife, thank you! Lorena, I literally could not have done this without you. Somehow you
juggle being an amazing therapist, super mom, and a doctoral student and still found a way to
ensure I was able to complete my doctorate. You make me a better person every day. I love you
and I am proud of you.

vi
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge my dissertation committee: Dr. Cole, Dr. Huerta, and my
chair, Dr. Adibe. You all helped me connect the dots when all I had was lots of dots. I could not
have asked for a better committee. I would like to also acknowledge and thank my colleagues
and friends, Dr. Manny Mourtzanos and Dr. Tommy Tunson. Manny, when I hit the biggest
writers block of my academic life last summer and felt like I was not going to be able to move
forward, you provided the guidance and resources to get past it. Thank you! Tommy, you have
been my mentor, friend, and coach throughout this process. You provided valuable insight, but
more importantly you kept me accountable. I am extremely fortunate to call you my friend.
I would also like to acknowledge the 12 respondents in this study who provided valuable
insight into Latinx student perception of institutional diversity and its impact on their sense of
belonging and self-efficacy. I hope my research will help enhance how educational institutions
serve you and other Latinx students by creating spaces of belonging and relationships of
empowerment. Suerte y echenle ganas!

vii
Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... v
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ vi
List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. x
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ xi
Chapter One: Introduction to the Study .......................................................................................... 1
Context and Background of the Problem ............................................................................ 1
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions .................................................................. 4
Importance of the Study ...................................................................................................... 5
Overview of Theoretical Framework and Methodology .................................................... 6
Definitions........................................................................................................................... 7
Organization of the Dissertation ......................................................................................... 9
Chapter Two: Literature Review .................................................................................................. 10
Historical Barriers to Diversity and a Sense of Belonging ............................................... 10
Impact of Institutional Diversity on Sense of Belonging, Self-Efficacy, and Success ..... 19
Institutional Commitment to Diversity ............................................................................. 27
Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................................... 40
Summary ........................................................................................................................... 45
Chapter Three: Methodology ........................................................................................................ 47
Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 47
Overview of Design .......................................................................................................... 48
Research Setting................................................................................................................ 49

viii
The Researcher.................................................................................................................. 50
Data Sources ..................................................................................................................... 51
Respondents ...................................................................................................................... 52
Instrumentation ................................................................................................................. 53
Data Collection Procedures ............................................................................................... 54
Data Analysis .................................................................................................................... 54
Reliability and Validity ..................................................................................................... 55
Ethics................................................................................................................................. 56
Summary ........................................................................................................................... 57
Chapter Four: Findings ................................................................................................................. 58
Purpose of the Study Restated .......................................................................................... 60
Study Respondents ............................................................................................................ 61
Research Question One ..................................................................................................... 65
Research Question Two .................................................................................................... 78
Research Question Three .................................................................................................. 88
Summary ........................................................................................................................... 93
Chapter Five: Discussion and Recommendations......................................................................... 95
Discussion of Findings ...................................................................................................... 95
Recommendations for Practice ....................................................................................... 100
Limitations and Delimitation .......................................................................................... 104
Recommendations for Future Research .......................................................................... 105
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 106
References ................................................................................................................................... 108

ix
Appendix A: Interview Protocol ................................................................................................. 129
Appendix B: Journaling Guide ................................................................................................... 134
Appendix C: Information Sheet for Exempt Research ............................................................... 135

x
List of Tables
Table 1: Research Questions 49
Table 2: Respondent Demographics and Enrollment Status 61
Table 3: Respondent Extracurricular Activity Connections 73
Table 4: Respondent Career Objective Field 85

xi
List of Figures
Figure 1: Reimagining the Latino Educator Pipeline ................................................................... 18
Figure 2: Tinto's Model of Institutional Departure-Adapted for Institutional Diversity ............. 41
Figure 3: Study Themes ................................................................................................................ 60

1

Chapter One: Introduction to the Study
American institutions of higher education have made large strides in diversifying their
student population, yet the problem persists of how well the faculty and administration profile
matches the students they serve. Over 45% of college students in the United States identify as
students of color, including Latinx, Black, and Asian (United States Census Bureau, 2018). By
contrast, the Chronicle of Higher Education (2017) reports that only 26.6% of higher education
staff, administrators, and faculty identify with an ethnicity recognized as a minority group. This
contrast is more prevalent in some institutions, which poses an even greater problem for leaders
hoping to promote an inclusive campus community.
Evans and Chun (2007) argue that diversity in higher education leadership should be a
priority to ensure proportional representation of their increasingly diverse student population.
This study seeks to explore how poor institutional diversity, defined by the inequitable
representation of Latinx faculty and administrators at Rural Community College (RCC) (a
pseudonym), affects the sense of belonging and self-efficacy of its Latinx students. The problem
of poor institutional diversity is important to address because studies have shown that equitable
representation of minority students among faculty and administrators empowers students as
learners, and thus affects the overall student learning outcomes (United States Department of
Education, 2016).
Context and Background of the Problem
As the Latinx population in the United States has grown, so has their representation in
higher education enrollment. In 2018, Latinx made up 18.3% of the general population, and by
2060 are projected to represent 27.5% (United States Census Bureau, 2020). Enrollment of
Latinx students in higher education increased from 22% in 2000 to 36% in 2018 (National
2

Center for Education Statistics, 2020). However, increase in enrollment rates have not translated
to proportional degree attainment, as only 24% of Latinx adults in the United States have earned
at least an associate degree compared to 44% of the general adult population (Excelencia in
Education, 2019). Given the increasing growth of the Latinx population, to meet the demands of
the future workforce and economy, it is crucial to close the degree attainment gap for Latinx
(Excelencia in Education, n.d.; United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015).
The undergraduate degree attainment rates of Latinx students sets the bar for graduate
degree program enrollment, completion, and ultimately potential engagement in the academic
workforce. In 2017, 12.9% of all adults 25 years of age or older had at least a master’s degree,
while for Latinx the rate was 5.1% (American Council on Education, 2017). Doctoral and
professional degree attainment combined is 2.4% for the general adult population, while for
Latinx it is 1.2% (American Council on Education, 2017). Ultimately, the low graduate degree
attainment of Latinx limits the pipeline to faculty and administrator positions at institutions of
higher education (Rodriguez et al., 2016). As a result, diversifying personnel alone will not be
enough to increase Latinx student completion fast enough, so it is just as important for
institutions of higher education to invest in cultural competency development opportunities for
existing faculty and staff (Excelencia in Education, 2017).
This study focuses on RCC, a relatively large Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) in the
south western region of the United States. RCC serves nearly 36,000 students annually (Rural
Colleges Chancellor’s Office (a pseudonym) [RCCO] n.d.). In the 2018-2019 academic year,
Latinx students comprised 67.93% of student enrollment, whereas White/Non-Latinx and
African American students comprised 18.06% and 4.53% of the population, respectively
(RCCO, n.d.). RCC data collected and reported by the RCCO shows that during the same school
3

year, only 7.69 % of educational administrators were Latinx, compared to 61.54% White Non-
Latinx (RCCO, n.d.). The disproportionate numbers are consistent across the various employee
groups serving RCC. For example, only 17.76% of tenure-track faculty and 22% of adjunct
faculty identify as Latinx (RCCO, n.d.).
The county which RCC serves has similar demographics as those of the college, with
Latinx making up more than half of the population at 54% (United States Census Bureau, 2019).
With a growing number of Latinx in the county and an overall baccalaureate degree attainment
rate of 16.1 %, RCC’s administrators face the challenge of diversifying their personnel to
represent not only the student body, but also the demographics of the local population. The
President of RCC is an ethnic minority female, who by example demonstrates the need for
diversification (RCC, 2020). Under her leadership, the college established an Office of Student
Success and Equity for the purpose of developing equity initiatives that support disadvantaged
student populations such as Dreamers and African American students (RCC, 2020).
Additionally, RCC’s Equal Opportunity and Diversity Advisory Council (EODAC) assists the
college in developing organizational policies and processes that drive institutional diversity
(RCC, 2013).
Despite the aforementioned efforts, the concern of underrepresentation of Latinx faculty
members and administrators at RCC persists. Bensimon (2004) explains that institutional
receptivity represents how effective a college is in fostering an environment that supports and
reflects underrepresented groups. This includes how well the college personnel’s ethnic
composition represents that of its students (Bensimon, 2004). This study explores how RCC’s
poor institutional diversity impacts its ability to create a receptive and inclusive environment for
4

Latinx students, and how that may influence their sense of belonging and self-efficacy to
succeed.
Purpose of the Project and Research Questions
The purpose of this study is to understand how Latinx students at RCC perceive the
institution’s diversity climate, and whether it factors into their sense of belonging and self-
efficacy. More specifically, the study seeks to analyze how students perceive the representation
of Latinx faculty and administrators at RCC affecting their educational outcomes, and what they
believe college leadership can do to create an inclusive campus. Hurtado and Engbert (2016)
argue that to foster a diverse learning environment, educational leaders must look to research on
diverse students, college led diversity programs, and educational outcomes that prepare students
for a diverse and often inequitable society. This study expands on such research and provides a
path to increased equity and representation of Latinx in the college environment.
To gain a better understanding of Latinx college students' perceptions of the institutional
diversity, specifically regarding equitable representation in faculty and administration, and in
curriculum relevance, this study explores the following questions:
1. What role does institutional diversity among faculty and administrators play in creating a
sense of belonging among Latinx students?
2. How do Latinx students perceive the level of representation of Latinx educational
administrators and faculty in relation to their self-efficacy to persist?
3. How does culturally relevant curriculum impact Latinx students' sense of belonging and
self-efficacy?
5

Importance of the Study
Although minority students, including Latinx students, have made significant progress
toward improving postsecondary enrollment rates, higher attainment in the areas of retention and
completion still need to occur. For many minority students, the issue of academic incongruity
poses a challenge for adjusting to college life upon enrollment. Academic incongruity occurs
when students of color are unable to thrive in an educational setting which lacks role models in a
Euro-cenric learning environment (Rendon, 2006). Gonzalez (2000) found that Latinx students
experience marginalization and alienation in the “social, physical, and epistemological worlds of
the campus environment” (p. 87). In other words, minority students attending institutions of
higher education often feel excluded from becoming socially and academically integrated with
the college. As such, the inability for historically underrepresented students to observe their own
demographic characteristics or their heritage represented in faculty and staff, physical spaces,
and in the curriculum they are learning affects their ability to relate to, and becoming integrated
with, the institution itself (Gonzalez, 2000).
Faculty and staff represent the organizational values such as the commitment to diversity.
As such, faculty and staff who are not representative of the student body profile, results in
feelings of exclusion among underrepresented students, as well as a negative perception of the
institution’s commitment to diversity (Milem et al., 2005). Students who attend and graduate
from colleges committed to hiring diverse faculty, staff, and administrators are better prepared to
participate in a globally connected society (Evans & Chun, 2007). This study will provide an
analysis of RCC’s commitment to diversity from the Latinx student perspective.
The study’s design is intended to provide additional perspectives to RCC’s diversity
initiative assessments. The importance of this study is timely in that it will occur during a time in
6

which organizations across the country are reflecting and acting in response to strong and
widespread calls to end systemic racism in systems including higher education. At RCC, the
work of diversity, equity, and inclusion escalated in a more direct and public manner in the past
year. This study seeks to gain insight about RCC’s work on diversity, equity, and inclusion from
the perspective of its Latinx students.
Overview of Theoretical Framework and Methodology
To examine RCC’s institutional diversity’s impact on Latinx student sense of belonging
and self-efficacy to persist, this study uses Tinto’s (1975) Theory of Institutional Departure.
Tinto’s (1975) model argues that a student’s early departure from college comes as a result of a
student’s inability to integrate with the academic and social systems of the institution. To
integrate with those systems, students must demonstrate a commitment to a goal and/or the
institution (Tinto, 1975). Tinto (1975) explains that the commitments and the ability or inability
to integrate to the academic and social systems depends on family background, individual
attributes, and pre-college schooling.
Although Tinto’s model places the bulk of the responsibility of integration on the student,
it provides the opportunity to analyze how representative institutional agents and the institution
itself can facilitate the integration for Latinx students. In fact, Tinto (1975) calls for potential
future research to include institutional characteristics as a factor in student persistence. Thus, this
framework allows for embedding of institutional diversity as a driver of persistence for Latinx
students.
Like other institutions of higher education across the country, RCC continues to struggle
with ensuring equitable representation of the predominantly Latinx student body among faculty
and administrators. If enrollment trends hold true to the past five years, RCC can expect a
7

consistent increase in the percentage of Latinx students (RCC, 2019), as opposed to the
consistently low Latinx personnel rates (RCC, 2017). Improving the institutional diversity at
RCC has the potential to promote higher success rates for Latinx students and can have long
lasting impacts on the local workforce and economy. To understand the impact inequitable
representation has on the Latinx student experience and educational outcomes directly from
stakeholders, this study will employ a qualitative approach. A qualitative approach is
appropriate, as this type of research deals with how individuals perceive, understand, and feel
about a problem (Creswell, 2014). The inquiry uses interviews, which pose generally open-ended
questions in a one-on-one basis (Creswell, 2014; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The study will
include students and recent graduates from RCC.
Definitions
Throughout the study, there are various recurring terms central to the topic of equitable
representation of Latinx among faculty and administrators at HSIs. More broadly, the terms help
describe the importance of institutional diversity in regard to student inclusion and academic
success. The following are definitions of terms and acronyms used in this study:
 Academic Incongruity is a minority student’s inability to fully thrive in an academic
environment, as a result of a disconnection between their cultural identity, and that of the
composition of the faculty and overall campus environment (Rendon, 2006).
 Cultural Capital is an individual’s knowledge, experience, skillset, formal education, and
other factors associated with status (Bourdieu, 1986).
 Equity refers to policy and practice that seek to mitigate inequality in society (Jordan,
2010). In education, equity means providing knowledge and resources that enables social
mobility for historically disadvantaged groups (Jordan, 2010).
8

 Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI), per federal legislation, are colleges and universities
designated as HSIs when they reach a critical mass of at least 25% full-time equivalent
enrollment of Hispanic undergraduate students (Santiago, 2012).
 Institutional Diversity from an institutional receptivity perspective refers to whether or
not the racial and ethnic composition of faculty, administrators, and staff represents the
composition of the student body (Bensimon, 2004).
 Latinx is a gender-neutral term used to refer to individuals of Latin American descent and
is particularly popular in academic and activist environments (Salinas Jr, 2020). Other
terms used to identify Latinx throughout the study include Latino/a, Hispanic, Chicano/a,
Mexican American, etc.
 Social Capital refers to the benefits, both tangible and intangible, one gains from social
relationships between individuals and groups. (Bourdieu, 1986). In education, these
relationships include those between students and institutional agents who can provide
access to resources and opportunities (Stanton-Salazar, 1997)
 Self- Efficacy is the perceived belief that one can successfully enact behaviors that lead to
desired outcomes (Bandura, 1977). Another termed used throughout the study to define
self-efficacy is “self-concept.” This term is introduced in this study primarily from
literature on the topic presented by Cole (2007).
 Sense of Belonging is defined as the human need for acceptance in social groups and a
perception that they have social relationships that produce love and affection (Maslow,
1943).
9

Organization of the Dissertation
Chapter One introduced the problem of practice of Latinx underrepresentation among
college administrators and faculty members, and its effect on Latinx students’ sense of belonging
and self-efficacy. The chapter included background of the problem, the purpose and importance
of the study, as well as an overview of Tinto’s Theory of Institutional Departure and of the
methodology. Lastly, the chapter includes a list of terms and definitions that are central to the
study. Chapter Two presents a review of literature covering existing research on the topic,
including a description of the conceptual framework. Chapter Three analyzes the study’s
methodology, including a review of research questions and research design. Chapter Four
presents a summary of data analysis and study results. Lastly, Chapter Five includes an analytical
review of the findings, as well as recommendations for practice and future research.

10

Chapter Two: Literature Review
This chapter presents and explores literature on how institutional diversity at colleges and
universities influences minority students’ sense of belonging and self-efficacy to persist in higher
education. The literature review begins with an analysis of movements that helped diversify the
student population in higher education, as well as deep rooted historical systemic barriers to
opening the pipeline to faculty and administrator positions. The historical review includes an
analysis of how the civil rights movement, affirmative action policies, and the establishment of
minority serving institutions (MSI) provided the foundation for more inclusive campuses that
seek to promote a sense of belonging for minority students. The section concludes with a review
of the current state of minorities in higher education.
The review of the literature includes research on the impact diversity has on students’
sense of belonging and self-efficacy in and out of the classroom. An analysis of existing
institutional diversity efforts at American colleges and universities helps lay the foundation for
potential recommendations for equity initiatives that help minority students build social and
cultural capital to better navigate the college experience. Lastly, the review of literature will
explain the conceptual framework to be used for the present study on institutional diversity’s role
in Latinx student sense of belonging, self-efficacy, and persistence.
Historical Barriers to Diversity and a Sense of Belonging
To better understand why poor institutional diversity is still a problem today, one must
first take a deeper look into the historical context of diversity in higher education. In the United
States, higher education was established at a time when only those who had the means to own
property and slaves were able to access said institutions (Patton, 2016). Furthermore, colleges
and universities leveraged and benefitted from slavery (Rainville, 2019; Stein, 2016; Walters,
11

2017). Even after emancipation, access to a quality education at all levels was limited for African
Americans (Kuelzer & Houser, 2019). In short, higher education in the United States was
founded upon a structure that oppressed and enslaved African American people. This set the tone
for a lack of diversity in higher education that directly impacts African Americans, as well as
other people of color until this day.
Civil Rights Movement and Inclusion
The Civil War ultimately helped gain freedom for African American slaves, but it was
the legal and political battles that came decades later that would create a more inclusive society.
Freedom from slavery did not secure African Americans access to equal resources as their White
counterparts, including access to a quality education (Kuelzer & Houser, 2019). Prior to Brown
v. Board of Education in 1954, institutions of higher education in the South remained segregated
and thus limited the educational options for African American students (Gasman et al., 2015).
Although African Americans had access to educational opportunities, the concept of separate but
equal did not allow for diversity to thrive. As the United States overall became more diverse,
issues of access to quality and diverse educational opportunities extended to people of other
races.
The Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Supreme Court decision established the legal precedent to
allow segregation. In a post-civil war era when African Americans sought equality, the Supreme
Court approved the separation of supposedly equal public services and institutions (Robinson,
2017; Duignan, 2020). In the early 20
th
century, segregation policies and practices designed to
keep African American and White people separate, began to impact Mexicans (Donato and
Hanson, 2017). Although not explicitly called out in many states’ segregation policies, Mexicans
were segregated, particularly in schools, based on factors such as language barriers (Santiago,
12

2019). Due to laws, ideologies, and practices that had kept African Americans from accessing
quality educational opportunities for decades, Mexican Americans were now subject to
oppressive regulations that limited their upward mobility. It was not until the Supreme Court
decision of Brown v. Board of Education (1954) that minorities had a legal precedent foundation
to advocate for educational rights and equality that would result in more inclusive and diverse
educational systems.
Affirmative Action
Access to and completion of higher education affords students the opportunity to thrive
and compete in society, but not everyone has equal access. Many argue that higher education
benefits all those who take advantage of the opportunities it provides, but the argument fails to
note that higher education was not built to benefit all people equally (Patton, 2016). Even after
the decision of Brown v. Board of Education and the progress made by the civil rights
movement, access to higher education remained inequitable and largely segregated (Bond, 2015).
Despite the newly gained access to public resources for minorities, White privilege still dictated
how society functioned (Rainer, 2015). From the foundation of the United States and well into
the middle of the 20th century, a desire for cultural diversity did not exist, as White people (as a
group) perceived their culture, language, and practices to be superior (Kuelzer & Houser, 2019;
Rainer, 2015). Consequently, White privilege, as defined by access, still remained a factor in
limiting opportunities and privileges for minority groups (Rainer, 2015). Even as access to
higher education became increasingly available to minorities, diversity on college campuses
remained a challenge. In the decades to come, more legal and political battles would help
increase access to higher education for minorities but the pipeline to faculty and administrator
positions was still limited.
13

The significant increase in students of color in higher education institutions, when
disaggregated, shows that this group of students is primarily accessing under resourced, open-
access colleges (Dubois Baber, 2015). Thus, minority students are increasingly more represented
in higher education, but because many of them start at two-year community colleges, they are
less likely than students who start at four-year universities to earn a bachelor’s degree
(Monaghan & Attewell, 2015). Providing equitable access to more educational opportunities for
minorities can help open the pipeline to faculty and administrator positions.
Affirmative action levels the playing field for minorities but implementing it has not
happened without resistance. Affirmative action in higher education has served as the process by
which colleges and universities use race in the admissions process to provide more equitable and
inclusive access to historically marginalized groups, particularly Hispanics and African
Americans (Arcidiacono et al., 2015; Premdas, 2016). Affirmative action has not been deemed
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, but certain aspects of the action’s intent have been
banned by various states (Hinz, 2016). For example, Proposition 209 (1996) in California and
Gratz v. Bollinger (2003) in Michigan upheld their respective proponents’ argument that
institutions of higher education should not use race as a factor in the admissions process simply
to meet a diversity quota (Hinz, 2016). Legal and political resistance has limited the potential of
affirmative action to influence diversity in higher education. As the battle for access to higher
education for people of color continues, it has been just as critical for institutions to provide the
minority students who do make it into higher education the support that promotes sense of
belonging and self-efficacy to persist and succeed.

14

Establishment of Minority Serving Institutions
Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) of higher education have a long history of serving
underrepresented populations, but they were not all established for that purpose. Historical Black
Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) were established as
a result of a desire of African Americans and Hispanics to learn during an era in which these two
groups were generally excluded from higher education (Boland et al., 2018; Gasman et al.,
2015). The United States government established HBCUs to provide basic education to freed
slaves (Gasman et al., 2015). HSIs are not solely established to serve Hispanics but are
designated as such when they meet various criteria, including having enrollment of 25% or more
Hispanic full-time equivalent students (Boland et al., 2018). Unlike HBCUs, all but a handful of
HSIs were established prior to being designated as serving Hispanics, and only got to that point
after years of migration resulted in a critical mass of Hispanic students (Gasman et al., 2015;
Santiago, 2012). MSIs of higher education rose as a need to educate historically disadvantaged
and oppressed people. However, even though many institutions carry the title of being minority
serving colleges, a lot of them fall short of effectively doing so.
It is important for HSIs to look beyond their enrollment criteria designation and commit
to creating more inclusive environments for their Latinx students, who are not just increasingly
represented in higher education, but also in society in general. It is possible for a college or
university to receive federal funding for its HSI designation, but not have a strategic plan for
ensuring the success of that particular group of students (Gasman et al., 2015; Santiago, 2012).
This burden falls heavily on two-year HSIs, as the majority of Latinx students enroll in
community colleges (Boland et al., 2018; Kurlaender, 2006; Nunez et al. 2016). Kurlaender
(2006) found that Latinx students are more likely than their White or African American peers to
15

enroll in community colleges, regardless of other factors, including academic potential or
performance. Despite Latinx students at two-year HSIs outperforming Latinx students at non-
minority serving institutions, the transfer rates to four-year programs remains relatively low
(Boland et al., 2018). Although the heaviest load of serving Latinx students falls on community
colleges, universities could increase their efforts of recruiting, retaining, and graduating Latinx
students in order to improve the overall state of Latinx in higher education.
Current State of Minorities in Higher Education
Decades of systematic barriers for minorities to access higher education have resulted in
low participation in the pipeline to faculty and educational administrator positions. Students of
color represent nearly half of all college students in the United States, but a vast majority of
them, particularly Latinx and African American students enroll in two-year colleges (Espinosa et
al., 2019). Community colleges provide access to higher education for students who otherwise
may not enroll in college, including Latinx students who are more likely than their white peers to
be socioeconomically disadvantaged (Kulaender, 2006; Macdonald et al., 2007). Osei-Kofi and
Rendon (2005) propose that the perception of the average Latinx college student is one that is
often older, attends community college, and is socioeconomically disadvantaged. Latinx students
who aspire to attain a college education continue to view community colleges as the ideal
starting point. As such, it is important that community colleges and HSIs in particular, be
strategic and intentional in serving Latinx students and thus ensuring their success.
Although Hispanic serving community colleges provide Latinx students equitable access
to higher education, more work needs to be done to ensure their transfer and bachelor’s degree
attainment (Macdonald et al., 2007). Enrollment in community colleges does not translate well
into transfer and bachelor’s degree attainment, especially for Latinx and African American
16

students (Flores & Park, 2014; Monaghan & Attewell, 2015). In fact, in a study of completion
and success rates of Latinx students in two-year HSIs in California, Contreras and Contreras
(2015) found that Latinx students were outperformed by their White counterparts. This has the
potential to make accessing public universities more difficult for Latinx community colleges
students, as admissions requirements become more stringent due to increased application rates
(Boland et al., 2018; Osei-Kofi & Rendon, 2005). Additionally, Latinx students report intent to
attain bachelor’s degree at lower rates than their African American and White counterparts
(Kulaender, 2006). This could pose another barrier for Latinx students, as Adelman (2005) found
that community college students who consistently intend to and plan for attaining a bachelor’s
degree are more likely to transfer. Attending competitive research universities correlates with
graduate degree attainment, and while they are outperformed by Asian students in this area,
Latinx students not only perform similarly to White students, but are more likely to pursue
doctoral degrees if they attend research universities (Tienda & Zhao, 2017). The aforementioned
studies explain the barriers Latinx community college students face to bachelor’s degree
attainment, including competition among their peers, and the lack of intent or desire to actually
pursue that degree. These barriers in the pipeline from community colleges to four-year
universities can have a long-term detrimental impact on graduate degree attainment among
Latinx students, and ultimately on representation of people of color in college faculty and
administrator roles.
The issue of low graduate degree completion rates among minority students translates to a
lack of equitably represented minority faculty and administrators (Rodriguez et al., 2016). In
2016, nearly 75% of faculty and 83.2% of presidents at American colleges and universities were
White (Espinosa et al., 2019). In a study of Chicanos in higher education, Aguirre and Martinez
17

(1993) found that Chicano faculty are represented in greater numbers in the humanities and
social science disciplines, compared to hard sciences and mathematics. A more recent report
published by the National Science Board (2018) found that graduate STEM degree attainment
among Latinx still lagged behind White, Asian, and African American groups, and that the
growth rate was also slower. Aguirre and Martinez (1993) argue it is critical for Chicano faculty
to acquire tenured positions throughout their respective institutions in order to have more
influence and to be better suited to serve Chicano students. Improving on these statistics,
particularly in MSIs, is crucial to colleges and universities creating inclusive environments
representative of the growingly diverse student population (Abdul-Raheem, 2016; Rodriguez et
al., 2015). To diversify faculty and administrator personnel, institutions will have to overcome
the matter of White privilege, fostered by the very foundational history of American higher
education (Patel, 2015; Wolfe & Dilworth, 2015). Although the state of minorities in student,
faculty, and administrator roles at colleges and universities continues to improve, there is still an
issue of inequitable representation. Addressing this issue of diversity will be important to
institutions of higher education who seek to positively impact minority students’ sense of
belonging and self-efficacy to persist.
To increase the number of Latinx moving through the educational pipeline and into
educator roles, it is important for educational institutions to be responsive to the needs of Latinx
(Latinos for Education, 2020). Yosso & Solorzano (2006) credit the leaks in the educational
pipeline among Latinx to inequitable K-12 education, low community college transfers, limited
bachelor’s degree opportunities, and feelings of isolation in graduate programs. In Figure 1,
Latinos for Education (2020) provide a graphic display of the Latinx educational pipeline into
educator roles. The report explains that the pipeline begins in K-12 education, and to move more
18

individuals through it, students need financial support, specialized recruitment attention, creation
of support systems for Latinx educators, and cultural competency trainings (Latinos for
Education, 2020). This this study focuses on Latinx student sense of belonging and self-efficacy,
including how this can influence the students desire to pursue a career in education. Further
analysis of literature included in this chapter also explains how sense of belonging and support is
also crucial for people of color later in the pipeline once in educator roles.

Figure 1
Reimagining the Latino Educator Pipeline

Note. Reimagining the Latino Educator Pipeline. Reprinted from Latinos For Education (2020).
Mirrors for Latinx students-Attracting and retaining Latinx Teachers in Massachusetts. Retrieved
from https://www.latinosforeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Mirrors-for-Latinx-
Students-Report_Jan-2020.pdf

19

Impact of Institutional Diversity on Sense of Belonging, Self-Efficacy, and Success
In this section, the literature review includes research on how sense of belonging on
campus affects student learning outcomes. Additionally, the literature explores how racially
representative role models may help build self-efficacy among students of color. Lastly, this
section includes research on the value of redefining what academic success among students of
color means, and how institutions of higher education support and track their progress.
Sense of Belonging: Congruence and Learning
Humans desire a sense belonging and acceptance in their social environments and will
strive to make connections with individuals and find their place in a group (Maslow, 1943).
Without these important connections, humans may struggle to cope with the demands of their
environment (Maslow, 1943). In higher education, the campus climate dictates how students
perceive their academic environment, which influences how they navigate their educational
experiences, and as such impacts their success (Cole and Espinoza, 2008). In a study of campus
racial climate’s impact on Latino college student sense of belonging, Hurtado and Carter (1997)
found that Latino students feel less connected to their academic environment if they perceive a
hostile racial campus climate. Rendon (2006) describes academic incongruity as a minority
students’ sense of isolation and marginalization on campus due to having few faculty role models
and their inability to connect with the Euro-centric curriculum. On the contrary, congruence of
minority students and their academic environment promotes greater success (Cole & Espinoza,
2008; Rendon, 2006). Latinx students’ sense of belonging is influenced by their perception of the
campus racial climate and are more likely to feel connected to the campus if their lived
experiences and background are congruent with their academic environment. A better
understanding of how institutional diversity impacts campus climate will provide a clearer
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picture of factors that influence Latinx student congruence with their academic environment and
consequently their sense of belonging.
Latinx students who attend diverse colleges and have regular interactions with diverse
individuals develop a greater sense of belonging, which leads to academic success (Strayhorn,
2008). As such, the level of institutional diversity plays a key role in fostering an environment in
which interracial interactions are more likely to occur (Cole, 2007). When Latinx students
perceive a hostile racial campus climate they maintain strong peer and family networks as a way
to develop a sense of belonging (Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Hurtado & Ponjuan, 2005). Latinx
students engage in diversity related activities to deal with the cultural incongruity within their
major or collegewide (Cole & Espinoza, 2008; Hurtado & Ponjuan, 2005). Institutional diversity
provides greater opportunities for interactions among diverse individuals, which studies have
shown to be critical to Latinx students’ sense of belonging and academic success. Quite possibly
the most important among those interactions is that of students and faculty, both inside and
outside of the classroom.
Quality interactions inside and outside of the classroom with faculty increases Latinx
students’ sense of belonging and positively impacts their academic success (Cole, 2007; Cole &
Espinoza, 2008; Hurtado & Carter, 1997). Quality student and faculty interactions entails
opportunities for faculty to mentor and develop students, as opposed to negative feedback (Cole,
2007). Hurtado and Carter (1997) found that Latinx students who reported frequent interaction
with faculty outside of the class had a higher sense of belonging. Accessibility cues which
describe faculty and student behaviors and perceptions in the classroom, influence the level of
interaction outside of the classroom (Cole, 2007). Additionally, it is possible that the campus
racial climate also influences the level of student-faculty interaction outside of the classroom
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(Cole & Griffin, 2013). Quality interactions outside of the classroom with faculty enhance Latinx
students’ sense of belonging and are often developed based on the in-class behaviors and
perceptions of the racial climate. The perceptions of the racial climate in the classrooms may be
influenced by the racial congruence of the student and faculty, as well as the course content.
Students of color often seek out relationships, including those with faculty, based on level
of similarities with those individuals (Cole & Griffin, 2013). Relationships based on similarities,
referred to as homophilous relationships, can be based on various preferences and characteristics,
with race/ethnicity being one of the most common (Biancani & McFarland, 2013; Cole &
Griffin, 2013). Although homophilous relationships that begin based on race/ethnicity are
maintained by other similarities in the long-term, the superficial characteristics are often the first
link (Biancani & McFarland, 2013). Students of color, particularly Latinx and African American
students, have more positive perceptions of faculty of color, which in turn increases interest in
the coursework (Cherng & Halpin, 2016; Egalite & Kisida, 2018). Overall, minority students
earn better grades and are less likely to drop a course when they have a minority instructor
(Fairlie et al., 2014). Although other factors may come into play in determining the level of
interest and success of minority students in courses, research indicates that having minority
faculty members increases the likelihood of success for minority students (Fairlie et al., 2014,
Rendon, 2006). One possible explanation is minority faculty members’ ability to help
contextualize the curriculum for minority students.
Choice of curriculum is a factor in the success of students of color (Cole & Griffin,
2013), and more specifically, a curriculum with a focus on matters of diversity has shown to
enhancing Latinx students’ sense of belonging (Hurtado & Ponjuan, 2005). Minority faculty
members can effectively engage minority students with the curriculum, both by contextualizing
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the content as well as incorporating more culturally relevant lessons (Borrero, 2016; Durm,
2016; Yamauchi et al., 2016). To increase cognitive engagement, it is important for students’
experiences to be connected to what they are learning in the classroom (Yamauchi et al., 2016).
In a study of culturally responsive curriculum, Durm (2016) found that African American
students responded more positively and better engaged in social studies curriculum when the
teacher infused more positive historical references about African Americans, beyond the typical
textbook content. To infuse cultural relevancy into the curriculum, instructors must take the time
to get to know their students and their lived experiences (Borrero, 2016). Faculty of color, who
with their students of color share the experience of the isolation of not seeing themselves in the
curriculum, are able to more easily help make critical learning connections for their students
(Borrero, 2016). Although the ethnic background of a faculty member does not solely define
their ability to help students of color successfully engage with the curriculum, faculty of color
are naturally positioned to create a more culturally responsive learning environment.
Representation of people of color in the faculty and curriculum is only part of the equation in
ensuring racial/ethnic minority students feel a sense of belonging on campus.
Research indicates having faculty members of ethnic minority backgrounds positively
impacts sense of belonging and learning outcomes for ethnic minority students (Deil-Amen,
2016; Egalite & Kisida, 2017; Fairlie et al., 2014). In a study of race and ethnicity interactions in
community college classrooms, Fairlie et al. (2014) found a positive correlation between having
a same race professor and the shrinking of the achievement gap for minority students. One
explanation to support the positive correlation is the theory of cultural understanding. This theory
suggests that “teachers of color may be particularly well situated to explain new material in a
culturally relevant and engaging way” (Egalite & Kisida, 2017, p. 75). The impact of
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representation in faculty on pedagogy is important because students’ feeling of belonging at the
college also occurs in the classroom (Deil-Amen, 2016). Thus, ensuring representation of
minority faculty has the potential to foster a sense of belonging for minority students in the
classroom. Even though culturally competent faculty of any race can foster positive, inclusive
learning environments for students of color, ethnic minority faculty members are naturally better
situated to help those students succeed.
The aforementioned research supports the idea that having a professor of minority
background will positively impact learning outcomes for minority students, in contrast to other
research that suggests it is possible for White professors to have a similar impact by teaching in a
culturally focused and appropriate manner. In their study of White professors’ motivation to be
culturally responsive, Jenkins and Alfred (2018) found that most respondents agreed that being a
culturally responsive instructor was crucial in creating a sound educational system. Crocitto, et
al. (2017) argue that professors are facilitators of in-class discussions, and for discussion of
diversity issues to happen, professors must let the students decide among themselves what will
be covered. However, other studies revealed that White teachers at both the K-12 and higher
education levels perceive students of color to have lesser academic abilities than their Asian and
White counterparts (Folkman Gleditsch & Berg, 2017; Gershenson et al., 2016). Additionally, in
a study of indicators of Hispanic community college student transfer, Rendon and Valadez
(1993, p. 32) found that the “cultural gap between Hispanic students and non-Hispanic faculty
contributed to student isolation, lack of academic and social integration, and limited vision with
regard to realizing their full academic potential.” Thus, while White faculty may be well
intentioned in their strategies to serve ethnic minority students, they generally fall short of the
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impact of a teacher-student ethnic congruence relationship due to lack of cultural understanding,
as well as preconceived notions about race and academic potential.
Self-Efficacy: Baseline Self-Concept and Further Development
Baseline Self-Concept
Students of color demonstrate the motivation to succeed by the mere fact of enrolling in college,
but it is their ability or inability to develop self-efficacy that will determine their persistence.
Motivation serves as the activator for behavior, while self-efficacy represents an individual’s
belief that they can successfully enact said behavior to reach desired outcomes (Bandura, 1977).
In regard to self-efficacy in higher education, Cole (2007) uses the term intellectual self-concept
to describe a student’s perception of their academic ability and self-confidence. In a study of
interracial interactions’ influence on student-faculty contact and intellectual self-concept, Cole
(2007) found that students with the highest level of self-efficacy reported superior academic
performance in high school, had educated fathers, began college with degree attainment goals,
and selected business as their major. Self-rating on analytic skills among Latinx students at entry
also help predict long-term self-efficacy (Hurtado & Ponjuan, 2005). Hurtado and Ponjuan
(2005) found that Latino males are more confident in their analytical skills than their female
counterparts, and that high-income and low-income Latinx report higher levels of self-
confidence in those skills. Most, if not all, students enter college with some level of self-efficacy,
often dictated by past academic performance and personal background. For Latinx students,
maintaining self-efficacy throughout college entails building upon the self-concept factors
developed prior to enrolling in college.

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Further Development of Self-Efficacy
For minority students, self-efficacy often begins with positive identification with their
ethnic identity and decreased negative self-stereotyping (Mejia-Smith & Gushue, 2017;
Morgenroth et al., 2015). Cross et al. (2019) found that Latino youth with higher parental
educational expectations had a higher level of self-efficacy. Beyond educational expectations,
Latinx and African American parents are able to influence their children’s self-efficacy through
the transmission of cultural values (Bradley, 2019). Thus, it is likely that Latinx students begin
college with a foundation to further develop the self-efficacy to persist despite any adversity they
may encounter.
Latinx students’ ability to cope with academic challenges is a predictor of persistence,
given that many of these students are underprepared for the rigor of higher education (Watson &
Watson, 2016). Mejia-Smith and Gushue (2017) explain that one of the ways Latinx students
enhance their self-efficacy is through acculturation, which entails adopting Anglo cultural
values, while still maintaining their ethnic identity. Thus, Latinx students often have a
foundational level of self-efficacy and can find sources for further enhancement of their efficacy.
Still, it is important that institutional agents help Latinx students develop the grit and curiosity
that produces self-efficacy to overcome academic challenges (Cavazos Vela et al., 2018).
Intentional student-faculty interactions influence students’ self-concept by enhancing
and extending the learning process (Cole, 2007). Cole (2007) found that students who had
interactions with faculty regarding course content and who developed mentorship relationships,
reported a higher level of self-concept. Among the four different sources of efficacy, Bandura
(1977) explains that vicarious experiences help build an individual’s self-efficacy. Efficacy
derived from vicarious experiences deals with modeling of achievement by others (Bandura,
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1977). In the context of minority students in higher education, Bandura’s self-efficacy theory
explains that although a student may be motivated to succeed, they need to develop a belief that
they can accomplish their goals. Role models with similar lived experiences may be able to
provide minority students a tangible link to their college environment (Contreras, 2017).
When role models exemplify the aspirational goals of students, their vicarious learning
experience can possibly lead to increased self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977; Morgenroth et al., 2015).
An added level of vicarious learning occurs when teachers and students are racially congruent, as
it is likely that students perform differently when they have a teacher of the same race (Fox,
2016). In her review of the Community College Puente program, Rendon (2002) explained that
mentors in the program represent the community and are key agents of validation of Latinx
students. Validation is critical to ensuring that students believe they are competent learners and
are worthy (Rendon, 2002). The aforementioned studies have found correlations in specific
settings and institutions between role models and self-efficacy; further research on the matter of
role models and self-efficacy may help establish a stronger correlation. This study seeks to
understand from the perspective of RCC Latinx students the impact representative role models
on campus has on their self-efficacy to succeed.
Redefining Success Among Students of Color
Persistence, as defined by a student’s continuous enrollment in higher education despite
any challenges they may face, is the product of the motivation that is formed by their sense of
belonging and self-efficacy (Tinto, 2017). In a study of completion and success rates in HSIs
within a college system similar to that of RCC, Contreras and Contreras (2015) defined
persistence as student enrollment in three consecutive terms. Black and Latinx students have
comparable persistence rates to their White and Asian counterparts, but for the former groups,
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persistence is not translating into degree completion (Contreras & Contreras, 2015). For
institutions like RCC, where persistence rates for Black and Latinx students are above 70%, but
on time degree completion rates are 10.5% and 12.2%, respectively (RCC, 2019), it is important
for institutional leaders to redefine how they measure persistence and success (Contreras &
Contreras, 2015). Retention and persistence of students is a factor in degree completion, but as is
clear in RCC’s data, student persistence most often does not result in on time completion.
Institutions like RCC maintain six-year completion rates for students, but as Contreras &
Contreras (2015) explain, this should not be considered a successful outcome. On time degree
completion has financial implications for students, the institution, and ultimately the economy
overall, and us such is an important issue to address (Shapiro et al., 2016). This study seeks to
better understand from Latinx students’ perspectives, how institutions can better foster a sense of
belonging and self-efficacy to not just persist, but ultimately to accomplish the goal of attaining a
college degree on time.
Institutional Commitment to Diversity
The literature in this section focuses on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion
in higher education, and strategies institutions can employ to foster a more inclusive environment
for students of color. As discussed in the literature to follow, such strategies include being
intentional about serving students of color in mission statements, diversifying faculty to better
represent the student population, mentorship of students and faculty of color, and facilitating
campus wide equity initiatives.
Intentional Diversity Commitment in Mission Statements
Colleges and universities, much like other organizations, establish mission statements to
help guide their work. Mission statements serve to define the organization’s purpose and to
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establish a guiding structure for institutional planning (Ayers, 2017; Lopez & Martin, 2018). For
institutions of higher education, mission statements help build a collective sense of purpose for
institutional agents who are responsible for developing and facilitating the work that will help
accomplish the organization’s purpose (Ayers, 2017). The clearer and more comprehensive a
mission statement is, the better it serves in creating an organizational culture that promotes
optimal performance and informs internal and external stakeholders of the organization’s work
(Alegre et al., 2018, Macedo et al., 2016). A well-structured mission statement informs an
organization’s clients of what it can do for them and guides the internal stakeholders in carrying
out the organization’s objectives. For MSIs, their mission statements are crucial to guiding the
work that seeks to drive student success amongst their students of color. This study seeks to
gather information about RCC’s (a HSI) outward, intentional, and strategic commitment to
serving Latinx students.
The mission of MSIs is to ensure the representation and success of students of color and
are funded by the government to implement work that supports this mission. MSIs are
institutions that serve students of color, and in the case of HBCUs, were established for the sole
purpose of educating historically disadvantaged groups of people (Boland et al., 2018; Hallmark
& Gasman, 2018). HBCUs’ mission statements clearly reflect the fact that they were not only
established to educate African Americans, but that they continue to do so decades later in an
effort to continue combating injustice (Edmons Crewe, 2017; Glenn et al., 2017). In her analysis
of the mission statements of two HBCUs, Edmons Crewe (2017) found that both missions
outwardly reflect the institutions’ commitment to addressing the issues of racism and other
barriers to success for African Americans. HBCUs’ long-standing and deep commitment to
serving African American students has resulted in many positive outcomes, including training
29

over 80% of black doctors and dentists, and providing undergraduate education to three quarters
of Black persons with doctoral degrees (Glenn et al., 2017). Although HBCUs serve students of
all ethnicities, their mission statements still reflect the strong focus on serving African American
students and doing so has guided their successful work. HSIs can look to HBCUs as a model for
mission statements that clearly call out their purpose of serving a specific group of students.
The level at which HSIs serve their Latinx student population may vary by institution,
and the commitment to serve them is not evident in most of their mission statements. HSIs
generally are not explicit about serving Hispanic students in their mission statements, and many
operate under their pre-HSI designation mission of serving all students (Ballysingh et al., 2017;
Carter & Patterson, 2019; Marin, 2019). Many HSIs fall back on the belief that by stating they
serve all students equally, they are in fact serving Hispanic students effectively (Carter &
Patterson, 2019; Marin, 2019). For example, RCC’s mission statement reflects a commitment to
diversity, but as an HSI fails to mention either its designation as such, or its commitment to
serving Latinx students in particular. If HSIs hope to effectively serve its Latinx student
population, they will need to engage with their identity as an HSI and convey their commitment
through their mission statements and ultimately their work (Andrade & Lundberg, 2018; Garcia
et al., 2019; Garcia et al., 2019). As more colleges and universities gain the designation of HSI
due to their Latinx student enrollment, it will be important that HSIs as a whole norm their
identity and update their mission statements to better reflect their designation. This idea is
important to this study, because with nearly 70% of its student population identifying as Latinx,
it is important that RCC’s mission statement reflect its identity as an HSI. Upon establishing a
mission statement that reflects their commitment to serving Latinx students, RCC, like other
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HSIs, will be better able to effectively implement practices and programs that foster a sense of
belonging for those students.
Diversifying Faculty for Equitable Representation
Campus Diversity Climate
Latinx students are more likely to have a higher sense of belonging on campus if they
perceive a positive racial climate (Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Hurtado & Ponjuan, 2005; Strayhorn,
2008). Hurtado and Carter (1997) found that Latinx students’ sense of belonging is diminished
when they perceive a hostile racial climate or experience discrimination. On the contrary, Latinx
students who had positive interactions with diverse peers and who enrolled in courses with a
diversity focus reported a higher sense of belonging (Hurtado & Ponjuan, 2005). Promoting a
positive racial climate and enhancing Latinx students’ sense of belonging is critical to their
academic success, as those who feel connected to the campus are more likely to excel
academically (Strayhorn, 2008). Latinx students who perceive a more welcoming and inclusive
environment are more likely to have a higher sense of belonging. It is the responsibility of
faculty and administrators at the institutions to ensure a more welcoming racial climate
environment.
Faculty and administrators of color impact the educational outcomes of minority students,
and their presence on college campuses also influences the general campus diversity and
inclusivity climate (Abdul-Raheem, 2016; Banda et al., 2017). Minority faculty members
promote a sense of comfort and inclusivity for students of color, not just by serving as examples
for their students, but also by engaging in diversity efforts outside of the classroom (Abdul-
Raheem, 2016; Banda et al., 2017; Jimenez et al., 2019). More specifically, faculty of color are
more likely than their White faculty counterparts to recruit more minority faculty members, as
31

well as outreach to diverse primary education schools (Jimenez et al., 2019). Much like how
faculty of color create a more inclusive environment for minority students, administrators of
color also influence the sense of inclusivity for students, as well as for minority faculty members
(Wolfe & Dilworth, 2015; Zambrana et al., 2015). Because students of color often seek out same
race mentors, faculty of color at institutions where faculty are predominantly White will bear a
heavy burden of serving as role models to an increasing population of minority students in higher
education (Cole & Griffin, 2013).To increase the number of faculty and administrators of color
on college campuses to meet that demand, one must examine the blockage in the pipeline of
people of color into these roles.
Entry into the Pipeline to Educator Roles
Entry into the field of higher education teaching and administration most often requires
the attainment of a graduate degree, and thus in order to diversify applicant pools for these
positions, it is important to increase access, enrollment, and completion of graduate programs for
students of color. Mentorship of undergraduate minority students increases their desire and
likeliness to attend graduate school (Ballysingh et al., 2017; Zambrana et al., 2015). This is
important because despite being successful in undergraduate programs, students of color may
lack the knowledge and resources that would facilitate admission to and completion of graduate
programs (Ballysingh et al., 2017; Peteet & Lige, 2016). Once in graduate school, preparing
students of color for a career in higher education requires the creation of programs that support
and encourage their pursuit of a career in this field (Abdul-Raheem, 2016; Blockett et al., 2016;
Martinez & Welton, 2017; Wolfe & Dilworth, 2015).
Abdul-Raheem (2016) proposes that it is important to educate doctoral minority students
about the tenure process in higher education, as well as how to connect with minority mentors.
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Similarly, Blockett et al. (2016) argues that graduate school educators interested in helping
diversify faculty must establish systems that provide mentorship, professional development, and
overall environmental support to ensure minority students are not marginalized in their student
experience, as well as in their transition to academia. Martinez and Welton (2017) more
generally propose the importance of establishing programs that seek to recruit and retain diverse
graduate students of color in academia. Lastly, Wolfe and Dilworth (2015) specifically speak of
the need for graduate programs that prepare minority students for leadership roles in higher
education, which would in turn make them stronger candidates for those positions.
Diversifying Applicant Pools
Generic hiring practices in higher education that seek to diversify faculty and
administrative personnel without an intentional and specific target fall short of true equity and
inclusion objectives. Due to the historical and cultural factors that contribute to the persistence of
White privilege and biases, people of color seeking employment in academia experience various
challenges in the hiring process (Abdul-Raheem, 2016; Patel, 2015; Wolfe & Dilworth, 2015).
The primary challenge that people of color face in the process is the fact that, by design, these
systems and practices exclude them (Sensoy & Deangelo, 2017). One way to ensure that
candidates are given a fair and equitable opportunity in the process is to diversify hiring
committees, as they not only screen applicants but also recruit and promote within their networks
(Blake, 2018; O’Meara et al., 2020; Sensoy & Deangelo, 2017; Wilder et al., 2015). More
importantly, institutions must develop hiring practices that embed an understanding of the
challenges that specific ethnic groups face (Patel, 2015; Wilder et al., 2015). To promote
diversification of faculty and administrators, colleges must be intentional and strategic in
including diversity in their processes. As institutions of higher education hire more faculty of
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color, it will be just as important to continue to guide, mentor, and support them through their
journey on campus.
Mentorship of Students and Personnel of Color
Mentorship of Students of Color. Mentors play a critical role in creating sense of
belonging and self-efficacy among students of color inside and outside of the classroom. Mentors
serve as a guide and model for what academic achievement looks like (Rendon,2002). More
specifically, mentors help students “decode the system” which means that they are able to
identify what is necessary to be successful on their academic journey (Stanton-Zalazar, 2011, p.
1092). Mentors can help minority students navigate through the negative stereotypes that lower
expectations of their success, both from external individuals, as well as from themselves
(Brooms & Davis, 2017; Morgenroth et al, 2015; Tovar, 2015; Fairlie et al., 2014). They
accomplish this by validating and empowering students to not just adjust to their environment,
but to develop the self-worth and self-advocacy that will help them thrive (Rendon, 2002;
Stanton-Salazar,2011). Mentors are able to model to students of color what academic and career
success looks like and help them navigate the system through validation and empowerment. The
impact of the mentor-mentee relationship is particularly clear among faculty and student
relationships.
Latinx students who perceive faculty to be accessible and supportive are more likely to
develop self-efficacy and have more positive academic outcomes (Cole, 2007; Cole & Espinoza,
2008). Students who developed mentoring relationship with faculty around course centered
contact report higher levels of self-efficacy (Cole, 2007). In her research on the impact of female,
minority mentors Fonts (2017) found that mentors helped develop minority mentees’ self-
efficacy and motivation to accomplish their goals. Minority faculty members in particular play a
34

critical role in serving as mentors to and advocates for students of color, often resulting in higher
success rates (Abdul-Raheem, 2016; Egalite et al., 2015; Brooms & Davis, 2017). As minority
students navigate college outside of the classroom, student affairs personnel can support these
students in dealing with racial issues, through various programs and initiatives (Hurtado et al.,
2015). Huerta and Fishman (2014) found college-educated peer mentors support Latino male
students in developing and establishing goals, by providing access to social and cultural capital.
Validation of minority students in various campus settings promotes persistence and degree
completion (Hurtado, 2015; Rendon, 2002). Representation, advocacy, and mentorship of
minority students by individual institutional agents increases their motivation but helping them
reach a state of self-efficacy is the responsibility of the institution as a whole. This is important
to examine in this study because institutional diversity plays a role in how minority students
perceive their abilities to succeed.
Mentorship of Personnel of Color. Mentorship of new faculty of color helps them
navigate the challenges of an inadequate campus diversity climate and promotes their retention
and promotion within the institution (Martinez & Welton, 2017; Zambrana et al., 2015). Faculty
of color experience discrimination in a variety of ways, including encountering questioning of
their legitimacy as a professor from both students and their White counterparts (Aguirre &
Martinez, 1993; Martinez &Welton, 2017; Patel, 2015; Vargas et al., 2018). In order to combat
the discrimination against new faculty of color, senior faculty of color serve as mentors in
helping navigate through the institutional norms and politics (Martinez & Welton, 2017;
Zambrana et al., 2015). Mentors of color foster social capital for faculty of color that helps them
thrive in primarily White settings, all while keeping their cultural identity (Blake, 2018; Martinez
& Welton, 2017; Zambrana et al., 2015). Additionally, mentorship plays a critical role in
35

advancement opportunities for faculty of color, including tenure positions and administrator roles
(Martinez & Welton, 2017; Wolfe & Dilworth, 2015). Thus, hiring more faculty of color on its
own is not a solution to creating a more inclusive campus climate, so mentoring and guiding
them through the experience increases their likelihood of retention and promotion. This in turn
promotes a more representative and inclusive campus for students of color, as well as other
minority staff.
Much of the research on the impact of diversity in college personnel centers on faculty,
but administrators also play a critical role in creating an inclusive campus. There is a desire to
have more representative administrative personnel, as they have the ability to influence
institutional diversity through policies that mitigate bias and discrimination, as well as
institutionalizing opportunities for culturally diverse personnel and curriculum (Arday, 2018;
Bhopal & Brown, 2016; O’Meara et al., 2020). Additionally, administrators of colors can serve
as role models, mentors, and advocates for both students and faculty of color (Bhopal & Brown,
2016; Zambrana et al., 2015). However, the pipeline for people of color into administrator
positions has not produced enough institutional leaders, thus administrations continue to be
predominantly White (Arday, 2018; Rodriguez et al., 2016; Tate & Bagguley, 2017, Wolfe &
Dilworth, 2015). For those people of color that do make it into the administrator ranks, the battle
against discrimination continues, as they deal with questions about their ability to serve as
effective leaders, as well as pay disparity (Arday, 2018; Kezar et al., 2020; Wolfe and Dilworth,
2015). Aguirre and Martinez (1993) found that Chicano administrators felt they were evaluated
more critically than their White counterparts. Administrators of color can have a positive impact
on a college’s diversity climate, but people of color continue to encounter barriers getting into
those positions. Diversity among faculty and administrators is important for the success of
36

students of color, so it is crucial for colleges, particularly MSIs, to increase representation in
those ranks.
Equity Initiatives
To effectively support minority students, institutional efforts of diversity and inclusion
must embed an equity-minded framework. That framework entails institutional agents’
willingness to move away from viewing the deficits of minority students as the issue to fix, and
instead reflect on what they can do to restructure to organization to provide those students the
services and support that produce more equal outcomes (Ballysingh et al., 2017; Bhopal, 2017;
Bensimon et al., 2019; Felix et al., 2015). In other words, it is important for institutional agents
to assess what is not working in the system to support minority students, and adapt specifically to
that group’s needs (Ching, 2019; Felix et al., 2015). At MSIs, such as HSIs, it is even more
important for faculty and other institutional agents to take responsibility for student outcomes
(Ching, 2019). An equity-minded framework allows educators to adapt their approach to
integrating minority students fairly and effectively. As institutions become more diverse, it is
becoming more important for educators to dig deeper not just into how they are serving students,
but also into who those students are.
Valuing and Producing Social and Cultural Capital. Minority college students have
unique social and cultural capital but are not always successful in leveraging it to succeed.
Bourdieu (1986) defines social capital as the social networks that provide individuals access to
the cultural capital (i.e., skills, knowledge, tools) that will help them succeed. In the context of
education, Stanton-Salazar (2011) describes social capital as the institutional support system that
provides access to resources by way of successful student-teacher relationships. Even though
cultural capital benefits minority students, particularly those that are first-generation, the most in
37

regard to upward mobility, they often lack the type of cultural capital required to be successful in
college (Anderson & Jaeger, 2015; O’Shea, 2016). Even when minority students have access to
the social capital to produce cultural capital, such as having parents with college degrees, they
still face racism and lowered expectations (Perez II & Taylor, 2016). Although minority students
possess some social and cultural capital upon entering college, it is not always recognized by the
institution and leveraged to ensure their success. Research indicates that to drive their equity and
inclusion efforts, institutions of higher education must adapt their systems to use and supplement
the social and cultural capital of minority students more effectively.
Institutions of higher education can create an equitable environment by moving away
from a deficit framework, and instead view minority students’ social and cultural capital as
assets for success. Pre-college social capital, such as family and neighborhood structures
promote success through the creation of cultural capital (An & Western, 2019), which for
minority students produces unique cultural capital that will help them thrive in a college
environment (Chlup et al., 2018; Perez & Taylor, 2016; O’Shea, 2016; Yosso, 2005). In fact,
minority students bring an extensive form of social and cultural capital, which Yosso (2005)
breaks down as aspirational, linguistic, familial, social, navigational, and resistant. This
breakdown gives value to the capital the minority students possess, particularly looking at
family, culture, language, values, and expectations as strengths (Chlup et al., Perez & Taylor,
2016; O’Shea, 2016; Yosso, 2005). For example, familial capital provides emotional support and
sets high expectations for minority college students (Attinasi, 1989; Hurtado & Carter, 1997;
O’Shea, 2016; Yosso, 2005). Just as important, minority students with aspirational and resistant
capital are able to navigate and thrive in the face of challenges, including racism (O’Shea, 2016;
Yosso, 2005). Institutions of higher education can effectively nurture the success of minority
38

students, by recognizing their unique capital. To create a more equitable and inclusive
environment for minority students, colleges will need to adjust their systems to give students
opportunities to further develop capital.
Institutions of higher education can support minority students by helping them transfer
their existing capital, as well as by providing opportunities to build more social and cultural
capital (Perez & Taylor, 2016; O’Shea, 2016; Yosso, 2005). While minority students often lack
the normative cultural capital to succeed in college (O’Shea, 2016; Yosso, 2005), the institutions
can use the value of their existing capital to translate into success, as well as equip them with the
normative cultural capital (Perez & Taylor, 2016; O’Shea, 2016; Yosso, 2005). One way that
institutions can do this is by connecting minority students with mentors with similar
backgrounds, as these relationships have proven successful in helping students navigate through
challenging environments (Cox, 2017; Perez & Taylor, 2016). Mentors as well as other
institutional agents can make connections to social capital for minority students, as well as their
parents, who while often supportive, are also lacking the social capital to support their children
(Chlup et al., 2018; Yosso, 2005). Minority students have the capital to help them succeed, but
often need institutional agents to help them transfer it to the college environment. To do this,
institutional leaders will need to analyze their minority student population’s needs in a very
intentional and systematic way.
Data Driven Equity. Serving students in a more strategic and systematic way requires
educators disaggregate their student performance and outcomes by ethnicity and using that data
to inform their work. One way that many institutions of higher education have been able to
disaggregate and thoroughly analyze student outcomes has been by implementing the Equity
Scorecard, which serves as a process and a tool (Bensimon, 2004; Felix et al., 2015). The
39

scorecard tool allows educators to disaggregate student outcomes by race and ethnicity and
monitor progress towards the institution successfully supporting their minority students
(Contreras & Contreras, 2015; Felix et al., 2015). This step in the process prevents institutions
from remaining in the mindset that equity is general and race-blind, and instead forces them to
engage in targeted discussions about how to support students of specific ethnic groups (Chase et
al., 2020; Felix & Castro, 2018). Doing so has resulted in wake up calls for many institutions,
who while they may be experiencing progress overall, realize that their African American and
Latinx students are struggling (Contreras & Contreras, 2015; Felix et al., 2015; Felix & Castro,
2018). This moment of realization should lead to institutional leaders recognizing that equity
entails unequal treatment to ensure that disadvantaged groups are able to succeed (Felix et al.,
2015). To better serve minority students educators must analyze how each ethnic group is
performing, and in doing so, develop proper support systems for them. Implementing a process
and tool such as the scorecard and thus working towards equity requires culturally competent
leaders.
Institutional Leaders as the Drivers of Equity. To improve on their equity efforts,
MSIs need transformational leaders that understand the minority student experience and struggle.
For HSIs, increasing the number of Latinx administrators increases the number of institutional
agents with the cultural awareness and power to make a significant impact on equity efforts
(Ballysingh et al., 2017; Bensimon et al., 2019; Contreras & Contreras, 2015). Administrators
can set the tone for equity-minded support of minority students among faculty, and in doing so
guiding the institution’s equity work through intentional instructional delivery (Ballysingh et al.,
2017; Chase et al., 2020; Ching, 2019). Even though is important for faculty and administrative
leaders to promote equity in the classroom, Bensimon et al. (2019) argue that it is just as
40

important for them to engage with equity work outside of the classroom in processes such as
hiring, admissions, and scholarship committees. Strong and representative leaders can guide an
institution in its work towards a more equitable system. Ultimately, this is why institutional
diversity at all levels of the organization plays a critical role in promoting minority student sense
of belonging and self-efficacy.
Conceptual Framework
The present study uses Tinto’s (1975) Theory of Institutional Departure to address the
impact institutional diversity has on minority students’ sense of belonging and self-efficacy.
Tinto’s (1975) theory argues that college students who drop out do so because of their inability
to integrate with the social and/or academic aspects of the institution. As students transition into
college, they are able to persist when they make a commitment to an academic goal and/or to
intentionally integrate with a certain aspect of the social environment (Tinto, 1975). Family
background, individual characteristics, and past educational experiences influence the level of
commitment (Tinto, 1975). Committing to and following through dictates integration into the
academic and social systems of the institution, which ultimately predicts persistence (Tinto,
1975). Tinto’s model is limited in that it fails to thoroughly incorporate institutional
characteristics as primary dependent variables but is effective in setting the foundation for how
institutional diversity can help minority students persist in higher education. It is important to
note that Tinto’s later work on the subject acknowledged the importance of institutional diversity
to a certain extent, when noting that culturally relevant curriculum and equitable representation
of the student body profile among faculty and staff are important aspects of sense of belonging
(Tinto, 2017). Figure 2 is a graphic representation of Tinto’s model, adapted to include
41

institutional diversity as a factor in fostering a sense of belonging, self-efficacy development,
and persistence.

Figure 2
Tinto's Model of Institutional Departure-Adapted for Institutional Diversity

42

Tinto’s (1975) model of institutional departure factors a students’ social and cultural
capital as the drivers of integration and persistence but does not account for institutional diversity
as a means to improve a student’s perception of sense of belonging and self-efficacy. This study
places institutional diversity as a transitional factor, as it can help students transfer their social
and cultural capital to the college level (Downes et al., 2018; Perez II & Taylor, 2016). This is
particularly important for minority students who may need help transitioning to a systematically
discriminatory system (Downes et al., 2018). To effectively integrate minority students into the
academic and social systems should not require that they assimilate with the dominant culture,
but instead institutions must move away from race-blind inclusion efforts by looking at the needs
of specific ethnic groups (Downes et al., 2018; Hurtado et al., 2015; Williams et al., 2018).
Beyond supporting students navigate and integrate into the system, institutional agents must
empower historically disadvantaged students to question the system in which they learn to
develop the empowerment capital that enables access to critical resources and networks for the
rest of their lives (Stanton-Salazar, 2011; Tierney, 1992). Institutional diversity is important in
developing the faculty-student interactions that will empower students and enhance their self-
concept (Cole, 2007).
To make institutional and academic commitments, minority students will need to
establish goals (Tinto, 2017). Developing a sense of belonging and self-efficacy through their
interaction with the academic (including curriculum) and social environments will help students
persist towards achieving their goals (Tinto, 2017). Within the present study’s adapted model of
institutional departure, institutional diversity plays a role in the student perceptions of the
environments in which they engage.

43

Sense of Belonging in Tinto’s Model
A student’s sense of belonging is a reflection of their interactions with institutional agents
and their perceptions of how they are viewed by the institution (Tinto, 1975; Tinto, 2017). For
minority students, culturally engaging campus environments are key to building a sense of
belonging (Museus et al., 2016). Culturally engaging campus environments are defined by
various factors, including providing opportunities for students to connect with institutional
agents with similar backgrounds, and learning curriculum that is relevant to their cultural
experience (Museus et al., 2016; Tinto, 2017). On the contrary, hostile racial campus climates
decrease Latinx students’ sense of belonging (Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Hurtado & Ponjuan,
2005). Latinx students often develop connections with race-centered organizations to mitigate
the effects of the hostile racial campus climate (Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Hurtado & Ponjuan,
2005).
Faculty-student interactions inside and outside of the classroom are important to the
success of students of color, and the level at which they occur may be influenced by the campus
racial climate (Cole & Griffin, 2013). The characteristics of the faculty and students and how
closely they match influences the level of student engagement and success in the classroom
(Cipriano et al., 2019; Cole & Griffin, 2013; Demetriou et al., 2017; Fish & Syed, 2018).
Although Tinto (1975) does not call out race as a factor in integration, he does generally explain
that a student’s congruency with their social environment determines ability to integrate. Cole
and Griffin (2013) more specifically call out the idea of homophily, which in the context of this
study, explains that students of color seek out same race mentors. Thus, minority students are
more likely to integrate into the academic and social environments of the college if they can see
themselves and their culture in them.
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Self-Efficacy in Tinto’s Model
Self-efficacy drives a student’s goal commitment, intellectual development, and
academic integration. Self-efficacy determines an individual’s goals and how much effort they
are willing to put in to achieve it (Bandura, 1993). For minority students, the ability to follow-
through on their goal commitment by performing at a high level and integrating with the
academic system is dependent on the institution being able to create culturally inclusive
environments (Museus et al., 2016). Like sense of belonging, the self-efficacy of minority
students to persist can be positively influenced by having racially congruent role models and
culturally relevant learning experiences (Cole & Griffin, 2013; Morgenroth et al., 2015; Tinto,
2017). Therefore, even though persistence of minority students in higher education is dependent
on how well they integrate into the academic and social systems of the institution, it is just as
important for the institutions themselves to foster culturally inclusive campuses. Doing so will
promote the sense of belonging and self-efficacy that will help students persist.
Students must be motivated to persist in achieving their goals, but the level of motivation
is influenced by experiences while in college (Tinto, 2017). As such, institutions must approach
serving students under the assumption that not all students begin college with the belief that they
will be successful (Tinto, 2017). Rendon and Nora (1989) argue that commitment to a realistic
goal early in the college matriculation process is more important to Latinx student success than
their academic and social integration at the college. Many Latinx students lack a clear goal and
specific degree objective, which is a factor in enrollment at community college and low transfer
rates to four-year institutions (Kurlaender, 2006; Rendon & Nora, 1989). To improve the
persistence and motivation of Latinx students and other students of color, institutions must
provide personalized guidance that helps students form adequate plans for their desired
45

educational goals (Rendon and Nora, 1989). Latinx students often do not enter college with a
clear goal in mind, which may negatively influence their motivation to persist without the
appropriate guidance. This part of the model is important to understand how RCC can support
Latinx students in developing goals that are culturally congruent.
Tinto’s Model of Institutional Departure provides an adequate framework for analyzing
how RCC Latinx student persistence is dependent on how well they integrate with the academic
and social aspects of the institution. This study adapts the model by making institutional
diversity a focus of Latinx student transition to RCC, and how it may help determine their sense
of belonging, self-efficacy, and persistence. In short, this adapted model places a heavier share of
the responsibility of integration on the institution. Based on RCC institutional demographic data,
a majority of its students identify as Latinx, and only a small percentage of its personnel are
Latinx. Thus, RCC Latinx students may have a challenging time making connections in and out
of the classroom due to poor institutional diversity. This model provides a framework to assess
Latinx students’ perceptions of the college’s institutional diversity, and whether they view the
disproportionate representation as critical to their sense of belonging at RCC and their self-
efficacy to persist.
Summary
The preceding literature review offered a holistic analysis of the various factors
impacting institutional diversity at colleges and universities, and how this affects outcomes for
minority students. The literature presented the argument that because the American higher
education system was founded at a time when slavery was legal, diversifying college campuses
over time has been a persistent challenge. Issues of racism and white privilege prompted the
Civil Rights movement, as well as policy advocacy for affirmative action. The literature outlines
46

how the aforementioned movements, as well as immigration, gave rise to MSIs. This section of
the review focused largely on the establishment of HBCUs and HSIs as institutions designated as
serving minority students.
The literature also presented how diversity affects minority student sense of belonging
and self-efficacy. This section focused on the importance of ethnicity congruence between
faculty and student, culturally relevant curriculum, as well as the critical role that mentors play in
guiding and motivating minority students. In the institutional diversity efforts section, the
literature provided an overview of the importance of developing representative and intentional
mission statements, as well as creating better practices for hiring diverse faculty and
administrators. The literature also emphasized the importance of data driven equity initiatives
that help institutions move away from a deficit-framework and instead leverage minority
students’ existing social and cultural capital to better equip them to succeed. Lastly, this chapter
included a conceptual framework based on Tinto’s Theory on Institutional Departure, which
explains that in order to persist, students must integrate with the academic and/or social systems
of the college. The ideas of institutional diversity, sense of belonging, self-efficacy, social and
cultural capital, and mentorship where central to the conceptual framework presented.
Chapter Three analyzes the study’s methodology, including a review of research
questions and research design.

47

Chapter Three: Methodology
When minority students see themselves and their culture represented in their academic
and social environments on campus, they are more likely to feel a sense of belonging and have a
perception of self-efficacy to persist (Rendon, 2006; Tinto, 2017). The purpose of this study is to
assess to what degree Latinx students at RCC perceive institutional diversity as a crucial factor in
their persistence and success. The study explores how RCC’s institutional diversity, particularly
in faculty and administrator positions, influences its Latinx students’ sense of belonging and self-
efficacy. As a designated HSI, with nearly 70% of its student population identifying as Latinx, it
is important for RCC leadership to learn from their students how to better create an inclusive and
supportive environment.
This chapter includes a review of the research questions, overview of the study design, a
description of the research setting, and an introduction to the researcher. The chapter also
includes a description of the data sources, including information on respondents, instrumentation,
data collection procedures, and data analysis. Lastly, it includes an overview of the study’s
reliability and validity, explanation of ethical considerations, as well as limitations and
delimitations.
Research Questions
To explore RCC Latinx’s student perceptions of institutional diversity and its impact on
their sense of belonging and self-efficacy, the study used the following questions:
1. What role does institutional diversity among faculty and administrators play in creating a
sense of belonging among Latinx students?
2. How do Latinx students perceive the level of representation of Latinx educational
administrators and faculty in relation to their self-efficacy to persist?
48

3. How does culturally relevant curriculum impact Latinx students' sense of belonging?
Overview of Design
The study utilized a qualitative approach to gain a deeper understanding of how Latinx
students at RCC perceive the institutional diversity climate, and how it impacts their sense of
belonging and self-efficacy. A qualitative approach is appropriate, as this type of research deals
with how individuals perceive, understand, and feel about a problem (Creswell, 2014). Merriam
and Tisdell (2016) explain that qualitative studies allow for critical research, by gaining an
understanding of individuals’ lived experience within a particular setting, which in this case is
higher education. The inquiry used semi-structured interviews, which posed open-ended
questions in a one-on-one basis (Creswell, 2014; Merriam and Tisdell, 2016). The interview
included twelve primary questions and follow-up probing questions (see Appendix A for
interview protocol). Additionally, the study used qualitative documents which added depth to the
understanding of the student experience (Creswell, 2014). After the interviews, respondents had
the option to participate in a journaling exercise prompted by a journaling guide (see Appendix
B), which sought to guide them through a debrief of their interview experience. This inquiry
occurred through a constructivist philosophical lens, which seeks to understand and describe a
particular group’s meaning-making of their realities (Creswell, 2014; Merriam and Tisdell,
2016).
The interview protocol approach included a semi-structured line of questioning in a one-
on-one interview setting. Using a standardized open-ended interview reduced interviewer’s
potential effect on responses and produced the comparability of the responses (Patton, 2002).
Table 1 lists the data sources in relation to the research questions.

49

Table 1
Research Questions
______________________________________________________________________________
Question One-on-
One
Interview
Qualitative
Documents
RQ 1: What role does institutional diversity among faculty and
administrators play in creating a sense of belonging among
Latinx students?
X X
RQ 2: How do Latinx students perceive the level of representation
of Latinx educational administrators and faculty in relation
to their self-efficacy to persist?
X X
RQ 3: How does culturally relevant curriculum impact Latinx
students' sense of belonging and self-efficacy?
X X

Research Setting
RCC is in the south western region of the United States and serves nearly 36,000 students
annually (RCCO, n.d.). RCC has one main campus and various satellite locations both in the
same town, as well as throughout various rural communities (RCC, n.d.). RCC offers programs
that lead to certificates, associate degrees, and one baccalaureate degree (RCC, n.d.).
Additionally, RCC serves a broad range of students including early college high school students,
adult education respondents, and traditional college students.
In the 2018 school year, there were 1,032 employees at RCC, with the majority evenly
distributed in academic and classified positions, and a smaller number of educational
50

administrators (RCCO, n.d). Latinx students comprised 67.93% of student enrollment, whereas
White/Non-Latinx and African American students comprised 18.06% and 4.53% of the
population, respectively (RCCO, n.d.). During the same school year, only 7.69 % of educational
administrators were Latinx, compared to 61.54% White Non-Latinx (RCCO, n.d.). Only 17.76%
of tenure-track faculty and 22% of adjunct faculty identify as Latinx (RCCO, n.d.). The highest
Latinx representation group is classified employees at 41.79%, followed by White Non-Latinx
and African American at 35.22% and 32.46%, respectively (RCCO, n.d.).
The county in which RCC is located is relatively rural, and its economy is heavily
dependent on the agriculture and oil industries. In fact, the county falls in the top five producing
counties for agriculture and oil in the United States (Rural County Economic Department
[RCED] [a pseudonym], 2019). Only 16.1% of the adult population in the county have at least a
bachelor’s degree, and 20.5% of the population lives in poverty (United States Census Bureau,
2019). The aforementioned data is the primary reason for selecting RCC as the setting for this
study. With a relatively small state university and one other small community college in the
county, RCC is the largest higher education institution in the area, and as such can make a
greater impact on degree attainment. Because RCC serves the most college students in the
county, of which the majority are Latinx, understanding how its leaders can help students feel a
sense of belonging and build self-efficacy is important to the entire community.
The Researcher
Power relations exist everywhere, including the study itself, where an imbalance of
power may exist (Creswell, 2014; Merriam and Tisdell, 2016). Conducting this study was of
high importance to me for academic and professional reasons. My investment in the study, as
well as in potential solution implementation as an educational administrator at RCC, and as
51

administrative lead of the Equal Opportunity and Diversity Advisory Council at the college
created a concern of positionality. To mitigate this concern, and enhance the process, I was
intentional in both my selection of respondents, how I presented myself to them, and how I
conducted the interviews.
As the educational administrator over RCC’s satellite campuses, it was important for me
to identify respondents from RCC’s main campus where students are less likely to recognize me
as an administrator. Two respondents spent some of their tenure at RCC at one of the campuses I
oversee, and as such, it was important for me to ensure that I was intentional about informing
them of my role as a student researcher. Furthermore, presenting myself as an administrator may
have dissuaded students from participating, or if they did, they may have not fully disclosed.
Instead, I presented myself as a student researcher. Merriam and Tisdell (2016) explain that the
purpose of critical research is to conduct research with people and not on people, so having an
insider positionality helped facilitate this process. As a relatively young, Latino college student, I
was able to build better rapport with the RCC Latinx students in the study. Lastly, as part of my
qualitative documents, I kept a reflective journal throughout the study, which helped me reflect
on my positionality and biases in interpreting participant statements and observations (Ortlipp,
2008).
Data Sources
Because the focus of the study is the student perception of institutional diversity, sense of
belonging, and self-efficacy, it was essential that students were the primary data source. It was
important to supplement one-on-one interview data with qualitative documents from respondents
that helped add depth to the understanding of the problem.

52

Interviews
The primary method to collect data was qualitative interviews. The interviews were semi-
structured and sought to prompt perceptions and opinions from the respondents (Creswell, 2014).
Primary Documents
Primary documents in which respondents describe firsthand experiences, were utilized to
supplement their interview responses (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The study incorporated
journals from respondents who chose to engage in the activity after the interview. The journal
exercise guided respondents through a debriefing process of their interview experience and the
topics discussed.
Respondents
The purpose of the study is to understand RCC Latinx student perceptions of institutional
diversity, sense of belonging, and self-efficacy. Thus, it was important to use purposeful
sampling, which produced respondents with the most information about the topic at hand
(Merriam and Tisdell, 2016). The purposeful sampling approach was primarily typical but also
included snowball sampling as respondents referred others willing to take part in the study
(Merriam and Tisdell, 2016). The study included 12 current RCC students or recent graduates.
The primary criteria for all respondents was that they identify as Latinx and be 18 years of age or
older. To better understand how sense of belonging and self-efficacy perceptions influence
persistence, eligible respondents needed to have completed at least one academic semester at
RCC. Respondents engaged in the study via referrals from faculty members in the history,
communication, English, and counseling departments, which are departments in which all
students must take at least one course. Programs and student groups including the Mathematics
Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) program, RCC Latinx Unidos (a pseudonym),
53

and RCC Latinas Juntas (a pseudonym) assisted in disseminating respondent recruitment flyer to
their members. Lastly, a local college access and readiness non-profit organization, Youth Leadx
(a pseudonym), facilitated additional recruitment of eligible respondents.
Instrumentation
The primary data source for the study was one-on-one interviews, which used a list of
predetermined questions but were flexible to adapt the order and make additions or deletions of
questions (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The interview protocol included an introduction of the
study and an explanation of privacy and rights, as well as a concluding statement reiterating the
content in the introduction, and presentation of an opportunity to provide additional feedback.
The interview instrument included 12 main questions, and additional probing questions that
helped produce greater clarity to respondent perspectives. For example, probing questions about
respondents’ Latinx heritage added depth to the question about their family background.
Additionally, probing questions provided the opportunity to follow up on questions that are
intended to allow for respondent interpretation. For example, the question about whether a
student feels that their culture is represented in the classroom allows for their interpretation, but
probing questions helped gather more information about perception of representation in
curriculum and instructor understanding. The questions addressed personal background,
motivation to attend college, goals, experience at RCC, perceptions of diversity at RCC,
academic success, and mentorship. All these questions sought to incite feedback form Latinx
students regarding their sense of belonging and self-efficacy on campus. Ultimately, the
researcher was the central instrument in the study, and collected data in a variety of ways as they
saw fit throughout the process (Creswell, 2014).
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Data Collection Procedures
Data collection for this study took place in March of 2021. The study received
Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval from the University of Southern California (USC), as
well as RCC’s own IRB. Upon IRB approval from both institutions, respondents were recruited
and identified. The first part of the data collection process was accomplished by conducting one-
on-one interviews. This allowed for each respondent to gain a better understanding of the study
and to be able to share their uninfluenced stories. Interview length varied between 27 and 75
minutes.
Given the current Covid-19 pandemic and social distancing protocols, interviews
occurred via Zoom, and over the phone for one respondent. Respondents received invitation
email, and upon confirmation of date and time received a Zoom link or phone number, along
with a study information sheet (see Appendix C). All interviews were recorded with the
respondent’s permission. Respondents had the option to turn off their cameras for recording.
Primary data in the form of journals and emails from respondents with additional
feedback were sent in by respondents within a week of the interview. Additionally, researcher
reflective journaling occurred after every interview, as a practice to reflect on the interview and
check for positionality or bias in interpretation (Creswell, 2014).
Data Analysis
Analysis of data collected from interviews followed Creswell’s (2014) recommended
process of data preparation, organization, coding, description and theme development,
presentation of descriptions and themes, and interpretation of the findings. This included
transcribing of interviews and coding. Using Atlas.ti was important in organizing the interview
data in an efficient manner (Creswell, 2014). The last two steps of the process, representation of
55

description and themes and interpretation, were important in effectively conveying the students’
voices.
Analysis of qualitative documents followed a similar process of analyzing interview data.
Respondent journal documents were uploaded to Atlas.ti and coded using same codes as those
used for interviews. The journal documents helped support the interview data analysis process by
adding a more comprehensive view of respondent perspective.
Reliability and Validity
Ensuring the reliability and validity of the study was essential for accuracy and
consistency (Creswell, 2014; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Reliability, which typically measures
whether a study’s findings can be reproduced, becomes a matter of consistency and
dependability in qualitative studies (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Validity deals with how well a
study’s findings match reality, but in qualitative research the reality is subject to the perception
of each respondent (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
The primary approach used to enhance reliability and validity in this study was
triangulation, which means that data collected from different sources were analyzed and
compared in development of themes (Creswell, 2014; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). This study
included 12 respondents with presumably diverse opinions and experiences, which allowed for
cross-checking of data. Additionally, the interview protocol included an extended participation
opportunity, in which respondents continued engaging with the study after the initial interview.
This allowed for triangulation of data from the same source over time (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016).
Lastly, it was crucial that I kept my positionality and bias toward the topic front and
center in the study and explain how I mitigated any influence on the results. One strategy to
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mitigate the influence was to keep a journal of my thoughts and reactions throughout the study,
so that I could reflect on any potential unintended influence on respondents. This was especially
important for questions students had a challenge understanding. The question of equitable
representation in faculty was one that required some additional framing, and as such I made sure
to journal my thoughts on my framing throughout the data collection process.
Ethics
Qualitative research asks that respondents share a substantial amount of personal
information, opinions, and thoughts, and as such is likely to produce ethical dilemmas. More
specifically “ethical dilemmas are likely to emerge with regard to the collection of data and in
the dissemination of findings” (Merriam and Tisdell, 2016, pp. 261). As such, it was crucial that
respondents were aware of their rights and could confirm via verbal consent. Upon confirmation
of the interview, respondents received a sheet with information on the study, confidentiality,
compensation, and other related matters. Additionally, I reminded the respondents throughout the
study of their rights, including their right to withdraw without penalty. The clearest possible
issue dealt with the power dynamics of the respondents and I as the researcher. It was important
that all respondents were assured that by taking part in the study, they were in no way
jeopardizing their status at RCC. In order to prepare for and avoid ethical issues, the IRB process
included all details of the study. The study was reviewed by the IRB at both USC and RCC.
Merriam and Tisdell (2016) argue that qualitative research and the approaches used to
collect data can have long term effects. In this study, some respondents shared and experienced
emotions about the topic at hand for the first time, which had the potential to result in a long-
term effect. For example, some respondents realized that they were underrepresented and
excluded in certain spaces for the first time. It was important for me to give the students the
57

space to disclose their emotions, but to also to assess whether they would require follow up
support.
Other ethical considerations included privacy and bias in reporting. To respect the
anonymity of the respondents, I assigned them fictitious names. All raw data collected and
transcribed was stored in password protected computers and programs to ensure confidentiality.
In regard to reporting information, it was critical to include both good and bad responses, as well
as ensuring that information that can be harmful to respondents was not disclosed (Creswell,
2014). Transparency and clear communication ensured that I mitigated any ethical concerns.
Summary
This chapter provided an overview of the study’s methodology. The research questions
provided a foundation for how the study would be conducted. The chapter includes an overview
of the study design, research setting, and the researcher. It includes an assessment of data
sources, as well as the data collection and analysis process. The chapter also addresses the
study’s reliability and validity, as well as includes a section on how the researcher addresses
matters of ethics. Chapter four provides the study’s findings.

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Chapter Four: Findings
This chapter presents data collected from RCC Latinx students and recent graduates.
Interviews and respondent journals helped ground research on institutional diversity’s impact on
Latinx student sense of belonging and self-efficacy within the context of RCC. The chapter
begins with an introduction to study respondents to provide context for data collected from
interviews and journals. Creswell (2014) explains that qualitative research allows for analysis of
respondent perceptions of a problem, which in the case of this study is poor institutional
diversity. A review of the analysis process follows and is presented within the framework of
Tinto’s Model of Institutional Departure (1975) adapted for institutional diversity to develop
themes related to sense of belonging and self-efficacy. As such, the data collected from
interviews and respondent journals helped answer the study’s central research questions. The
chapter concludes with a summary of the findings.
This chapter begins with an introduction of the 12 respondents. The introduction includes
respondents’ background information including age range, gender, and RCC enrollment status.
An introduction to the respondents describing their family background, including upbringing,
college-going patterns, and motivation to attend college sets the foundation for understanding
how institutional diversity may have played a role in their transition to college.
The interview protocol posed questions around key study constructs that helped shape
theme development. Key concepts included social and cultural capital, self-efficacy, sense of
belonging, goal commitment, institutional commitment, and institutional diversity. All
aforementioned concepts are central to Tinto’s (1975) Model of Institutional Departure and its
adapted version for this study. Theme development entailed tracking of similar response
frequency within the conceptual framework outlined above. Frequency of similar answers and
59

ideas from respondent testimonies helped determine the significance of the findings. This means
at least seven participants shared similar responses to any given question in the interview and
journal exercise. However, similar response frequency among respondents who identified as
undocumented was also a key factor in determining significance for questions of belonging, as
they appeared to have added layers of barriers to sense of belonging. Even though undocumented
respondents counted toward the majority number for determining significance, if at least four
undocumented respondents shared similar ideas, additional significance was noted for this group
for any given question. As only a small fraction of the overall student population at RCC, these
12 respondents do not represent the overall views of Latinx students. Instead, they provide an
insight to what factors may influence Latinx student sense of belonging and self-efficacy.
The data analysis resulted in the following themes: (a) Latinx faculty create spaces of
belonging for Latinx students, (b) Latinx faculty enhance Latinx student self-efficacy through
empowerment, and (c) inclusive curriculum fosters inclusive classrooms for Latinx students.
Further analysis produced the following subthemes: (a) sense of comfort in the classroom, (b)
sense of support outside of the classroom, (c) validation of worthiness, (d) modeling of
aspirational goals and mentorship, (e) inclusive curriculum most often found in humanities
disciplines, and (f) Latinx faculty leverage culturally relevant curriculum (see Figure 3).

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Figure 3
Study Themes

Purpose of the Study Restated
The purpose of this study was to understand how Latinx students at RCC perceive the
institution’s diversity affecting their sense of belonging and self-efficacy. To gain a better
understanding of Latinx college students' perceptions of the institutional diversity, specifically in
regard to equitable representation in faculty and administration, and in curriculum relevance, this
study explored the following questions:
1. What role does institutional diversity among faculty and administrators play in creating
a sense of belonging among Latinx students?
2. How do Latinx students perceive the level of representation of Latinx educational
administrators and faculty in relation to their self-efficacy to persist?
3. How does culturally relevant curriculum impact Latinx students' sense of belonging
and self-efficacy?
• Sense of comfort in the classroom
• Sense of support outside of the classroom
Latinx Faculty Create Spaces
of Belonging for Latinx
Students
• Validation of sense of worthiness
• Modeling of aspirational goals and mentorship
Latinx Faculty Enhance Latinx
Student Self-Efficacy Through
Empowerment
• Inclusive curriculum most often found in
humanities disciplines
• Latinx faculty leverage culturally relevant
curriculum
Inclusive Curriculum Fosters
Inclusive Classrooms for
Latinx Students
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Study Respondents
The study collected data on the experiences and perceptions of 12 Latinx RCC students
and recent graduates. Table 2 includes respondent demographic information, as well as RCC
enrollment status.

Table 2
Respondent Demographics and Enrollment Status
Pseudonym Gender Age Range RCC Enrollment Status
Araceli F 18-25 Current
Cristian M 18-25 Graduate
Elsa F 18-25 Current
Estela F 18-25 Current
Galilea F 26-35 Current
Isabela F 18-25 Graduate
Jorge M 18-25 Current
Jocelyn F 18-25 Graduate
Katrina F 18-25 Current
Maria F 18-25 Graduate
Omar M 18-25 Graduate
Esteban M 18-25 Graduate

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Within Tinto’s (1975) Model of Institutional Departure, family background and
individual attributes like motivation are two of three key pre-college indicators of persistence.
For example, 11 of the 12 respondents are first-generation college students, and college-going in
all 12 extended families is not common. Additionally, all six of the 12 respondents who
identified as undocumented, addressed additional pre-college barriers to preparing for higher
education. Despite the desire and motivation to attend college, the majority of respondents began
college lacking valuable social and cultural capital to help them succeed. The following section
provides family background patterns that emerged during the interviews and examples from
respondents.
First Generation
Eleven of the 12 respondents reported being first-generation college students. This
presented a challenge in being adequately prepared for college, as all eleven respondents’ parents
lacked basic knowledge about the college matriculation experience. This challenge became
evident throughout respondent responses. Cristian stated, “it’s been tough growing up in a Latino
family, because I’m the first one going to college. Parents are not well informed. Most of the
things I had to find out [from] professors and resources in the community.”
Like Cristian, family was not a source of college readiness information and guidance for
most respondents. For some, it seemed that preparing for college was a lonely voyage. Omar
stated, “I’m like the first person in my family to go to college, so I’ve kind of been navigating
this on my own.” Isabela also recounted her college preparation experience stating, “I went
through it on my own.” Maria described her parent’s lack of college matriculation knowledge
when recounting her parent’s proposing “alternatives that weren’t college and not expensive, like
‘you can be the mayordoma [supervisor] in the fields,’ or ‘you can become a hairstylist.’” Being
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a first-generation college student and lacking the college-going foundation in their families
placed respondents at a disadvantage in preparing for and transitioning to college.
Undocumented Status
Six of the 12 respondents are undocumented and identify as DREAMers. In addition to
being first generation-students, being undocumented added a layer of complexity for these six
respondents in transitioning to college. These respondents spoke of the challenges they
encountered with the English language and with adjusting to a new country. Galilea, whose
parents brought her from Mexico to the United States at a young age, discussed challenges she
faced when she began attending American schools. She stated, “we were put in like separate
classes because I couldn’t properly say words. So, I wouldn’t be able to translate pretty good.”
Even though all six respondents reported feeling more comfortable with the English language
now, they still identified as English language learners.
Maintaining their cultural identity when immigrating to the United States and continuing
to do so was especially important for these six respondents. Jocelyn describes her immigrant
experience as, “just like any other immigrant family, who kind of struggles with learning to
adjust in the U.S. and still trying to keep your culture from your country.” Esteban uses his
immigrant experience to advocate for immigrant rights. He stated, “we are into making our
knowledge and presence heard as Latinx people.” These six respondents conveyed a sense of
passion and gratitude for living in the United States, but also shared additional challenges related
to being undocumented that make being a college student difficult. Those challenges will be
discussed later in this chapter when discussing pre-college schooling, the third pre-college factor
in Tinto’s (1975) Model of Institutional Departure.

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Motivation
All 12 respondents reported having grown up in low-income households. This aspect of
respondent backgrounds was key in identifying factors in their motivation to attend college.
Financial security was and continues to be a key driver of motivation to attend college for all 12
respondents. Isabela, Cristian, and Maria reported having worked in the fields and realizing that
was not going to secure a better life for them and their families. However, they credited these
experiences with teaching them work ethic. Cristian stated he learned “ethics and values of
things” by working the fields since he was 15 years old. Maria also reported learning “a lot of
work ethic growing up working the fields with [her] parents.” The idea that a college education
was the key to a good paying job seemed to come predominantly from respondents’ parents.
Estela explained that going to college was always a priority for her and her sister so they could
“do better than [their] parents.” Omar explained his mother instilled in him the idea he “would
have to go to college to be successful.” Elsa’s mother supports her attending college because
“that’s the only way out of […] poverty.”
It was clear that all 12 respondents want to graduate from college to become successful,
have financial security, and to honor their parents’ work. This source of motivation to attend
college is important to include in the analysis of factors like self-efficacy in predicting
persistence in higher education. The preceding section discussed two of the three pre-college
factors in predicting college persistence within Tinto’s (1975) Model of Institutional Departure.
All other factors, including institutional diversity, will be addressed in the following section.
The following section addresses the study’s research questions, and how the data
collected from interviews and journals formed themes that helped answer them.
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Research Question One
Research question one asked the following: What role does institutional diversity among
faculty and administrators play in creating a sense of belonging among Latinx students?
This section presents findings related to the impact institutional diversity has on Latinx students’
sense of belonging at RCC. The interview protocol and journal guide prompted respondents to
share their experiences on campus, interacting with peers, faculty, staff, and administrators, and
how they shaped their perceptions of institutional diversity and sense of belonging. The findings
revealed the following theme: Latinx faculty create spaces of belonging for Latinx students.
Findings from the 12 interviews and seven journals submitted revealed that all
respondents generally perceived the racial climate at RCC to be positive, mitigating effects of
academic incongruity. Generally, respondents credited their perception of a positive racial
campus climate to the high representation of students of color at RCC. However, their
perceptions of institutional diversity, specifically within faculty, produced different findings in
regard to the racial climate and sense of belonging. All 12 respondents reported feelings of
comfort and trust in classrooms with Latinx faculty. All 12 respondents also reported important
connections of support with Latinx faculty and administrators via extracurricular activities. The
following sub-themes emerged from those findings.
Sense of Comfort in the Classroom
Findings from the 12 interviews and seven journals show respondents perceived the
diversity and equitable representation of Latinx students at RCC as a factor in the positive racial
campus climate. All 12 respondents reported not feeling out of place in the majority of their
classrooms due primarily to the significant representation of Latinx students. Jorge adamantly
described the diversity at RCC by stating, “oh my God, RCC is the most diverse community
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college I have ever seen […] I’m not feeling like a stranger. Everyone is different in their own
way.” Maria’s perception of Latinx representation was similar to that of her peers. She shared, “I
think it was represented pretty well. Majority of the students, that I was placed in classes [with]
were Hispanic or, if not that they were people of color.” Omar, who took courses on two
different campuses throughout his time at RCC described his perception of diversity as, “in
general, like just being in the classroom […] I feel like […] being a Latino like I was pretty
represented in terms of like the students in my classroom.” As the trend in answers pointed
toward respondents generally feeling a sense of belonging on campus, it was important for
interview probing questions to ask of students the weight they placed on student diversity as a
factor in their feeling of belonging, compared to the composition of the faculty and
administrators. All respondents described the institutional diversity in terms of student
representation as positive. However, the responses were mixed when it came to faculty
representation.
Although some respondents felt representation of Latinx faculty was not an issue in their
experience, all 12 respondents agreed there was a racial gap in terms of representation. Because
this was a question of perception, answers focused on their individual experience and not actual
demographic information. However, when respondents also estimated what they believed to be
the percentages of Latinx faculty and Latinx students at RCC overall, they all perceived a
significant gap between both groups. The following statements are some examples of student
perceptions of that gap.
Araceli, who is only one year into her time at RCC, perceives the diversity and
representation of Latinx faculty as inequitable. She stated:
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Most of my teachers have been not Latino. I have only had a few Latino teachers, and I
feel like most of my classmates are Latino. So, it’s like I feel like there’s a racial gap,
personally, from what I have seen so far.
Omar recounted, “I feel like most of the faculty I had where like White.” Estela’s
perception of Latinx faculty representation centered around an intersectionality of race and
gender. She explained that she and her peers struggled to find a Latina professor to serve as an
advisor for their club because of the shortage of Latina professors. She added, “from my three
years at RCC I feel like I’ve only seen […] three Latina professors at RCC. I feel like it doesn’t
represent the students at RCC.” When asked about the representation of faculty of color in
relation to the student body profile, Esteban stated, “it’s super uneven. I feel that there has to be
more professors of color.” Generally, respondents perceived a racial gap between Latinx faculty
and Latinx student representation. It is important to note that none of the respondents had clear
existing perceptions of administration, so statements regarding representation focused on faculty.
An emerging theme throughout the interviews and journals was that Latinx faculty create
a sense of comfort and trust for Latinx students. All 12 respondents described the value having a
Latinx professor brought to their classroom experience. The findings revealed although
respondents did not feel out of place in the classroom due to the large representation of Latinx
students, having Latinx faculty enhanced their sense of comfort and trust. This encouraged more
engagement in class discussions, lectures, and assignments. This seemed to be especially the case
for undocumented respondents.
Cristian, who explained he has encountered many obstacles in his life, including the
English language, believes having more Latinx faculty helps Latinx students feel more
comfortable. He stated,
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First, it will be the language, because maybe some people are not comfortable speaking in
English, and I know it's good to practice, but sometimes […] Just, for example, where I
work, they ask ‘do you speak Spanish?’ because a person feels more like more
comfortable speaking the certain language […] I believe the students will feel like more
comfortable and connected to the professor if they were like the same background. I
know color doesn't mean that you’re Latinx, but I feel like there's a vibe.
Galilea, who acknowledged there was not much representation of Latinx faculty
members, explained she had been fortunate to have had diverse professors who were
“accepting.” Describing her experience with one of her White professors, she stated, “he's very
accepting of like, especially if the students can’t speak the language properly or write the
language properly, he, like goes over students and if he sees other bilingual students, he has us
help them.” However, when describing her experience with a Latinx history professor, Galilea’s
description of the positive atmosphere changed from one of acceptance to one of comfort. She
stated, “like with miss Gutierrez (a pseudonym) like I wanted almost to change my major to
history because I loved learning about history.” Galilea explained that she “felt more
comfortable” with this professor when explaining why she chose to take her for all her history
courses.
Elsa, who reported not perceiving a significant racial gap between Latinx faculty and
student representation in her particular experience, gave further details as to why that might be
the case. When explaining her perception of her culture being represented in the classroom, she
stated,
At RCC it’s represented well. When I was actually registering for classes for the first
time, I was looking for those Hispanic names for the professors. And I ended up choosing
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all Hispanic names. And I ended up loving all, the way those professors were teaching.
And I was quite surprised because […] I didn’t expect to find that many people that were
Hispanic.
She added, “it’s been really helpful. I just really like the idea of somebody who can relate to my
struggles.” When recounting her experience with White professors, Elsa described them as
“accepting” of their Latinx students and respectful towards their students. Much like Cristian and
Galilea, Elsa appreciates and values representation of Latinx faculty to create a sense of comfort
in the classroom, but also believes faculty of other races can build connections of acceptance and
respect.
As more respondents shared their perception that Latinx faculty create an atmosphere of
comfort and trust, it became clear that this inspired faculty-student interactions beyond course
content. For example, Estela compared the difference in her experience with Latinx and White
professors in regard to conversation topics. She stated,
With a Latina Professor I feel like it was more comfortable, for me, because I know that
we share the same background, we share the same you know cultural beliefs. And so, I
feel like I felt more comfortable talking to my Latina Professor about other things and
versus talking to my White professor talking about other things because I knew that my
Latina professor would understand, have more sympathy and empathy towards me than
my White professor.
Isabela recounted one positive experience with a Latinx STEM professor who made
“connections and […] was very honest and true about them,” which helped her connect with
him. She explained, “he himself really painted the picture of barriers that we can face at times
being Latinx, especially in education.” She added that in other classrooms her culture was “just
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like peripheral. Like it just didn’t exist.” Isabela explained that in classrooms where she felt her
culture was not represented in the faculty, she often felt she was “not worthy of knowing that
stuff.” She became visibly emotional when she added,
The lack of representation […] and the tone and the voice, with the professors when the
questions were asked. But I can’t put my finger on it, but like sitting in the class I can feel
it now like, it’s going to make me tear up, you can […] it’s a feeling like, it’s
unexplainable. It’s like, it’s just in the atmosphere. […] It’s like what are you doing here
kind of feeling, like you don’t belong here.
Omar’s response also included the running theme of the sense of trust that Latinx faculty create
for Latinx students. When recounting his experience with a Latinx communication professor, he
stated, “I felt like more comfortable speaking to her like about schoolwork and also like non
schoolwork, and like kind of like career related topics.”
One of the key findings in regard to Latinx faculty creating spaces of belonging for
Latinx students was the impact the cultural connection has on sense of belonging. Respondents
generally had positive interactions in the classroom with White and other non-Latinx faculty, but
it became evident in the responses that Latinx faculty were naturally more effective in creating a
sense of comfort and trust for respondents. For example, while Esteban experienced positive and
“respectful” interactions with White faculty and other non-Latinx faculty. he explained that
having Latinx faculty helped with making cultural connections in the classroom. He told the
story of a time where he felt that a White professor was not able to make a connection with his
culture:
I remember in a sociology class I brought up the elote (corn) man, and the professor was
like ‘what? There’s a guy selling corn in the middle of the street?’ He made it sound a
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little bit disrespectful to the Latino culture. Because it’s not just a guy selling elotes, it’s a
guy doing a job. It’s a guy suffering from heat or winters, or whatever. It’s a guy doing
something- sobrevivir en la vida (survive in life). Those small experiences in the
classroom, in the campus itself, I’m pretty sure if it was a Mexican or Latinx professor
and I mentioned elote guy, he would have gotten it. Oh yes, a guy who goes around
offering these wonderfully delicious snacks to people.
The findings in regard to the impact faculty diversity has on Latinx’s student sense of
belonging in the classroom revealed that all 12 respondents have a positive perception of the
racial campus climate. Respondents showed a baseline of sense of belonging due to the high
representation of Latinx students on campus. However, all 12 respondents acknowledged a
college wide issue in regard to a lack of Latinx faculty representation. Most respondents gave
credit to White faculty and other non-Latinx faculty for providing acceptance and respect.
However, their statements on the impact Latinx faculty have on their experience added a layer of
belonging, particularly in the form of comfort and trust. Lastly, all respondents had a vague
understanding of administrator roles and who the actual administrators at RCC are, so the
responses were predominantly centered around the faculty-student interactions.
Sense of Support Outside of the Classroom
Beyond faculty representation, respondents shared a perception of incongruity outside of
the classroom. Although all 12 respondents perceived a positive racial campus climate in regard
to Latinx student representation, a pattern in the responses showed the desire respondents had to
have their culture highlighted and celebrated more intentionally and regularly on campus. For
example, Galilea described the lack of representation of her culture on campus and the
institution’s attempt at celebrating her heritage as, “other than like Cinco de Mayo when they did
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like some decorations […] I feel like it’s more of the school trying. But it’s never been anything
that I’ve seen the school do.” Isabela explained that the closest she “got to feeling represented
was at Chicano commencement.” Katrina also felt her culture was not at the forefront of campus
activities. She explained, “I don’t think it was very well showcased. I don’t remember anything
about […] I don’t remember at RCC, there was like no slogans, or like no posters that say, ‘hey
join this Latino club’ or something.” Thus, while respondents felt represented among their peers,
most perceived poor institutional diversity in regard to faculty and in celebration of their culture
on campus.
Despite perceiving poor institutional diversity in all aspects other than the student body
profile, all 12 respondents reported feeling the racial campus climate was generally positive. To
better understand this trend, it was important to refer back to research that found Latinx students
participate in diversity related activities to deal with the cultural incongruity on campus (Cole &
Espinoza, 2008; Hurtado & Ponjuan, 2005). Respondents’ perception of the racial campus
climate and their sense of belonging centered around connections they intentionally made outside
of the classroom, primarily in race-based extracurricular activities, or in programs designed to
support students of color.
An emerging theme throughout the interviews and journals was that Latinx faculty and
administrators create a sense of support for Latinx students outside of the classroom. All 12
respondents described connections they made with faculty and administrators through
extracurricular activities, and the impact that has on their sense of belonging. Table 3 breaks
down respondents by extracurricular activity and type of personnel connection.

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Table 3
Respondent Extracurricular Activity Connections
Respondent Extracurricular Activity Connection
Araceli RCC Latinas Juntas Faculty
Cristian RCC Latinx Unidos Faculty
Elsa RCC Latinx Unidos Faculty
Estela RCC Latinas Juntas Faculty
Galilea RCC Latinx Unidos Faculty
Isabela MESA Administrators
Jorge MESA Administrators
Jocelyn Latinx Unidos Faculty
Katrina MESA; Softball Faculty, Administrators
Maria Latinx Unidos Faculty
Omar Latinx Unidos Faculty
Esteban Latinx Unidos Faculty

Although having a space outside of the classroom to connect with other students with
similar backgrounds was important for respondents, it was the added value of a faculty member
or administrative advisor that created a sense of support. Respondents cited support in the form
of personal, professional, and academic development opportunities. Additionally, it was clear
having faculty and administrators of the same race also enhanced the faculty-student and
administrator-student relationship. The following are examples of respondent perceptions of how
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faculty and administrators create a sense of support outside of the classroom via extracurricular
activities.
Araceli and Estela are part of RCC Latinas Juntas, a student run organization that
provides leadership and personal growth opportunities through community service, social events,
and workshops (RCC, n.d.). Latinas Juntas’ faculty advisor provides students like Araceli and
Estela a sense of support that they otherwise may not have. For these two respondents, it seemed
their advisor took on an older sister or mother role. Araceli who described her parents not being
“very affectionate and warm” with her, explained that Professor Valenzuela (a pseudonym) has
been a good mentor. Araceli gave an example of the support Professor Valenzuela provides
when stating, “she had a mental health workshop, and I didn’t really realize how much I needed
it until I was doing it, and I said, ‘oh my gosh this really helps me.’” She added, “she’s actually
been really consistent with like asking how I’m doing in college, if I need any help.” Estela has
had a similar experience with Professor Valenzuela, stating that she inspired her to become a
professor. When describing the support Professor Valenzuela gave her, she stated “she has
helped me a lot through, you know, financial aid through scholarships. She has helped me a lot
when networking and so those are the main things that she has helped me through- barriers as a
college student.”
Cristian, Elsa, Galilea, Jocelyn, Maria, Omar, and Esteban all are part, or where a part of,
RCC Latinx Unidos. Latinx Unidos is a student run organization for first generation college
students, that promotes post-secondary education and provides support for undocumented
students and Latinx students in general (RCC, n.d.). Six of the seven respondents involved in
Latinx Unidos spoke of their faculty advisor, Marcos (a pseudonym) throughout their interviews,
touting how important their connection with him has been to their success both academically and
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personally. In discussing the support role Marcos had in the lives of respondents who had
graduated, it was evident his support transcended their time at RCC into their current endeavors.
When respondents spoke about their faculty and administrator advisors, their responses
were very personal and familial in nature. Much like Professor Valenzuela served in a family-
like role with her members, Marcos also seemed to be an older brother figure to his students. For
example, Cristian who served as president of the club credited two of the club’s advisors, Marcos
and one educational advisor, with keeping him on track. He stated, “they were always on my
back. Like they were always like my brothers.” He continued,
When I say my back, it was in a good way. How are you doing in classes? Make sure you
come to this meeting, or make sure you do this. They were […] concerned about how
[…] I was doing. How can we help you? What’s going on? Do you need something?
How’s your family?
Marcos also connected respondents with financial and career opportunities and guidance.
Jocelyn explained that without Latinx Unidos she “would have just been one of those students
who goes to class and just immediately goes home.” She believes Latinx Unidos is responsible
for half of her resume thus far, as it provided her opportunities to do “things that you just
wouldn’t normally do” but did because “someone’s pushing you to do it.” One of those
individuals that pushed her was Marcos. She recounted an experience where he encouraged her
to apply for a scholarship she was unsure about. She stated,
You had to present it in front of a panel, and I was telling Marcos like this is too hard,
Like I can’t do this. I can’t, I mean there was going to be an audience and it was just too
much. And so, he was like ‘its fine’ like he has this very relaxed ‘don’t worry about it,
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you can do it’ [attitude]. It’s contagious to where it’s like yea it’s fine, okay I’m going to
do it.”
She explained she ended up winning the scholarship and that her presentation made the audience,
including Marcos, very emotional. She is thankful for having had Marcos’ support in this
experience and many others that she felt she may have missed. She ended by stating, “I don’t
know how he finds the time, because he has a family, he has a wife, he has children, he’s helping
other students, but he somehow like always has time.”
Esteban also felt that Latinx Unidos played a critical role in his perception of the
representation of his culture at RCC. He stated, “the club definitely got me so many
opportunities as well, and fun experiences I will forever remember.” His description of and
appreciation for their advisor, Marcos, fell in line with what his peers stated. “I always loved
how [Marcos], for every problematic situation if there was any, he would take it very chill […]
He always showed that kind of side of always not just jumping to conclusions. Learn and
evaluate situation,” he said. He concluded by stating that he “will forever be grateful for those
people, for the programs that helped [him] succeed.”
Assessing the impact faculty and administrators outside of the classroom had on
respondent sense of belonging was of particular interest for those majoring in STEM, because
unlike their peers in other majors, they did not feel quite as equitably represented even among
the student population. Jorge, Katrina, and Isabela all had connections with various programs and
clubs, but identified primarily with the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement
(MESA) program. MESA focuses on “developing a new generation of leaders in science,
technology, engineering, and math (STEM)” with a focus on historically underrepresented
groups (RCC, n.d.). Jorge described his experience in MESA as “fantastic” and “very
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supportive.” He praised program director, Corina (a pseudonym), for her advocacy and support.
He stated that she is Latina, and “she understands the language barriers. She understands the
difficulties of being Latino growing up in education.” He added that he is grateful for her
mission of helping Latinx students, by providing and presenting resources, such as scholarships
and networking opportunities.
Katrina, who has a strong connection to RCC via the softball program, is also part of the
MESA program. In fact, she was connected to the MESA program as a result of a student athlete
progress report where she asked to connect with additional tutoring services. Katrina felt that
pre-pandemic the MESA program kept her busy and was engaged with volunteer opportunities.
She mentioned her schedule made it difficult to stay involved with MESA pre-pandemic, but
since “for a while [she] wasn’t doing softball practice because of the pandemic, everything just
shut off completely for a long time” so she reached out to Corina to reconnect. Corina responded
and welcomed her back to the program, providing her networking opportunities.
The family-like relationships many RCC Latinx Unidos students described having with
Marcos, were also present in MESA. Isabela, who now works for the MESA program as a part-
time employee, was connected to the program toward the later part of her time at RCC. She
considers Corina a madrina (godmother) because of the ongoing support and guidance she has
provided her. She stated,
I learned that I had to network, and I had to advocate for myself through the MESA
program. Corina- she taught me this and she was my first network at the college. And
without her kind of just pivoting my perspective on creating relationships, instead of
avoiding them and just focusing on myself, I wouldn’t be in the position that I am now.
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She credited Corina with encouraging her and giving her “a lot of insight facts and data about
Latinx numbers and how we’re more prone to choose […] an alternative lifestyle that isn’t the
best for us.” That motivated Isabela to help her community and return to work for the MESA
program after graduating from RCC.
The findings in regard to the impact faculty and administrator diversity has on Latinx’s
student sense of belonging outside of the classroom revealed all 12 respondents had developed
connections with faculty and administrators through extracurricular activities. These
relationships yielded a sense of support for respondents, who otherwise may have lacked it in the
classroom or at home. For some respondents, the support was as foundational as providing
resources like scholarships and tutoring, while for others it helped them deal with matters of
identity and career development. The findings reveal all respondents credit their involvement in
extracurricular activities and the connections they made with faculty advisors and program
administrators to their heightened sense of belonging at RCC. As laid out in Tinto’s (1975)
Model of Institutional Departure adapted for institutional diversity, it was clear faculty
interactions provided respondents with a sense of support which helped them integrate into the
social systems of the institution, thus becoming more likely to persist.
Research Question Two
Research question two asked the following: How do Latinx students perceive the level of
representation of Latinx educational administrators and faculty in relation to their self-efficacy to
persist? This section presents findings related to the impact perceived level of representation of
Latinx educational administrators and faculty has on Latinx student self-efficacy to persist. The
interview protocol and journal guide prompted respondents to share information on their
personal background, pre-college schooling experience, motivation, and peer and faculty
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interactions, to evaluate the weight of contributing factors to self-efficacy. The findings revealed
the following theme: Latinx faculty enhance Latinx student self-efficacy through empowerment.
Findings from the 12 interviews and seven journals submitted revealed respondents
began at RCC with a certain level of self-concept, formed primarily by family background,
individual attributes, and pre-college schooling experience. Respondents reported greater levels
of self-efficacy in relation to higher levels of representation of Latinx faculty and administrators.
Respondents credited Latinx faculty with validation of their worthiness and appreciated the value
Latinx faculty provide as role models and mentors. The following sub-themes emerged from
those findings.
Validation of Worthiness
All 12 respondents began their educational journeys at RCC with the motivation to
succeed, prompted by family and/or high school support systems. Even though all but one
respondent are first-generation college students, they all believed they had an opportunity to
change the trajectory of their lives through a college education. For the majority of respondents,
parents played a key role in instilling the expectation they would attend college. Half of the
respondents are undocumented students, which added a layer of complexity to their journeys.
Lastly, findings revealed high school experiences influenced respondents’ college preparation,
whether it was in a good or bad way. All these factors influenced how prepared and worthy
respondents felt to take on college level coursework.
As discussed earlier in this chapter, all 12 respondents grew up in low-income households
and communities, which meant they attended under resourced schools. Although their family
background seemed to be a source of motivation for all respondents, it was the only factor
carrying them to higher education. A trend in perceptions of the quality of pre-college schooling
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preparation emerged, revealing 11 of 12 respondents either felt their high school prepared them
academically or in the college matriculation and transition process. Only Araceli reported feeling
that her high school prepared her both academically and in transitioning to college.
Most respondents reported their high school experience did not adequately prepare them
for college overall. Cristian reported “high school wasn’t really the best,” because he was “put
into the wrong English courses,” causing a setback in his English development. Elsa felt her high
school prepared her academically, but not in regard to the challenges of being an undocumented
student. She stated, “in the sense about me being undocumented, I wasn’t really prepared
because I wasn’t aware that I was supposed to apply for the Dream Act. I wasn’t aware that I had
to file for residency.” Galilea reported having a negative high school experience, stating, “it was
for sure not helpful and made me hate school.” She added, “there was like little to no interaction
with a counselor other than like whoever I was getting in trouble with for pretty much speaking
my mind.” Maria also reported having a less than ideal experience in high school,
acknowledging while academically she felt prepared, her counselor did not help her transition to
college effectively. She stated,
I had a counselor that kind of would just like have a general plan for everybody and not
like, not go into detail about like what barriers or what like challenges we are facing
individually. So, it kind of was like a disservice I think to myself and other students who
like, weren’t sure that college was like their path, or if it was feasible for them. So, I
don’t know, it was kind of rough.
An emerging theme in the findings revealed Latinx faculty empower Latinx students by
validating their sense of worthiness in regard to being college students. Despite most respondents
perceived a lack of adequate support in preparation and transition in high school, their
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motivation and support system at home and outside of the high school enabled their
matriculation to RCC. In fact, one respondent reported it was Latinx RCC staff and faculty who
aided in her transition. When Elsa was having a difficult time navigating the college application
process as an undocumented student, she received help from an RCC counseling team member
who “went through the whole RCC application process.” She added, “he told me that there’s this
club at RCC, the Latinx Unidos club, where there are a lot of AB540 students like me.” This
made her feel as though she was not alone in this journey and felt more confident about her
transition to college. This particular finding pushed the factor of RCC’s institutional diversity
back into respondent’s pre-college experience, thus shifting Tinto’s (1975) Model of Institutional
Departure which did not focus on student interaction with the college prior to stepping on
campus as students.
Interview questions regarding self-efficacy sought to elicit responses regarding
respondent perceptions of their academic abilities and determination in the face of adversity.
Every respondent had at least one incident where they did not feel worthy of being in a
classroom or on campus. The following are some examples of respondent responses regarding
perception of self-efficacy.
Cristian, who changed his major multiple times, described not feeling smart enough when
stating, “oh definitely, when I was majoring in English, I see those people writing decent- I was
like ‘oh my gosh my writing sucks.” When asked about her perceptions of her ability in the
classroom, Estela stated “oh yea, I did feel that way sometimes- I wasn’t smart enough.” Before
being diagnosed with dyslexia in college, Galilea described her classroom experience at RCC as,
“I felt like I was just stupid, and I couldn’t learn.”
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One of the most interesting findings in the self-efficacy portion of the interview came
from Jocelyn, a straight A student, who reported at times she has felt she was not smart enough.
When asked why she felt that way despite being one semester away from earning her bachelor’s
degree with straight A’s, she explained it was a matter of comparison. She gave an example,
stating, “first week of school I went to all my classes and everyone just seemed so confident […]
so I [mistook] that for ‘they know more than me’ or ‘what do they know that I don’t?’” She also
reported the feeling of wanting to give up, adding,
It can be overwhelming; it can be stressful. And I think that schools do this thing where it
makes you want to compare yourself to other people, and so if you see someone else not
struggling, you’re just like ‘oh my God, I’m dumb.’
Respondents were also asked to share any experiences when they felt like giving up. For
those that felt like giving up, it was not a matter of academics, but rather about feeling
underrepresented or lost in their academic and career trajectories. Isabela, a STEM major,
described the feeling of giving up “all the time.” She added, “I was in the STEM field, I’m
female, I’m Latinx. So, already the odds are in essence stacked against me.” Although Elsa was
confident in her academic abilities, she reported wanting to give up a couple of times due to her
immigration status, stating, “what’s the point of me going to school and getting all these degrees,
if I might not ever be able to say pursue a degree in it, because I can’t get a job.” Even though
Maria felt competitive academically, she reported wanting to give up her first year, stating, “I
was kind of lost, I guess. Like in what I wanted to do.” The feeling of feeling lost ties back to an
earlier finding that respondents who are first generation college students seemed to feel alone in
their educational journey, particularly in the transition from high school and early in their
undergraduate experience.
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After all respondents reported having felt unworthy of being a college student at least
once, they all immediately followed up with statements of grit and determination. The resiliency
factor seemed to be derived from internal motivation, but also from validation from Latinx
institutional agents. The following are examples of how respondents felt having higher
representation of Latinx faculty would enhance student empowerment and self-efficacy.
Araceli, who generally does not feel comfortable asking professors for help, stated having
more Latinx faculty would be beneficial because “Latino teachers would help. They would
understand their situation.” She believes having more Latinx faculty would help her and her
peers feel more comfortable asking for support. Cristian described his experience with Latinx
professors as inclusive of his personal background. He stated, with non-Latinx faculty going to
class it is usually strictly about education, with the professor attitude of “okay let’s get to it.
There’s not time to screw around.” Whereas, in his experience with Latinx faculty, they were
more open to “have a chat about other things,” asking things like “how’s your family, and things
like that.” This helped with him feel like he mattered and was valued. Elsa also noted the value a
Latinx counselor and advisor had on her self-efficacy, stating “I guess the attention they gave me
when I had an appointment with them,” helped with feeling they cared and “knew what they
were talking about.”
Eleven of the 12 respondents believed their high school experience and their parents’ lack
of knowledge about the college process put them at a disadvantage when transitioning to college.
Even though all 12 respondents were motivated to attend college, many had doubts about their
abilities once they started. It was important for institutional agents, particularly in the classroom
to empower respondents by validating their presence in the class and at the college. Respondents
reported faculty could do this by taking the time to make personal connections with the students,
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identifying challenges, and addressing them in a personalized matter. Respondents perceived
Latinx faculty as having an advantage in making those connections due to shared lived
experiences with Latinx students. By making these connections and validating Latinx students’
worth at the college, respondents believe faculty enhance Latinx student self-efficacy.
Modeling of Aspirational Goals and Mentorship
Eleven of the 12 respondents are first-generation college students, some being the first in
their family overall to attend college. Some began their time at RCC with a career goal in mind,
while for others the goal came later. Several respondents plan to pursue careers in STEM, while
the majority are pursuing careers in education, social services, or public sector. Table 4 outlines
respondent career objectives.

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Table 4
Respondent Career Objective Field
Pseudonym Career Objective Field
Araceli Teaching
Cristian Social Work
Elsa Social Work
Estela Teaching
Galilea Psychology
Isabela Teaching
Jorge Engineering
Jocelyn Teaching
Katrina Medical
Maria Media Consulting/Non-Profit
Omar Politics/Public Sector
Esteban Education/Non-Profit

An emerging theme in the findings revealed Latinx faculty and administrators empower
Latinx students by serving as role models and mentors, often inspiring career aspirations. Ten of
the 12 respondents identified Latinx faculty and administrators as role models. For eight of the
respondents the connection with those mentors occurred via extracurricular activities, while for
two they made the connection in the classroom. The following are examples of why respondents
consider their advisors and professors mentors.
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Estela considers Professor Valenzuela a mentor and role model. She stated, as a Latina
“she understands me more […] my background and what I’m going through.” She was inspired
to become a college professor by Professor Valenzuela, because she has “noticed that Latinas are
not pursuing professor” roles. She added, “she represents everything that I aspire to be when I
you know finish college. You know she’s a Latina professor. She’s very sympathetic. She
understands other people’s perspectives.”
Isabela considers MESA program director, Corina, her mentor and role model. She
stated, “my relationship with Corina has been phenomenal. I practically see her as a madrina
(godmother).” She added, “when I met Corina, she helped clear the air a lot, she was going
through school herself still, which encourages me to still get my masters […] because she got
hers.” Katrina, a biology major, shared in her post-interview journal, “I already have great
mentors from MESA, which are Corina and Isabela.” This was a particularly interesting finding
due to the fact Isabela who was also a respondent in this study and is a part time employee in the
MESA program, now serves as a mentor and role model for another respondent.
Maria and Omar identified communication instructor, Professor Melendez (a pseudonym)
as one of their mentors and role models at RCC. Both Maria and Omar took courses at one of
RCCs regional branch campuses, which is where Professor Melendez teaches. Maria who
continued studying communication at her four-year university, hopes to do media consulting in
the non-profit sector. Maria explained “seeing like a brown woman leading a class kind of like
gave me the idea that I could potentially also like have a role like that.” She added, “Professor
Melendez like really helped me understand like the field and the different possibilities that could
be available to me.” Omar recounted similar experiences with Professor Melendez, who
connected with Omar and other students on “career related topics.” He added, “it’s important to
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also like make connections with the professors and learn about more different kinds of career
paths and have like mentorship opportunities.”
Cristian, Jocelyn, and Esteban, all members of Latinx Unidos, shared a common mentor
in their club advisor, Marcos. Cristian aspires to work in a career that allows him to help
students, stating, “I know there’s a lot of need. I’ve had experiences with counselors that didn’t
help me much.” He has models of good counselors in Marcos and another advisor, who guided
him through barriers and multiple major changes. He stated, “they [gave] me like the shape of
the future.” Despite the challenges of being undocumented, Jocelyn has persisted with the
support of her mentor, Marcos. She stated,
All of his students are always at the top of his head. He just thinks of us all the time. He’s
just ready to offer us opportunities at random times. And so, without that I wouldn’t have
done community service, I wouldn’t have gotten scholarships and things like that.
Esteban, who like Jocelyn and Cristian faces career uncertainties due to his legal status, aspires
to “build from the ground [his] very own nonprofit organization […] to help communities.”
When explaining why he considers Marcos a mentor, he said, “I cannot find him anywhere else.
His passion for helping students is just amazing.”
Eleven of the 12 respondents identified faculty or administrators they consider mentors
and role models. For some, the mentors inspired career paths as role models. For other
respondents, mentors helped them access resources to overcome barriers throughout their time at
RCC. All respondents developed greater self-efficacy through the empowerment mentorship and
modeling provided, regardless of the race. However, 10 of the 12 respondents identified Latinx
faculty and administrators as mentors. These findings show Latinx faculty and administrators
play a key role in empowerment of Latinx students.
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Research Question Three
Research question three asks the following: How does culturally relevant curriculum impact
Latinx students' sense of belonging and self-efficacy? This section presents findings related to
the impact culturally relevant curriculum has on Latinx students’ sense of belonging and self-
efficacy. The interview protocol prompted respondents to describe their experience in classrooms
where professors included culturally relevant curriculum, as well as in classrooms where
professors failed to embed cultural relevance. The findings revealed the following theme:
inclusive curriculum fosters inclusive classrooms for Latinx students.
Findings show 11 of the 12 respondents have experienced courses with culturally relevant
curriculum and perceived it to be beneficial to how connected they felt. The following sub-
themes emerged from those findings:
Inclusive Curriculum Most Often Found in Humanities Disciplines
All 11 respondents who reported having experienced culturally relevant curriculum stated
the courses were in the humanities disciplines. The twelfth respondent, Isabela, who described
culture in her STEM courses as being “peripheral” only reported cultural relevance in
conversations outside of course content with one professor. Jorge and Katrina, also STEM
majors, referenced a humanities area course in regard to culturally relevant curriculum. The three
main common disciplines cited were history, communication, and English.
As respondents who have learned culturally relevant curriculum described their
experiences, it was evident they truly connected with the content which in turn resulted in
academic success. This is critical to understanding the intellectual development and academic
integration of students in the academic systems described in Tinto’s (1975) Model of
Institutional Departure. Students who are successfully able to integrate by making connections
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with the academic systems are more likely to persist toward their goals. The following are some
examples of respondents’ experiences with culturally relevant curriculum.
Araceli recounted her experience in a history course where she felt the curriculum was
culturally relevant. She stated, “they included lots of ancient, Mexica stuff. So, I do feel that I
have lots of my culture in my classes.” She added, courses with culturally relevant curriculum
motivate her and “make [her] feel like Latinos are really taking over.” She clarified, “not in a bad
sense, but we are really finally making an impact on the community […] They’re finally
focusing on our culture.”
Cristian shared his experience in Chicano history and Latino literature courses, as well as
the experience of his peers in a history course where they did not feel connected. He stated,
“when I took Chicano history, I learned more things I didn’t even [know],” helping him feel
more connected with the content. Like the Chicano history course, he felt his Latino literature
course helped him learn things about his culture he did not know. In regard to a United States
history course his peers took, he stated, “they told me like ‘no I don’t feel comfortable. He makes
us feel like it’s only Caucasian privilege’ […] and they had to drop the class because the
environment wasn’t welcoming.” He concluded by stating they felt more represented when they
enrolled in Chicano and California history courses.
Jorge, a STEM major, also discussed his experience with culturally relevant curriculum
in a communication course. As he answered the question about culturally relevant curriculum, he
lifted a communication textbook to the camera and stated,
This book is made by some college professors [at RCC]. They just talk about like Cesar
Chavez, and this is a public speaking book, we talked about Cesar Chavez and Martin
Luther King […] They acknowledge that there’s [people of color] and that [people of
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color] have strength and power, and they’ve written about them in these books. They
acknowledge and connect them.
Chicano history and California History were two courses that emerged throughout most
interviews as courses respondents felt were culturally relevant. For example, Galilea cited the
California history course when discussing culturally relevant curriculum. When describing her
experience in the course, she stated, “it actually made me want to learn more about where I came
from and what we did.” Katrina, a STEM major, also referenced a history course. When it came
to embedding culture in the curriculum, she did not “think it’s in any of the science classes […]
or math classes” she has taken. She added,
The only time I was able to learn about [my culture] is when I had to take a general ed
class for Chicano history […] I feel like you have to take a specific class to talk about the
culture.
She concluded by saying, “you just feel more, I guess, a sense of belonging.”
Eleven of 12 respondents reported having experienced culturally relevant curriculum and
described the positive impact that had on their sense of belonging and self-efficacy. The three
respondents majoring in STEM disciplines reported a lack of cultural relevancy in their STEM
courses. Examples of culturally relevant curriculum all focused on the humanities disciplines
with the three main common areas being communication, history, and English.
Latinx Faculty Leverage Culturally Relevant Curriculum
The group of respondents that experienced culturally relevant curriculum in their courses
at RCC reported a range of ethnic representation among the faculty who taught them. Several
respondents shared their experiences in inclusive classrooms with non-Latinx professors. In
classrooms with non-Latinx faculty, the relevance dealt with acceptance and respect. In
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classrooms with Latinx faculty, the relevance dealt with passion and encouragement. The
findings from nine of the 12 interviews show Latinx faculty leverage culturally relevant
curriculum effectively in making connections with their Latinx students.
Respondents perceived Latinx faculty as being effective in connecting the dots in
culturally relevant curriculum due to their shared backgrounds. Araceli’s experiences with
culturally relevant curriculum were in classrooms with Latinx faculty. She stated her
communication professor and current RCC Latinas Juntas advisor, Professor Valenzuela,
“always incorporated lots of Latino culture as a Latina herself.” She also shared her experience
in an art class. She added, “my professor was also Latino. And he did lots of projects personally
himself, did lots of projects based on Latino culture. And he shared them with us and encouraged
us to do things based on our culture.” She concluded by stating these courses really motivated
her and made her feel included on campus.
Galilea never felt history courses were representative of her culture in high school, and as
a result “never liked learning about history.” That was until she took a history course in which
Galilea explains Professor Gutierrez “went through it perfectly.” She added, it was “not just
about grades, but actually learning and letting it sink in, and loving what you’re learning.” She
had such a positive experience with Professor Gutierrez, she ended up enrolling in several other
courses with her.
Some respondents described a contrast in their perceptions of how Latinx and non-Latinx
faculty make curricular connections for Latinx students. For example, Maria had a particularly
positive experience with culturally relevant curriculum at RCC’s branch campus in her
hometown. She explained her Latinx professors “included more history for like people of color,”
and “there was more of our culture and more of like the history in our own city included as
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well.” She described courses in which White professors made connecting to the content difficult
for her. She added,
The stories […] they would share or like the examples of theory or examples of the
material that they would give were really White. So, it was, kind of like, not like boring,
but just unrelatable, I guess. So, I think that like made it harder to want to show up to
class.
Throughout the study, most respondents seemed to lack a clear understanding of who
RCC administrators are and what their role is. However, when it came to curriculum, Omar and
Maria shared some thoughts on how they believe having more Latinx administrators will
enhance Latinx students’ sense of belonging and self-efficacy. Omar shared, “administrators
have the most say in decision making related to the curriculum,” and as budget managers “might
have more perspective to know [how to] prioritize like experiences […] where students are able
to connect with them.” Maria echoed the idea that more Latinx administrators meant having
more decision makers with “insight into what is good policy or what is good curriculum.” She
added it makes a difference, “if it’s like a person who has lived experience or who kind of
understands the difference between like whitewashed curriculum and curriculum that’s actually
beneficial for students to learn.” This is not considered a significant finding given only two
respondents provided this opinion on administrator impact but lays the foundation for potential
future research.
Findings revealed faculty of different races and ethnicities are capable of embedding
culturally relevant curriculum in their courses. However, Latinx faculty seemed to embed Latino
culture more effectively in their curriculum than professors of other races. For professors of
other races, respondents perceived their approach to culturally relevant curriculum as respectful
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of all races represented in the classroom, but not specific in their cultural connections.
Regardless of approach, findings show culturally relevant curriculum enhances Latinx’s
students’ sense of belonging and self-efficacy. Additionally, a couple of respondents noted the
value Latinx administrators add to ensuring more culturally relevant curriculum is embedded
throughout the institution.
Summary
All respondents shared their perception of RCC’s institutional diversity and its impact on
their self-efficacy and sense of belonging. The findings revealed all respondents perceived a
positive racial campus climate primarily due to the significant representation of Latinx students
on campus. All respondents shared their perception of low Latinx faculty representation. A
common theme with respondents who perceived more equitable representation of Latinx faculty
members was their approach to selecting faculty based on Hispanic surnames. All respondents
had a connection to RCC beyond coursework in the form of clubs, sports, or student support
program involvement. Involvement in extracurricular activities helped respondents enhance their
sense of support and worthiness of being on campus. Engagement in those activities also
presented opportunities to engage with Latinx faculty and administrators as mentors and role
models. Lastly, findings revealed culturally relevant curriculum, particularly one leveraged by
Latinx faculty, helps Latinx students make stronger connections in the classroom.
The findings covered all aspects of Tinto’s (1975) Model of Institutional Departure,
including pre-college factors such as family background, individual attributes, and pre-college
schooling, as well as factors that impact sense of belonging and self-efficacy. The findings show
institutional diversity at RCC, in the form of more Latinx faculty and administrator
representation as well as culturally relevant curriculum enhances the probability Latinx students
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will integrate with the academic and social systems, and ultimately persist towards completion of
their education goals.
This chapter analyzed themes developed by the researcher to answer the study’s central
research questions:
1. What role does institutional diversity among faculty and administrators play in creating a
sense of belonging among Latinx students?
2. How do Latinx students perceive the level of representation of Latinx educational
administrators and faculty in relation to their self-efficacy to persist?
3. How does culturally relevant curriculum impact Latinx students’ sense of belonging and
self-efficacy?
One-on-one interviews and post-interview journals provided data which helped form the
following themes: (a) Latinx faculty create spaces of belonging for Latinx students, (b) Latinx
faculty enhance Latinx student self-efficacy through empowerment, and (c) inclusive curriculum
fosters inclusive classrooms for Latinx students. Further analysis produced the following
subthemes: (a) sense of comfort in the classroom, (b) sense of support outside of the classroom,
(c) validation of worthiness, (d) modeling of aspirational goals and mentorship, (e) inclusive
curriculum most often found in humanities disciplines, and (f) Latinx faculty leverage culturally
relevant curriculum.
Chapter four introduced study respondents and reviewed findings from interviews and
post-interview journals, which developed into themes to answer the study’s three central research
questions. Chapter Five presents discussion on the findings, recommendations for practice,
limitations and delimitations, recommendations for future research, and the study’s conclusion.
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Chapter Five: Discussion and Recommendations
This study sought to understand how Latinx student’s perceptions of institutional diversity
at RCC impacts their sense of belonging and self-efficacy. The perceptions of the study
respondents in regard to faculty and administrator diversity, as well as culturally relevant
curriculum, were important to understanding how representation influences Latinx student sense
of belonging and self-efficacy to persist. This study expanded on existing research focused on the
impact of equity and representation of Latinx students in HSIs and higher education overall.
This chapter includes a discussion of the findings within the framework of Tinto’s (1975)
Model of Institutional Departure. This chapter also discusses recommendations for practice, study
limitations and delimitations, and recommendations for future research.
Discussion of Findings
This section provides a discussion on findings from one-on-one interviews and post-
interview respondent journals that helped address the study’s central guiding questions:
1. What role does institutional diversity among faculty and administrators play in creating a
sense of belonging among Latinx students?
2. How do Latinx students perceive the level of representation of Latinx educational
administrators and faculty in relation to their self-efficacy to persist?
3. How does culturally relevant curriculum impact Latinx students’ sense of belonging and
self-efficacy?
The interview protocol and journaling guide prompted respondents to recount their experiences
at RCC, as well as prior to enrolling at RCC, in regard to personal background, family, peer
network, pre-college schooling, motivation, goals, and perception of diversity among faculty,
administrators, and in the curriculum. Analysis of the data produced the following themes: (a)
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Latinx faculty create spaces of belonging for Latinx students, (b) Latinx faculty enhance Latinx
student self-efficacy through empowerment, and (c) inclusive curriculum fosters inclusive
classrooms for Latinx students. Further analysis produced the following subthemes: (a) sense of
comfort in the classroom, (b) sense of support outside of the classroom, (c) validation of
worthiness, (d) modeling of aspirational goals and mentorship, (e) inclusive curriculum most
often found in humanities disciplines, and (f) Latinx faculty leverage culturally relevant
curriculum.
The aforementioned themes and subthemes were developed within the framework of
Tinto’s (1975) Model of Institutional Departure adapted for institutional diversity, as well as
Tinto’s later work on the topic. The adapted model includes institutional diversity as a
framework for assessing the impact diversity has on student self-efficacy and sense of belonging,
which then influences integration and commitment to their institution and academic goals. In his
later work around student persistence, Tinto (2017) recognizes the progress made on research by
various scholars on self-efficacy, sense of belonging, and perception of curriculum as the
foundation for the motivation that connects students’ goals to persistence. This study addressed
all these factors within the context of RCC.
The literature review helped contextualize the problem of lack of institutional diversity in
higher education, and how it impacts Latinx student success particularly in community colleges.
At RCC, Latinx students make up 67.93% of student enrollment, while only 7.69% of
administrators and 17.76% of full-time faculty are Latinx (RCCO, n.d.). Hispanic serving
community colleges are the landing spot for a majority of aspiring Latinx college students, but
higher enrollment is not translating to higher on-time transfer and completion rates (Flores &
Park, 2014; Macdonald et. al, 2007; Monaghan & Attewell, 2015). The study sought to
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understand how Latinx students at RCC perceive how institutional diversity impacts their sense
of belonging and self-efficacy, and how those are driving factors in their persistence and success.
As such, the design of the research questions helped draw responses tying sense of belonging and
self-efficacy with motivation and persistence.
Findings revealed despite lack of equitable representation of Latinx faculty and
administrators, respondents perceived the racial campus climate as positive due to the large
representation of Latinx students. All respondents also developed a sense of belonging by
engaging with clubs and programs focused on Latinx student success. Ten of 12 respondents
identified a Latinx professor or administrator as an institutional agent who created spaces of
belonging that provided a sense of comfort and support. Additionally, respondents reflected on
how Latinx faculty and administrators empower them as role models and mentors who guide and
validate. Findings revealed the importance of culturally relevant curriculum to Latinx student
sense of belonging and self-efficacy in the classroom. Respondent responses show in their
experiences culturally responsive curriculum primarily exists in humanities disciplines, and
Latinx faculty are particularly effective at implementing it in the classroom.
Latinx Faculty Create Spaces of Belonging for Latinx Students
Quality interactions with professors inside and outside of the classroom enhances Latinx
students’ sense of belonging, positively influencing their academic success (Cole, 2007; Cole &
Espinoza, 2008; Hurtado & Carter, 1997). Respondents in the present study acknowledged
positive experiences with White and other non-Latinx faculty in the classroom, citing concepts
like acceptance and respect. However, when it came to in class interactions with Latinx faculty
in the classroom, majority of the respondents used concepts like comfort and trust. All 12
respondents shared their belief having more Latinx faculty would enhance their sense of
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belonging. The literature review included studies that show students of color often develop
relationships with faculty based on similarities with those individuals, often beginning with race
and ethnicity (Cole & Griffin, 2013). Findings revealed several respondents chose professors
based on Latino surnames, while others continued enrolling in courses with Latinx professors
after initial interaction due to feeling more comfortable.
Research shows Latinx students participate in diversity related activities on campus to
deal with perceptions of academic incongruity (Cole & Espinoza, 2008; Hurtado & Ponjuan,
2005). More specifically, Hurtado and Carter (1997) argue participation in racial-ethnic student
programs mitigate the effect of negative racial campus climates. For all 12 respondents in the
present study, connections with extracurricular clubs and support programs focused on Latinx
student success enhanced their sense of belonging. Respondents showed appreciation for the
Latinx faculty and administrators that advise and facilitate the clubs and programs. Thus, all
respondents credited Latinx faculty and administrators with enhancing their sense of belonging
inside and outside the classroom.
Latinx Faculty Enhance Latinx Student Self-Efficacy Through Empowerment
Cole (2007) found that students with highest level of self-efficacy report superior pre-
college academic performance, have educated fathers, and have degree attainment goals.
Eleven of 12 respondents believed their high school did an inadequate job of preparing them for
college either academically or in transitioning. Additionally, majority of respondents cited their
parents’ lack of knowledge about everything college entails as another reason they felt at a
disadvantaged beginning their post-secondary journey at RCC. Thus, while respondents were
motivated to attend college, they lacked sufficient confidence in their ability to succeed. Latinx
faculty are key institutional agents of Latinx students, to ensure they feel competent and worthy
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(Rendon, 2002). Respondents in the present study reported the role institutional agents,
particularly in the classroom, had in empowering them by validating their presence at RCC
despite their pre-college experience and first-generation status. Respondents shared ways faculty
validate, including being intentional about making personal connections. They perceived Latinx
faculty being able to leverage their shared lived experiences to make those connections more
effectively.
Role models increase student self-efficacy through vicarious learning by modeling and
exemplifying aspirational goals (Bandura, 1977; Morgenroth et al., 2015). For minority students,
role models with similar lived experiences may provide them with link to the college
environment (Contreras, 2017). Eleven of the 12 respondents in the present study identified
Latinx faculty or administrators they consider mentors and role models. These faculty and
administrators provide reassurance and inspiration regarding career goals and provide resources
to overcome barriers. Respondents reported enhanced self-efficacy as a result of the
empowerment the mentors provide.
Inclusive Curriculum Fosters Inclusive Classrooms for Latinx Students
Curriculum with a focus on matters of diversity enhances Latinx students’ sense of
belonging (Hurtado & Ponjuan, 2005). Culturally relevant curriculum is also an important factor
in cognitive engagement because students feel connected to what they are learning (Yamauchi et
al., 2016). Eleven of the 12 respondents reported having experienced culturally relevant
curriculum at RCC. Findings revealed that respondents’ engagement with course content and
academic success was enhanced in classes with culturally relevant curriculum. Additionally, all
eleven respondents who experienced culturally relevant curriculum did so in humanities
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disciplines. The three respondents majoring in STEM disciplines reported a lack of cultural
relevancy in their STEM courses.
Faculty of color effectively help students of color make critical learning connections
(Borrero, 2016). Findings revealed respondents perceived Latinx faculty being able to embed
Latino culture more effectively in their curriculum than professors of other races. Respondents
reported culturally relevant curriculum enhanced their sense of belonging and self-efficacy.
Recommendations for Practice
This section provides recommendations for RCC administrators, faculty, and other
stakeholders in regard to creating a more equitably represented and inclusive campus. This
includes recommendations on creating spaces of belonging, fostering relationships of
empowerment, and expansion of culturally relevant curriculum.
Recommendation 1: Create More Spaces of Belonging by Diversifying Personnel and
Supporting Extracurricular Activities
Faculty interactions are a key component in Tinto’s (1975) Model of Institutional
Departure to determining a student’s sense of belonging and social integration. Findings from the
present study revealed Latinx students’ sense of belonging is enhanced by Latinx faculty in the
classroom and outside of the classroom. Institutional leaders can provide more spaces of
belonging in the classroom by recruiting, hiring, and promoting more Latinx faculty and
administrators. Fairlie et al. (2014) found a positive correlation between same race professors
and shrinking of the achievement gap for minority students. Thus, diversification of the faculty
and administrator group composition to be more inclusive of Latinx individuals will be critical to
Latinx student sense of belonging and success. Diversifying personnel to more equitably
represent the student body requires institutions develop hiring practices based on an
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understanding of the challenges that specific ethnic groups face (Patel, 2015; Wilder et al.,
2015). It will be crucial for RCC to establish diversification goals and develop an outreach and
hiring plan that helps achieve them.
Latinx students who interact with faculty outside of the class have a higher sense of
belonging (Hurtado and Carter (1997). Latinx faculty and administrators outside of the
classroom played a critical role in providing a sense of support for all respondents. Connections
with these institutional agents occurred as a result of respondent engagement in clubs and
programs focused on Latinx student success. A common theme in respondent responses to a
question about what RCC faculty and staff can do to create a more inclusive campus, was to
support existing clubs and expand similar opportunities for more students. Institutional leaders
can provide support in the form of funding for student-led events and activities that enhance
cultural inclusivity, as well as providing a multicultural center for students to gather and access
resources. Allocating resources to these efforts which have proven to be effective in connecting
Latinx students to the college will show the institutional commitment to their inclusion and
success.
Recommendation 2: Foster Relationships of Empowerment Through Culturally
Appropriate Outreach and Structured Mentorship Programs
Family background, individual attributes, and pre-college schooling are factors that
predict college persistence (Tinto, 1975). Eleven of the 12 respondents are first-generation
college students and majority of them reported not having felt adequately prepared by their high
school to attend college. In Tinto’s (1975) Model of Institutional Departure adapted in this study
for institutional diversity, RCC’s diversity efforts will determine how well Latinx students from
socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds transition from high school to college. Due to
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many Latinx students being underprepared for the rigor of higher education, their ability to cope
with academic challenges will determine their persistence (Watson & Watson, 2016). Latinx
students, particularly from low-income backgrounds, lack the social and cultural capital needed
to succeed when transitioning to college, and thus, can benefit from the guidance college
educated mentors can provide (Huerta and Fishman, 2014). Respondents reported experiences of
empowerment through validation in the classroom and mentorship outside of the classroom.
Culturally appropriate outreach efforts and intentional Latinx focused mentorship programs will
be important in enhancing Latinx student self-efficacy and persistence.
Intentional outreach efforts to RCC bound students while in high school, as well as to
their parents is important to successful student transition. Currently RCC has a robust outreach
and early college program for all high schools in the service area. Respondents acknowledged
the program but cited their parent’s lack of understanding in explaining their lack of readiness
for college. Even though Latinx parents influence their children’s self-efficacy through the
transmission of cultural values (Bradley, 2019), the lack of understanding of the college process
hinders full support of students. Thus, it is important for RCC to establish an intentional,
culturally appropriate outreach program for parents. This will require collaboration with high
schools, community agencies, and faith-based organizations to outreach to Latinx parents with
clear and thorough information in Spanish.
Minority faculty members serve as mentors to and advocates for students of color, often
resulting in higher success rates (Abdul-Raheem, 2016; Egalite et al., 2015; Brooms & Davis,
2017). Respondents reported feeling validated by Latinx faculty members inside and outside of
the classroom. Validation helps Latinx students believe they are worthy of being college students
(Rendon, 2002). Majority of the respondents also reported perceiving those Latinx faculty
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members as role models and mentors. For some of the respondents the mentor-mentee
relationship overlapped between in class and out of class experience. These kinds of quality
faculty-student interactions include opportunities for faculty to mentor and develop students
(Cole, 2007). This form of validation can begin in high school as young students of color are in
the process of constructing their college-going identity and would benefit from mentors in
preparing them for the transition to college (Huerta et al., 2018). Based on respondent responses,
it seems establishing a structured mentorship program between Latinx faculty and Latinx
students will enhance student self-efficacy. Because Latinx representation in faculty and
administrator roles is limited at RCC, it will be important for RCC leadership to engage Latinx
community members in professional roles who may also serve as mentors for Latinx students.
One respondent noted a grassroots effort at RCC currently doing something similar on a small
scale. Expanding on such programs to have a significant impact on the overall Latinx student
body will require institutional support in the form of funding and personnel resources.
As part of this recommendation, it is important to note the importance of RCC
developing relationships of empowerment for undocumented students. Six of the 12 respondents
in this study identified as Dreamers and recounted the challenges they face in regard to their
motivation to persist. Undocumented students face legal barriers in accessing resources in
college and in attaining lawful employment, forcing many to lower their aspirations (Abrego &
Gonzales, 2010; Baum & Flores, 2011). All six undocumented respondents explained their
experiences of feeling like giving up due to the uncertainty of their professional career outcomes.
Thus, it is important for institutional agents and mentors to be trained and educated on policies
and other related matters that impact this group of students, so they are better able to support and
empower them (Nienhusser, 2013; Nienhusser, 2018). As undocumented students interact with
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supportive institutional agents, they will become more knowledgeable about their status and
rights (Munoz, 2016). As such, it is important RCC develops strategic outreach and mentorship
programs focusing on the specific needs of undocumented students.
Recommendation 3: Expand Culturally Relevant Curriculum
Tinto’s (1975) Model of Institutional Departure includes academic integration as a factor
in persistence. Culturally inclusive and relevant curriculum enhances Latinx students’ sense of
belonging (Hurtado & Ponjuan, 2005), and is effective in is cognitively engaging due to
relevance (Yamauchi et al., 2016). All but one respondent reported having experienced culturally
relevant curriculum in their classrooms. All experiences occurred in humanities disciplines,
primarily in history, English, and communication. Developing and implementing pedagogy
strategies in cultural relevance is important to ensure culturally relevant curriculum throughout
the institution. However, in response to a new ethnic studies graduation requirement for students
at RCC, a priority recommendation is for RCC to establish an Ethnic Studies department led by
faculty with discipline expertise. Currently, RCC is meeting the requirement by cross-listing
courses in various disciplines, but do not have a focused program on ethnic studies. Thus, for
Latinx students to feel more connected to what they are learning at RCC, it is critical for RCC to
establish an Ethnic Studies program.
Limitations and Delimitation
Limitations, which although may be weaknesses, are ultimately out of the researcher’s
control (Simon, 2011). To strengthen the study’s objective, the researcher developed the design
with delimitations that set the boundaries and scope (Simon, 2011).
The study used a qualitative approach for data collection, and as such required an
extensive amount of time to conduct interviews. Given the constraint on time for completing the
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data collection, the sample size was relatively small compared to the general Latinx student
population at RCC. Additionally, the data collected from interviews is self-reported, so it is
limited in terms of having to take the information at face value. Another limitation is my
positionality as an administrator with a vested interest in the study outcomes, which created a
concern of research bias. This concern was mitigated by intentional messaging as doctoral
student on not as an RCC administrator, as well as by researcher journaling to check for potential
instances of bias. Lastly, the study took place during a global pandemic, which created
challenges in accessing respondents and conducting the study.
To address some of the concerns of limitations, delimitations helped define the scope of
the study. The study focused specifically on Latinx students at RCC and sought to understand the
impact institutional diversity has on their sense of belonging and self-efficacy to persist. While
other factors may influence Latinx student persistence, this study only focused on institutional
diversity and institutional diversity efforts. Because this study focused on persistence, the study’s
respondents needed to have completed at least one semester of college at RCC. Additionally, this
study focused on adult respondents, and as such did not include early college high school
students, who although may have been enrolled for more than one semester, are not considered
full-time students at RCC.
Recommendations for Future Research
This study provided insight into RCC Latinx student perceptions regarding institutional
diversity, sense of belonging, and self-efficacy. Even though poor institutional diversity among
faculty and administrators did not seem to negatively affect respondents’ sense of belonging,
findings revealed that more representation of Latinx personnel would enhance student sense of
belonging and self-efficacy. This is due to respondents having connections with Latinx faculty
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and administrators in extracurricular activities, as well as feeling represented on campus because
of the high representation of Latinx students. It is possible respondent recruitment outside of
clubs and programs focused on Latinx student success could yield different responses. Expansion
of this study to Latinx students who are not connected to extracurricular clubs and programs will
provide a more comprehensive understanding of how poor institutional diversity impacts student
sense of belonging and self-efficacy.
This study occurred during a global pandemic which forced RCC to transition to remote
learning and services for the past year. Several respondents had limited on campus experience,
and thus based their perceptions on online learning and their engagement with clubs and student
support programs. This provides further research opportunities on how colleges can create a
sense of belonging for Latinx students in an online environment.
Lastly, respondents in this study generally had a lack of understanding of what
administrators do and who they are. This raises a problem of visibility and engagement. A future
research opportunity may engage college administrators to study how they view their roles in
enhancing Latinx students’ perceptions of sense of belonging and self-efficacy.
Conclusion
This study sought to understand the impact institutional diversity among faculty,
administrators, and in the curriculum has on Latinx students’ sense of belonging and self-
efficacy. Institutions of higher education across the country are dealing with the problem of poor
institutional diversity and the impact it has on equitable representation as more students of color
enroll in higher education. Nearly half of college students in the United States are students of
color (United States Census Bureau, 2018), while only 26.6% of higher education personnel are
people of color. It is important to address poor institutional diversity because equitable
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representation has shown to enhance academic achievement outcomes for students of color
(United States Department of Education, 2016).
Findings in this study revealed increased representation of Latinx faculty and culturally
relevant curriculum enhance Latinx students’ sense of belonging and self-efficacy. Studies show
students of color experience feelings of exclusion and have a negative perspective of the
institution’s commitment to diversity when faculty and staff are not representative of the student
body profile (Milem et al., 2005). As an HSI, RCC and other similar colleges, must address the
problem of poor institutional diversity to truly be Hispanic Serving Institutions, and not just
Hispanic enrolling colleges. This is important to fostering Latinx student sense of belonging and
self-efficacy during their time in college, and also has long-term impacts on their career success.
Students who graduate from colleges committed to diversity, particularly among personnel, are
better prepared to participate in a globally connected society (Evans & Chun, 2007).
This study occurred amidst a global call to action on anti-racism and social justice. While
it appears that more equitable representation of faculty and administrators of color positively
impacts students of color, it is equally as important for institutional leaders to address how their
current, predominantly White faculty and staff can effectively navigate matters of race, racism,
and social justice. Hiring more faculty and administrators of color alone will not solve the
disproportionate outcomes for students of color. Comprehensive solutions will require
institutional leaders to address matters of systemic racism on campus and throughout the
community. It is my hope that this study provided a platform for Latinx student voices to help
inform how institutional leaders can better serve them and future generations of Latinx students
to come.

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Appendix A: Interview Protocol
Research Questions:
1. What role does institutional diversity among faculty and administrators play in creating a
sense of belonging among Latinx students?

2. How do Latinx students perceive the level of representation of Latinx educational
administrators and faculty in relation to their self-efficacy to persist?

3. How does culturally relevant curriculum impact Latinx students' sense of belonging and
self-efficacy?

Respondent Type: Latinx students and/or recent graduates of RCC.
Introduction:
Hello. My name is Abel Guzman, and I am a doctoral student at the University of
Southern California (USC). Thank you for taking the time to participate in my study. This study
is part of my dissertation work, and its purpose is to better understand how Latinx students
perceive the institution’s diversity impacts their sense of belonging and self-efficacy to persist. I
have shared with you a sheet with more information about the study, including the purpose,
definitions, expectations, compensation, confidentiality, and contact information. I will give you
a few minutes to review.
As a reminder, everything said during this interview will remain confidential and will
only be used for purposes related to this study. To protect your confidentiality, I will assign you
an alias in the report. Participation in this interview is voluntary, and you have the right to not
answer questions you may not want to. If at any point you would like to leave the study, you are
able to do so and will not be penalized. This interview should take about one hour. I will be
recording the interview to ensure accuracy. You can choose to turn off your camera if you would
like.
130

Do you have any questions before we get started?
I will now begin recording.
Construct(s) Interview Question Potential Probes
Social and Cultural
Capital
1. Tell me a little bit
about your
background,
including your
family and the
community in
which you grew up.
1. How would you describe
growing up in a Latino
family? (As a male, as a
female, as first generation,
etc)
2. How would you describe
your network?
-How do you identify with
your peers in general?
-How do you identify with
your Latinx peers?
3. Is going to college common
in your family?
4. Are your parents supportive
of you attending college?
5. Do your parents understand
the college process and
everything it entails?
Social and Cultural
Capital; Self-Efficacy
3. What would you
attribute to
motivating you to
attend college?
1. How did you determine
college was for you?
2. How did your high school
experience prepare you for
college?
3. Did you feel academically
prepared to take on the
challenges of college when
you started?
Goal Commitment 4. What are your
educational goals?
1. How did you decide on your
major?
2. How did you decide on your
career objectives?
Institutional
Commitment; Sense of
Belonging
5. Why did you
choose to attend
RCC?
1. If you were to start over,
would you still choose to
attend RCC? Why or why
not?
Sense of Belonging;
Academic Congruity;
Institutional Diversity
6. How well do feel
your culture is
represented in the
classroom?
1. How well do you feel your
instructors connect with the
cultural differences of their
students? For those that do
131

it, how do they accomplish
this?
2. How is culture incorporated
into the learning in your own
experience?
3. How well do you feel the
curriculum represents the
culture of the students in the
classroom?
Sense of Belonging;
Academic Congruity;
Institutional Diversity
7. How well do you
feel your culture is
represented outside
of the classroom?
1. What connections have you
made with campus life?
2. How connected do you feel?
Self-Efficacy 8. What does
academic success
look like to you?
1. You have completed at least
one year at RCC/graduated
from RCC- would you
consider that success? Why
or why not?
2. Has this led to increased
confidence as a learner?
3. Do you feel you are on a
successful path? If so, how
so?
4. What are some things that
help you feel stronger as a
student?
5. Have you ever felt like
giving up? What kept you
going?
6. Did you ever feel like you
were not smart enough?
How did you get past that
feeling (if at all)?
7. How did you handle
challenges? What worked
and what didn’t?
Institutional Diversity 9. Would you say that
the ethnic
composition of
faculty and
administrators at
RCC proportionally
represents the
ethnic composition
of students at RCC?
1. About what percentage of
RCC’s student body would
you say is Latinx?
2. About what percentage of
RCC’s faculty would you
say are Latinx?
3. About what percentage of
RCC’s administrators would
you say are Latinx?
132

Institutional Diversity;
Sense of Belonging;
Self-Efficacy
10. What impact (if
any) do you think
having more Latinx
faculty at RCC
would have on
Latinx students?
1. Have you had Latinx
professors?
2. How did your experience
with Latinx professors differ
from courses with professors
of other races (if it did)?
Institutional Diversity;
Sense of Belonging;
Self-Efficacy
11. What impact (if
any) do you think
having more Latinx
administrators at
RCC would have
on Latinx students?
1. What do you believe is the
primary responsibility of
administrators?
2. What has been your personal
experience interacting with
administrators at RCC?
Self-Efficacy and Sense
of Belonging
12. What do you think
college faculty and
staff can do to help
students like
yourself feel a
greater connection
to the college and
to motivate you to
persist?
1. Have you ever had a mentor? If
so:
1. What was the experience
like for you?

Conclusion
These are all the questions I have for you. Do you have any questions for me? Is there
anything else you would like to add?
I would like to extend a voluntary opportunity for you to continue to engage with the
study. If when you leave and over the course of the next few days you realize that you forgot
something in an answer or would like to change or elaborate any of your answers, I would much
appreciate an email with your follow up. I recommend jotting down or journaling your thoughts
as they come to mind. I have shared a journaling guide to help you. Please submit any additional
thoughts within a week from today. Additionally, if it is okay with you, I may follow up to check
that what I captured and interpreted from your statements is what you actually meant.
133

As a reminder, you will be compensated with at $20 gift card (or $30 if you participate in
journaling exercise) for your time. The card will be e-mailed or mailed one week from today.
Please let me know which option you prefer.
Lastly, you can call or text me if you have any questions. My information is in the sheet I
provided to you. Feel free to reach out if anything else comes up that you would like to share, or
if you have any questions. Thank you so much for your time.

134

Appendix B: Journaling Guide
Thank you for participating in my study. Below are prompts to guide you in journaling post-
interview, should you choose to do so. Additional information provided will help present a more
thorough and clear understanding of your lived experience as a Latinx student. Journaling is not
mandatory and you will not be penalized for not participating. If you choose to participate,
please add your notes, thoughts, and questions below and email to agguzman@usc.edu within
seven days. Thank you.

 Was there anything you wish you would have said in response to any of the questions but
did not? If so, please elaborate below.

 During the interview, were there any questions that made you think about an issue that
you had never considered? For example, diversity at your college. If so, what was it?

 After the interview, do you feel more inclined to seek out a mentor/additional mentors at
your college that are people of color? If so, why and what steps will you take to do so?

 Do you have any questions about what was discussed during the interview or about the
study?

 General thoughts and notes:

135

Appendix C: Information Sheet for Exempt Research

STUDY TITLE: Institutional Diversity’s Impact on Latinx Students’ Self-Efficacy and Sense of
Belonging

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Abel Guzman, B.A., MPA

FACULTY ADVISOR: Bryant Adibe, MD

You are invited to participate in a research study. Your participation is voluntary. This document
explains information about this study. You should ask questions about anything that is unclear to
you.

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study is to assess to what degree Latinx students perceive institutional
diversity as a factor in their persistence and success. The study explores how institutional
diversity, particularly in faculty and administrator positions, influences Latinx students’ sense of
belonging and self-efficacy. You are invited as a possible participant because you meet the
criteria of 1) Being a current student or recent graduate of the community college at the center of
this study, and 2) Identifying as Latinx.
Here are some definitions to help you better understand the purpose of the study:

Institutional Diversity
From an institutional receptivity perspective, institutional diversity refers to whether or
not the racial and ethnic composition of faculty, administrators, and staff represents the
composition of the student body (Bensimon, 2004).

Self- Efficacy
The perceived belief that one can successfully enact behaviors that lead to desired
outcomes (Bandura, 1977).

Sense of Belonging
Human need for acceptance in social groups and a perception that they have social
relationships that produce love and affection (Maslow, 1943).

PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT
Thank you for considering your participation in this study. If you decide to take part, you will be
asked a series of questions related to the aforementioned topic. Everything said during this
interview will remain confidential, and will only be used for purposes related to this study.
Participation in this interview is voluntary, and you have the right to not answer questions you
may not want to. If at any point you would like to leave the study, you are able to do so. Please
note that there is absolutely NO penalty for leaving the study.
136

This interview should take about one hour. The interview session will be recorded. You may
choose to turn off your camera if you would like. Video and/or audio will be kept for purposes of
the study, and will be deleted upon completion.
You are also invited to participate in a follow up journaling exercise, which seeks to gather
additional and clarifying information you may have after the interview. This exercise is also
voluntary. You may choose to complete the interview and not the journaling exercise. The
journaling exercise will happen for the period of one week after the interview.
PAYMENT/COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION
You will receive $20 visa gift card for your time. You do not have to answer all of the questions
in order to receive the card, but do have to complete the interview. If you choose to participate in
the additional journaling exercise, you will receive an additional $10, totaling $30. The card will
be e-mailed or mailed to you upon completion of the interview (and journaling exercise if you
choose to participate).

CONFIDENTIALITY
The members of the research team and the University of Southern California Institutional
Review Board (IRB) may access the data. The IRB reviews and monitors research studies to
protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.

When the results of the research are published, no identifiable information will be used. You will
be assigned a pseudonym to link to statements you make. Video and/or audio recordings will be
transcribed and then will be destroyed upon completion of the study. It is estimated that this
study will be completed by August 2021. You have the right to review/edit the audio/video-
recordings or transcripts.

INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about this study, please contact Abel Guzman at agguzman@usc.edu
(investigator) or at 661.370.5339. You can also contact Bryant Adibe, MD (faculty advisor) at
badibe@usc.edu.

IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact the
University of Southern California Institutional Review Board at (323) 442-0114 or email
irb@usc.edu.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Guzman, Abel (author)

Core Title Institutional diversity's impact on Latinx students' self-efficacy and sense of belonging

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Publication Date 05/03/2021

Defense Date 04/19/2021

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag institutional diversity,Latinx,OAI-PMH Harvest,self-efficacy,sense of belonging

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Adibe, Bryant (committee chair), Cole, Darnell (committee member), Huerta, Adrian (committee member)

Creator Email abel.galaviz.guzman@gmail.com,agguzman@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-459371

Unique identifier UC11668581

Identifier etd-GuzmanAbel-9580.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-459371 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-GuzmanAbel-9580.pdf

Dmrecord 459371

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Guzman, Abel

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA