Education Commons^™

Examining Responses To A Racist Event In A Sorority And Fraternity Life Community: A Case Study, Crystal Eufemia Garcia, Antonio Duran, Michael Anthony Goodman

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Racism has been interwoven in implicit and explicit ways within historically white sorority and fraternity life (SFL) communities since their inception. However, few studies have provided insight to how practitioners address the realities of racism in SFL broadly, or specifically how SFL practitioners have attended to race-based incidents on their local campuses, the success of these initiatives, and to what degree their actions have been sustainable over time. This project sought to contribute insight to these dynamics by mobilizing a case study approach guided by an institutional response framework to focus on how a particular SFL community at Sunnydale University …

On The Impossibilities Of Advancing Racial Justice In Higher Education Research Through Reliance On The Campus Climate Heuristic, Elvira Abrica, Deryl K. Hatch-Tocaimaza, Cecilia Rios-Aguilar

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Campus climates are often described as “hostile” for racially minoritized populations. However, growing recognition of complexities associated with intersecting and interwoven systems of social oppression compel the field of higher education to move away from overly simplistic portrayals of postsecondary environments as “welcoming/chilly” or “positive/negative.” More than this, there is a need to engage in a broader discussion of the field’s reliance on the metaphor of meteorological climate itself as a heuristic for characterizing the nature of college learning environments. The central argument presented in this theoretical article is that racial justice is impossible when operationalized through a lens of …

Conversations About Food Insecurity: Examining College Campus Climates, Crystal Eufemia Garcia

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

This qualitative critical narrative inquiry study explored the experiences of 19 students within four universities in a single Southern state that used campus food aid resources such as a food pantry. Using Hurtado et al.’s Multicontextual Model for Diverse Learning Environments (MMDLE), this paper sheds light on how participants discussed the campus climate for students experiencing food insecurity within their respective campuses. Findings unpack students’ reflections on a lack of awareness and discussion about food insecurity and food aid resources within the campus community, the role that stigmas played in participants’ perceptions and use of campus food aid resources, and …

What Sorority And Fraternity Life (Sfl) Professionals Learn About Navigating Their Positionalities When Advising And Advocating For Culturally Based Sfl Organizations, Hannah L. Reyes, Antonio Duran, Crystal Eufemia Garcia

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Despite the growing literature on culturally based sororities and fraternities, little research has examined how practitioners on college campuses support these organizations. This constructivist narrative study addressed this gap by centering the stories of fifteen sorority and fraternity life professionals who advised culturally based sororities and fraternities. In particular, this research project examined how participants reflected on their social identities and affiliation statuses as they built the multicultural competence needed to advise these organizations. Findings revealed how participants attempted to establish connections with students through shared experiences and marginalization, as well as how they also recognized the limitations of their …

How Campus Space Becomes White Place: Advancing A Spatial Analysis Of Whiteness In Higher Education, Antonio Duran, Zak Foste, Crystal Eufemia Garcia, Jeremy T. Snipes

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Space and place are central to understanding the production and maintenance of racial inequality in the United States. Though examinations of the racialized dynamics of space are present in other disciplines, higher education scholars have infrequently interrogated how space becomes racialized on college campuses. This conceptual paper functions as a much-needed intervention, articulating how the racialization of space at historically white colleges and universities occurs and the subsequent consequences for Students of Color. In particular, we describe how physical campus spaces historically become racialized as white, how such spaces are maintained and fortified, and the consequences of racialized space on …

Competence And Challenge: Sorority And Fraternity Life Professionals’ Preparation To Advise Culturally Based Sfl Organizations, Crystal Eufemia Garcia, Hannah L. Reyes, Antonio Duran

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

This qualitative narrative inquiry examined the professional preparation of sorority and fraternity (SFL) professionals working with culturally-based sororities and fraternities. Using narratives drawn from 15 professionals and guided by our conceptual framework, we unpacked important findings in terms of ways participants referenced their limited educational experiences, how they navigated learning within the confines of their professional roles, and distinctions in the value that professional associations and networks offered them. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

A Path Forward: Critically Examining Practitioners' Role In Addressing Campus Racial Climate, Kaleb L. Briscoe, Crystal Eufemia Garcia, Ashley L. Swift

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Student affairs professionals (SAPs) have long grappled with the pervasiveness of whiteness within predominantly white institutions (PWIs). In this paper, we bring together our perspectives to offer insight into how whiteness informs SAPs’ response to racialized incidents and advocacy for Students of Color.

Sorority And Fraternity Life Professionals’ Perspectives On Challenges Faced By Culturally Based Sororities And Fraternities, Antonio Duran, Crystal E. Garcia, Hannah L. Reyes

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Featuring the perspectives of 15 sorority and fraternity life (SFL) professionals, this qualitative study highlights the challenges culturally based sororities and fraternities face on college campuses. Guided by a framework grounded in concepts of organizational culture, findings revealed three issues that culturally based SFL organizations encounter: a predominant emphasis on historically white sororities and fraternities in SFL communities, a lack of human and financial capital, as well as inadequate advisor support and training. Implications for research and practice are offered.

Nphc And Mgc Sororities And Fraternities As Spaces Of Activism Within Predominantly White Institutions, Crystal E. Garcia, William R. Walker, Ciera A. Dorsey, Zachary W. Werninck, Jessie H. Johns

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

This study explored how Students of Color within National Pan-Hellenic Council and Multicultural Greek Council sororities and fraternities engaged in activism and in what ways this involvement connected to their membership. Using a qualitative critical narrative approach, we examined the journeys of ten participants. Findings unpack ways participants engaged in activism and resistance aimed at educating individuals and increasing awareness of societal injustices, addressing inequities through service, and inciting disruption and cultivating institutional and societal level change.

Regulating Sexualities Through Gender-Based Rhetoric: The Experiences Of Queer Women Of Color In Culturally-Based Sororities, Crystal E. Garcia, Antonio Duran

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Culturally based sororities emerged on college campuses in order to combat the race-based discrimination faced in historically white sororities. Despite their historic mission to attend to racial issues, questions remain of how culturally based sororities attend to other identities and forms of oppression in these spaces. Centering the stories of 20 Queer Women of Color, this critical narrative inquiry study sought to understand how members of culturally based sororities used gender-based rhetoric to regulate sexual minorities in these spaces. Findings revealed how organizations constructed what it meant to be a Woman of Color, how they used gendered stereotypes and sexuality …

Motivations For Queer Women Of Color To Join Culturally Based Sororities, Crystal Eufemia Garcia, Antonio Duran

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

This critical narrative inquiry explored the motivations for Queer Women of Color to join culturally based sororities. Using Muñoz’s concept of disidentifications, we found that participants made strategic decisions when navigating the sorority membership process as well as in deciding what organization to join. Findings showed the importance of race/ethnicity, sexuality and gender, and other important connections to individual identities in participants’ motivations. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Quaring Sorority Life: Identity Negotiation Of Queer Women Of Color In Culturally-Based Sororities, Antonio Duran, Crystal E. Garcia

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Using quare theory as a theoretical framework and critical narrative inquiry as a methodology, researchers centered the stories of 20 queer Women of Color affiliated with culturally based sororities. Participants spoke about how they perceived gendered and heterosexist norms in their sororities and how they negotiated their identities in these environments. Findings reveal that queer Women of Color made crucial decisions regarding their identity negotiation while in the process of joining their organizations. Moreover, some participants articulated how, once affiliated, they strategically minimized attention to their sexuality and gender, while others asserted these identities to disrupt hegemonic norms.

Aligning Student Affairs Practice With Espoused Commitments To Equity, Diversity, And Inclusion, Crystal Eufemia Garcia, William Walker, Dawn Morgan, Yuwei Shi

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Using a critical qualitative approach, we explored ways student affairs professionals at predominantly white institutions within the South made sense of and enacted commitments to equity, diversity, and inclusion. Findings show that participants rarely engaged in direct conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusion with their colleagues and often conflated these terms. Those who engaged in equity work were often driven by their own salient identities, yet they also shared ways their efforts were constrained by institutional policies. The study offers implications for practice for student affairs professionals, professional preparation programs, and higher education institutions.

Critically Examining The Experiences Of Queer People Of Color In Culturally-Based Sororities And Fraternities, Antonio Duran, Crystal Eufemia Garcia, Hannah Lee Reyes

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Guided by Queer of Color critique as a theoretical framework, this research project investigated the experiences of Queer People of Color in culturally-based sororities and fraternities (CBSFs). Engaging in a secondary analysis of two critical narrative inquiry studies (one focused on Queer Men of Color and the other on Queer Women of Color), we examined how systems of power and oppression manifested across CBSFs. In addition, we interrogated how Queer People of Color practiced agency when faced with oppressive settings. Findings revealed the politics of disclosure given anti-Black histories and religious origins of organizations, the different ways organizations regulated gender …

Positionality And Power: The Individual’S Role In Directing Community College Men Of Color Initiatives, Kaleb L. Briscoe, Veronica A. Jones, Deryl K. Hatch-Tocaimaza, Eligio Martinez Jr.

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Community College Men of Color Initiatives (CCMCIs) are increasingly popular strategies utilized to promote retention and completion among Men of Color (MOC). CCMCI directors offer a unique positionality in understanding how their identities, institutional contexts, and power dynamics affect their design of programs and participating students. Using a critical phenomenological approach, the authors of this study explore the lived experiences of CCMCI directors in conceptualizing, implementing, and assessing these initiatives.

What Are We Teaching Abroad? Faculty Goals For Short-Term Study Abroad Courses, Elizabeth Niehaus, Ashley Wegener

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Based on survey data from over 400 faculty members who taught short-term study abroad courses, the purpose of this study was to identify the types of goals that faculty members have in teaching short-term study abroad courses and the relationship between faculty background characteristics (i.e., race, gender, discipline, and prior experience) and their teaching goals. By further understanding the goals that these faculty members have for their study abroad programs, we are better able to assess how these programs may or may not be meeting overall internationalization goals and then to use this information to assist faculty members and higher …

Faculty Engagement In Cultural Mentoring As Instructors Of Short-Term Study Abroad Courses, Elizabeth Niehaus, Jillian Reading, Matthew J. Nelson, Ashley Wegener, Ann Arthur

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to explore what cultural mentoring looks like in practice in shortterm study abroad courses, how frequently instructors engage in cultural mentoring, and what demographic and background variables might predict the extent to which faculty members engage in cultural mentoring. Using data from a survey of 473 faculty members from 72 U.S. colleges and universities who had recently taught short-term study abroad courses, we identified four types of cultural mentoring behaviours: Expectation Setting, Explaining the Host Culture, Exploring Self in Culture, and Facilitating Connections. We also identified key predictors of the frequency with which participants …

Reflexivity In International Contexts: Implications For U.S. Doctoral Students International Research Preparation, Christina W. Yao, Louise Michelle Vital

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Aim/Purpose Learning to conduct research, including considerations for concepts such as reflexivity, is a key component of doctoral student preparation in higher educa-tion. Yet limited attention is given to doctoral student training for conducting international research, particularly in understanding researcher reflexivity within international contexts.

Background Incorporating reflexive practices in one’s scholarship is of particular importance because international research often includes U.S.-based researchers working with cultural groups and contexts that are very different from them. Thus, we examined the following: how do novice U.S. trained researchers understand the role of their reflexivity in qualitative international research?

Methodology We utilized qualitative inquiry …

“They Don’T Care About You”: First-Year Chinese International Students’ Experiences With Neo-Racism And Othering On A U.S. Campus, Christina W. Yao

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

This qualitative research study illuminates the experiences affecting first-year Chinese international students in the United States and gives insights as to how these students perceive interpersonal relationships at college. Participants shared reports of neo-racism and othering as negatively affecting their feelings of connection to other members of their collegiate community. Findings and implications from this study indicate a need for better support for first-year Chinese international students in college.

Perspectives From Graduate Students On Effective Teaching Methods: A Case Study From A Vietnamese Transnational University, Christina W. Yao, Courtney Collins

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Vietnam is emerging as an accelerated economic and political society with an increased global presence; thus, increased attention has been given to producing qualified college graduates who can contribute to the growing global economy. Yet challenges exist due to lack of educational infrastructure and ineffective teaching practices. As a result, the Vietnamese government embraces international collaborations in higher education as a way to address educational needs; however, although research exists on policy implications and government priorities, very little is known about how students perceive the teaching methods provided at these collaborative transnational universities. The purpose of this qualitative case study …

Academic Advising And The Persistence Intentions Of Community College Students In Their First Weeks In College, Deryl K. Hatch, Crystal E. Garcia

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Persistence of community college students is a serious and perennial concern with numerous published figures illustrating the daunting odds that students and institutions face along their path to college completion (Calcagno, Crosta, Bailey, & Jenkins, 2007; Provasnik & Planty, 2008). Although researchers have made headway in identifying influential factors in students’ successful persistence along that path, evidence suggests that attrition in community colleges can begin to occur within the first term and even between enrollment and the first day of class (Bailey, 2009; Bailey, Jeong, & Cho, 2010; Brooks-Leonard, 1991). While some researchers have explored the critical role of the …

Living-Learning Programs Through The Years: A Reflection On Partnerships Between Students, Faculty, And Student Affairs, Kathleen J. Buell, Vaugn L. Love, Christina W. Yao

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

LIVING-LEARNING PROGRAMS (LLPs), also known as learning communities, offer students a shared academic focus within a residential community; thus, LLPs are considered ideal contexts for student learning. In 1994, Zeller highlighted Washington State University as an example of how learning communities can successfully incorporate faculty, students, and student affairs practitioners/departments into collaborative learning environments. This study provides an overview of changes that have occurred in the creation and implementation of LLPs during the past two decades. Using the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a case study, this paper illustrates the growth and adaptation of LLPs over the years. Implications and innovations …

An Empirical Typology Of The Latent Programmatic Structure Of Community College Student Success Programs, Deryl K. Hatch, E. Michael Bohlig

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

The definition and description of student success programs in the literature (e.g., orientation, first-year seminars, learning communities, etc.) suggest underlying programmatic similarities. Yet researchers to date typically depend on ambiguous labels to delimit studies, resulting in loosely related but separate research lines and few generalizable findings. To demonstrate whether or how certain programs are effective there is need for more coherent conceptualizations to identify and describe programs. This is particularly problematic for community colleges where success programs are uniquely tailored relative to other sectors. The study’s purpose is to derive an empirical typology of community college student success programs based …

Serving A Higher Power: The Influence Of Alternative Break Programs On Students’ Religiousness, Elizabeth Niehaus, Mark Rivera

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between students’ religiousness and participation in alternative breaks (ABs) using both survey and interview data from the National Survey of Alternative Breaks. Findings from this mixed methods study demonstrate the potential for ABs to facilitate religiousness and help students connect (or reconnect) to religious faith, particularly through participation in service with an explicit religious connection, individual written reflection, and interaction with community members.

Learning Through Personal Connections: Cogenerative Dialogues In Synchronous Virtual Spaces, Stephanie Bondi, Tareq Daher, Amy Holland, Adam R. Smith, Stacy Dam

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

This study describes the role of cogenerative dialogues in a synchronous virtual classroom. Cogenerative dialogues are a way for students and instructors to reflect upon in-class events and work collaboratively during the course to optimize teaching and learning. In the present study, cogen has been found to be a tool for enhancing connections among graduate students in the class leading to a reported increase of motivation and engagement. Cogenerative dialogues were essential in shifting responsibilities so that students took a more active role in their own learning while supporting each other.