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More than one barrier to break: mapping the impact of college on identity in Latina undergraduates
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More than one barrier to break: mapping the impact of college on identity in Latina undergraduates
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Content
MORE THAN ONE BARRIER TO BREAK:
MAPPING THE IMPACT OF COLLEGE ON IDENTITY IN
LATINA UNDERGRADUATES
by
Jane Elizabeth Robb
__________________________________________________________________
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
August 2007
Copyright 2007 Jane Elizabeth Robb
ii
DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated to the memory of my grandmothers,
Guadalupe Fuentes-Alvarez Duralde and Bernice Harbron Robb. Their courage
in taking their respective journeys to California made all things possible for my
family, and for me. These “ordinary” women had extraordinary lessons to teach
through the daily enactment of their lives, and the gifts of their love continue to
this day.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Dr. Rodney Goodyear, chair of my dissertation committee, provided the
level of support and encouragement that only very few, and very fortunate,
graduate students receive and to him I owe my thanks. The other members of my
dissertation committee, Dr. Kim West and Dr. Dennis Hocevar, were unstinting
with their counsel; to them also I extend my deep gratitude.
My colleagues in the dissertation group were fun, provocative, and smart;
it was a pleasure to be in a cohort of such generous people. Michelle Stiles and
Surendra Verma were especially helpful as members of my research rating team.
I had the privilege to work with some exceptional students and faculty at
CSU Northridge who were open and willing to share their knowledge, their
stories, and their time in great measure and I sincerely thank them all.
However, this dissertation would not exist without the love and support of
so many friends and family members. I am lucky enough to have parents who
continue to encourage me to take on new challenges and cheer me along the way.
My sisters and brothers and sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law provide everything
from moral support to a home-away-from-home when necessary for getting the
work done. Thanks to all of you for your assistance.
Finally, I can never express how much I appreciate my husband Jim, and
our son Max. Both of them stood with me every step of the way, as always; they
are my heart and my joy.
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication ii
Acknowledgements iii
List of Tables v
List of Figures vi
Abstract vii
Chapter 1: Conceptual and Empirical Foundations 1
Literature Review 9
Assessing the Impact of College 53
Significance of the Study and Research Questions 56
Chapter 2: Methods 58
Participants 59
Measures 62
Procedures 65
Data Analyses 71
Chapter 3: Results 75
Phase I Results 75
Phase II Results 88
Chapter 4: Discussion 94
Findings in Relation to Research Questions 94
Limitations of the Study 111
Directions for Future Research 116
Implications for Practitioners 118
References 122
Appendix A: College Years Experience Questionnaire 133
Appendix B: Paired Comparison Questionnaire 134
Appendix C: CYEQ Responses 139
v
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Categories and Abbreviations 75
Table 2: Frequency of Category, Year of Occurrence, Positive 85
Value, and Eventual Effect
Table 3: Dimensional Values 89
Table 4: Clusters of Categories 109
vi
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Euclidean Distance Model 90
Figure 2: Dendrogram Using Ward Method 91
Figure 3: Concept Map 93
vii
Abstract
Despite the growing number of Latina undergraduates enrolled in colleges and
universities throughout the United States, the effect of their college experiences
on the development of identity in this subgroup of students has been little studied.
In a two-phase mixed methods study, 93 Latina undergraduates completed critical
incident reports describing the experiences they perceived to be most influential
on their developing sense of self. The nine identified categories of experience
were then assigned similarity ratings by study participants and analyzed using
multidimensional scaling (MDS) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). The
resulting concept map displays in graphic form how Latina undergraduates
conceptually organize their understanding of the impact of college on their
identity development. Suggestions for further research and implications for
college faculty, staff, and administration are delineated.
1
Chapter 1
Conceptual and Empirical Foundations of the Study
The college experience is presumed to provide most students with a
similar set of occurrences, structures, events, and social contexts and therefore to
have similar effects across students. This presumption is so widely accepted that
universal theories of student development now often are applied generally across
the entire student population. One of those theories is that of Chickering and
Reisser (1993), who focused on college as a social and institutional context for
student psychosocial development. They asserted that this development occurs
along seven dimensions or vectors, which are described as “maps to help us
determine where students are and which way they are heading” (p. 34).
Those seven dimensions are: developing competence, managing emotions,
moving through autonomy toward interdependence, developing mature
relationships, establishing identity, developing purpose, and developing integrity.
These vectors are components of one’s self-concept, “the overall organization of
knowledge regarding oneself” (Miville, Koonce, Darlington, & Whitlock, 2000,
p. 209). Cumulatively, they define one’s identity, which is variously described as
self-concept, self-construal, self-definition, and sense of self.
Thus, the set of experiences and relationships that comprise “going to
college” have a significant effect on student identity formation, a developmental
process analogous to “assembling a jigsaw puzzle” (Chickering & Reisser, 1993,
2
p. 48). Lounsbury, Huffstetler, Leong, and Gibson (2005) concurred, defining
college not only as a “unique and highly appropriate setting” (p. 508) for identity
development but extending the importance of identity development in college
through their empirical work linking identity formation to important student
outcomes, including academic performance.
Because they characterized student development as a “process of infinite
complexity” (p. 34), Chickering and Reisser (1993) selected multiple vectors as
their organizing framework in order to avoid an oversimplified model of
invariable developmental stages that occur in a unidirectional sequence according
to a predetermined age-related timeline. Even so, their model presumes that all
college students journey “toward individuation – the discovery and refinement of
one’s unique way of being” (Chickering & Reisser, 1993, p. 35) along the
pathways described by the seven vectors. It gives minimal attention to
differences in the process of identity development across student subgroups.
Yet the experience of college, and the interpretation of that experience,
may differ significantly across various student subgroups based on their socially
situated status, the differential treatment they may consequently receive, the social
ecology they develop and inhabit, and the epistemologies they bring that frame
the interpretation of their college experiences. Roe Clark (2005) suggested that
social identity related to gender, race, and ethnicity affect students’ perceptions
of, and interactions with, people and services internal and external to the campus
3
environment. If the impact of college on students is variable, then an examination
of who constitutes the student population in the nation’s colleges and universities
is warranted. So too is a much closer scrutiny of the differential experiences that
result from diverse identity statuses.
Whereas 25.5 percent of 18-24 year-olds were enrolled in two and four
year colleges in 1967, that proportion had increased to 37.8 percent in 2003. The
trends, though, differ by gender: for females in this age group, those percentages
grew from 19.2 in 1967 to 41.3 in 2003, whereas the corresponding percentages
for men were 33.1 versus 34.3 percent. Twenty-nine percent of all students
enrolled in degree-granting institutions in 2002 were identified as racial/ethnic
minorities, although the percentage of 18-24 year-olds who attend college differs
significantly by racial/ethnic category (U.S. Department of Education, 2004).
In 2003, 41.3 percent of white, 32.3 percent of Black, and 23.5 percent of
Hispanic 18-24 year-olds were enrolled in a degree-granting institution (U.S.
Department of Education, 2004). Educational participation for Latino students is
the lowest among major ethnic groups in the United States, with Latinos having
both the highest high school drop out rate of any group and one of the lowest
college graduation rates (Torres, 1999). Zalaquette (2005) attributes this
“educational displacement” to a number of factors including racism, poverty, and
inadequate early literacy development. Total post-secondary student enrollment,
calculated at 14,257,000 in 2002, is projected to continue to increase for the next
4
decade, although at a slower rate of growth, reaching 16,593,000 students in 2014
(U.S. Department of Education, 2005). This growing diversity among the college
student population underscores the need for more fine-grained studies of student
experiences, taking into account gender, racial, and ethnic differences.
Yet that research base remains unevenly developed. In one striking
example, Rodriguez, Guido-DiBrito, Torres, and Talbot (2000) highlighted the
dearth of research on Latino college students. The authors described a literature
search conducted among the four major student affairs research journals using the
search terms “Hispanic” and “Mexican-American” which produced slightly more
than a dozen articles over a 20-year period. Even among those articles, Hispanic
students often were used only peripherally as a comparison group rather than as a
substantive focus of the research. The half-decade that has elapsed since their
search has not materially changed the situation; a repeat of their search among the
same four journals using the same search parameters in 2006 produced only 32
articles, for a net increase of less than 20 articles over more than six years.
Rodriquez et al. (2000) acknowledged that there is additional research on
Latinos in the counseling psychology journals but asserted that in those venues
“Latinos may be too easily associated with a pathology or deficiency motif” (p.
512). This lack of mainstream research on Latino college students is remarkable
considering that the population designated as Hispanic was estimated to have
reached 38 million in the United States in 2005, and is projected to become the
5
largest ethnic minority group in the U.S. in 2010 when Latinos will comprise
nearly 14 percent of the total population (Rodriguez et al., 2000). Torres and
Phelps (1997) classify education as one of the most critical issues faced by
Latinos today, and concur, “student affairs research has not attempted to explore
the development of Hispanic American students” (p. 54).
The need, therefore, to expand the knowledge base of college impact on
Latino student development is sizable and immediate. The state of the field is
such that exploratory studies are necessary, simply to begin to define constructs
that will shape the parameters of a foundation from which to build. It is in this
context that the present study focuses on Latina college students, an important
segment of the total Latino college population, and more specifically on the
influence of college on the development of identity.
Furthermore, the qualitative tradition of exploratory research adopts a
constructivist perspective, wherein those who experience an event or process
validate the resulting knowledge claims by ascribing meaning to them (Creswell,
2003). It is in that tradition, therefore, that the study focuses on the perspective of
Latina college students in describing, defining, and categorizing the impact of
college on the development of their sense of self.
Purpose of the Study
To broaden the understanding of the differing college experiences among
various subgroups of the student population, this descriptive study explores the
6
impact of college on the identity development of Latina students. Central to the
study is the intention to foreground the perspective of the Latina student
participants. Furstenberg, Rumbaut, and Settersten (2005) recognized that “data
sets [can] not speak to the perspective of young adults themselves” (p. 15) and
therefore qualitative data that reveal subjective and first-hand experience are
essential to understanding the realities of young adulthood. Moreover, Latina
students are living their emerging adulthood in a society that subordinates and
marginalizes them on the basis of both their gender and their ethnicity (Torres,
Howard-Hamilton, & Cooper, 2003), discounting the self-authorship of
knowledge they possess (Baxter Magolda, 1998).
This mixed methods study employed a sequential exploratory strategy
(Creswell, 2003; Hanson, Creswell, Clark, Petska, & Creswell, 2005). In Phase I,
a variation of Flanagan’s (1954) critical incident technique was used to elicit
student-generated descriptions of critical college experiences that influenced the
participants’ sense of identity, rating the incidents on a continuum of experience
as positive or negative. Critical incident responses were collected from a sample
of undergraduate junior and senior year female students who self-identify as
Latina/Hispanic/Chicana or similar ethnic background.
The incidents were coded and redundancies eliminated until a practicable
set of conceptual units of experience, framed in the words of the participants, was
identified for further analysis. In Phase II, the set of conceptual units reflecting
7
college experiences of the Latina students were distributed to and collected from
15 students; approximately half of the Phase II participants had also participated
in Phase I. Participants determined between-concept similarities for the identified
units of analysis through a paired-comparison technique. The student responses
were further analyzed and clustered to produce a concept map (Tracey,
Lichtenberg, Goodyear, Claiborn, & Wampold, 2003), graphically representing
the college experiences of the participating Latina students that have been most
influential in the development of their sense of identity.
Ethnic Labeling and Terminology Use
The labels used to describe the target population in this descriptive study
and referenced in the following literature review remain contested and are imbued
with political and social significance; del Olmo (2001) referred to this as the
“long, unresolved and perhaps unresolvable controversy over the use of the terms
Hispanic and Latino” (para. 2). In 1980, the U.S. Census Bureau began collecting
data under the heading of Hispanic, to include people of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto
Rican, South American, Central American, and other Spanish-language ancestry.
For several reasons, the designation is offensive to a significant number of the
people to whom the term is applied.
First, the term’s historical roots are based in the colonialism and
oppression of the 16
th
century Iberian Peninsula, a legacy of domination that is
perpetuated by use of the word Hispanic. Furthermore, although Hispanic refers
8
to ethnic and national-origin groups who have Spanish as their common language,
some of the people included in the group labeled Hispanic, including many
second and third generation Mexican-Americans in the United States, are not
speakers of Spanish. Moreover, González and Gándara (2005) noted that Hispanic
is derivative of hispánicos, a term not used in reference to individual human
beings, thus “producing a sensation of uniformity and loss of personal identity”
(p. 393).
The terms Latino/Latina are often preferred (González & Gándara, 2005;
Rodriguez et al., 2000), although those terms are also problematic. In common
usage, Latino and Latina include cultural, national, and language groups that are
clearly not Latin (e.g., the indigenous Mapuche in Chile and Argentina) and
exclude nationalities and language groups that technically are Latin (French,
Italian). González and Gándara asserted that current usage of Latino connotes an
identity described in relation to, and distinct from, the dominant Anglo culture in
the United States and is perceived “not in geography and culture but in history
and politics…[and is] a political statement” (p. 395).
For the purposes of this paper, the more inclusive terms Latino (to include
male and female or male only, depending on the context) and Latina (female only)
are used as general group labels, although references to specific cultural,
language, or national-origin groups subsumed within the larger Latino/Latina
category are identified when available; Hispanic is employed when the term has
9
been used in a referenced article or data set. Every effort is made to use the ethnic
group self-identification by study participants when referring to the students
included in the study.
Literature Review
The paucity of literature pertaining to Latinas (Delgado Bernal, 2001;
Schwartz, Kurtines, & Montgomery, 2005; Vera & de los Santos, 2005),
particularly in the field of student development, poses foreseeable challenges to
composing a relevant literature review. Yet it also opens opportunities to
investigate a range of related topics consistent with the exploratory approach of
the study.
Moreover, because the intention of the study is to ascertain and map the
impacts of college on Latina identity development using the perspectives and
voices of the participants, there is an inherent tension between that emergent
paradigm and the use of a traditional literature review more aligned with a
positivist approach to inquiry (Creswell, 2003). Patton (2002) warns “reviewing
the literature can present a quandary in qualitative inquiry because it may bias the
researcher’s thinking and reduce openness to whatever emerges in the field” (p.
226). The following review should therefore be considered as a sensitizing rather
than a limiting examination of the literature.
So, the decision what to include and what to ignore in such a literature
review is a critical one, in that there are no widely accepted theoretical
10
frameworks specific to the understudied field of Latina student development. The
inclusion decisions, therefore, are ultimately ones of “theoretical sensitivity
[which] requires that previous knowledge and research be considered…[yet
being] open to other issues” (Torres, 2003, p. 535).
Using Torres’ (2003) principle of theoretical sensitivity, this literature
review examines three broad areas: (a) foundational theories of identity
development in college, (b) ethnic and racial identity development, and (c) issues
of campus climate and social support. These three areas were chosen primarily
because of their well-developed theoretical and empirical bases. They were also
chosen because of the limited, yet suggestive, indications that this body of
literature is relevant to the identity development of Latina students during college.
The first section, foundational theories of identity development, reviews
the conceptual frameworks developed by Marcia (1966), Chickering and Reisser
(1993), and Arnett (2000), as well as selected empirical studies that inform and
elaborate upon the theoretical work. The second section pertaining to ethnic and
racial identity development uses three dominant theoretical frameworks – ethnic
identity formation, social identity theory, and acculturation theory – to explore
ethnic identity. Finally, in the third section, Schlossberg’s (1981) transition theory
is examined, and then used as a point of departure for an analysis of the literature
on campus climate and the related issues of interpersonal support, institutional
support, and physical settings on campus.
11
Despite the limitations inherent in the selection decisions for the literature
review, one safeguard exists. Because the data are drawn from Latina students
who are living the college experience, whatever relevant concepts were
inadvertently neglected in the literature review were expected to appear in the
critical incidents generated by the study participants.
Theories of Identity Development in College
An idea central to the understanding of identity development is that it is
both intrapersonal and interpersonal. According to Danielewicz (2001):
Creating identities is not an individual undertaking, but involves others,
especially groups or collectives connected to social institutions as well as
the discourse associated with them. We make our “selves” through
activities like classification…association (I am like her), and identification
(I want to be like her). Conversely, our selves are made for us through
similar processes enacted by others persons, discourses, and institutions
(p. 35).
Frable (1997) asserts that identity is a “unified, purposeful aspect of self”
(p. 139) and that it includes one’s psychological relationship to the social
categories of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class. Phinney (2000)
maintains, “at the individual level, identity formation involves the development of
both personal identity and group identity” (p. 28). These definitions of identity
formation, though containing significant differences, build from a common
assumption that identity development occurs in the interaction between the
individual and the social context (self and society), as well as in the relationship
12
between one’s social category and the larger society (subgroup and society).
Phinney (1990, 1996a) writes that ethnic identity varies among ethnic group
members and that within a single individual, ethnic identity can vary over time.
“Nearly all discussions of identity development have begun with the
pioneering work of Erik Erikson” (Jones, 1997, p. 376) who was one of the
earliest theorists to consider the role of the environment in identity development
(Torres, Howard-Hamilton, & Cooper, 2003). Erikson proposed an eight-stage
linear model of identity development. At each of the eight psychosocial stages,
the person experiences a conflict or crisis, which when positively resolved,
creates ego strengths. Growth is possible only through dissonance or crisis, and
healthy psychosocial development, including identity development, occurs when
the correct balance of challenge and support is available to the individual. In
Erikson’s model, “stabilizing identity is the focal developmental task of young
adults [and] it is natural that this stage be the launching point of identity
development among college students” (Torres et al., 2003, p. 11).
In their critique of identity development frameworks, Torres, Howard-
Hamilton, and Cooper (2003) classified the group of psychosocial development
theories that were built upon Erikson’s work as foundational theories, and noted
that these theories largely ignore issues of social group differences (race,
ethnicity, gender, class) in identity formation. Evans, Forney, and Guido-DiBrito
13
(1998) concurred, citing the limitations of Erikson’s framework when applied to
diverse student populations.
Three of those foundational theories of identity development are relevant
to this study. These are: Marcia’s (1966) model of ego identity status; Chickering
and Reisser’s (1993) theory of identity development; and Arnett’s (2000) theory
of emerging adulthood.
Marcia
Erikson posited an eight-stage process of ego development spanning all
ages from childhood through adulthood, with identity as the outward expression
of that ego (Torres, Howard-Hamilton, & Cooper, 2003). The fifth of the eight
psychosocial stages occurs in adolescence and resolves the developmental crisis
between identity and identity/role confusion. Marcia (1966) focused on Erikson’s
fifth stage and explored the task of development of identity along two dimensions:
crisis/exploration and commitment (Cramer, 2000; Marcia, 1966; Miville et al.,
2000). Marcia’s model has been pre-eminent in the empirical study of identity
development in the last half-century (Kroger, 1997; Valde, 1996).
Rather than stages, Marcia sought to explicate the processes in which one
engages to form an identity, “to resolve (or not) meaningful identity-defining
commitments to vocational, ideological, and relationship roles offered within
one’s larger social and cultural milieu” (Kroger & Green, 1996, p. 478). Marcia
(1966) hypothesized four identity statuses: foreclosure, moratorium, diffusion,
14
and achievement. Diffused identity is one in which the individual has neither
explored nor committed to personal values or goals. In contrast, foreclosed
identity is one in which a commitment to a set of values and goals is adopted
without any personal exploration; the accepted values are typically those of
parents or influential others. In moratorium, the individual is in a state of
exploration and has not committed to goals and values, whereas in achieved
identity status, a commitment has been made based on earlier search and
exploration. Diffusion and moratorium states are uncommitted statuses;
foreclosure and achievement are committed statuses (Cramer, 2000).
Kroger and Green (1996) sought to expand the empirical support for the
notion of identity development resulting from the confluence of individual and
environmental-situational factors, and to understand the pathways to various
identity outcomes. Using Marcia’s Ego Identity Status Interview, they identified
seven categories of life events associated with change from one identity status to
another in a sample of New Zealanders (N=100): age-graded events, history
graded events, critical life events, stage of the family life cycle, exposure to
different cultural/social milieus, direct influence of a significant other, and
internal change (altered perspective or awareness with no strong external source
of influence).
Across the five identity domains of values relating to vocation, religion,
politics, sex roles, and relationships, internal change had the greatest influence in
15
shifting individuals from one identity status to another. This was especially so in
the transition from moratorium to identity achievement status. Kroger and Green
(1996) concluded that in the complex relationship between contextual factors and
identity formation, social influences set broad limits but individual personality
variables better predicted a person’s progression through Marcia’s four statuses.
A challenge to Marcia’s model of four identity statuses came from Valde
(1996), who reviewed findings of identity status regression, the situation in which
an individual who has reached identity achievement returns to a state of
moratorium or diffusion, in effect, re-entering the crisis of identity versus identity
confusion. Valde theorized a fifth identity status: closure. “An individual would
be considered closed who, though having experienced a period of exploration in
life and made commitments at that time, is presently disregarding identity
alternatives” (Valde, 1996, p. 247). This would include those who had become
inflexible or rigid in their identity commitments and more closely resemble those
in foreclosure status.
Valde’s (1996) addition of the closure status required that the achievement
status be redefined to include three rather than two elements: an exploration
period, selection of identity-defining commitments, and openness to continuing
exploration. Based on Erikson’s conception that identity requires continual re-
evaluation, Valde hypothesized that the identity achieved status (open-achieved)
would be the superior status to identity closure status (closed-achieved). Using a
16
measure of self-actualization with 41 participants (21 male, 20 female) between
the ages of 25 and 35, he found that in three of five identity domains (religion,
politics, and allegiance) open achieved status participants scored significantly
higher than closed participants. Marcia’s model is caught in the Eriksonian
paradox that “identity is preferable to identity confusion, but a total lack of
confusion or a total sense of identity is not considered ideal” (Valde, 1996, p.
252).
Chickering and Reisser
Chickering and Reisser (1993) admitted that at a generalized level, all
seven of the developmental vectors they delineated in their theory of student
development could be characterized as aspects of the identity formation vector
because such formation depends on the other vectors (competence, emotional
maturity, autonomy, and developing mature interpersonal relationships).
Moreover, they acknowledged that movement in one vector could interact with
movement along another vector, producing complex interaction effects.
Nevertheless, Chickering and Reisser (1993) included a discrete vector
termed establishing identity, which included seven distinct markers: comfort with
body and appearance; comfort with gender and sexual orientation; sense of self in
a social, historical, and cultural context; clarification of self-concept through roles
and life-style; sense of self in response to feedback from others; self-acceptance
and self-esteem; and personal stability and integration. Unlike many other
17
theories of identity formation, vocational and ideological values and commitments
were not included in this definition of identity, but were separated into other
vectors (developing purpose and developing integrity).
Echoing Danielewicz (2001), Chickering and Reisser (2003) understood
identity formation as a process of active construction that is undertaken in a social
context. Using the metaphor of the person as a house, they wrote that establishing
identity involves becoming familiar with all the rooms, furniture, equipment, and
neighborhood elements of the house, but more importantly, “at some point, we
wake up to the fact that we actually own the house. We can refurnish, redecorate,
even completely remodel it…the identity structure begins to fit the evolving
consciousness that resides there” (Chickering & Reisser, 1993, p. 207).
Chickering and Reisser (1993) advocated that the essential purpose of
education is to support identity development of students. Consequently, they
expanded their work to address key influences in educational environments on
human development. Rather than supporting the prevailing notion that two and
four-year colleges should be structured as socializing institutions to assist students
to “learn the attitudes, actions, and skills necessary for a satisfying and productive
fit with society” (p. 208), Chickering and Reisser described seven institutional
attributes and functions, which they termed key ingredients, that can be designed
to positively contribute to student development.
18
For Chickering and Reisser, the institution should support the needs of the
student, not fit the student to the needs of the institution or the needs of society.
The seven institutional key ingredients are: institutional objectives, institutional
size, student-faculty relationships, curriculum, teaching, friendships and student
communities, and student programs and services. It is a reasonable prediction that
given the role of institutional and social environments on identity development,
one or more of these institutional attributes and functions would appear in the
critical incident questionnaires generated by study participants.
Arnett
During the latter half of the 20
th
century, a constellation of social changes
resulted in a period of extended transition to adulthood (Schwartz, Kurtines, &
Montgomery, 2005). Arnett (2000) termed this period emerging adulthood and
proposed a new theory of development for the period from the late teens through
the twenties, with a focus on ages 18-25.
As in the “discovery” of adolescence in the first decade of the 20
th
century, significant life stages are noticed and named as social forces change the
economic, familial, and civic roles expected of age cohorts (Furstenberg et al.,
2005). In pre-industrial society, the transition from childhood to adulthood
precluded adolescence as children assumed adult roles such as marriage and
parenting immediately upon the onset of puberty. This pattern of narrow
socialization, that is, restricting life patterns to a narrowly defined range with few
19
individual deviations, is typical of pre-industrial cultures (Shanahan, Porfeli,
Mortimer, & Erickson, 2005). Delayed entry into the labor force, an expectation
for secondary education, and residing with parents until the age of legal
emancipation at 18 all helped to define a recognized life stage of adolescence,
which became normative in the United States in the late 19
th
and early 20
th
centuries.
In contrast to both patterns, pre-industrial and industrial, described above,
the information-based economy that developed in the last quarter century in the
United States and portions of Europe extended the educational years well beyond
adolescence. “The demand for education and training has increased relentlessly
during the past four decades, as have the economic returns to education”
(Furstenberg et al., 2005). In addition to the growing number of 18-24 year olds
who attend two and four-year college as discussed above, Arnett (2000) estimated
that one-third of those who held a baccalaureate degree enrolled in postgraduate
education the year following graduation; these years spent in further education
delay the assumption of adult roles.
The marriage age of women is another factor in determining the existence
of a stage of emerging adulthood. In the 1950’s, nearly half of all women in the
United States were married by the age of 20 (Furstenberg et al., 2005), but by
1996 the median marriage age had increased to 25.2 years. Delayed childbearing,
either within or without marriage, is another demographic shift that has followed
20
the same trajectory (Arnett, 2000). All of these social changes have resulted in
broad socialization, i.e., the encouragement of multiple routes through life with
accepted individual variation (Shanahan et al., 2005).
According to Arnett (2000), the period of emerging adulthood is
characterized by three attributes, all of which distinguish it from both adolescence
and young adulthood: it is variable, volitional, and exploratory. “Emerging
adulthood is a time of life when many different directions remain possible, when
little about the future has been decided for certain, when the scope of independent
exploration of life’s possibilities is greater for most people than it will be at any
other period of the life course” (Arnett, 2000, p. 469).
In adolescence, from the ages of 12-18, key characteristics such as
residence (with parents), attendance at school (mandatory), and marriage status
(unmarried), show little variability. The same is true for individuals over the age
of 30 (young adults), with 75 percent of them having married, an equal percentage
having become parents, and fewer than ten percent still in school (Arnett, 2000).
Between the ages of 18-25, however, no such consistent patterns surface, with the
unifying features of emerging adulthood being its diversity and unpredictability.
In terms of identity formation, Arnett (2000) argued that development in
the areas of love, work, and worldviews may begin in adolescence but occurs
mainly in emerging adulthood. Relationships last longer in emerging adulthood
than in adolescence, are more likely to include sexual intimacy, and may include
21
cohabitation, which is much less likely in adolescence. Many adolescents are
employed in jobs that they do not see as gateways to their adult occupations, but
as a way to make money temporarily. In contrast, emerging adults are more likely
to consider how their work experiences will prepare them for adult work roles.
Arnett perceived adolescence as a time of transient and tentative exploration,
whereas emerging adulthood is a time of more serious and focused exploration.
Yet emerging adults neither perceive themselves as adults nor do they assume
fully adult roles, as is expected of young adults.
Arnett (2000) asserted that emerging adulthood exists only in societies that
postpone entry into adult roles past adolescence. Diverging from Erikson’s idea
of epigenesis with its biological basis, Arnett frames the emerging adult life phase
as a cultural construction, neither universal nor immutable. Even in postindustrial
societies, cultural groups within the larger society may not sanction a period of
emerging adulthood, and limitations in educational and occupational opportunities
may curtail the exploration and choice indicative of emerging adulthood. For
those from working class or lower backgrounds and those from racial or ethnic
groups that experience the effects of social and economic marginalization, a
postponement of adult responsibilities may not be feasible.
In effect, Arnett’s (2000) work proposed a new stage not envisioned by
Erikson, inserted between adolescence and adulthood, with its own markers of
psychosocial development. Rather than positioning the new stage of emerging
22
adulthood as a challenge to Erikson’s model, Arnett positions it as an extension or
revision of Erikson, made necessary by changing social conditions. Because the
majority of the participants completing the critical incident questionnaires for this
study fall into the 18-25 year age band and have the resources to attend college, it
would be expected that evidence of Arnett’s indicators of emerging adult identity
appear in the responses generated. Such responses would lend further support to
Arnett’s theory, as the subjective sense that one has left adolescence but not yet
completely entered adulthood is one of the quintessential signs of emerging
adulthood.
The three foundational theories of identity development in college –
Marcia (1966), Chickering and Reisser (1993), and Arnett (2000) – are assumed
to have some relevance to the development of Latina students’ sense of self,
insofar as they are assumed to apply across all student subgroups. The themes that
emerge from data culled from the critical incident reports may help validate or
discredit such assumptions when applied to Latina students.
Ethnic and Racial Identity
To understand the identity development of Latina college students, it is
important to understand ethnic identity, as that aspect of identity is vital to the
sense of self. In the words of Frable (1997), ethnic identity is a category that
matters, “the ones that we all pay attention to in our daily lives” (p. 139). Broadly
conceived, Bennett (2001) defines ethnic identity as “the degree to which a person
23
feels connected with a ‘racial’ or cultural group, one’s familial ethnic group while
growing up” (p. 192). Ethnic and racial identity theory examines the effects of
subculture on identity formation (Vera & de los Santos, 2005) and recognizes that
the process of identity development is different and often more difficult for
adolescents and emerging adults who are members of ethnic and racial minority
groups (Ontai-Grzebik & Raffaelli, 2004).
Most definitions of ethnic identity suggest that it is a reference group
orientation, an understanding of self in relation to a group, and thus is an
orientation to difference rather than similarity (Jones, 1997; Thompson & Akbar,
2003). Included in ethnic identity are components of ethnic self-identification
(also called self-labeling), ethnic constancy, ethnic belonging or pride, ethnic role
behaviors, ethnic knowledge, and ethnic preferences. Although such a definition
is inclusive of many of the descriptors in the literature, there are two caveats to
consider when using the term ethnic identity: heterogeneity within groups, and the
issue of multiple identities.
A reference group orientation presumes that the reference group has
commonalities sufficient to distinguish it from other groups that would be defined
along the same dimension. Making those distinctions poses the challenge of
defining the reference group with both sufficient specificity and sufficient
breadth, a challenge not easily met. Thus, many commonly used racial and ethnic
reference group definitions obscure meaningful information as much as expose it.
24
To say that the reference group is Hispanic, a common category used in the
literature, provides one level of information but does not distinguish between
many of the groups subsumed within the category and their presumable
differences. Heterogeneity within delineated ethnic groups must be acknowledged
in order to avoid unwarranted generalizations and stereotyping.
The second issue to consider in definitions of ethnic identity is that of
multiple identities. Collins (2000) and Mihesuah (1998) both discussed the
problems with current conceptions of ethnic and racial identity as they pertain to
bi-racial or multi-heritage individuals and groups. In addition, Torres et al. (2003)
addressed the multiplicity of identities that are inherent in each person (gender,
ethnic, religious) and used the metaphor of a radio dial to explain how one attends
to different components of identity depending on the situation:
We all have many stations (identities) available. Sometimes, a station is
very loud and needs our attention. At times, we need to turn up the volume
to give our full attention to another station. At other times, we may listen
more to one station than another, but all are operating, even if they are not
what we are listening to at that time (p. 67).
Ignoring the complexities of multiple identities in the study of ethnic identity
poses the hazard of reaching distorted conclusions.
Frable (1997) and Phinney (1990) identified three dominant theoretical
frameworks in the ethnic identity literature: ethnic identity formation theory,
social identity theory, and acculturation theory. Literature that addresses each of
25
the theoretical frameworks, especially as it pertains to Latino students, is
reviewed in the following section.
Ethnic Identity Formation Theory
As the name implies, racial and ethnic identity formation theories derive
from the foundational theories of identity development that follow the tradition of
Erikson, and three of particular significance are included in this group:
nigrescence theory by Cross, white identity theory by Helms, and a multigroup
ethnic identity model by Phinney. A fourth model, a Hispanic American bi-
cultural orientation (Gomez & Fassinger, 1994; Torres, 1999; Torres & Phelps,
1997) is included for its specific applicability to the Latina student population
under study and as a bridge between the frameworks of ethnic identity formation
theory and acculturation theory in ethnic identity research.
Cross’ nigrescence model of racial identity development is acknowledged
as groundbreaking and “particularly scholarly” (Frable, 1998). In the model he
developed in 1971, revised in 1991, and expanded in 2000 (Worrell, Cross, &
Vandiver, 2001) Cross coined the term nigrescence, which signifies the process of
becoming black or developing an Afro-centric racial identity. Cross’ original
model proposed five distinct stages of identity development specific to African-
Americans: Pre-encounter, Encounter, Immersion-Emersion, Internalization, and
Internalization-Commitment; each stage was associated with a particular set of
attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.
26
In the pre-encounter stage, the person has adopted a Eurocentric
perspective on the world and often believes that race plays an insignificant role in
life. Some individuals in the pre-encounter stage adopt the attitude that race is a
social stigma (Torres et al., 2003). The encounter stage is precipitated when a
crisis occurs, congruent with the Erikson model of development. Bennett (2001)
uses the term “shattering experience,” connoting destruction of the individual’s
previous identity and worldview, and his/her place within the world. Tatum
(1997) describes this as the moment that “force[s] the young person to
acknowledge the personal impact of racism” (p. 55) and believes that the
encounter stage can be entered as early as junior high school, although the more
common assumption is that the stage occurs later in adolescence.
Once the encounter has occurred, the stage “most critical and dynamic for
persons attempting to clarify their black identity” (Torres et al., 2003, p. 43)
begins: immersion-emersion. In this stage, individuals are developing an identity
that is tied to positive images of Black culture and rejection and hostility towards
white culture. Same race peers are preferred and essential to supporting identity
exploration during this stage, which typically occurs during late adolescence and
emerging adulthood, i.e., the college years. The transition to emersion occurs in
tandem with an increased sense of altruism and a lessening of emotional intensity.
Internalization and Internalization-Commitment are achieved when the
conflict and crisis over racial identity is resolved, at least temporarily. There is a
27
new level of non-defensive valuing of Black culture and security in one’s Black
identity, as well as a growing acceptance of other-race peers.
Cross’ expanded model (2000) collapsed the stages to only four (Pre-
Encounter, Encounter, Immersion-Emersion, and Internalization), but theorized
multiple identities within each stage. Attributing this theoretical expansion to the
empirical research made possible by the development of the Cross Racial Identity
Scale (CRIS), an instrument designed to measure racial identity, each stage now
contains identity clusters.
In pre-encounter, there are three identity clusters: assimilation, mis-
education, and self-hatred. In the immersion-emersion stage, the clusters are anti-
white and intense black involvement. One current issue is whether an intense
black involvement identity can exist without a concomitant anti-white identity. At
the internalization stage, the four identity clusters are described as Black
nationalist, biculturalist, multiculturalist racial, and multiculturalist inclusive. To
date, no further identity clusters have been conceived for the encounter stage. This
research into identity clusters continues, as “the discovery of other nigrescence
identities or the removal of some of the old identities listed will be determined by
ongoing empirical research into nigrescence” (Worrell et al., 2001, p. 202).
Similarly to Cross, Helms used stage theory in her model of white identity
development. However, “white racial identity development theories acknowledge
that the theories are based on how whites perceive other racial ethnic groups and
28
not their own” (Torres et al., 2003, p. 28), a significant difference in reference
group orientation (Knowles & Peng, 2005). Rather than stages, Helms’ six
categories of development are described as statuses: contact, disintegration,
reintegration, pseudo-independence, immersion, and emersion.
Contact status entails obliviousness to being in a racial group,
disintegration is characterized by the recognition of societal discrimination,
reintegration occurs when the individual affirms the status-quo and rejects
personal responsibility for racism, pseudo-independence is a move away from
racists, immersion is the search for a positive white identity, and emersion “is a
rejuvenation process that involves removing oneself from the whites who are
insensitive to racial issues and delving into a community that attempts to be
reeducated about diversity, race, and multiculturalism” (Torres et al., 2003, p. 29).
Developing a white identity that is based on reality rather than assumed
superiority (Tatum, 1997) is difficult because as the dominant social group,
whites are not accustomed to seeing themselves as part of a racial group and often
reject the notion of their reference group, preferring to be seen as individuals.
People of color learn early in life that they are seen by others as members
of a group. For Whites, thinking of oneself only as an individual is a
legacy of White privilege (Tatum, 1997, p. 102).
Phinney (1990) moved away from Cross and Helms in proposing an
identity development theory that applies to all ethnic and racial groups
(multigroup theory) rather than to one specific racial or ethnic group. Phinney
29
(1996b) measures ethnic identity as a function of the strength with which one
identifies with an ethnic group. “Ethnic identity may remain strong even when
there is little direct cultural involvement” (p. 922), a phenomenon she terms
symbolic ethnicity.
Phinney’s (1990) three-stage model of ethnic identity development begins
with the stage of unexamined ethnic identity. Breaking with Cross, Phinney
maintained that this first stage, though similar to Cross’ pre-encounter, does not
necessarily require that the individual prefers the dominant (white) culture.
Rather, she suggested, “young people may simply not be interested in ethnicity
and may have given it little thought (their ethnic identity is diffuse)” (Phinney,
1990, p. 502). During the second stage, ethnic identity search, the same process of
delving into one’s culture and building ethnic knowledge and positive ethnic pride
occurs as in Cross’ immersion/emersion stage. The final stage, achieved ethnic
identity, is marked by a sense of confidence and acceptance of one’s ethnicity.
Whereas the final stage of Cross’ model involves a high degree of involvement
with one’s ethnic group, Phinney stated that one can have achieved ethnic identity
without wanting to maintain ethnic languages or customs.
Torres and Phelps (1997) asserted that both acculturation and ethnic
identity formation must be examined in order to understand the development of
Hispanic American college students. They found, though, that the two constructs
had been investigated separately with little research addressing the relationship
30
between the two. Hypothesizing that biculturalism joins the two in creating “a
different world view…allowing the person to function competently in two
worlds” (Torres & Phelps, 1997, p. 58), the authors developed a model composed
of four quadrants, with acculturation on one axis and ethnic identity on the other,
later named the Bicultural Orientation Model (Torres, 1999). The four
orientations are: Bicultural orientation (high level of acculturation, high level of
ethnic identity), Anglo orientation (high level of acculturation, low level of ethic
identity), Hispanic/Latino orientation (low level of acculturation, high level of
ethnic identity), and Marginal orientation (low level of acculturation, low level of
ethnic identity).
An early pilot study (Torres & Phelps, 1997) validated the possibility of
the hypothesized Bicultural Orientation Model (BOM) in a non-random sample of
40 Hispanic college students at one southeastern university, finding students with
a high ethnic identity score based on Phinney’s Multigroup Ethnic Identity
Measure (MEIM) had similarly high scores on a scale measuring acculturation
and on a third instrument, a bicultural experience inventory. A second validation
study (Torres, 1999) using a larger sample (N=372) of Hispanic students from two
urban comprehensive universities and two urban community colleges again
supported the relationship between acculturation and ethnic identity delineated in
the BOM. “The conceptual idea behind cultural orientation is to understand the
31
nuances among the Latino college student population by looking at the choices
they have made between two cultures” (Torres, 2003, p. 533).
Torres (2003) later conducted a longitudinal qualitative study with 10
Latino/a college students to examine the intersection of ethnic identity and
acculturation more thoroughly, charting the influences on change in identity
development over the first two years of college. Refuting Phinney’s (1990) three-
stage model of identity formation, Torres found that not all Latino students begin
college with an unexamined ethnic identity as predicted in the model.
Rather, three conditions influenced the situating identity or starting point
for the Latino students: cultural diversity of the environment where they grew up
prior to college; family influence and generation in the United States, and self-
perception of status in society. Two sub-processes interacted with the
situating/starting identity to produce conditions for change in ethnic identity;
these sub-processes were the subjective experience of cultural dissonance or
conflict between one’s own sense of culture and the expectations of others, and a
change in relationships within the college environment, such as new friendship
and affiliation groups. As with Chickering and Reisser (1993), institutional
influences are again in the foreground and will be discussed in a separate section
later in the literature review. From her study, Torres (2003) developed a matrix of
six possible outcomes resulting from the interaction between the situating identity
condition and the influential sub-processes.
32
Vera and de los Santos (2005) and Kaufman and Feldman (2004) have
provided two important critiques of the ethnic and racial identity formation
paradigm. Vera and de los Santos contended that women of color have been ill-
served by traditional identity development theory, even when the contributions
and challenges posed by feminists and ethnic identity formation theorists are
included because they “describe the processes that occur within the subculture but
do not reflect the effect of interactions with the dominant culture and their effect
on identity formation” (p. 105). Suggesting that multiple identities (race,
ethnicity, class, and gender) situated in the specific cultural experience of Chicana
women lead to a unique mestiza or hybrid identity, Vera and de los Santos used
border crossings as a central metaphor of the experience of identity. They also
advocated for research based on a Chicana feminist epistemological framework
that will accurately document the lives and identities of that group of women,
conducted by Chicana scholars whose cultural insight is “emphasized and valued”
(Vera & de los Santos, 2005, p. 110).
Kaufman and Feldman (2004) decried the dominance of developmental
and psychological frameworks for explaining student change in college while the
sociological perspective is devalued; this is particularly evident in the
examination of how college affects student identity. Kaufman and Feldman
viewed college as “an arena of social interaction in which the individual comes in
contact with a multitude of actors in a variety of settings, emphasizing that
33
through these social interactions and other social influences the identities of
individuals are, in part, constituted” (p. 464).
Using social-structural analysis, the authors viewed the notion that
students simply develop in college as an inaccurate oversimplification and
examined the processes and mechanisms that create change in felt identities,
including imputation of identity, reflected appraisal, and social comparison. As
they argued, it is not that sociological influences in college are completely
ignored, rather, “their consideration appears to be basically secondary” (Kaufman
& Feldman, 2004, p. 464). Their critique suggested that the structural
opportunities afforded to different students in college reinforce class-linked social
statuses and positions, all of which contribute to changes in identity beyond those
described in the ego-identity literature.
Finally, a limited number of studies have explored the relationship
between racial and ethnic identity and ego or personal identity among students of
color. Miville et al. (2000) suggested that conflict as described within the
collective or group identity models and crisis as described in traditional ego
identity models are analogous processes. They found that among a Hispanic
sample of primarily Cuban and Central American origin, cultural identity
conflicts predicted ego identity crises and similarly, cultural identity resolutions
predicted ego identity resolutions.
34
In a later sample of 195 predominantly Mexican-American students,
Miville et al. (2000) found that positive cultural/ethnic identity predicted an
achieved ego identity, meaning “themes of successful resolution of cultural
identity were linked with making commitments among ego identity domains” (p.
220). In addition, the conforming ego identity characterized in Marcia’s
foreclosure status was positively related to externalized cultural identity
(immersion) for Mexican-American students.
Pope (2000) studied the relationship between psychosocial development
along Chickering’s seven vectors and racial identity of 539 Black American,
Asian American, and Latino undergraduate students enrolled in 44 colleges and
universities. Pope found that racial identity and psychosocial development are
clearly related and are concurrent developmental processes for students from
diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Some significant differences between the
three racial and ethnic groups in the study were found, especially along the
vector/task of establishing and clarifying purpose, reemphasizing the importance
of within and between group differences.
Acculturation Theory
Widely accepted definitions of acculturation include the elements of an
exchange of cultural features that requires direct contact between culturally
dissimilar groups. The status and reciprocity between the groups may be equal but
more often is between dominant and colonized or oppressed cultural groups, and
35
may be accompanied by resistance. Acculturation results in gradual rather than
abrupt change, with the two culturally dissimilar groups remaining distinct from
one another but with both experiencing change (Berry, 2001).
Rhee, Uleman, Lee, and Roman (1995) defined acculturation as changes
in an individual over time, in attitudes, values, and behaviors, a process termed
psychological acculturation (Berry, 2001; Castillo, Conoley, & Brossart, 2004).
Whereas acculturation can thus be conceived as occurring on both individual and
social levels, Berry (2001) asserts that in any intercultural situation, the two basic
dimensions of acculturation are the same: degree of contact and resulting
participation of group members with members of the other group, and the degree
of cultural maintenance by each group. Because this current study will focus on
perceived impacts of college on identity in Latina students and is included in the
larger discussion of ethnic identity, the following review of literature on
acculturation is confined to acculturation attitudes, behaviors, strategies, and
effects on non-dominant groups, especially as they pertain to Latinos/Latinas,
rather than on the dominant receiving society.
There are four strategies that individuals use in the acculturative process:
assimilation, integration, marginalization, and separation (Berry, 2001; Castillo,
Conoley, & Brossart, 2004; Gloria & Rodriguez, 2000). An assimilated
individual does not wish to maintain his/her cultural heritage and identifies with
the dominant group. The individual adopting the separation strategies also
36
identifies with only one group, but that is the group of his/her cultural origin. The
marginalized individual identifies with neither group, and the integrated strategy
is adopted by those who are bicultural. Bicultural individuals maintain
connections with the heritage group of origin as well as participate as an integral
member of the larger, dominant society.
Three models of acculturation are described in the literature (Torres, 1999;
Torres & Phelps, 1997). The first is a one-dimensional linear model that positions
ethnic identification and mainstream identification as polar opposites. The second
is a two dimensional model that allows the two relationships to the ethnic identity
and to the mainstream identity to be considered independently. The third model,
the multidimensional acculturation model, recognizes that “the rate of acceptance
and loss of some traits varies from trait to trait…[and] looks at each cultural trait
(food, language, music) and considers it independently on a continuum of absence
or presence of the ethnic trait” (Torres, Howard-Hamilton, & Cooper, 2003, p.
53).
Castillo, Conoley, and Brossart (2004) studied acculturation among 247
Mexican American female college students and found “the conflict Mexican
American women experience in college can be related to the differences between
U.S. majority cultural value (i.e., White American values) and Mexican American
values” (p. 151). Instances of disparity in cultural values were found in
cooperation versus competition, obligation to others versus one’s ability to
37
influence others, and willingness to sacrifice for others versus personal
achievement (Smart & Smart, 1995; Tseng, 2004).
Such cultural incongruence led Latino students to believe that “their
acceptance required them to ‘cloak’ their cultural presence or reject their native
identity” (Gloria & Rodriguez, 2000, p. 147). One response to the cultural
incongruence of college is for Latino students to “integrate with White American
culture behaviorally and at the same time do not adopt White American values
and beliefs” (Castillo, Conoley, & Brossart, 2004, p. 152). These masking
responses are assaults to an integrated identity and were believed likely to appear
in the data generated by study participants.
Social Identity Theory
Unlike identity formation theory, social identity theory focuses less on the
intrapersonal, psychological and cognitive aspects of identity and more on the
social dimensions of identity, especially intergroup relations. According to Brown
(2000), social identity theory begins with the assumption that identity is derived
from group membership and “it further proposes that people strive to achieve or
maintain a positive social identity (thus boosting self- esteem), and that this
positive identity derives largely from favourable comparisons that can be made
between the ingroup and relevant outgroups” (p. 747).
Hurtado, Gurin, and Peng (1994) maintain that social identity is the result
of three processes: social categorization based on nationality, language, race,
38
ethnicity, skin color or any other social or physical characteristic; social
comparison which inevitably follows social categorization; and cognitive and
emotional work to achieve a positive sense of distinctiveness.
MacDonald (2001) summarizes several consequences of the categorization
and comparison processes that underlie social identity theory: over-attribution of
homogeneity to both the ingroup and the outgroup; discriminatory behavior in
favor of the ingroup; belief in the superiority of the ingroup and inferiority of the
outgroup; positive affective preference for the ingroup and negative affect
towards the outgroup. Moreover, MacDonald asserts that only social prohibitions
against harming outgroup members prevents negative and sometimes violent
behavior on the part of ingroup members, and that when those norms are
removed, negative and disparaging attitudes toward the outgroup are common.
In applying social identity theory to ethnic and racial identity, the
oppressed status of minority ethnic/racial groups becomes salient. A dominant
social group that ascribes negative traits to a racial or ethnic group threatens the
identity of the minority group members. Various strategies adopted by members
of the low-status group to counteract the threat include leaving the group and
affiliating with the dominant group, developing ethnic or racial pride in one’s
group, and recasting group attributes characterized as negative by the dominant
group as positive distinctions (O’Dougherty Wright & Nguyen Littleford, 2002;
Phinney, 1990).
39
A corollary of social identity theory is that the most problematic social
identities, those that are most devalued, are the most powerful (Hurtado, Gurin,
& Peng, 1994). Because social identity is context dependent, that is, a change in
context will make a given social category more or less problematic, the
maintenance of identity in the new context of college is of interest to social
identity theorists.
Ethier and Deaux (1994) studied the issues of redefinition and change
necessitated by new environments that challenged the previously held meaning of
an individual’s identity and that disrupted the network of relationships that had
supported the identity. 36 Hispanic students of various nationalities from two Ivy
League schools were interviewed three times over the course of their freshman
year. Ethier and Deaux (1994) found “one key aspect of maintaining an identity
when confronted with a new environment is a process we term
remooring.…linking their identity to people and activities on the campus that
were consistent with a Hispanic identity” (p. 249).
Ethier and Deaux (1994) also found that the Hispanic students with high
ethnic involvement prior to college showed the increase in identification that
social identity theory would predict. They posited that this was due to high
salience in a predominantly White college environment. But the prediction did
not hold for Hispanic students who did not have a strong cultural background.
The authors suggested that the less culturally identified students felt conflict about
40
being categorized as Hispanic because of the weak social identity, were less likely
to speak Spanish, and were unable to gain acceptance and support among students
of their ethnic group. “This finding speaks to the protective nature of group
identity in situations in which the group is a numerical minority and is possibly
faced with discrimination from the majority group” (Ethier & Deaux, 1994, p.
250).
Even as ethnic identity formation theory, social identity theory, and
acculturation theory arise from different disciplines within the social sciences
(psychology, sociology, and anthropology, respectively), they are linked by their
fundamental orientation towards ethnic and racial identity as a salient category of
identity. In studying the impact of college on the identity development of Latina
students, issues of race and ethnicity are likely to be of great import, if not
paramount, in the critical incidences reported by participants.
Transition, Social Support, and Campus Climate
The entire notion of identity development rests on the assumption that
change is occurring within the individual, precipitated by internal and external
forces and events. In other words, students are undergoing transition from one
identity stage or status to another identity stage or status. Schlossberg (1981)
wrote that a transition “can be said to occur if an event or non-event results in a
41
change in assumptions about oneself and the world and thus requires a
corresponding change in one’s behavior and relationships” (p. 5).
Akin to other developmental theories, Schlossberg (1981) posits that the
event precipitating the transition may be due to biological, sociological, or
environmental factors. It may be perceived as negative or positive, it may be
obvious to others or hidden, and it may be sudden or gradual. Regardless of its
source, duration, onset, timing, or affect, it will produce a state of disequilibrium.
Moreover, “the end of a transition state is usually marked by a stable new life
organization and by a stable new identity” (Schlossberg, 1981, p. 6) and can result
in either growth or deterioration. Ethier and Deaux (1994) confirm the effect of
significant transition experiences on identity, finding the “new situation may elicit
fundamental changes in the meaning, importance, or support that a central identity
has” (p. 243).
Schlossberg (1981) clearly marked identity and identity change as central
to her model for analyzing adaptation to transition. Because college is a major
transition point for students (Hurtado, Carter, Spuler, Dale, & Pipkin, 1994;
Kalsner & Pistole, 2003; Toray & Cooley, 1998), Schlossberg’s model, and the
components that are contained therein, warrants further examination for
indications of potential impacts that may be salient to study participants and are
anticipated to appear on the critical incident questionnaires. Schlossberg outlines
three major sets of factors that influence the transition, and presumably the
42
identity-defining, experience: the characteristics of the transition, the
characteristics of the individual, and the characteristics of the pre-transition and
post-transition environments.
The first set of factors, characteristics of the transition, are described by a
common set of variables (role change, affect, source, timing, onset, duration, and
degree of stress) and are defined by the individual experiencing the transition
event. For instance, in terms of affect, it is the individual who subjectively
determines whether the event is positive or negative. In this study, the
characteristics of the transition event are described by the Latina participants
through the critical incident questionnaire. This critical incident technique offers
a data collection instrument that is well matched to the Schlossberg model.
For the second set of factors, the characteristics of the individual
experiencing the transition, Schlossberg (1981) selected eight variables she
considered particularly significant: psychosocial competence, sex and sex role
identification, age and life stage, state of health, race-ethnicity, socioeconomic
status, value orientation, and previous experience with a transition of a similar
nature. Several of the characteristics of the individual have been discussed in prior
sections of this paper and will not be further elaborated upon. They are referenced
here only to accurately depict Schlossberg’s model.
It is the third set of factors in Schlossberg’s (1981) model that are of
interest in this literature review: characteristics of the pre-transition and post-
43
transition environments. Schlossberg asserted that environment should be
understood in its broadest sense and included three aspects: interpersonal support
systems, institutional supports, and physical setting. These same three factors
appear throughout the student development literature, including Chickering and
Reisser’s (1993) institutional key ingredients, giving credence to their
significance.
More importantly, the effects of these environmental factors on Latino
students have been examined, albeit on a limited basis, most often in the context
of adjustment to college. Although student adjustment to college is a broadly
studied phenomenon (Tomlinson-Clarke, 1998), it is necessary to emphasize that
such adjustment is not the subject of this study, and only the generalizations and
conclusions derived from empirical work that are applicable to pre-transition and
post-transition environments in an identity development paradigm will be
discussed herein.
Interpersonal Support Systems
Interpersonal support systems for college students most typically focus on
support from family and support from peer and friendship networks, both of
which have been found to play a critical role for Latino students (Rodriguez,
Mira, Myers, Morris, & Cardoza, 2003). Rodriguez et al. (2003) characterize
familism as a core value of Latino culture, an assertion supported by a number of
others (Chiang, Hunter, & Yeh, 2004; Rudolph, Cornelius-White, & Quintana,
44
2005; Schneider & Ward, 2003; Tseng, 2004), and define it as “strong
identification with and attachment to the nuclear and extended family along with
strong feelings of loyalty, reciprocity, and solidarity among family members” (p.
237).
Coming from a collectivist culture that prizes connectedness to others,
Latino students’ self-concept is “believed to develop through interactions with
important others and is a reflection of others’ appraisal of oneself” (Constantine,
Robinson, Wilton, & Caldwell, 2002, p. 307). Thus, whereas Western cultures
encourage the development of autonomy and independence in college students,
“many students who are not from a White middle-class background retain their
cultural patterns” (Kalsner & Pistole, 2004, p. 95) and negotiate identity,
individuality, and autonomy differently. In tandem with those cultural patterns
and values, Kenny and Stryker (1996) found that sources of support differed
between European-American students and African-American, Hispanic, Asian
American and Native-American students. Students from ethnic and racial
minority populations relied more on family support whereas European-American
students relied more on college peer support.
Three recent studies support the influence of family in the interpersonal
support function for Latino students. All three studies found that family support,
however defined, is culturally prescribed. Schneider and Ward (2003)
investigated the effect of five types of perceived support (family, general peer,
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Latino peer, faculty, and institutional) on 35 Latino students. They reached two
conclusions from that study. One was that perceived family support likely derives
from a different source than other types of support; the other was that the different
sources of support work in conjunction with one another.
Fuligni and Pedersen (2002) examined the expected reciprocity for
support between parents and college students on instrumental and emotional
bases, comparing Filipino, Latin American, East Asian, and European subgroups.
“Even in an American society and a developmental period characterized by
autonomy and independence, Filipino and Latin American young adults retain
their families’ traditional emphasis on instrumental assistance and respect to
parents and siblings” (Fuligni & Pedersen, 2002, p. 864). Chiang, Hunter, and
Yeh (2004) also found that support-seeking behaviors are culturally bound.
Latinos, along with African Americans, utilized more informal (non-professional)
sources of advice and support as compared to European Americans. Latinos also
relied on family support to an even greater extent than did African Americans.
Along with family support, Rendon (1994) found that support in the form
of validation from in-class and out-of-class agents fostered academic and
interpersonal development for non-traditional students, which includes students
from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds. “Lacking validation, students feel
crippled, silenced, subordinate, and/or mistreated” (Rendon, 1994, p. 44). In-class
validating agents included faculty, classmates, instructors, and teaching assistants,
46
whereas out-of-class agents were friends, family members, significant
others/spouses, and college staff such as advisors, tutors, and coaches. Out-of-
class agents were especially valuable in validating non-traditional students; in
large part serving to mitigate the damaging effects of invalidation students were
receiving in class.
One finding from Rendon’s (1994) work that deserves mention in relation
to non-traditional students is their understanding of involvement in campus life.
“It appears that nontraditional students do not perceive involvement as them
taking the initiative. They perceive it when someone takes an active role in
assisting them…it involves faculty, counselors, coaches and administrators
actively reaching out to students” (p. 44). This more interventionist stance on the
part of college faculty and staff also has implications for institutional supports,
discussed below.
Given the importance of familism in Latino culture, the high support
provided by family to college students, the role of validation from faculty, friends,
and significant others for non-traditional students, and the influence of
interpersonal support systems on transitions and identity development, it would be
surprising if no mention of interpersonal support systems were included on the
critical incident questionnaires completed by the study participants.
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Institutional Support
Schlossberg (1981) described institutional supports as “more or less
formal outside agencies to which an individual can turn for help” (p. 11).
Adopting her definition, institutional supports would then be the array of
organizational units within the college that fall into the realm of student services
or student affairs, campus student organizations, and other community
organizations or institutions external to the college to which students turn for
support.
Returning to Chickering and Reisser’s (1993) notion of key institutional
ingredients’ impact on student development, one of the seven influences falls
squarely within the realm of Schlossberg’s (1981) institutional supports: student
development programs and services. These programs and services are clustered
into entering services, supporting services, and culminating services, and
Chickering and Reisser clearly tied them to student transition events. Describing
an exemplary student orientation program (entering services), Chickering and
Reisser (1993) wrote:
The process involves three transitional time periods: (1) exploration and
assessment, (2) formalizing commitment, and (3) initial assimilation. The
sequential steps are aimed at supporting gradual disconnections from
parents and increasing self-reliance….and finally bringing students to
disengage from their parents by moving onto the campus or beginning
classes (p. 439).
In the context of college, the institutional support cluster may also expand
to include the broader construct of campus climate, which is more inclusive, and
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perhaps more relevant, than Schlossberg’s (1981) narrower agencies and
organizations definition. Congruent with the need to examine how experiences
differ for student subgroups, Hurtado, Milem, Clayton-Pedersen, and Allen
(1998) provided a framework for examining campus climate in terms of racial and
ethnic diversity, and instruct “central to the conceptualization of a campus climate
for diversity is the concept that students are educated in distinct racial contexts”
(p. 282). They further noted that most racially and ethnically diverse students are
educated in predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Thus campus climate,
especially in terms of ethnicity and race, is presumably salient for Latina study
participants and was assumed to be reflected in the reported critical incidents.
In their framework, Hurtado et al. (1998) differentiated between external
components of climate (the impact of government policy and the impact of socio-
historical forces on campus racial climate) and the four dimensions that comprise
the internal or institutional components that result from educational programs and
practices. It is the internal institutional components that are germane to the issue
of institutional support and campus climate.
Hurtado et al. (1998) define the institutional climate as a product of four
institutional components: an institution’s historical legacy of inclusion or
exclusion of various racial and ethnic groups; the institution’s structural diversity
in terms of the composition of the student body; the psychological climate of
perceptions and attitudes between and among subgroups of students; and a
49
behavioral dimension displayed in intergroup relations on campus. The first two
institutional components align well with Schlossberg’s (1981) general notion of
institutional supports and brief examples from each category illustrate the impact
on students of institutional support structures and decisions.
The historical context of inclusion on a campus is unique to each campus,
yet patterns of resistance to initial desegregation were evident across PWIs and
vestiges of that resistance persist. Hurtado et al. (1998) warned that embedded
benefits to the historical (White) student body cannot be overlooked, and used
location of sorority and fraternity houses to explain the concept. “Predominantly
White fraternities and sororities frequently have houses that provide members
with a place to meet or to live that are centrally located on campus or directly
adjacent to the campus” (p. 285) and provide physical and social access that
allows students to become deeply involved in daily campus life. The same benefit
of deep involvement through the nexus of fraternity/sorority and campus is
seldom available to other fraternities and sororities that are organized by students
of color. Because involvement is crucial to student development (Astin, 1999), the
disadvantage to students of color is significant.
Hurtado et al. (1998) found that the second component of campus climate
they had elucidated – the structural diversity of the campus –influenced the
perceived hospitality of the campus to students of color and, at the same time, had
the potential to trigger conflict and resistance. As the relative size of the minority
50
group population increased, minority/majority conflict over limited resources also
increased. However, “when students feel that they are valued and that faculty and
administrators are devoted to their development, they are less likely to report
racial/ethnic tension on campus….campuses can minimize racial tension and
competition among groups by creating more ‘student-centered’ environments”
(Hurtado et al., 1998, p. 287).
Physical Settings
The physical setting can influence outlook and sense of well-being and
may thus contribute to the transition process and the outcome of that process even
though it is an environmental factor that is typically ignored (Schlossberg, 1981).
González’ (2002) longitudinal study of two male Chicano students, utilizing
interviews, observations, and document analysis over a two year period, provides
the type of thick description that illuminates this often overlooked factor.
González (2002) defined campus culture as “the deeply embedded patterns
of organizational behavior as well as the shared values, assumptions, and beliefs
that members have about their institution” (p. 195) and identified three cultural
systems on the campus that marginalized the study participants. These three
cultural systems of “asymmetrical representations” were labeled the social world,
the physical world, and the epistemological world, and it is the physical world
described by González (2002) that aligns with Schlossberg’s (1981) pre-
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transitional and post-transitional environments when her model is applied to
college students.
Banning (1997) outlined an anthropological, inductive approach to
examining the physical world of the college campus and the messages the
physical world communicates to students. Cultural assumptions and beliefs are
contained in artifacts, “the created objects of our culture” (Banning, 1997) and
thus those artifacts are imbued with cultural significance and communicate
powerful messages.
The physical world described by González (2002) included campus
architectural styles, buildings, sculptures, and other physical symbols that
occupied the campus. The Chicano students in the study interpreted the lack of
Chicano representation in the physical symbols of the school as a message that
they were not welcome and that Whites at the university devalued Chicano
culture. In response, the Chicano students created a second physical world within
their private space. “Within the physical world, pictures, paintings, posters, and
other artifacts found in their dorm room appeared to be sources of cultural
nourishment” (González, 2002, p. 210).
Hurtado et al. (1994) also referred to the physical setting in their survey of
203 Latino students. They found that part of the student transition experience was
negotiating the “physical, social, and cognitive geographies” (Hurtado et al.,
1994, p. 5) of a new and large environment, which led to changes in student
52
behaviors and relationships. The Hurtado et al. study provided more empirical
evidence that supports the importance of the physical setting as a factor to
consider in student growth and development.
Schlossberg (1981) provided a comprehensive framework to
systematically study transitions and their effects that is applicable to the current
study of Latina college students. Especially useful are the characteristics she
identified of pre-transition and post-transition environments: interpersonal support
systems, institutional supports, and physical settings. Data generated by study
participants will likely reflect the impact of these environmental influences on
identity-defining transitional experiences in college.
Overlap and Porosity in Theories, Frameworks, and Constructs
The preceding review examined the theoretical and empirical literature
that pertains to identity development of Latina students in college, while
simultaneously acknowledging that the extant literature base directly related to the
proposed study population and research questions is limited. It is apparent that the
frameworks used to conceptualize and theorize the phenomena of identity and
development are both overlapping and porous, and that what appear to be similar
experiences and constructs are defined, manipulated, and represented differently.
As Ashmore, Deaux, and McLaughlin-Volpe (2004) write, “the use of identity in
the social science literature has a long history and an active present” (p. 80).
53
To reiterate, the purpose of the proposed study was to expand the
understanding of the impact of college on the identity development of Latina
students using the language, the organizing schemas, and the conceptual maps of
the study participants. In such an inductive approach, the breadth of topics within
the literature review is intentional and appropriate. Rather than elegance or
precision, the guiding premise of this literature review is to reveal divergent
perspectives while maintaining the unifying theme of identity. The overlaps and
porosity are therefore not hindrances, but are viewed for their possible thematic
connections in analyzing the data that emerge from participants.
Assessing the Impact of College on Latina Identity
There are a number of ways to assess the impact of the college experience
on identity development, a few of which were referenced in the literature review
above. Yet many assessment processes fail to capture the nuanced descriptions
necessary to fully describe identity development (Vera & de los Santos, 2005),
especially of members of ethnic minority groups. Peter (2003) critiqued the more
traditional impact evaluation designs, finding such research “inherently
reductionist, and, as a result, coercive in its practical implications” (p. 9) as well
as ill equipped to describe the complexities of human nature.
The most direct approach in assessing the impact of college experiences
on identity, and one that avoids the problem of reductionism while “tak[ing]
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advantage of the local constructions of reality” (Peter, 2003, p. 9), is to ask
students to describe the events, people, or circumstances that have made an
impact on their sense of self. It is this approach that was used in this study, as the
initial step in developing a concept map.
Multivariate concept mapping (MVCM) is a research methodology that
consists of three components: eliciting participant statements relevant to a defined
topic; rating or sorting the statements by conceptual similarity by the participants;
and statistically analyzing the sorted information using multidimensional scaling
(MDS) and hierarchical cluster analysis to produce a graphic representation of the
participants’ conceptual schema about the topic (Bedi & Alexander, 2004).
MVCM falls within the category of sequential exploratory research
strategies, described by Creswell (2002) as “first gathering qualitative data to
explore a phenomenon, and then collecting quantitative data to explain
relationships found in the qualitative data” (p. 567). This mixed methods strategy
prioritizes qualitative data and integrates the qualitative and quantitative data at
the interpretation stage (Hanson et al., 2005), rejecting both concurrent data
collection and concurrent data analysis in favor of a two-phase process.
Prioritizing the qualitative dimension is particularly suited to this study,
because the “overall purposes of qualitative research are to achieve an
understanding of how people make sense out of their lives, to delineate the
process (rather than the outcome or product) of meaning-making, and to describe
55
how people interpret what they experience” (Merriam & Simpson, 2000, p. 98),
all essential components in assessing the impact of college experiences on student
identity. Yet the quantitative features of the approach are necessary, imparting
analytic rigor (Jackson & Trochim, 2002) and allowing for nomothetic analysis.
As indicated earlier, the critical incident method, in the form of the
College Years Experience Questionnaire (CYEQ), was utilized to elicit student
descriptions. The critical incident technique allows the participants a free range
of responses (Gremler, 2004) rather than a choice from a predetermined set of
survey responses.
Woolsey (1986) advocated the used of the critical incident technique as a
qualitative approach that is exploratory, inclusive, reliable and valid. She found
critical incident techniques were especially appropriate for the early stages of
research and “belong to the discovery rather than to the verification stages of
research” (Woolsey, 1986, p. 252). Thus, the exploratory nature of the current
study adds further support to the use of the critical incident technique.
The data elicited through the CYEQ yielded nine categories of experiences
that the Latina student participants believe have had an impact of their identity.
Using MVCM, the categories of experiences are graphically displayed to depict
how Latina students collectively perceive and conceptually organize their
understanding of the impact college has had on their sense of self.
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Significance of the Study and Research Questions
Torres and Baxter Magolda (2004) clearly articulated the need to
understand how Latina students make meaning of their own identity and the
impact that college has on its development:
Although traditional identity theories or models offer frameworks that
place Latino/a students within categories, stages, or conditions, they
exemplify a snapshot of that development rather than explain the
developmental process. Existing ethnic identity theories seldom
incorporate the inter-relationship among the multiple dimensions of
development and provide little insight into how change
occurs….understanding the change process would provide information
about how institutions can…promote positive identity development among
Latino/a students (p. 333).
These gaps in the literature persist and are increasingly troublesome, as Latinos
become a larger proportion of the student population.
If college personnel do not understand identity development in the Latina
student population, how can they create productive, effective educational
environments that will meet both the academic and the developmental needs of
those students? The current study seeks to contribute to that understanding by
identifying the impacts that the college experience has on Latina students’ identity
and addresses the following research questions.
1) What experiences in college do Latina students perceive to be
influential in developing their identity/sense of self?
2) What is the perceived effect (positive or negative) of the
experience(s) in the immediate and longer term?
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3) Into what conceptual categories do Latina students group these
identity-defining college experiences?
4) What graphic representation in the form of a concept map best
describes the impact of college on identity development of
Latina students?
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Chapter 2
Methods
The intent of this study was to identify the college experiences that
Latina students perceive to have influenced their identity, defined as sense of
self, and to develop cognitive maps of those experiences, using Multivariate
Concept Mapping (MVCM). In brief, Phase I of the study consisted of
gathering critical incident reports concerning the impact of college on Latina
undergraduate students’ sense of self and analyzing the responses to identify a
set of conceptual units reflecting important college experiences in relation to
that identity development. In Phase II, the identified constructs were given to a
smaller sample of Latina students who rated between-concept similarities for
the identified units of analysis through a paired-comparison technique.
Using multidimensional scaling (MDS) and hierarchical cluster
analysis, the responses were plotted to create a concept map, a spatial
representation of the participants’ understanding and interpretation of their
college experiences on their sense of self. Through this process of multivariate
concept mapping (MVCM), an “aggregate representation of individual
understandings” (Bedi & Alexander, 2004, p. 3) was constructed and
displayed.
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Participants
Phase I Participants
121 completed responses to the College Years Experience
Questionnaire (CYEQ) were collected from participants in Phase I; 93 of the
responses were used for this study. The remaining 28 eliminated responses
came from students who did not fit the inclusion criteria, which were: a) have
attained junior or senior class standing, b) have self-identified as Hispanic,
Latina, Chicana or similar ethnic background, and c) have self-identified as
female.
Because of the anonymity designed into the administration and
response protocols for the CYEQ, the exact number of participants in Phase I
is unknown. Each participant was allowed to complete either one or two
critical incident forms, and observation during the in-class administration of
the survey indicated that some participants completed one, while others
completed two questionnaires. The anonymity safeguards prevent the
questionnaires from being identified with particular individuals and thus
number of responses rather than number of respondents is known. At least 50
students meeting the inclusion parameters participated in the study, as
suggested by the methodology.
All participants were students at one of two public four-year
universities located in southern California; 80.6 percent (n=75) of the Phase I
60
responses came from students at one university while the remaining 19.4
percent (n=18) of responses came from the second institution. The Hispanic
Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) has designated both
institutions as Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI); an HSI is one with a total
Hispanic enrollment that constitutes a minimum of 25 percent of the total
enrollment, including full-time and part-time students whether at the
undergraduate or graduate level. At the first university, 15.9 percent of the
undergraduate student body is identified as Mexican-American and an
additional 10.5 percent of the students are listed as other Latino. At the second
institution, 27 percent of the undergraduate student body is classified as
Hispanic.
61.3 percent of the responses (n=57) came from students of senior class
standing, with junior students contributing 38.5 percent (n=36) of the
responses. The majority of responses, 54.8 percent (n=51), were contributed
by students of traditional college age, between the ages of 18-24. Students
between the ages of 25-34 submitted 21.5 percent of responses (n=20), and the
remaining 23.7 percent (n=22) came from students over the age of 35. All
included responses were from participants who self-identified as
Hispanic/Chicana/Latina.
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Phase II Participants
Participants for Phase II included a subset of the original participants
from Phase I who volunteered to continue with the next phase of the study, as
well as additional respondents who met the inclusion criteria for the study but
had not participated in Phase I. Bedi and Alexander (2004) allow that not all
participants need to be included in every phase, but advise that the participants
who generated the statements engage in the concept-comparison task to reduce
the possibility that a new set of participants will bring different conceptual
structures and understandings to the process.
Because the requisite 15 Phase I participants did not voluntarily
complete the Phase II Paired Comparison Questionnaire, additional
participants, “respondent proxies” (Jackson & Trochim, 2002), who met the
same selection criteria as Phase I participants were added to the study. Seven
of the 15 Phase II participants had participated in Phase I; eight of the Phase II
participants were respondent proxies. In order to limit the prospect that the new
participants would have different understandings of the generated concept
categories, all respondent proxies were recruited from the same university that
most Phase I participants attended.
13 (86.6%) of the Phase II respondents were seniors, with two
participants having junior class standing. The mean age of Phase II
respondents was 26.4 years, with 80 percent (n=12) of respondents being in the
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traditional college age range of 18-24 years. Because the query on ethnicity
was an open-ended response, two students self-identified as Mexican-
American, three self-identified as Chicana, three as Hispanic, three as Latina,
one as Mexican, two as Mexican/Chicana, and one as mixed ethnicity.
Raters
The critical incidents reports were read and analyzed by three doctoral
students, including this study’s author, each of whom is familiar with all
techniques, methodology, and instruments used in the study. All raters had been
advanced to doctoral candidacy with its prerequisite completion of coursework
and preliminary research requirements, and had previously participated in the
development and piloting of the CYEQ. Two raters were female, one was male;
all were over the age of 45.
Measures
Two measures were used in this study. During Phase I, a variation of
Flanagan’s (1954) Critical Incident Technique was used. For Phase II, a Paired
Comparison Questionnaire was developed for this study. The two instruments
used for data collection allow for the compilation and analysis of qualitative and
quantitative data necessary to support the mixed method approach selected for the
study.
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Critical Incident Technique
The Critical Incident Technique is an open-ended retrospective method of
generating subjective reports of events, behaviors, or experiences that is designed
to minimize the bias of unsupported or received opinion (Usability Net, n.d.;
Woolsey, 1986). Using Flanagan’s (1954) model, a reporting instrument titled the
College Years Experience Questionnaire (CYEQ) was developed to include the
five major attributes of a critical incident report: the incident solicited is one that
the respondents personally experienced; the incident solicited is significant in that
it affected a pre-determined outcome (sense of self); important contextual
information is gathered in a brief form; the instrument allows for open-ended
responses; and the instrument allows the respondent to determine if the incident
had a positive or negative impact on the outcome (Jackson & Trochim, 2002;
UsabilityNet, n.d.). The two specific questions on outcomes that were
constructed for the CYEQ ask the student to determine the “degree to which you
experienced this incident or experience as positive” followed by an additional
query to determine the student’s perception of the “eventual effect this incident or
experience had on your sense of self”. Each of the questions used a 7-point Likert
type scale, with the rating of 1 representing a very negative effect and a rating of
7 representing a very positive effect.
The CYEQ was collaboratively constructed by a group of 11 doctoral
students under the supervision of their dissertation advisor, a professor of
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counseling psychology. The CYEQ was piloted with a convenience sample
including both college students and non-students of varying ages and ethnicities
over two trials to test for ease of use by respondents and question clarity.
Refinements, additions, and deletions were made based on feedback from the
pilot test participants.
After study participants completed the CYEQ, the three raters analyzed
the responses and performed a categorical sort. An exemplar statement for each
resulting group of concept elements represents the set of ideas comprising the
category.
The College Years Experience Questionnaire is included as Appendix A.
Paired Comparisons Questionnaire
The Paired Comparison Questionnaire consists of relevant assertions
(González, 2002, p. 201), each an exemplar of a concept that was mined from the
College Years Experience Questionnaire, defined using the language of the
participants. In contrast to the qualitative open-ended responses generated by the
College Years Experience Questionnaire, the Paired Comparison Questionnaire
restricts participants’ responses to indicating their judgment about the degree of
similarity between pairs of categories.
The three raters ultimately identified nine categories of events, incidences,
or relationships that participants in Phase I experienced as particularly influential
on their sense of self. Each category was then paired with each of the others, with
65
the order of the statements being determined by use of a random numbers table.
Phase II participants were instructed to rate the similarity between the statement
pairs on a 5-point scale (1 = not at all alike; 5 = very much alike). The number of
items on the Paired Comparison Questionnaire is N(N-1)/2, where N is the
number of categories; nine categories resulted in 36 statement pairs. The Paired
Comparison Questionnaire is included as Appendix B.
Procedures
Phase I
Participants for the study were recruited and responses were collected at
two state universities, using three different approaches: in-class administration,
student-organization administration, and online administration. At the first
university, where greater than 80 percent of the responses were gathered, the first
two approaches were used. All students recruited and responses collected from the
second university were through an online format.
For the in-class administration, the CYEQ was distributed in three classes,
with the agreement of the respective course instructors. Classes for distribution of
the questionnaire were selected in consultation with faculty members at the
institution to enhance the study’s purposeful sampling strategy. Specific course
sections with large proportions of upper division Latina students were identified;
66
the three classes were offered within the Chicano/a Studies Department, although
each had different disciplinary content.
All students who received the questionnaire in a classroom setting were
first provided written and verbal information on the study by the researcher and
then received two blank CYEQ forms, with the option to describe either one or
two critical incidents. Each student also was given a separate form to indicate his
or her desire to continue into Phase II; if she agreed to continue into Phase II, the
student provided her name and contact information on the form. The course
instructors dedicated class time for students to complete the survey. After students
were finished, they returned the completed CYEQ form(s) to a collection
envelope. If a student agreed to continue into Phase II, the form containing her
contact information was returned to a separate collection area in order to avoid
inadvertent linking of CYEQ forms and personally identifiable information on the
intent to continue form.
The second approach used was to network through two on-campus student
organizations. In both cases, these were local chapters of national student
organizations that serve Latino or Chicano students. The current presidents of the
on-campus organizations agreed to distribute the CYEQ and the intent to continue
forms at one of their regularly scheduled meeting. A written information sheet
was included for distribution so all solicited students could read the purpose and
scope of the study and the voluntary nature of their participation. The
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organizations’ presidents distributed and collected all forms and returned the
completed questionnaires to the researcher.
The third approach, the online CYEQ administration, was used only at the
second university, and the distribution of questionnaires and collection of
responses was completed by a member of the rating team other than this author.
Participants were recruited by email solicitation through a listserv operated by a
campus women’s center, targeting women who returned to college after the age of
35. If they chose to participate in the online administration of the CYEQ, the
students were directed to a web-based survey service that hosted an electronic
version of the CYEQ. Only the responses collected through this approach that
met the three demographic criteria (female, Latina, upper class standing) were
available for use in the participant pool for Phase I of this study.
In all instances, the voluntary nature of participation was stressed.
Because a number of students chose not to complete the CYEQ, even in a
classroom setting with dedicated time, a lack of coercion can be assumed.
Limited demographic information, but no personal identifying information, was
collected on the CYEQ, ensuring the preservation of participants’ anonymity.
Participants who completed the CYEQ either in-class or through the
student-organization administration were simultaneously invited to continue into
Phase II of the study. Those who completed the online version of the CYEQ were
not included in Phase II for this study, but were invited into Phase II for a
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different study. 25 participants who completed in-class or student-organization
administered questionnaires volunteered to continue into Phase II.
After the collection of critical incidents through the CYEQ, the three raters
created the set of exemplar statements that became the units of analysis
(statements) for the paired-comparison task by using the techniques of analysis
and synthesis (González, 2002). The three raters read all the College Years
Experience Questionnaires completed by Phase I participants. Statements made
by participants that were logically and semantically complete were identified by
the each rater as relevant assertions (González, 2002). Following that analysis,
synthesis occurred through a process of data reduction in which “similar
assertions are grouped together under a labeled concept. At this point, specific
assertions are considered exemplars of discovered concepts” (González, 2002, p.
200-201). In this step, the raters independently sorted all Phase I responses into
conceptual categories without consulting the other raters.
The data analysis and reduction process was first conducted individually
and then collaboratively by the three raters, with continuous revision until
consensus among the raters was reached. The nine agreed-upon categories
became the units of analysis for the Paired Comparison Questionnaire and were
clarified by including excerpts of student responses with each categorical
description so that the underlying theme was clearly illuminated.
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Calibration between raters was confirmed by a final step in the
construction of the nine categories. Each of the 93 incidents was assigned to a
single category, based on its dominant theme. Again, the process of independent
assignment, followed by consensus on final assignment, among the three raters
was used. It should be noted that the final assignment of incidents to categories
was not an easy task. One incident might contain more than one theme and
disagreement among raters on which was the more dominant theme in the incident
typically occurred in that situation. Resolution to such differences of opinion was
reached through a careful reading of the original critical incident, being cognizant
of the “biasing effects of investigator-imposed connotations or conclusions” (Bedi
& Alexander, 2004, p. 5), while attempting to recognize such unconscious bias in
the assignment to categories.
85 of the incidents were assigned to one of the categories by the raters;
eight incidents (8.6%) remain unclassified. There was unanimity among the
raters that the eight unclassified incidents belonged to none of the identified
categories, nor were similarities found among those eight incidents that would
lead to the development of a yet-unrecognized category or categories.
Phase II
Phase II study participants who participated in Phase I were asked to
continue into the next phase of the study when they originally completed the
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Phase I CYEQ. At that time, those who volunteered to do so completed a contact
card, which was collected and stored separately from the CYEQ.
In Phase II, the Paired Comparison Questionnaire was distributed to Phase
I volunteers through two methods. The Paired Comparison Questionnaire was
converted into an electronic format that included written instructions on
completing the instrument. This version of the Paired Comparison Questionnaire
was posted on a web-based survey service and every participant who had
provided an email address for Phase II participation was sent an email link
requesting them to complete the online questionnaire.
A paper version of the Paired Comparison Questionnaire was sent via U.S.
mail to every participant who had provided a mailing address for Phase II
participation. Those who provided both email and U.S. mail addresses were sent
both versions of the questionnaire (hard copy and web-based) with instructions
asking them to complete their preferred version, but to submit only one or the
other.
Eight Phase I participants logged into the web-based Paired Comparison
Questionnaire and four participants completed all questions, resulting in a usable
response. Three completed paper questionnaires were received by U.S. mail. All
seven Paired Comparison Questionnaires completed by Phase I participants met
the inclusion criteria of the study and were used in the Phase II data analysis.
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The proxy responses for Phase II were collected using the same in-class
administration and collection approaches as were used in Phase I. The Paired
Comparison Questionnaire was distributed to students in a class section within the
Chicano Studies Department that was judged by faculty at the university to be
composed of students similar to the class sections in which the Phase I CYEQ was
administered. 24 responses were collected through the in-class administration, of
which 19 met the inclusion criteria of gender, class standing, and ethnicity; 16 had
responses to all statements and were usable. Eight of the 16 usable Paired
Comparison Questionnaires from respondent proxies were randomly selected to
be included in the analysis for Phase II.
Data Analyses
After Phase II data collection, the similarity ratings of participants were
arranged into a similarity matrix. Each of the nine categories were listed both
vertically and horizontally in the matrix, and the similarity scores for each paired
comparison from every Phase II respondent were entered in the appropriate cell,
above and below the diagonal. These data served as the basis for the concept
mapping analyses.
The similarity ratings of participants were subjected to both non-metric
Multidimensional Scaling (nMDS) and clustering analyses, with the overall aim
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of depicting the structures participants used in thinking of the impacts that college
has had on them. All analyses employed SPSS.
Multidimensional Scaling
With Multidimensional Scaling (MDS), it has been recommended not to
interpret more dimensions than the number of elements (in this case, categories)
divided by 4 (Kruskal & Wish, 1978). Thus, by that rule of thumb, the nine
categories should have no more than two dimensions. Also, because its
representations are spatial, MDS is not generally useful with greater than three or
four dimensions.
Choosing the optimal number of dimensions is not always easy. The
relative fit of the MDS solution to the data serves as the primary selection
criterion. The common indicator of fit is stress
1
, which is the square root of the
normalized residual sum of squares. Values of 0 indicate perfect fit of the model
to the data, and larger values indicate less fit. Kruskal and Wish (1978) have
recommended that a 1-dimension solution with a stress
1
< .15 suggests that this
solution is the best representation. Failing this, solutions with more dimensions
should be examined.
However, if the number of categories gets close to the number of
dimensions, the use of stress value as an indicator of fit can be distorted. Kruskal
and Wish (1978) note that “for 7 objects in 3 dimensions, a stress as small as 0.02
or smaller will occur for contentless random data about 50% of the time” (p. 52)
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and for 7 objects in 4 dimensions a stress value of zero will occur over 50% of the
time. Therefore, with only nine categories, using more than two dimensions in
MDS is not advised.
The “elbow” in the stress
1
fit values is examined in a manner similar to the
scree test in factor analysis. Kruskal and Wish recommended the cutoff of stress
1
< .10 as a criterion of adequacy in deciding upon the elbow—in other words, does
the elbow adequately account for the data by being below the .10 threshold. Bedi
and Alexander (2004) explain that the desired stress threshold is often elusive and
reiterate the conclusion of Trochim “that two-dimensional solutions have, almost
without exception, been acceptable as long as they have been coupled with cluster
analysis” (p. 15) and “that a stress value of less than .30 represents a stable nMSD
solution” (p. 16). The authors cite a review of 38 MVCM studies conducted by
Trochim that found the average stress value among the studies was 0.29, well
beyond the desired <.10 yet still below .30.
After this fit criterion, Kruskal and Wish (1978) have recommended
interpretability, ease of use, and stability as other criteria to use in selecting
dimensions. Interpretability refers to the solution that makes the most sense
conceptually. Ease of use refers to parsimony. Fewer dimensions are preferable
because they depict the structure more simply. Stability refers to the reliability of
the structure. Both two and three dimensional solutions were analyzed using the
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criteria of fit, interpretability, ease of use, and stability; the two dimensional
solution was chosen on these bases.
Clustering
Clustering analyses were used to explore whether the data are better
depicted with a discrete, rather than dimensional, representation. Clustering
focuses on differences of “type,” in contrast to MDS’s differences of “amount,”
and thus allows examination of how the conceptual categories generated are
qualitatively different. Several alternative clustering methods are available
(Borgen & Barnett, 1987), and for this study hierarchical clustering, using
Euclidean distance and Ward’s method of linkage, were selected.
The selection of the number of clusters is rarely clear (Borgen & Barnett,
1987), and selection procedures range from informal to statistical. Given the focus
on interpretability and ease of use, an informal approach was judged to be most
appropriate. The logic is similar to that of the scree test in factor analysis.
Hierarchical clustering presents the data in the form of a dendrogram, which is a
representation of the distance of each category from each other category. The
fusion coefficient (i.e., the value of the distance parameter listed in the clustering
dendrogram for each number of clusters) is examined for an “elbow,” as in MDS,
using the criteria of interpretability and ease of use to yield the final cluster
representation. Once clusters were identified, they were labeled to aid in the
interpretation of the concept map.
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Chapter 3
Results
Because the research design of multivariate concept mapping (MVCM)
employed a sequential exploratory approach with qualitative data analysis being
the focus of Phase I and quantitative data analysis being the focus of Phase II, the
results of each phase are reported separately below.
Phase I Results
The 93 responses collected through the CYEQ used in Phase I were
grouped into nine categories of experiences that participants identified as
significant in the development of their identity during college. Table 1 lists the
nine categories, as well as abbreviations that will be used to identify the
categories in the following presentation and discussion of findings.
Table 1
Categories and Abbreviations
Complete Categories Abbreviation
Being inspired and supported to succeed in college by family members
FAMILY
Making a commitment or taking action for social change and justice
CHANGE
Learning about the history, struggles and contributions of Latinos/as
HISTORY
Forming a community of friends and support
COMMUN
Moving away from home
MOVING
Being criticized or discouraged by an instructor or counselor
CRITICISM
Receiving high grades and positive feedback on academic achievements
POSITIVE
Feeling invisible or dismissed because of ethnicity
INVISIBLE
Meeting strong professors who became role models
PROFS
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Description of Categories
Whereas the category titles represent a summarization of the major themes
contained within each classification, the descriptors that elucidated the categories
for the Paired Comparison Questionnaire utilized excerpts as written by
participants on the CYEQ. This protocol was in keeping with the study’s intent to
capture the perspective of Latina students as directly as possible, and preserving
the students’ words in the descriptors is one way to do so. In the descriptions of
the nine categories below, selected responses from the CYEQ are again used to
illuminate the range of experiences included in each category. All responses from
the CYEQ are included in Appendix C.
Being Inspired and Supported to Succeed in College by Family Members
12 of the 93 incidents fit into this first category (FAMILY), making it one
of four most frequently cited categories of experience that affected the identity of
study participants. Specific family members who had encouraged the student to
attend or continue with school, or those who had made sacrifices on behalf of the
student, were often cited as in the excerpts below.
“My mother gave me courage and ‘forced’ me to go – and I thank her for
it everyday as I prepare my applications for law school. I know I wouldn’t be in
this place if my mother wouldn’t have placed her needs after mine.”
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“One of the persons that influenced me was my cousin Kimberly...I
admire that she still went to school and was a full time housewife. She influenced
me with school and to better myself with everything in my life.”
Family members who had died or otherwise were unable to fulfill their
own potential were also mentioned.
“When he died I made it my goal to continue my education and graduate
in his honor...because my brother looked up to me I felt finishing school was
important and never gave up.”
“After my dad died...I was devastated, naturally. But I always told myself
I would make him proud of me, so when things get tough (as they often do) I
think of my dad and making him proud.”
Finally, students mentioned the family members who inspired them
because the student wanted to be a role model or set an example for a child or
sibling.
“Having my daughter helped make me very focused...having continued
my education shows her that I am a strong person who won’t let go of my dreams
which in turn is something I model to her.”
“I also see my family and how they have struggled. At one point my mom
had 3 jobs, raising 3 kids on her own and I saw how hard that was. I want a better
life for me and my kids (that will come one day).”
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Making a Commitment or Taking Action for Social Change and Justice
Seven of the 93 responses (6.5%) were classified by the three raters in this
category (CHANGE) and all made mention of a specific event or experience that
occurred to instigate the commitment for social change and justice such as a
protest march, an internship, or a college course.
“My experience was being part of the Great March in L.A. with a group of
CSUN students and faculty. It helped demonstrate the power with which Latinos
unite and defend one another.”
“During my sophomore year I took a Women’s Studies course...the ways
to help this community were also discussed. I then transferred this info to what I
can do to help my community (Latinos/Chicanos/Mexicanos) in every aspect of
their lives.”
“It was End-Dependence Day in 2003. This was my first step to taking
action on my newly found cultural identity. I saw all these brown college students
organizing this event....it also instilled politics in me.”
“I went to my first protest march in downtown L.A. with MEChA. We
were marching in support of people who work in the sweatshops in downtown
L.A....This event made me more aware about things around me and I have been
more politically active ever since then.”
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Learning About the History, Struggles and Contributions of Latinos/as
There were two categories of experience that each included 13 responses,
the highest number of responses assigned to a category, and Learning about the
History, Struggles and Contributions of Latinos/as (HISTORY) was one of the
two. The 13 responses represented 14 percent of the total responses collected.
Most, but not all, of the responses referenced Chicano Studies classes where this
learning took place.
“My experience was in Chicano Studies 100...it made me proud and at the
same time informed me on my heritage and the untold history of Chicanos in
California. It was important because it empowered me and helped me identify
myself and my roots.”
“I am a whitewashed Mexican and I always felt like I didn’t fit in
anywhere. After taking CHS (Chicano Studies) courses, I was able to identify
myself and all my surroundings. My place in society, my role in relationships,
everything about me and my mentality was embraced...the world began to finally
make sense to me.”
“Learning about Cesar Chavez and different organizations for Chicanos
has made me a stronger person. Learning about our Chicano heroes has made me
want to prepare to give back to my Chicano community and to help as many
Chicanos that I can.”
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Forming a Community of Friends and Support
12 of the 93 responses (12.9%) were classified into the category of
Forming a Community of Friends and Support (COMMUN), the same number as
was found in the category of FAMILY. The types of experiences that are
included in this category are wide ranging, from communities formed in courses
or student organizations to communities of support among friends.
“There has been a camaraderie established in our distance learning group.
We are supportive, we encourage one another, we know each one is vulnerable...I
think we genuinely care about one another.”
“The experience that impacted me was the warmthness in which I
experience with an organization on campus – MEChA. They were great friends
and organizers. They made me feel good about who I was. I fit in with the same
beliefs...I felt like I had a family away from home I could count on.”
“During my college years, the greatest incident that comes to mind that
influences who I am is my spiritual conversion. I grappled with my identity and
where I fit in and belonged. But when I converted to Christianity (protestant) from
Catholicism I had a new found sense of destiny. It was a classmate...who
introduced me to Christianity.”
“When my mother was told she had cancer. The people I turn to for help
were my friends that became like my sisters. They help me cope and express my
feelings.”
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Moving Away From Home
Moving Away from Home (MOVING) had the fewest number of responses
from the CYEQ; only three incidents that were provided by respondents were
assigned to this category.
“Although what I wanted was to leave home I was scared to go to a school
where no one knew me, I had no friends, no one to talk to except through the
phone.”
“When I moved out of CSUN dorms and into my own apartment, I finally
felt the real struggle to maintain my house and it made me feel completely
independent...It was also in that apartment that I discovered how different I was
from my longtime friends.”
“When I arrived to college, I was ready to live on my own in the dorms.
The first weeks were great....[then] we were all robbed...Out of this experience I
no longer live at the dorms and instead live at home.”
Being Criticized or Discouraged by an Instructor or Counselor
Seven of the 93 responses detailed the experience of Being Criticized or
Discouraged by and Instructor or Counselor (CRITICISM), which was also the
category that received the most negative rating on the effect of the experience,
described in more detail in the next section of this chapter.
“The instructor liked most of my papers but one day she insulted me in
front of the whole class for no good reason. The whole class of about 100 students
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witnessed this and although shocked, nobody had the guts to back me or stand
with me when I objected.”
“I was talking in class to my teacher to see what I could do to get a good
grade in the class. He said that it would be very difficult for me to get an “A”.
After he treated me different because I was the only Latino. I felt that he thought
that I was not good enough like his white students.”
“I was a Biology major. I went to see my Biology counselor and he told
me if I was positive of my being a Biology major and if I wanted to continue. He
literally turned me off and made me change my mind.”
“I was taking a class and had not completed a paper that was due...[the
instructor] flips out in front of the class and tells me it’s not her problem if my
economic background won’t let me finish my work and she was going to leave me
in the dust. She then said but what does it matter anyway.”
Receiving High Grades and Positive Feedback on Academic Achievements
This category, Receiving High Grades and Positive Feedback on
Academic Achievements (POSITIVE), along with HISTORY, was seen most
frequently in the CYEQ responses as the type of experience that affected the
students’ sense of self. 13 of the 93 responses fit into the category.
“I had so many fears and concerns about whether or not I was cut out to
go to college. The first midterm came, and I receive 100% on it. I was ecstatic
because going in I was already thinking I was going to fail.”
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“I’m not very good at it [math] and so when it came to taking a math class
in college I kept putting it aside...I’m happy to say that I finally took my math
class, though it took me two times. Finishing the class was a great
accomplishment, making me feel that if I can complete my math class I can surely
obtain my degree.”
“I never thought I was capable of doing complicated assignments and
getting them done. Now I know that I can do whatever it is that I am assigned to
do.”
Feeling Invisible or Dismissed Because of Ethnicity
8 of the 93 incidents (8.6%) from the CYEQ were assigned to the category
of Feeling Invisible or Dismissed Because of Ethnicity (INVISIBLE).
“I went to a community college before transferring and many of the
important documents used in that college had ‘check on box only’ categories.
This really confused and offended me because I perceived this petty concept as to
deny the existence of multiracial people.”
“As a Latina, we are often stereotyped...I remember working in a daycare
where parents were mainly white. One of the moms asked me what school I
attended and what my major was. She gave me a very negative comment saying
why do I bother going to school if I will become pregnant and end up being a
housewife.”
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“He [U.S. History professor] focuses on Black history very rarely and has
never mentioned Xicanos or Mexico...When I ask him questions and I remind him
to incorporate Mexicans since we make up a huge part of the country and have
contributed in every war we’ve every had he got angry. It makes me feel like we
are invisible and that we don’t matter.”
“My friends and I were drinking at my apartment and someone...sexually
abused my friends and when we told the cops they did nothing about it. I don’t
know if it was because we were all under the influence of alcohol or because we
were all Latinas.”
Meeting Strong Professors Who Became Role Models
The ninth category of experience identified as significant in the
development of identity in Latina students was Meeting Strong Professors Who
Became Role Models (PROFS), which included 10 CYEQ responses. Many of the
professors referenced in the incidents were Latina or Chicana.
“Meeting a strong Hispanic woman [professor] that has accomplished so
much in her life has shown me that there is nothing that I can’t accomplish. I can
go to her and talk either about class or my own personal issues.”
“The educated, powerful, unique Chicana professors that I have had the
pleasure to have taken their classes and/or have interacted with within the
Chicano Studies Department have had a huge impact on my self identity. They
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have taught me that we are the future leaders and as minorities we must work
above and beyond others in what we decide to pursue.”
“An experience that changed/had influence in my life was a testimony
from one of my professors. She used to be a cop and being tired of arresting the
same young men. She decided to put a stop to the cycle...By looking at her
experience it made me realize that when you don’t agree with something, action
needs to be taken.”
Table 2 summarizes the frequency of categories found in the Phase I
CYEQ responses as well as the mean values of the year during college in which
the experience occurred, the positive value attributed to the incidents, and the
eventual effect on sense of self, findings which are reported in the following
sections.
Table 2
Frequency of Category, Year of Occurrence, Positive Value, and Eventual Effect
Category No. of
Incidents
Year of
Occurrence in
College
(Freshman=1
Senior=4)
M SD
Positive Value
M SD
Eventual Effect on
Sense of Self
M SD
FAMILY 12 1.90 0.79 6.42 0.95 6.67 0.85
CHANGE 7 3.00 1.20 6.57 0.73 6.57 0.73
HISTORY 13 2.50 1.32 5.92 1.86 6.15 1.46
COMMUN 12 2.50 1.11 6.54 0.66 6.36 0.64
MOVING 3 2.00 1.00 4.00 2.16 4.00 2.16
CRITICISM 7 2.29 1.03 2.86 1.88 3.71 2.37
POSITIVE 13 1.92 0.73 6.54 1.08 6.15 1.61
INVISIBLE 8 2.38 0.86 3.38 2.29 4.25 1.79
PROFS 10 3.10 0.54 6.40 1.50 6.70 1.27
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Year of Occurrence
The College Years Experience Questionnaire asked respondents to
identify in which year of college the significant incident they described had
occurred. Using a coding system where 1=Freshman, 2=Sophomore, 3=Junior,
and 4=Senior class standing, the mean value of the occurrence of the reported
incidents was 2.41, between the sophomore and junior year of college. However,
variation exists in time of occurrence between the nine categories of experiences.
As shown in Table 2, the mean year of occurrence for the category of
experience ranged from a low of M=1.90 for FAMILY to M=3.10 for PROFS.
Three categories had a mean value of 2.00 or below (FAMILY, MOVING, and
POSITIVE), and two categories had a mean value of 3.00 or above (CHANGE
and PROFS). The remaining four categories (HISTORY, COMMUN,
CRITICISM and INVISIBLE) had mean values between 2.29 and 2.50.
The two categories with the lowest mean values, FAMILY and
POSITIVE, indicating that the included experiences occurred early in the college
going experience, also had relatively small standard deviations (SD=.79 and
SD=.73 respectively). The category with the highest mean value (PROFS
M=3.10), indicating that the experiences occurred in the later years of college, had
the smallest standard deviation (SD=.54), with no respondents reporting that an
experience within the category took place during freshman year.
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Positive Value Rating
Two additional questions were included on the CYEQ. The first asked
respondents to assess “the degree to which you experienced this incident or
experience as positive” on a continuum, with a scale ranging from 1=Very
Negative to 7=Very Positive. The second asked the respondents to assess “the
eventual effect this incident or experience had on your sense of self”, and used the
same seven point scale.
As summarized in Table 2, six categories of experiences were perceived as
generally positive, with mean values ranging from 5.92 to 6.57 on the seven point
scale. Making a Commitment or Taking Action for Social Change or Justice
(CHANGE) was perceived as the most positive category of experience. Three
categories were perceived as generally negative, with mean values ranging from
2.86 to 4.00. Being Criticized or Discouraged by an Instructor or Counselor
(CRITICISM) was the category that received the most negative rating by Phase I
respondents.
Eventual Effect of Experience on Sense of Self
This query on the CYEQ assumed the respondents would differentiate
between the perceived positive or negative quality of the described incident as it
was experienced at the time and its effect on sense of self from a perspective of
distance, i.e., “eventual effect”. Overall, there was little difference between the
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initial assessment of the positive value of the incident and the eventual effect of
the incident.
In five categories (FAMILY, HISTORY, CRITICISM, INVISIBLE,
PROFS) the eventual effect was rated slightly more positively than the initial
experience. In two categories (CHANGE, MOVING) the eventual effect and the
initial experience received the same mean value on the positive continuum. In two
categories (COMMUN, POSITIVE) the eventual effect was perceived as being
slightly less positive than the initial experience; however, those two categories of
experience were ranked second only to CHANGE in terms of the initial
experience being perceived as positive. The ratings are summarized in Table 2.
Phase II Results
The MDS and cluster analyses conducted on the similarity data collected
during Phase II resulted in a concept map that attempts to answer a question posed
as central to this study; that is, what graphic representation in the form of a
concept map best describes the impact of college on identity development of
Latina students? The results of the procedures conducted as part of the overall
analysis process are presented below.
Multidimensional Scaling (MDS)
Non-metric MDS used the summed similarity ratings from respondents on
the Paired Comparison Questionnaire to represent the numerical values as points
on a plane figure. While any number of dimensions are theoretically possible,
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because there were only nine categories (items or objects) that were subjected to
MDS, the decision to constrain the solution to two dimensions was
straightforward and resulted in a set of x-y values, or dimensional weights, shown
in Table 3.
Table 3
Dimension Values
Category Dimension 1(x) Dimension 2 (y)
FAMILY 1.558 0.559
CHANGE 0.201 1.450
HISTORY -1.121 0.310
COMMUN 0.062 -1.673
MOVING -0.490 0.206
CRITICISM -0.556 0.894
POSITIVE -1.332 -0.080
INVISIBLE -0.250 -1.389
PROFS 1.929 -0.277
Although a three dimensional solution was also examined, in such
instance the ratio of objects (9) to dimensions (3) was low, calling into question
whether the lower stress value obtained in the three dimensional solution actually
indicated a better fit to the data. The three dimensional solution produced a stress
value of .15, while the two dimensional solution produced a stress value of .26.
Both met the .30 threshold for solution stability. The two dimensional solution
produced the scatter plot in Figure 1, using the Euclidean Distance Model.
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Figure 1. Euclidean Distance Model
Labeling the dimensions is an important step in making sense of the
concept map and requires interpretation by “visually inspect[ing] the
configuration, specifically examining the position of the items in relation to each
other and the dimensions” (Darcy et. al., 2004, p. 148). The category of
Receiving High Grades and Positive Feedback on Academic Achievements
(POSITIVE) is at one end of the continuum represented by Dimension 1, while
Meeting Strong Professors Who Became Role Models (PROFS) appears at the
other end. Dimension 1 was labeled Validation through Accomplishment versus
Validation through Relationship. Dimension 2 was anchored by the two
categories of Forming a Community of Friends and Support (COMMUN) and
Making a Commitment or Taking Action for Social Change and Justice
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(CHANGE). Examining the categories arrayed along this dimension seemed to
indicate the polarity between the self in the private, personal world and the self in
the public, external world. This dimension was labeled Acting in the Private
Sphere versus Acting in the Public Sphere.
Cluster Analysis
The complementary nature of MDS and hierarchical cluster analysis stems
from their ability to reveal different structures in data. “An important reason why
a neighborhood interpretation can reveal other patterns in the data is that its focus
in primarily on the small distances (large similarities), while a dimensional
approach attends most to the large distances” (Kruskal & Wish, 1978, p. 44). The
Ward Linkage Method was used to evaluate the distance of each concept from the
others, forming a dendrogram, displayed in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Dendrogram Using Ward Method
92
At point 15 on the dendrogram, four clusters are apparent, and upon
further examination, the four clusters appeared to have within-group conceptual
homogeneity. In other words, there is a commonality among the categories within
the cluster that is the defining attribute of that particular cluster.
Cluster 1 is titled Contextual Factors and includes the categories
MOVING, CRITICISM, and HISTORY. Each of those three categories of
experience is a mechanism whereby new information from the environment is
being received by the student, potentially reframing her sense of self in relation to
that social and physical context.
Cluster 2 is titled Social Identity and is comprised of the categories of
POSITIVE, INVISIBLE, and COMMUN. Each of these categories aligns with
one of the necessary processes of social identity theory, discussed earlier in the
literature review.
Cluster 3 is composed of only two categories, FAMILY and CHANGE.
This cluster is titled Ethnic Affiliation because the essence of the incidents in
these two categories is connection: connection to family and connection to ethnic
group. Five of the seven incidents in CHANGE specifically addressed making a
commitment or taking action on behalf of the Latino community and Latino
issues.
93
Finally, Cluster 4 has a single category, PROFS, and is titled Aspirational
Identity referring to the potential students can see for themselves in the professors
who act as their role models.
The combination of the MDS and the cluster analysis resulted in the
concept map shown in Figure 3, graphically representing how Latina
undergraduates conceptually organize their understanding of the impact of college
on their sense of self.
Figure 3. Concept Map
Impact of College on Identity in Latina Undergraduates
Concept Map
-2
-1.5
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
-2.5 -2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Validation through Accomplishment vs. Validation through Relationship
Acting in the Private Sphere vs. Acting in the Public Sphere
Aspirational
Identity
Contextual Factors
Social Identity
Ethnic Affiliation
Criticism
Moving
History
Positive
Invisible
Commun
Change
Family
Profs
94
Chapter 4
Discussion
The first two of the four research questions articulated for this study were
answered through Phase I data, whereas answers to the remaining two questions
emerged from the analyses conducted on data collected during Phase II. In this
chapter, explication of findings in relation to the research questions will be
followed by a brief discussion of the limitations of the current study, directions
for future research that surfaced from the findings, and implications and
recommendations for higher education practitioners.
Findings in Relation to Research Questions
College Experiences Latina Students Perceive as Influential on Identity
The 93 CYEQ responses that form the foundation of this study present the
events, experiences, and relationships that the Latina undergraduate participants
identified as influential on their sense of identity/sense of self. Although each of
the 93 responses was unique, through the process of analysis and reduction, nine
general categories of experience surfaced; these categories are listed in Table 1.
Whether and how the categories of experience align with what was known
through previous research is discussed herein.
It was not surprising to find the category of being inspired and supported
to succeed in college by family members in 12.9 percent of the responses
generated by Phase I participants and confirms earlier findings that the Latino
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cultural value of familism (Chiang et al., 2004; Rodriguez et al., 2003; Rudolph et
al., 2005; Schneider & Ward, 2003; Tseng, 2004) persists during college (Kalsner
& Pistole, 2004). However, the incidents included in this category of experience,
without exception, referenced individual family members in the critical incident: a
father, a mother, a cousin, a sibling, a child. There was no mention of family as a
unit, or an idealized family as a construct; the responses were all extremely
specific, a quality that was not found in the literature reviewed for this study.
The experiences included in this category were generally perceived as
positive by respondents. It should be noted, however, that one unclassified
response from the CYEQ described how “the lack of support from my family
made it very difficult to start and continue my education...there was no moral or
emotional support”. This incident received a negative rating, a score point of 2 on
the continuum. Because it was the only incident submitted that indicated the
absence of family support it did not form a category, but should not be
overlooked. This response also provided detail to the type of support that the
respondent desired: shared joy over an “aced” exam (emotional support) and quiet
for study (instrumental support).
Although a single response, it does evidence that family support is not
universal and poses significant challenge to the student when lacking. It may be
that because familism is such a highly valued quality in Latino culture, the
absence of family support is more keenly felt by members of the ethnic group.
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The second category, making a commitment or taking action for social
change and justice, was not directly foreshadowed by the research presented in
Chapter 1 but is congruent with the more collectivist and less individualistic
cultural norms that are usually attributed to Latino cultures. Most of the incidents
included in this category had a direct connection with taking action on the part of
Latino workers, immigrants, and other marginalized members of the Latino
community. Even the incidents that did not mention Latino issues directly (two of
seven incidents) were internships where the respondents worked with people who
were experiencing “hard times” and the respondents felt as if they had some
capacity to help the clients overcome their challenges; the ethnicity of the clients
served through these internships were not mentioned in the responses.
In this light, the category of CHANGE may also signal the student’s stage
in her racial/ethnic identity development process. Whether adapting Cross’
nigrescence model (2000) or applying Phinney’s (1990) three stage model of
ethnic identity development, it would appear that students are in the phase of
ethnic identity search (Phinney) or immersion-emersion (Cross), stages with
similar characteristics in the respective models. The hallmarks of these stages that
are seen in the incidents included in the category of CHANGE are: attaching their
identity to positive images of their culture and associating with same race peers
(“My experience was being part of the Great March in L.A. with a group of
CSUN students and faculty. It helped demonstrate the power with which Latinos
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unite and defend one another”), and increased altruism (“I then transferred this
info to what I can do to help my community [Latinos/Chicanos/Mexicanos] in
every aspect of their lives”).
The category of learning about the history, struggles, and contributions of
Latinos/as (HISTORY) appeared in 13.9 percent of the CYEQ responses and, like
CHANGE, is very strongly associated with the racial and ethnic identity
developmental stages of immersion-emersion and ethnic identity search. This
process of building ethnic knowledge and pride and being intensely involved with
one’s racial or ethnic group is nowhere better displayed than in the incidents in
this category, an example of which states:
They gave me the piece that was missing from my life, because they
taught me the history of my people that my prior education failed to teach.
I learned about the richness my people have which has given me much
pride to be who I am, an educated powerful, Mexican-American
CHICANA! I should not be ashamed about the color of my skin or where
my family came from because we come from a place that’s very rich and
unique to the experiences of others.
There was also evidence that participants were grappling with issues of
biculturalism, of navigating between the Latino community of origin and the
dominant, white culture. One response where this dynamic tension between ethnic
identification and assimilation was recognized by the participant read: “With this
I realize that I will always be Mexican because I was born in Mexico. That it’s ok
to speak Spanish. I realized that I don’t have to give up my identity in order to
become American.” Another included the statement that “my high school was
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purely Hispanic and being at CSUN I suddenly became aware of my ethnicity and
heritage. I was proud of being different and discovering the various cultures in
my new community”. A third student wrote “I have always considered myself as
just an American, without really thinking about the history of my parents and
grandparents, the culture, the sacrifices that they went through to make my own
life a better one”.
The students who contributed these incidents all seem to have resolved
whatever conflicts may have arisen between majority cultural values and Latino
cultural values and there was no evidence in this group that Latina students were
masking or cloaking their cultural presence (Castillo et al., 2004). It may be that
the campus environment is inclusive enough so that Latina students can exhibit
their cultural presence without fear or intimidation, and multiple on-site visits to
the university from which most of the participants were recruited provided
indications to support that proposition.
In the campus building where all in-class Phase I data were collected,
there are several large murals in the hallway and in selected classrooms that
depict important Latino historical and cultural events, people, and settings. The
office of a major Chicano student organization is situated on a main hallway near
the major entrance to the building; although small, the office has a location central
to the traffic of the building. English and Spanish are both heard being spoken in
the informal conversations among students and between students and faculty. The
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physical world in which the students operate on this campus (Gonzalez, 2000), at
least as observed in the particular building, is inclusive of the symbols reflecting
the cultures of the students.
The incidents in the fourth category, forming a community of friends and
support (COMMUN), differed in the types of peer relationships described from
those that were included in CHANGE or HISTORY, in that they were not
primarily peers from the same ethic/racial background. In fact, there was a wide
range of what constituted a community in this category: classmates, personal
friends, colleagues from student organizations. Whereas Rendon (1994)
differentiated between in-class agents and out-of-class agents in interpersonal
support systems, the study responses do not preserve that divide.
In the literature, interpersonal support systems have been recognized as
essential to college students, perhaps even more so to Latino/a students who often
face intensified challenges in a college environment. The large number of
responses in this category (n=12), the high positive value rating it received
(M=6.54, SD=.66) and its enduring importance to the respondents’ sense of self
(M=6.36, SD=.64) all confirm this conclusion.
Another finding in the literature that is verified by the results of this study
is that support provided by family is different in nature from that provided by
others. In the analyses conducted on Phase I data as part of MVCM, the
categories of FAMILY and COMMUN were perceived by respondents as distinct
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from one another and were physically separated on the resulting concept map.
However, they likely complement each other, as delineated by Schneider and
Ward (2003).
The category of moving away from home (MOVING) included only three
responses. An unsolicited email sent by a study participant following the close of
Phase II data collection may provide an explanation for why the category of
MOVING was one less often seen in the CYEQ. The participant wanted to
emphasize that most Latinas, including her, were not allowed to move away to
school and that she believed it unlikely that her 12 year old daughter will be
allowed to move from the home to attend school either. The student did not
indicate whether her daughter’s forecasted restriction was a result of the
participant’s wishes, the values and desires of other members of the family, or
other factors such as financial constraints.
Because the personal information collected on Phase I participants did not
ask them to indicate with whom or where they resided, it may be that the low
number of Phase I responses that referenced moving away from home results
from many of the participants not having that experience. A significant number
of the participants may still be living at home.
This would be congruent with national trends. Tornatzky, Lee, Mejia, and
Tarant (2003) found that 78 percent of Latinos felt it was better for children to
live in their parent’s home until they get married, compared to 46 and 47 percent
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for Whites and African-Americans respectively. They also maintain “it gets more
complicated. Among many Latino communities, cultural traditions tend to create
different patterns of expectation for young women. The expected physical
attachment to and expected presence in the family gets confounded and
accentuated with gender-specific roles” (p. 4).
The sixth category of experience is the one participants found to be most
negative: being criticized or discouraged by an instructor or counselor
(CRITICISM). This category seemed to contain incidents that highlight the
intersection of ethnicity and low expectations for students. While some incidents
did not have an overt racial/ethnic theme (“I was trying to transfer to a university
and the counselor just kept putting me down with my grade point average. He
said I would never make it to UC or Cal State”), others did (“He said that it would
be very difficult for me to get an ‘A’. After he treated me different because I was
the only Latino. I felt he thought that I was not good enough like his white
students”).
Hurtado et al. (1998) identified the psychological climate of perceptions
and attitudes between and among subgroups of students as one of four
institutional components of campus climate, yet the responses on this survey
center less on perceptions and attitudes between student groups and more on the
attitudes and perceptions between students and faculty. An earlier study by
Hurtado et al. (1994) found that Latino student perceptions of a student-centered
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faculty and administration were associated with positive adjustment to college and
perceptions of a hostile climate for diverse students were negatively associated
with adjustment to college in first and second year students.
The relatively low number of responses in this category may reflect that
this type of criticism is not widely practiced by instructors and counselors;
nevertheless, more than seven percent of the CYEQ responses had it as the major
theme of the submitted incident. An alternative, and more disturbing, explanation
is that students who are the targets of criticism and discouragement by authority
figures fail to adjust and have left the hostile campus environment before reaching
their junior or senior year of college.
Seven of the 13 CYEQ responses (53.8%) in the category of receiving
high grades and positive feedback on academic achievement (POSITIVE) also
related directly to comments made by counselors and instructors (“My English
101 professor stopped me after our class final and provided me with some words
of wisdom and praise. She said she was sure I would accomplish every goal I
attempted”). The high number of responses in this category that involve faculty
and staff reinforces the importance of their role to the development of student
identity, as was discussed above. In addition, the findings from this study
corroborate well established and widely accepted research concerning the effects
on students of faculty-student interactions (Lamport, 1993).
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The earlier mention of Rendon’s (1994) finding that non-traditional
students perceive institutional-student involvement to occur when someone such
as a professor or counselor takes an active role in assisting them rather than the
student initiating involvement was clearly seen in the following incident.
I was failing the class. This professor pulled me aside and indicated to me
that she knew I was a very smart young lady and needed to get rid of my
distractions and put forth more effort to get ahead and achieve my future
goals. This was important because I was at a point in my life where I
wasn’t sure that I could make it through college. She changed my mind
and helped me to believe that I was capable and needed to keep looking
forward despite any road blocks I may encounter.
The eighth category of experience, feeling invisible or dismissed because
of ethnicity (INVISIBLE), referenced experiences and individuals both within and
external to the university environment (“I remember being in a history class and
feeling out of place... because I felt that I wasn’t part of the history. In trying to
find a sense of self I felt that I didn’t have one”) as well as specific policies and
procedures within the control of the university (“Many of the important
documents used in that college only had ‘check one box only’ categories. This
really confused and offended me [as it is used] to deny the existence of multiracial
people”).
Of interest was one response in this category that illustrated an idea that
Ethier and Deaux (1994) advanced: less culturally identified students were unable
to gain acceptance and support among students of their ethnic group. In one
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student’s CYEQ she wrote that she was “never invited to join MEChA because I
wasn’t Chicana enough”.
The final category of experiences submitted by Latina students in the
study was meeting strong professors who became role models (PROFS). While
similar in some ways to the incidents related to faculty in the POSITIVE category,
they were different in that the professors were not simply encouraging or
supportive to the student. Beyond encouragement, in this category of experience
the student learned something about herself or developed a particular perspective
through the words or actions of the professor. Incidents included statements such
as “they taught me that we are the future leaders and as minorities we must work
above and beyond others in what we decide to pursue, because we have more than
one barrier to break” and “by looking at her experience it made me realize that
when you don’t agree with something, action needs to be taken”.
The incidents within this category all occurred after freshman year and the
majority (60%) occurred during their junior year of school with the remainder
taking place during the senior year (30%) or sophomore year (10%). One can
speculate about the factors that may have contributed to the year of occurrence in
college of this particular type of experience. It may be that lower division classes
tend to be larger and there is less chance of making individual connections with
professors until the students enter smaller classes within their major, which
typically occurs during the junior year. Or, it may be accounted for by the
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maturity level of students after two years of college. Recognizing a person as a
role model entails the ability to see oneself in the person who is being emulated;
an entering student may not yet see herself as close enough in status to the
professor that such a projection is possible.
Perceived Effect of Experiences in the Near and Longer Term
Schlossberg’s (1981) model for analyzing adaptation to transition included
a set of factors deemed characteristics of the transition, which are defined by the
person undergoing the change. One of these factors is the affect or positive vs.
negative value of the change, a variable that was captured on the CYEQ. Results
were included in Table 2, found in the previous chapter, and ranged from a high
mean value of 6.57 to a low mean value of 2.86.
Six of the categories of experience were positive with mean values above
5 (FAMILY, CHANGE, HISTORY, COMMUN, POSITIVE, and PROFS). Two
of the categories were negative with mean values below 3.5 (CRITICISM and
INVISIBLE). The final category, MOVING, was neutral (M=4.0, SD=2.16) but
the small number of responses (n=3) and the large standard deviation makes the
score less meaningful.
The categories that were perceived as positive or neutral at the time they
occurred maintained the same or similar score when participants assessed their
eventual or longer term affect on sense of self. However, the two categories that
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were initially rated as negative, CRITICISM and INVISIBLE, received higher
scores on their eventual effect.
The descriptions of the incidents contained in the CYEQ that were cast
with a negative affect provide a possible explanation for this incongruity. In many
cases, the negative experience inspired defiance or redefined self-expectations
within the student. Rather than being overwhelmed by the negative experience,
the participants used it as motivation for further development, as exemplified in
the excerpt below.
What is so important about this experience is that it push me to continue to
go to college and prove people wrong that Latinas can be educated and
seek a career. I look at this experience and it drives me to do things I
never thought I can do.
Reading the entire set of critical incidents collected through the CYEQ, a
holistic emotional tone of strength, achievement, and perseverance is evident.
There is little indication of defeat in the language and descriptions of the
participants, despite some very difficult challenges they face.
Conceptual Categories of Identity-Defining Experiences
The third of the research questions defined for this study asks into what
conceptual categories do Latina students group these identity-defining
experiences they detailed on the CYEQ. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) and
hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were the tools used to extract this information
from the Paired Comparison Questionnaire used in Phase II of the study.
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Multidimensional Scaling
MDS using the Euclidean Distance model resulted in a two dimensional
plane configuration upon which the nine categories of experience are positioned;
this configuration is displayed as Figure 1 in the previous chapter. The
methodology positions the categories such that the distance between the points on
the plane represents the degree of similarity of the categories one to another. In
this way, the organizing framework of categories used by study participants
becomes apparent.
Participants placed POSITIVE at one end of Dimension 1 and PROFS at
the opposite end of Dimension 1. Closest in proximity to POSITIVE along the
continuum was HISTORY and closest to PROFS was FAMILY. The position of
these categories indicate that one end of Dimension 1 represents validation of self
through accomplishment, both personal accomplishment such as receiving good
grades and social group accomplishment such as the contributions of one’s ethnic
group. The opposite end of the dimension represents the validation of self
through the relationships one establishes. Family relationships and relationships
with professors nurture and solidify the developing sense of identity for Latina
students, anchoring them to their past through family networks (FAMILY) and
building their aspirations for the future through the models of success (PROFS)
available to them.
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Dimension 2 exhibits CHANGE at one end with COMMUN at the other
end. The closest categories to the two poles are CRITICISM and INVISIBLE,
respectively. Thus CHANGE, positive action taken on behalf of social justice,
and CRITICISM, a receptive state with largely negative associations, anchor one
end of the dimension while COMMUN, active engagement with a group who
provide interpersonal support, and INVISIBLE, an internal state of perceived
marginalization, anchor the other. Dimension 2 is interpreted to represent the
student’s sense of self when she is acting in a public arena and her sense of self in
her personal and internal life.
Cluster Analysis
Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) attempts to locate meaningful
neighborhoods or clusters of items that illuminate the underlying data structure, in
this instance the conceptual organization by study participants of identity-defining
experiences in college.
Using Ward’s linkage, the dendrogram displayed in Figure 2 was created
and analyzed to find meaningful clusters. Four such clusters of categories were
identified, as shown in Table 4, with the rationale for each described below.
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Table 4
Clusters of Categories
CLUSTER INCLUDED CATEGORIES
Contextual Factors
CRITICISM
HISTORY
MOVING
Social Identity
POSITIVE
INVISIBLE
COMMUN
Ethnic Affiliation
CHANGE
FAMILY
Aspirational Identity PROFS
The first cluster, Contextual Factors, contains the three categories of
CRITICISM, HISTORY, and MOVING. Each of these categories of experience
changed the information or environmental feedback provided to the student; these
experiences were context dependent. Within this cluster of experiences, students
received negative messages about themselves, they received positive messages
about their ethnic group, and they changed the location of their residence and
presumably the previously established routines, responsibilities, and network of
daily contacts. The notion that identity development is an internal process
precipitated and mediated by interaction with one’s social/situational context
compels the conclusion that a change in the external environment will have some
effect on identity and supports the existence of this cluster.
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The second cluster, Social Identity, is defined by the experience categories
of POSITIVE, INVISIBLE, and COMMUN. These categories map to
foundational constructs of social identity theory. Specifically, POSITIVE may
reinforce the notion of positive distinctiveness, an element of social comparison.
INVISIBLE can be viewed as another facet of social comparison, wherein the
individual sees herself as compared unfavorably to the dominant reference group.
COMMUN aligns with the concepts of ingroup versus outgroup, central to the
idea of social categorization. The intuitive fit of these categories to a cluster of
identity-defining experiences based on social identity is underscored with the
realization that “the primary goal of social comparison is to acquire information
about the self” (Schwinghammer & Stapel, 2006, p. 704).
The third cluster, Ethnic Affiliation, draws its meaning from Bennett’s
(2001) definition of ethnic identity, cited in the literature review. Ethnic identity
is the degree of connection with one’s ethnic group of origin, an understanding of
self in relation to the subgroup to which one’s family belongs. FAMILY clearly
fits into the Ethnic Affiliation cluster as does CHANGE. The actions and
commitments described in the category CHANGE were taken on behalf of the
student’s ethnic group and strengthened students’ connection and understanding
of their ethnic identity.
The last cluster with its single category of PROFS, was labeled
Aspirational Identity. This coterminous cluster and category is so named because
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the incidents comprising the category speak to the future potential of the students,
reflected back to them from their professors who serve as role models and guides
towards a future they are beginning to imagine for themselves.
The overlay of clusters found through HCA on the dimensional plane
formed through MDS resulted in the concept map that answers the last research
question: what graphic representation in the form of a concept map best describes
the impact of college on identity development in Latina students? The concept
map is displayed as Figure 3 in the previous chapter.
Limitations of the Study
Two types of limitations of the study are addressed in this section:
participant selection and validity of survey data.
Participant Selection
A recognized limitation to the study concerns the selection of participants,
and consequently, how well they represent the undergraduate Latina population
generally. Over 80 percent of respondents in Phase I and all respondents in Phase
II came from a single university which has a relatively high proportion of Latino/a
students and is designated a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Moreover, the
students were recruited through the Chicano/a Studies Department, so all
participants were enrolled in at least one course that focused on academic content
from an ethnic studies perspective; because of the particular courses in which data
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were collected, it should be assumed that some of the respondents were pursuing
majors within the department.
In contrast, most Latina undergraduates attend Predominantly White
Institutions (PWI). The fact that all study participants were attending an HSI and
over 80 percent were connected to the largest Chicano/a Studies Department in
the United States make them atypical, and the reminder from Hurtado et al.
(1998) that students are educated in distinct racial contexts must be heeded in
interpreting results that may be influenced by the institutional climate
encountered. Latina undergraduates at PWI’s or those from a wider range of
academic majors may experience different events and relationships in college that
have an impact on identity development, and the results of MVCM with a
different group of Latina undergraduates might be dissimilar to those found in this
study.
Thus, generalizing the findings from such a limited study should be done
cautiously, and is further complicated by the use of respondent proxies in Phase
II. Bedi and Alexander (2004) acknowledge the reality that respondent proxies are
often necessary in the similarity rating task and advise that proxies should be
carefully chosen; even with these safeguards, they stress that the use of proxy
sorters “can draw the validity and generalizability of the results into some
question” (p. 12).
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Conducting separate MDS and cluster analyses on the responses from
Phase I participants and on the responses from proxies might clarify whether the
results from the two groups are similar or dissimilar. However, because the total
number of Phase II participants was limited to 15, a further analysis of this type
was not feasible because MVCM is not considered valid with sample sizes of less
than ten (Bedi & Alexander, 2004).
A further limitation related to participant selection was the decision to
include only students who had achieved junior or senior class standing. In doing
so, the intent was to have students base their responses on a more complete and
extended college experience rather than having only one or two years of college
from which to select the most critical or meaningful experiences. In fact, a
cursory review of the small number of responses collected from sophomore level
Latinas, which were eliminated from this study, did indicate that the experiences
submitted on the CYEQ were different from those of junior and senior level
students.
However, including only junior and senior level undergraduates also
insures that the perspectives of those students who never reach upper class
standing, college non-completers, are not considered. It is plausible that whatever
events or relationships within or external to the college environments that non-
completers experience may be relevant both to the decision to drop out of college
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and also to their sense of self, and that those experiences may be unlike those of
students who persevered and achieved upper class standing.
Validity of Survey Data
As Desimone and Le Floch (2004) write, the debate over the quality of
educational research has intensified over the past several years, especially in
evaluating the validity and reliability of survey data. A common criticism of the
survey method, as used in the CYEQ and the Paired Comparison Questionnaire, is
that it cannot always bring the necessary depth of understanding to complex
constructs, such as the impact of college on identity. Two interrelated factors in
survey data validity are discussed here: the design of the instruments and the
interpretation of the collected data.
The responses collected on a survey instrument such as the CYEQ or the
Paired Comparison Questionnaire are valid only to the extent that the respondent
“has a similar understanding of the questions as the survey designers; and that the
questions do not omit or misinterpret major ideas, or miss important aspects of the
phenomena being examined” (Desimone & Le Flock, 2004, p. 4). This potential
shortcoming to survey research is more likely to occur when surveys are collected
and data are interpreted from ethnic minority populations, as is the case with this
study.
Problems arise when respondents do not recall or know the answer to
items, are motivated by fear, stigma or discomfort to hide or distort
information...due to linguistic and cultural factors, these barriers to
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accurate reporting may occur with greater frequency and be more complex
in research with diverse cultural and ethnic minority groups (Hines, 1993,
p. 730).
It is possible that the CYEQ or the Paired Comparison Questionnaire posed the
survey questions in a way that undermined the validity of the responses, although
it is more likely that the open-ended response format of the CYEQ better
preserved content validity. However, the Paired Comparison Questionnaire
(PCQ) presented an additional factor that must be considered.
As detailed earlier, a research team of three doctoral students analyzed and
reduced the CYEQ responses to the nine categories of experience which became
the items included in the PCQ. This intermediary step between data collection in
Phase I and data collection in Phase II injected a level of interpretation that may
have omitted or obscured important ideas contained in the Phase I responses. The
possibility that participants would have classified the incidents into different
categories than the research team is a viable supposition.
Incorporating a confirmatory verification procedure such as including
some of the Phase I respondents in the data analysis and reduction process that
produced the nine categories or engaging in a member check after initial
categories were proposed might have reduced that possibility. A verification
process might also have eliminated the CYEQ responses that did not fit into one
of the nine categories of experience, as those eight unclassified responses may be
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indicators of one or more categories recognized by respondents and missed by the
research team.
Directions for Future Research
Three potential areas for future research that emerge from the current
study seem particularly promising: investigating outcomes of the identified
experiences of impact, exploring in greater details the timing or year of
occurrence of categories of experience, and examining the impact of college
experience on identity in college non-completers.
The primary question on the CYEQ was presented in parts and included
queries on “what do you think was important about this experience and why” as
well as “what do you believe the long-term effect to have been on your sense of
who you are”. Both of these stems lead the respondent to not only describe the
incident that had influence on their sense of self, but to either reflect on or predict
the results or outcomes of that experience.
Yet the study design as bounded by the research questions did not attempt
to look at outcomes, only perceived causal influences. Further research could
correlate the perceived impacts and perceived outcomes, not only to make use of
existing data but also to further the ultimate purpose of the study which is to
understand identity development in the Latina undergraduate population in order
to create effective university environments that meet their academic and
developmental needs.
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The second area for further research concerns the timing of the different
categories of experience during the college years. Although this question was
included on the CYEQ, it was not a major focus of the study. Nevertheless, the
responses revealed suggestive patterns as to the year during college in which
certain experiences occur. Again, this line of inquiry may yield important insights
into the provision of student support and academic services at the time when they
may be most relevant and effective. Programs and services delivered at a time
when they are unnecessary is a waste of limited institutional resources, whereas
the absence of programs and services when they are needed can result in
underserved students; neither of those outcomes is desirable.
Finally, investigating the impact of college on identity development in
college non-completers, those who never attain upper class standing, is critically
important to Latina students. Not only do Latino student who graduate from high
school attend college at a much lower rate than their white peers, their completion
rate is significantly lower as well. The six-year graduation rate for Latino college
students is only 47 percent compared to the 67 percent of white students who have
earned their baccalaureate degree by the sixth year after matriculation (Carey,
2004). Because college is presumed to provide an optimal context for identity
development, understanding the identity-defining experiences of non-completers
may indicate avenues for retaining non-completers in college until they attain a
degree.
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Implications for Practitioners
Torres et al. (2003) urged faculty and administrators to attend to the
identity development of diverse students because the goal of higher education is
to create a marketplace of ideas, and the desired intellectual and social exchanges
between diverse groups of people will falter or fail when those groups disengage
from one another due to fear, misunderstanding, or ignorance. In addition to such
overarching recommendations, the implications that stem from this study’s
findings give rise to three specific recommendations for practitioners in
institutions of higher education in the areas of curriculum, faculty development,
and family outreach.
Curriculum
The two categories of experience, CHANGE and HISTORY, were
mentioned in 20 Phase I questionnaires as important to Latina’s development of
sense of self and both were perceived as positive experiences; CHANGE had a
positive value mean score of 6.57 (SD=.73) and HISTORY had a positive mean
value of 5.92 (SD=1.86). The implication that learning about the history,
struggles and contributions of one’s own ethnic group should be an experience in
which all students are engaged should precipitate a curriculum review by faculty
and administration, with a curriculum redesign if deemed necessary after the
review.
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The second area for curricular review and revision arises from the value
that Latina undergraduates found in making a commitment or taking action for
social change and justice. Service learning that teaches social responsibility and
civic engagement is an element of the curriculum that is often overlooked in
undergraduate studies. Adding a component of service learning to the curriculum
may provide students with an academic and experiential learning context that
supports their identity development.
Faculty Development
Being criticized by an instructor or counselor (CRITICISM) and meeting
strong professors who became role models (PROFS) both speak to the influence
faculty have on the developmental well being of their students, albeit one in a
negative and one in a positive way. Yet many faculty members have limited
understanding or academic preparation concerning issues of student development,
unless the topic falls within their academic discipline, which will occur only
rarely.
Rather than depending on such happenstance, institutions of higher
education should invest in faculty development initiatives that include the
opportunity to learn about student identity development and the role of faculty
members in that process. Additional faculty development projects should support
enhanced faculty-student relationships, perhaps including formal student
mentoring and advising programs if not already in place. This type of activity is
120
not always given recognition as a component of the teaching, research, and
service obligations that define the scope of faculty work; a commitment on the
part of the institution to recognize and credit the value of these activities in tenure
and promotion decisions will send the signal of its institutional importance.
Family Outreach
Family support, both emotional and instrumental, was perceived as
important by Latina undergraduates, especially in the freshman and sophomore
years of college; FAMILY received a mean positive value of 6.42 (SD=.95). Yet
many colleges and universities encourage students and families to loosen the
familial bonds when a student begins college and a recent story in the popular
media referred to “helicopter parents” who are too involved in the lives of their
college aged children, they “hover”. The message is often reinforced in parent and
student orientation programs, as shown in the program characterized as exemplary
by Chickering and Reisser (1993) and described in Chapter 1. The goal of that
orientation program was “bringing students to disengage from their parents” (p.
439).
Such institutional bias towards valuing independence and autonomy over
familial support should be recognized as culturally determined and potentially
detrimental to Latina students, among others. Student services professionals need
to find appropriate ways to offer options to students in how families, including
121
parents, siblings, and other extended family members, are included in the
academic and social lives of those attending college.
Far too few Latina undergraduates achieve the baccalaureate degree that is
tantamount to professional and economic success, and the educational attainment
gap between Latino students and their white peers continues to grow. With a
predicted shortfall in capacity nearing 20 percent in California’s system of higher
education (Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, 2004), meeting the needs of a rapidly
expanding Latino college-going population becomes more challenging and even
more imperative.
One factor that cannot be overlooked in addressing the situation is the
necessity to attend to the personal as well as academic development of the
students who populate the state’s colleges and universities today and will continue
to do so in the coming decades. This study captures the perspective of Latina
undergraduates, highlighting their conceptual understanding of the impact of
college on their developing sense of self. These student voices provide critical
information to faculty, student services professionals and university
administrators in their quest to meet the challenge.
122
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APPENDIX A: COLLEGE YEARS EXPERIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE (CYEQ)
134
APPENDIX B: PAIRED COMPARISON QUESTIONNAIRE
Directions for the Survey
Now that you have read the description for each category, we are interested in assessing how
similar you see these to one another.
In the following section, each line has 2 of the categories as paired items. Please rate each pair to
indicated the degree to which you see the two items as alike using a scale ranging from 1= Not at
all Alike to 5= Very Much Alike.
For example, in line one you see the two categories “Being criticized or discouraged by
instructor/counselor” and “Meeting strong professors who became role models”. If you think these
two categories are very much alike, you would check 5. If you think the two categories are not at
all alike, you would check 1. If you think they are in between, you would check one of the
selections between 1 and 5, based on the degree of similarity you see. There are a total of 36
paired comparison statements for you to rate.
Please check one rating for each of the statements. At the end of the statements, don’t forget to fill
in the demographic information requested! Return the completed survey in the pre-stamped
return envelope by February 20
th
. Again, thank you for your time and contributions.
Begin Survey Here: Rate the similarity of each pair of categories, one to the other, on a scale from
1-5, with 1 being “Not at All Alike” and 5 being “Very Much Alike”.
Category Category 1
Not
At All
Alike
2 3 4 5
Very
Much
Alike
1. Being criticized
or discouraged
by instructor or
counselor
Meeting strong
professors who
became role
models
2. Moving away
from home
Receiving high
grades and
positive
feedback on
academic
achievements
3. Making a
commitment or
taking action for
social change or
justice
Moving away
from home
4. Being inspired
and supported to
succeed in
college by family
members
Making a
commitment or
taking action
for social
change and
justice
135
5. Being criticized
or discouraged
by an instructor
or counselor
Feeling
invisible or
dismissed
because of
ethnicity
6. Being inspired
and supported to
succeed in
college by family
members
Being criticized
or discouraged
by an
instructor or
counselor
7. Being inspired
and supported to
succeed in
college by family
members
Feeling
invisible or
dismissed
because of
ethnicity
8. Moving away
from home
Being criticized
or discouraged
by an
instructor or
counselor
9. Making a
commitment or
taking action for
social change
and justice
Feeling
invisible or
dismissed
because of
ethnicity
10. Being inspired
and supported to
succeed in
college by family
members
Learning about
the history,
struggles, &
contributions of
Latinos/as
11. Making a
commitment or
taking action for
social change
and justice
Forming a
community of
friends and
support
12. Learning about
the history,
struggles, and
contributions of
Latinos/as
Moving away
from home
13. Learning about
the history,
struggles, and
contributions of
Latinos/as
Receiving high
grades and
positive
feedback on
academic
achievements
136
14. Moving away
from home
Feeling
invisible or
dismissed
because of
ethnicity
15. Learning about
the history,
struggles, and
contributions of
Latinos/as
Meeting strong
professors who
became role
models
16. Making a
commitment or
taking action for
social change
and justice
Being criticized
or discouraged
by an
instructor or
counselor
17. Being inspired
and supported to
succeed in
college by family
members
Meeting strong
professors who
became role
models
18. Forming a
community of
friends and
support
Receiving high
grades and
positive
feedback on
academic
achievements
19. Making a
commitment or
taking action for
social change
and justice
Receiving high
grades and
positive
feedback on
academic
achievements
20. Being criticized
or discouraged
by an instructor
or counselor
Receiving high
grades and
positive
feedback on
academic
achievements
21. Being inspired
and supported to
succeed in
college by family
members
Forming a
community of
friends and
support
22. Making a
commitment or
taking action for
social change
and justice
Meeting strong
professors who
became role
models
137
23. Being inspired
and supported to
succeed in
college by family
members
Receiving high
grades and
positive
feedback on
academic
achievements
24. Forming a
community of
friends and
support
Meeting strong
professors who
became role
models
25. Forming a
community of
friends and
support
Being criticized
or discouraged
by an
instructor or
counselor
26. Learning about
the history,
struggles, and
contributions of
Latinos/as
Being criticized
or discouraged
by an
instructor or
counselor
27. Making a
commitment or
taking action for
social change
and justice
Learning about
the history,
struggles, and
contributions of
Latinos/as
28. Receiving high
grades and
positive feedback
on academic
achievements
Feeling
invisible or
dismissed
because of
ethnicity
29. Being inspired
and supported to
succeed in
college by family
members
Moving away
from home
30. Learning about
the history,
struggle, and
contributions of
Latinos/as
Forming a
community of
friends and
support
31. Receiving high
grades and
positive feedback
on academic
achievements
Meeting strong
professors who
became role
models
138
32. Learning about
the history,
struggles, and
contributions of
Latinos/as
Feeling
invisible or
dismissed
because of
ethnicity
33. Forming a
community of
friends and
support
Feeling
invisible or
dismissed
because of
ethnicity
34. Feeling invisible
or dismissed
because of
ethnicity
Meeting strong
professors who
became role
models
35. Forming a
community of
friends and
support
Moving away
from home
36. Moving away
from home
Meeting strong
professors who
became role
models
I am a: Freshman_____ Sophomore_____
Junior________ Senior__________
My Age:_______ Gender: Female____ Male____
My Ethnicity:_______________________________
139
APPENDIX C: CYEQ RESPONSES
ID# Standing Occurred In Age Degree Effect Category
001 Senior (senior) 23 7 7 Unclass
One positive incident that has change me was one day in class were talking about how it was a privileged to
attend college. She (classmate) mentioned that she was not coming back because she couldn’t afford to make
it back and she was denied financial aid. This then got me thinking that took for granted my ability to be able
to attend college, and from then I have always push myself to do better and not think that anyone can go to
college if they please. The long term effect was that I am more motivated to complete school to earn a higher
degree not just my BA and to take college a lot more seriously than I did.
002 Senior (fresh) 32 6 7 1
5 years ago my youngest brother commit suicide. This had a great impact on my life as a student. He never
had the chance to graduate with his high school class which was so important to him. He tried to complete an
adult ed program to get his GED but this was a great challenge for him. When he died I made it my goal to
continue my education and graduate in his honor and this experience has made me stronger and more focused
and helped me realize that nothing will ever stop me from achieving whatever my heart desires. Because my
brother looked up to me I felt finishing school was important and never gave up.
003 Senior (senior) 26 7 7 9
An experience that change /had influence in my life was a testimony from one of my professors. She used to
be a copy and being tired of arresting the same young men. She decided to put a top to the cycle (always
arrested the same kids) and became a teacher at an elementary school. By looking at her experience it made
me realize that when you don’t agree with something, action needs to be taken.
004 Senior (junior) 23 6 6 6
One day I was in class talking to my teacher (CSUN prof.) to see what I could do to get a good grade in the
class. He said that it would be very difficult for me to get an “A”. After he treated me different because I was
the only Latino. I felt that he taught that I was not good enough like his white students. Then I felt that
needed to drop the class because I felt that I could not succeed. Until one day I realized that he was not
going to get in the way of my success and tried very hard to do all my work to earn an “A”. Well – after
being in his class proving to him that I could do it he gave me an “A” in his class. Because he pushed me to
my limits about how good and successful I could be I did better in all my English classes and have gotten
better grades and gained self-esteem.
005 Senior (soph) 32 7 7 1
Having my daughter helped make me very focused as a student and with her birth I realized that no matter
what challenge crossed my path I would continue to be strong mentally and emotionally. Having continued
my education shows her that I am a strong person who won’t let go of my dreams which in turn is something
I model to her and she will/has shown positive effects of seeing my achievement.
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006 Senior (junior) 26 7 7 3
An experience that has influence in my college years is taking Chicano study classes. Learning about Cesar
Chavez and different organizations for Chicanos has made me a stronger person. Learning about our Chicano
heros has made me want prepare more to give back to my Chicano community and to help as many Chicanos
that I can.
007 Senior (soph/jun) 25 6 6 Unclass
One incident occurred that I can remember is when I realized that I wanted to be a liberal studies major rather
than a liberal studies major. I had always has the intentions of opening up a early childhood center but when
I took a class that required me to observe in an elementary school classroom I realized that I wanted to work
with older children. I love young children but I realized that children in elementary school were a little more
independent which made me want to switch.
008 Senior Entering Fresh 24 7 7 1
For me, my college experience has been a great one, overall. I always knew I was going to go to college.
My family, especially my mom and dad, always knew I would graduate from college. After my dad died, in
my sophomore year in high school, I was devestaded, naturally. But I always told myself I would make him
proud of my, so when things get tough (as they often do) I think of my dad and making him proud.
009 Senior (junior) 28 7 7 9
This experience was extremely positive for me as a Latina woman. When entering CSUN I have come across
many strong Latina professors and it has a strong impact on my not only as a Latina but as a woman. I share
experience their encouragement to become better and not to be afraid. The long-term effect is that it has made
me proud to be an educated Latina that wants to have a better life than my mother did.
010 Senior (fresh) 21 5 7 1
Similar to most students, getting ready to enter college I was excited and ready to move out of my parents
house. Once the time actually arrived leaving outside of my parents home simply did not seem realistic, my
family situation was extremely difficult. (Based on a long story my father found himself in prison – this
occurred right before I moved out in 2003). However, my mother gave me courage and “forced” me to go –
and I thank her for it everyday as I prepare my applications for law school. I know I wouldn’t be in this place
if my mother wouldn’t have placed her needs after mine. This was a very difficult situation but overcame it
we did – and my character/person has build from it.
011 Senior (soph) 23 7 6 7
In my sophomore year of college @ LAVC, my English 101 professor (name excluded) stopped me after our
class final and provided me w/some words of wisdom & praise. She told me that I was a great writer with
enormous amounts of potential. She said that she was sure I would accomplish every goal I attempted. She
ended our short conversation with “Good Luck” and a hug. This was a Caucasian professor whom I only
spoke to during our assigned class sessions. (No emails, phone calls, or office visits).
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012 Senior (junior) 23 1 2 6
My junior year @ CSUN I enrolled in CHS 100 [Note: CHS is Chicano Studies designation] class that met
MWF 8:00-9:00 a.m. I never missed one class or assignment. I receved an “A” on every assignment,
midterm, & final. However, I was given a B+ for the class. This was & still is the only B+ on my academic
transcripts. Was it because he (professor) was a male & I am a female? Is it because I didn’t laugh at his
jokes? I guess I’ll never know since he never returned any of my emails.
013 Senior (fresh) 28 7 3 8
As a Latina, we are often stereotyped. My experience in my college years was a negative experience but it
impact me to become better. I always had a passion to work with children and I decide to work with
preschool children. I remember working in a daycare where parents were mainly white. One of the mom’s
ask me what school I attended and what my major was. She gave me a very negative comment saying why
do I bother going to school if I will become pregnant and end up being a housewife. I think this experience
made me realize that I wanted to get a higher learning and want better things for myself. It didn’t affect me
but it made me feel as stronger Latina.
014 Senior (fresh) 29 7 7 4
During my college years, the greatest incident that comes to mind that influence who I am is my spiritual
conversion. I grappled with my identity and where I fit and belonged. But when I converted to Christianity
(protestant) from Catholicism I had a new found sense of destiny. It was a classmate in college who
introduced me to Christianity. This experience was important because I had a (new found) purpose & now the
goals I accomplished were more significant to me. I wanted to do everything w/ a good attitude & not give
up. The long term effect has been finding out the true meaning of faith & applying that to my life and even
college experience.
015 Senior (N/A) 24 7 7 1
I am a part time waitress and a full-time student and it gets very hard to juggle all that needs to be done.
Working at a restaurant I see people who are 30, 40 years old and barely making ends meat. I see how not
having an education impacts one’s life and I don’t want that to be me one day. I also see my family and how
they have struggled. At one point my mom had 3 job, raising 3 kids on her own and I saw how hard that was.
I want a better life for me and my kids (that will come 1 day). I feel that college has impacted my life by
experience while of college. [?] That’s what pushes me.
016 Senior (fresh) 22 6 6 3
During my freshman year I took a Chicano studies course with a male professor, I learned so much about my
culture and it made me feel proud of who I am. I think being exposed to one’s culture is very important, this
way we have a sense of identity. The long term effect has been that I am not more proud of my ethnicity &
culture, and I enjoy learning more about it.
017 Senior (soph) 25 6 6 1
(a) When my father told me that I could not move out of my house and into a dorm for my sophomore
year.
(b) Father
(c) I feel that if I would have moved out then I would have lost my focus in school so its good I was
not allowed to move
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(d) I probably would not be where I am now. I am graduating this year and am finished up which I am
not sure would have happened if I would’ve moved out.
018 Senior (all of the above) 22 7 7 3
My CHS education (CHS courses). Before attending CSUN, I was not aware, or did not want to be aware, of
all the discrimination that minority students face in LAUSD schools. With the dif research I have conducted
throughout my college years I have been able to pinpoint the major problems and have gotten involved in an
attempt to solve them. All of my CHS professors have helped me become who I am today.
019 Senior (senior) 21 7 7 2
Currently I am participating in a judicial internship which has enlighten my person into the harsh realities of
peoples lives. This internship has enabled me to understand that I have overcome hard times – however many
people have experienced far worse – due to many different reasons.
020 Senior (senior) 22 2 2 3
The incident happened this year when the whole immigration situation happened. This incident helped me
realize that I’m not alone in this struggle. That like me there are many immigrant students who want to
become someone. I am deeply grateful to have the opportunity to be born in this country, but sometimes is
hard to achieve due that I’m a woman & Chicana. I believe that the long term effect would be the racial issue.
Knowing that my race and culture is not appreciated in this country really hurts inside.
021 Senior (junior) 24 7 7 1
Going to college I have learned to be responsible and to strive for the best in education, so I can be
knowledgeable and be an example to my younger sisters.
022 Senior (junior) 30 7 7 1
An experience that I had that influenced me to be who I am is my father. He always encouraged for me to
continued school, always told me to take my time get things done and everything will come into place. He
has been a great support and has made me continue w/ school and getting into college. It was important for
me because I didn’t feel the pressure like some of my friends were feeling. I’ve become a patient, positive,
and supportive person.
023 Senior (fresh) 27 5 7 6
During my freshman year in Cal Poly Pomona, I was a Biology major. I went to see my Biology counselor,
and he told me if I was positive of my being Biology major and if I wanted to continue. He literally turn me
off and made me change my mind. What is so important about this incident is that it push me to continue to
go to college and prove people wrong that Latinas can be educated seek a carreer. I look at this experience
and it drives me to do things I never thought I can do. Currently I will be graduating as well as having six
years in the military.
024 Senior (senior) 39 1 1 6
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I was taking a class and had not completed a paper that was due to turn. I then explained to the Prof my fan
burned out on my computer the night before but I would have it in ASAP. She flips out in front of the class
and tells me its not her problem if my economic background won’t allow me to finish my work and she was
going to leave me in the dust. She then said but what does it matter anyway. Others in the class got so upset
the dropped the class. I will never ever let anyone put me down like that again. I almost dropped out of
CSUN.
025 Senior (N/A) 21 3 3 5
The incident that impacted me negatively was that of trying to leave home to go to college. All though what I
wanted was to leave home I was scared to go to a school were no one knew me, I had no friends, no one to
talk to expect through the phone. I relyed on friendship back home but only had cousins who supported me as
friends. It changed after I opened up and found a very nice student w/my same major and political
[indecipherable word]. Oddly enough, I found him on myspace.com and more oddly he was in one of my
Chicano/a Studies classes. From there he introduced me to more friends which I have developed friendships
w/.
026 Senior (senior) 24 6 6 2
My experience was being part of the Great March in L.A. with a group of CSUN students and faculty. It
helped demonstrate the power with which Latinos unite and defend one another. Since then I’ve learned to
protest oppressors and help my community through non-violence and unity.
027 Senior (junior) 22 4 4 3
A Chicano studies professor (female) talked a lot about how Chicana’s have to become empowered in order
to achieve and how we have to work harder. This class/course had a positive effect on me , b/c I know that I
can achieve what I want, but I can succeed if I work hard.
028 Senior (senior) 21 7 7 4
The experience that impacted me was the warmthness in which I experience with a organization on campus –
M.E.Ch.A. They were great friends and organizers. They made me feel good about who I was, I fit in with
the same beliefs of fighting for justice, protesting, organizing, school being a priority and doing something
for my community. I felt like I had a family away form home I could count on.
029 Senior (freshman) 39 7 7 3
I met with Cesar Chavez. I was able to sit and have lunch with him and I remember him stating to
me that you didn’t have to be rich or famous to make a difference.
He made me reconsider who I was and to be proud of where I was from.
My Chicano Studies teacher at the time influenced me by inviting me to march with a group that
year.
I’m very confident in just about anything that comes my way.
030 Senior (senior) 24 7 7 3
My experience in Chicano Studies 100. This class change my college experience because it gave me a strong
sense of community within my class. It made me proud and at the same time informed me on my heritage
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and the untold history of Chicanos in California. It was important because it empowered me and helped me
identify myself and my roots.
031 Senior (fresh) 30 4 4 1
A negative experience I’ve had was come from my friends and some of their parents. Many of them thought
it was dumb of me to spend so much time, money & effort in going to school. Listening to that made me
want to go to school & continue w/ my education. I wanted my parents to feel proud & make myself do
something that others didn’t think I could of done. It made want to complete school & have a career that I
will enjoy.
032 Senior (soph) 22 7 7 2
During my sophomore year I took a WS [women’s studies] course w/ a professor who truly inspired me to
become active not only in my community, but also around the world. The class spoke about women in this
country and around the world. The ways to help this community were also discussed. I then transferred this
info to what I can do to help my community (Latinos/Chicanos/Mexicanos) in every aspect of their lives
(education, employment, economic well-being, etc.)
033 Senior (junior) 24 7 7 7
I never thought that I was capable of doing complicated assignments and getting them done. Now I [k]now
that I can do whatever it is that I am assigned to do. I know that I can do a lot and that I love learning
everyday of my life.
034 Senior (senior) 21 7 7 9
Being independent is a must in college and through my professors I have learned to be independent. This is
important because you cannot depend on other people to guide you through college.
035 Senior (fresh) 23 7 7 3
One of the most important experiences was going to Mexico. When I was 17 years old. Just coming out of
high school I was still very confused about identity. This was the first time I had gone back to Mexico since I
had come to the U.S. At 17, it was such an eye opener for me because that was almost the first time I had
made some sense of who I was, especially where I was from. This trip was the beginning of my culture
consciousness. I was 17 and I went back to Mexico by myself without knowing how I was going to change.
036 Senior (junior) 22 7 7 4
In the future I want to be a psychologist/therapist but what has made me believe that I will be good at it is
that random people have come to me telling me their problems and asking me for advice. One time I walked
into class and a classmate I had talked to only once before came and sat next to me. She started crying and
describing something that had happened to her and she was asking me about what to do. I did my best to
give her suggestions about what she could do but just listening to her helped her out a lot. I was glad she felt
comfortable enough to confide in me.
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037 Senior (junior) 21 7 7 5
When I moved out of CSUN dorms and into my own apartment, I finally felt the real struggle to maintain my
house & it made me feel completely independent. I only had myself & the support of friends. It was also in
that apartment that I discovered how different I was from my longtime friends. Common college experiences
such as “partying” really didn’t attract me. At first I thought I was missing out, but really I’d rather be with
just close friends talking & just relaxing. I found inner peace, & that was much more appealing.
038 Senior (senior) 23 7 7 2
I remember going to my first MEChA event. It was End-Dependence Day in 2003. This was my first step to
taking action on my newly found cultural identity. I saw all these brown COLLEGE students organizing this
event. At CSUN I had never seen these many brown students in one place. I remember seeing “Mujeres de
Maiz” and their poetry portrayed so much of my life It also instilled politics in me. I heard about
imperialism, capitalism, feminism, and injustice. All of this raised both my political and cultural awareness. I
stayed in MEChA. Now I say I’m a Mexicana by blood, and a Chicana at heart.
039 Senior (senior) 22 2 6 3
During a news report the Governor of California made a comment on immigrants stating that most
immigrants didn’t acculturate because the border was close to them. He commented that Mexicans wanted to
stay Mexican. With this I realize that I will always be Mexican because I was born in Mexico. That its ok to
speak Spanish. I realized htat I don’t have to give u my identity in order to become American.
040 Senior (fresh) 22 7 7 2
My freshman year I went to my first protest march in downtown LA with MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil
Chicana/o de Aztlan). We were marching in support of the people who work in the sweatshops in downtown
LA. A lot of people were there and the workers were waving down to us from the windows. It was an
amazing experience because I did not know that people still marched for social justice. I thought that had all
ended in the 1960s because that is what I learned in high school. It was really cool because we trying to
bring awareness about the poor conditions workers were forced to work in. This event made me more aware
about things around me and I have been more politically active ever since then.
041 Senior (senior) 21 7 7 4
When I entered college I met a friend who became my boyfriend. He changed in many ways but the most
important was that he made me start standing up for myself. It was important because in college you have to
be strong and independent, and now I consider myself a strong person compared to how I used to be.
042 Senior (senior) 34 7 7 Unclass
While being in college, my now ex-finance betrayed me over & over again. What came from this betrayal
was the typical feeling of being stripped of value…but…and this is what is vital…being in college, knowing
that I would be, am on my way to being independent and successful, helped me realize I do not need a man
for security. My graduation…my higher learning gave me, filled me with the knowledge that I would be
fine.
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043 Junior (soph) 20 5 5 2
During the walkouts that were happening around March or April, I realized something new about myself.
My friends from MEChA and myself helped guide the students that were walking out. We did not want them
to get arrested or anything bad happening to them either. I realized that I was aware of the current political
issues that were going on and that I had a passion to educate these high school students about the immigration
issue.
044 Junior (junior) 25 1 7 8
This semester (my junior year) I am taking a history course. It is U.S. History since 1865 and my teacher’s
primary ideas and philosophy are business minded. It really bothers me. He focuses on Black history very
rarely and has never mentioned Xicanos or Mexico. He briefly went over the Mex/American war for a
minute (literally) and said that the war ended very fast. When I ask him questions and when I remind him to
incorporate Mexicans since we make up a huge part o the country and have contributed in every war we’ve
ever had he got angry. It makes me feel like we are invisible and that we don’t matter. For the sake of the
class we should know and be taught all experiences. I know the truth and this made me stronger and angrier.
[Last sentence written in effect rating]
045 Senior (all marked) 34 2 4 Unclass
The lack of support from my family made it very difficult to start and continue my education. My sisters,
brother, mother, father, etc…did not share in my joy when I “aced” an exam. They did not respect my need
for quiet. There was no moral or emotional support.
046 Senior (fresh) 21 7 7 3
Coming to CSUN as a freshman straight out of high school & encountering other races helped me find my
own identity among the masses. My high school was purely Hispanic & being at CSUN I suddenly became
aware of my ethnicity and my heritage. I was proud of being different and discovering the various cultures in
my new community.
047 Junior (junior) 29 2 4 9
My best friend died in Iraq two years ago. At the time I thought about dropping out of school because I didn’t
see a purpose in continuing my education. After talking to professors about his death they helped me realize
that education was a gift that I could not take away from myself.
048 Junior (fresh) 20 7 7 Unclass
I took a women and health class my freshman year at CSUN. This class has been one of the best classes I
took at CSUN. I think this class was very important to me because I learned about my sexuality; something
that is never mentioned in my family/culture – sexuality. I am very confident about myself an sexuality
today.
049 Junior (junior) 29 6 5 9
I took a Chicano studies class w/a Professor at CSUN. Meeting a strong Hispanic woman that has
accomplished so much in her life has shown me that there is nothing that I can’t accomplish. I can go to her
and talk either about class or my own personal issues. She ahs talked to me about her experiences through
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her college years and graduate school. She was the first professor that has been willing to share her personal
life to help me choose if I will continue with graduate school.
050 Junior (junior) 21 7 5 4
Having an experience of being involved in a conversation where you don’t know anyone. There is a sense of
trust, and we get to know each other and bond. I think this helped me release stress and be able to trust
myself and others.
051 Junior (soph) 20 6 6 7
a) In my speech class as a sophomore, we had the assignment to stand up each time and speak of a
choosen topic. Each time the speech had to be longer in time. Topics: such as personal info,
affirmative action, and capital punishment.
b) The other people involved were classmates, and the professor. It was just interesting to see the face
expression of each person according to the topic.
c) I think it was important because it helped to grow out of my shell and shiness. And to recognize
peoples reactions, which were influenced by ethnicity.
d) To say what I believe in regardless of what others think.
052 Junior (soph) 22 1 1 6
My negative experience that made me feel worthless was when I was trying to transfer to a university and the
counselor just kept putting me down with my grade point average. He said I would never make it to an UC
or Cal State. I was very disappointed.
053 Senior (junior) 21 2 5 8
Over the summer my friends and I were drinking @ my apt. and someone’s friend (guy) sexually abused my
friends and when we told the cops they did nothing about it. I don’t know if it was because we were all under
the influence of alcohol or because we were all Latinas. This really changed my party style b/c its really hard
to trust people at parties.
054 Junior (soph) 22 7 7 1
One of the person’s that influenced me was my cousin Kimberly because she had moved out with her
boyfriend and had responsibilities like an actual mom. She would help out her boyfriend’s family with the
kids and cooking and cleaning. I admire that she still went to school and was a full time housewife. She
influenced me in with school and to better myself with everything in my life.
055 Junior (fresh) 18 7 7 7
I had just graduated from high school and was attending a four year college. I had so many fears and
concerns about whether or not I was cut out to go to college. The first midterm came, and I receive 100% on
it. I was extatic because going in I was already thinking I was going to fail. I’m really glad this happened
because after that day, I had more confidence in my work and in myself too because many time I took myself,
my knowledge, and my capabilities for granted. Because of this incident I now know I can do anything and
nothing is too hard for me to overcome.
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056 Junior (junior) 62 1 3 8
a) The experience of never being invited to join MEChA because I wasn’t Chicana enough.
b) MEChA club members, etc.
c) They have not had the opportunity to actually see other people that live in their country and other
[indecipherable]
d) I have never joined any college clubs or organizations on campus.
057 Junior (soph) 20 6 5 Unclass
A while back, I was going to Long Beach w/a couple of roommates. We got into an accident on the freeway.
I was very scared. From then on, I learned to cherish every moment of my life and be careful while driving.
058 Junior (junior) 62 7 7 9
a) A Chicano studies professor class – how important it was to get an education
b) My mother, my professor
c) Many years ago my mother had expressed to us that importance of education. During class time
many years later, one professor said the same thing in the exact same words. My thirst for
knowledge continues to grow.
059 Junior (fresh) 21 3 3 6
On my first day of college, I was nervous for what was ahead for me. On my first class everything went well,
but in the second I felt terrible. The professor was just explaining the lesson and did not notice that most of us
did not have an idea of what was going on. The class was an introduction to college math. Many of us
students did not receive or took calculus or even got to trigonometry. Once finishing the class, it made me
scared to continue on to the next level of math. Everything was because of me failing tests and asking the
Teacher Assistant for help and them just not explaining well. Each time I have to think on a test, I am scared
of the math part because I got into my head that I am not good. Little by little I have concered (conquered)
my fear, but I still feel bad.
060 Senior (fresh) 22 6 6 4
Entering this university I realize that there were many other individuals that identify with my socio-cultural
background. This was important because it created a sense of community.
061 Junior (fresh) 21 2 2 5
When I arrived to college, I was ready to live on my own in the dorms. The first weeks were great. My
housemates were great to get along and we all respected each others stuff. Along the way things just got
worse. One of my housemates decide to do something illegal which cause my roommate to end up at the
hospital. We need to do a police report. As a result, I and my other two housemates were threatened by J (the
person doing the illegal thing) and her friends. For about two months, I lived in my parents home out of fear.
The housing department did nothing and just took the situation lightly. After my parents and my other tow
housemates fought with the housing department we were finally able to return to the apartment and get our
stuff. Upon entering everything was a disaster and we were all robbed. In my case, J took approximately 3
checks, jewelry, and clothes. For the others it was mostly CDs, money and jewelry. The policy did nothing
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and she got away. Out of this experience I no longer lie at the dorms and instead live at home. I fear for my
belongings each time I’m at CSUN.
062 Junior (fresh) 25 3 1 7
I’ve always felt that math has been my weakness. I’m not very good at it and so when it came to taking a
math class in college I kept putting it aside. This actually only helped to delay my graduation date. A fear of
not being good at something created an insecurity within myself. I’m happy to say that I finally took my math
class, though it took me two times. Finishing the class was a great accomplishment, making me feel that if I
can complete my math class I can surely obtain my degree.
063 Senior (junior) 21 6 6 4
When my mother was told she had cancer. The people I turn to for help were my friends that became like my
sister. They help me cope an express my feelings. My friends by my side help me cope.
064 Junior (soph) 20 6 6 4
Orientation retreat, there were other orientation leaders there. We had to write about ourselves and listen to
other’s life stories.
065 Junior (fresh) 25 4 3 8
Often I remember being in a history class and feeling out of place. Out of place because I felt that I wasn’t a
part of the history. In trying to find a sense of self I felt that I didn’t have one, or at least was lacking
information that would allow me to feel complete. These feelings of incompleteness was actually made me
want to learn about my past, and where I came from.
066 Junior (fresh) 25 7 7 3
After taking my first Xicano Studies course my 1
st
year of college, my life changed forever. I am a
whitewashed Mexican and I always felt like I didn’t fit in anywhere. After taking CHS couses, I was able to
identify myself and all my surroundings. My place in society, my role in relationships, everything about me
and my mentality was embraced once I took Xicano studies. I finally felt accepted and I felt like I finally
know the truth of why Xicanos are in the situation we are in. The world began to finally make sense to me
and I’ve been a great student ever since. I feel a strong responsibility at this point to finish school.
067 Junior (soph) 20 7 7 9
The educated, powerful, unique Chicana professors that I have had the pleasure to have taken their classes
and/or have interacted with within the Chicano Studies Department have had a huge impact on my self
identity. They have taught me that we are the future leaders and as minorities we must work above and
beyond of others in what we decide to pursue, because we have more than one barrier to break. The barrier
of being a woman, the barrier of being young, and most apparent the barrier of being a “minority” a
CHICANA! We must break these barriers and show the world what we are capable of and have pride in what
we do because we are all leaders.
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068 Junior (soph) 21 7 6 4
I joined Hermanas Unidas. My friend joined with me. This was an important experience because it started
my entire college experience. The long term effect would be that my years @ CSUN were very memorable. I
met some of the best people there.
069 Junior (fresh) 20 7 7 3
The Chicano Studies department at CSUN has greatly affected my sense of self throughout my college
experience. The professors in specific have taught me things I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
They gave me the piece that was missing from my life, because they taught me the history of my people that
my prior education failed to teach. I learned about the richness my people have which has given me much
pride to be who I am, and educated powerful, Mexican-American CHICANA! I should not be ashamed
about the color of my skin or where my family came from because we come from a place that’s very rich and
unique to the experiences of others.
070 Junior (fresh) 20 5 6 4
Well I think that entering college changed my who perspective on how I identify myself. Joining the student
organization MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Aztlan) helped understand where I came from.
Not only culturally but also politically. Now I am more conscious about my culture and about the issues that
affect us Chicano students. Now MEChA is like my second family and it changed my whole life.
071 Senior (junior) 24 7 7 8
I remember when I was visiting my sister at SFSU (well, I tagged along with her), she was in a mixed-race
experience class. The professor was well-knowledged in queer-hapa studies and one assignment was to
identify yourself and your racial and/or ethnic background. So I self-identified as being Filipino with a bit of
European blood. And to my surprise, this was counted as being hapa. Then I heard the narrative of many
others.
072 Senior (senior) 21 not marked not marked 4
I challenged myself by taking part in a stage performance called TAKE. It is a performance about
relationships, body abuse, transition and prejudice. We were a group of 10 and we went on a retreat. Every
retreat that I have been on has been a learning experience but this one changed my perception of myself. It
was because of this retreat that I made the choices I live by today.
073 Senior (soph) 24 3 4 8
I went to a community college before transferring and many of the important documents used in that college
only had “check one box only” categories. This really confused and offended me because I perceived this
petty concept as to deny the existence of multiracial people. Form this occasion I realized that society has a
very long way to go in the acceptance of bi/multiracial people without some form of “othering” or exoticism.
151
074 Junior (junior) 23 7 7 1
The person that had the greatest influence on myself identity is my father. He rasied me on his own, which is
different especially being Chicana. He broke all stereotypes of the “macho” father and made it a priority in
his life for me to have a positive view of myself and remained focus on education. This is my first semester
at CSUN & he recently passed away 3 mths ago.
075 Junior (junior) 23 2 2 8
Growing up Chicana without a mother she walked out on me when I was 5 years old. It made everything
much more difficult. Also I’m 23 with a 5 year old. Got pregnant in H.S.
076 Senior (senior) 58 7 7 2
The most influential events of my college experience were the internships that were part of the Human
Service degree. In particular, my volunteer work at the Orange County Rescue Mission. This experience
helped me realize who I am and the effect that I can have on people as I help them to become self-sufficient.
It was during this internship that I gained a better idea of what my future educational goals should be. I
gained a sense of my potential to help others. This was a positive experience that I will never forget. It truly
changed my life.
077 Senior (junior) 58 7 7 9
One of my first Professors was very instrumental in my education path. She was extremely encouraging and
shared her vision of what I was capable of. She taught me that education must be balanced by family life
events. And convinced me that I am not too old for graduate school.
078 Senior (junior) 51 6 5 7
I have experienced a positive feedback from everyone I have encountered at school.
079 Senior (sophomore) 47 7 7 7
I experienced a feeling of positive recognition. A professor was involved. They gave me positive feedback
in regard to my participation in their class. The professor thanked me for “breaking the ice” in class. The
long term effect created a sense of “that’s right, I can do this and I AM an excellent and respectful student.”
080 Junior (junior) 37 7 7 9
I returned to college 3 years ago. I am a single parent. A professor asked me about graduate school. He
said, “Which one are you applying to?”. Had it not been for his influence, I would not be going to graduate
school after CSUF. Even in my 30’s I still need that influential teacher that believes in me.
152
081 Junior (junior) 37 7 7 9
As a single parent, going to school at night, sometimes I had to bring my daughter. I sat her in the hallway so
as not to disturb anyone. Professors were so welcoming. They invited her inside. She learned so much along
with me. Without their support I don’t think I would have completed that semester.
082 Junior (junior) 52 7 6 3
In my Chicano Studies class, The Chicano Family, we talked about schools that were segregated in the 30’s.
When I spoke to my mother about this, she informed me that she was a Mexican American that had to attend
a segregated elementary school in Anaheim, CA. The importance of this incident is that, although I already
had a lot of respect for my mother, my respect grew from knowing this the struggles she went through as a
child. Also, in doing a research paper for an American Studies class – American Suburbs, I have learned even
more about my family’s history, especially the neighborhood that my mother grew up in. The long term
effect of this is that I have always considered myself as just an American, without really thinking about the
history of my parents and grandparents, the culture, and the sacrifices that hey went through to make my own
life a better one. This has given me a better appreciation for my family and culture.
083 Junior (junior) 52 7 7 7
My first class as an older person returning to college. It was at a different university. It was a good transition
back into school because it was a small class – just 10 students. We were in a cohort with classes that lasted
for five weeks, and then on to another subject, so we stayed with the same group. I went to the school for one
year. Receiving an A in that first class made me realize that even though I was in my late 40’s, I still had the
potential to learn, and my dream of obtaining a college degree started to become something that I could
actually obtain. It improved my self-esteem and change my identity of being a Mom, to also being my own
person.
084 Senior (fresh) 38 7 6 7
This experience occurred with my Biology professor in junior college. This is a significant experience
because it was the end of the semester and I was failing the class. This professor pulled me aside and
indicated to me that she knew that I was a very smart young lady and needed to get rid of my distractions and
put forth more effort to get ahead and achieve my future goals. This was important because I was at a point in
my life where I wasn’t sure that I could make through college. She changed my mind and helped me to
believe that I was capable and needed to keep looking forward despite any road blocks I may encounter. This
definitely had a long-term effect on my sense of who I was and who I am today. I found the confidence in
my self to keep pushing forward because of my short 5 minute experience with her.
085 Senior (soph) 38 7 7 7
My experience was with my math tutor. This was at a time when I was truly struggling with math and could
not get to College 100 without passing this particular class. It was suggested that I get a math tutor half way
through the semester. I was very frustrated at this point. When I met with my math tutor she made me feel
very comfortable and I was able to understand concepts that I had never understood before. Before her, I felt
that I was not smart enough to understand math problems and complete them accurately. Through the tutor’s
patience she inspired me to continue on and finish all my math courses with good grades. I have become
very proficient in math only because she took the time to work with me. By the time I went into my Stats
class, I was the top student helping other students who were having problems.
153
086 Junior (soph) 37 7 7 7
A counselor at Fullerton JC told me that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. So this is my 11
th
year in
college. She helped me realize that if I want to make my dreams come through, I need to work at it and don’t
give up.
087 Senior (junior) 37 7 7 Unclass
I realized that as an adult student many problems came up with family members needing your time and taking
you away from school. I learned that making school a priority is important in order to succeed.
088 Junior (soph) 55 7 7 1
Graduated nursing school in 75, learning life, went to CSULA in the 80’s not into it. Now work offering
opportunity for distance learning BSN program. Emotionally and at time physically drained working bedside
ICU. Recognize need options. Took Earthwatch expedition to Rome worked with Smithsonian researcher
PhD. Cool people figured if academicians can be so down to earth why not birth myself to the next level of
personal challenge. In 2
nd
semester each semester challenging ego but I’m moving on. At 55 I still have the
resolve and fire in the belly to be smarter and associated with nice students and great supportive instructors.
If I was meek and frightened of going beyond my little world I would have felt stuck and obliged to be the
donkey and have no way out. Now it’s my prerogative to stay at this time or open my options to something
interesting and creative. Am sharing my successes with aging parents who are supportive, in nursing school
to busy finding my autonomy did not include parents in nursing school life. Parents looking at me with
respect and encouragement. Feels good.
089 Junior (soph) 55 7 7 4
There has been a camaraderie established in our distance learning group. We are supportive, we encourage
one another, we know each one is vulnerable and we overall are accepting of one another. I think we
genuinely care about one another and wishes everyone great success. I feel there is an umbrella of a group
willing to cover each others back.
090 Junior (fresh) 51 7 7 7
When I started going to College I was afraid I wasn’t going to succeed so for my first class I studied so hard
that the instructor gave 105/100 points in a project. This first class and the grades I got increase my
enthusiasm for learning and my self confidence. It kind of proof that I was creative, intelligent, hardworking,
persistent and it gave me great hope for my future.
091 Junior (soph) 51 2 5 Unclass
In one of my classes the teacher selected groups to work as groups in a community service project. Our
leader was a very competitive young woman that would undermine my attempts to organize fun time for the
group. Another one was a rude young man and another one had some very negative personal traits. It was a
torture working with them. I endured invalidation and isolation. But I learned to stay under the radar and
pretend or show I like the others.
154
092 Junior (soph) 47 3 6 6
I was in an English class in community college. The instructor liked most of my papers but one day she
insulted me in front of the whole class for no good reason. The whole class of about 100 students witnessed
this and although shocked no body had the gut to back me or stand with me when I objected. I walked out of
class, then returned when I clamed down so I wouldn’t say anything stupid. I confronted the instructor when
the class was over. She realized that she had been harsh and insulting then apologized. That just because a
person is an instructor doesn’t make them right. They are subject to all the errors of judgment like nay one
lese. I learned that teachers are human and that education doesn’t make one nice, graceful or kind, no errors
and correcting them do. Humility is a greater good that is learned when faith and reason meet and admit to
faults – that’s what I learned. When I confronted the instructor I was kind, spoke calmly and presented what
I heard. She failed to understand that her delivery of unkind works and actions (she had me stand while she
had spoken) was uncalled for. Also, it surprised her that I was a little older than I look.
093 Junior (soph) 47 7 7 7
I’m supposing this means another separate incident. Okay, this was at the same community college. Another
instructor. I was in a philosophy class and the instructor was very liberal, I am very conservative. For my
final project I wrote a paper on why I was against the use of condoms and contraceptives. Obviously my
instructor was shocked and disagreed but he had said it was okay to write whatever we wanted from his list of
50 topics. The instructor was challenging me every step of the way during the last weeks of the class. He
asked me to present a respectable conclusion and research and no biblical stuff, it had to be scientific. What
was important was that my report made a difference to me and funny as it seems, to the instructor. I was well
researched and I proved that condoms weren’t as safe as many institutions were saying. There was a high
rate of failure in keeping people safe from AIDS, diseases, and pregnancy. I was able to provide research that
surprised him. His was a staunch advocate of contraceptives but this report made him reconsider.
Abstract (if available)
Abstract
Despite the growing number of Latina undergraduates enrolled in colleges and universities throughout the United States, the effect of their college experiences on the development of identity in this subgroup of students has been little studied. In a two-phase mixed method study, 93 Latina undergraduates completed critical incident reports describing the experiences they perceived to be most influential on their developing sense of self. The nine identified categories of experience were then assigned similarity ratings by study participants and analyzed using multidimensional scaling (MDS) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). The resulting concept map displays in graphic form how Latina undergraduates conceptually organize their understanding of the impact of college on their identity development. Suggestions for further research and implications for college faculty, staff, and administration are delineated.
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Robb, Jane Elizabeth
(author)
Core Title
More than one barrier to break: mapping the impact of college on identity in Latina undergraduates
School
Rossier School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education
Degree Program
Education
Publication Date
05/23/2007
Defense Date
04/18/2007
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
concept mapping,identity,Latina,OAI-PMH Harvest,undergraduate students
Language
English
Advisor
Goodyear, Rodney K. (
committee chair
), Hocevar, Dennis J. (
committee member
), West, Kim (
committee member
)
Creator Email
jrobb@usc.edu
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m498
Unique identifier
UC1323553
Identifier
etd-Robb-20070523 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-495910 (legacy record id),usctheses-m498 (legacy record id)
Legacy Identifier
etd-Robb-20070523.pdf
Dmrecord
495910
Document Type
Dissertation
Rights
Robb, Jane Elizabeth
Type
texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
Repository Name
Libraries, University of Southern California
Repository Location
Los Angeles, California
Repository Email
cisadmin@lib.usc.edu
Tags
concept mapping
Latina
undergraduate students