Latina/o Student Empowerment at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Emerging HSIs, and Non-HSIs

• In Event: Exploring Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Emerging HSIs: Institutional Characteristics, Student Experiences, and Future Directions

Abstract

Objective
The objective of this study was to explore how student experiences at HSIs, emerging HSIs, and non-HSIs influence two outcomes representing Latina/o empowerment, academic self-concept and social agency. The study specifically sought to identify similarities and differences in the factors promoting growth on both of outcomes across the three institutional contexts.

Theoretical perspectives
The present study drew from the Multicontextual Model for Diverse Learning Environments (MMDLE) framework and Critical Race Theory (CRT) to guide variable selection. To assess outcomes, the MMDLE accounts for student pre-college characteristics and experiences with curricular/co-curricular domains and the campus racial climate (Hurtado, Alvarez, Guillermo-Wann, Cuellar, & Arellano, 2012). Through its commitment to social justice, CRT in education acknowledges that historically marginalized racial/ethnic groups often experience discrimination and proposes that education should empower disenfranchised students (Solórzano, 1998).

Methods
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with post-hoc tests were employed to discover any differences on academic self-concept and social agency in 2004 and 2008 at four-year HSIs, emerging HSIs, and non-HSIs. Multiple regression analyses were then conducted in two-stages to understand how pre-college characteristics, institutional characteristics, and student experiences across the three institutional contexts influence Latina/o outcomes. First, the regression was run on the entire sample. Next, analyses were conducted separately for each institutional context’s sample to assess the explanatory power of variables within each context and allow for comparison across groups.

Data Sources
Data were taken from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) at UCLA. The CIRP collected longitudinal data on first-time, full-time freshmen through The Freshman Survey in 2004 and four years later through the College Senior Survey. Institutions were coded as HSIs if they received Title V HSI funding between 2004 – 2008. Emerging HSIs were coded according to Excelencia in Education’s list of emerging HSIs (Santiago & Andrade, 2010) while institutions with less than 10% Latina/o enrollment were coded as non-HSIs. Students who self-identified as Latina/o were included. The sample included 2,123 Latina/os across 249 colleges and universities, including 314 students at 18 HSIs and 350 students at 14 emerging HSIs.

Results
Gains on academic self-concept were greater for Latina/os at HSIs while gains on social agency were comparable across the three institutional types. While similar factors promoted growth on these outcomes, there were also distinctions based on institutional context. For example, Latina/os at HSIs showed more growth on academic self-concept if they felt support from their family during college whereas students at emerging HSIs showed more growth with positive cross-racial interactions. These findings suggest that these contexts matter in understanding Latina/o students’ experiences and outcomes in higher education.

Scholarly significance
By understanding the similarities and differences on Latina/o outcomes at HSIs, emerging HSIs, and non-HSIs, practitioners can strategically develop curricular and co-curricular approaches that are most effective in enhancing these outcomes within each context. Future research can further examine how other experiences and outcomes may also vary across institutional contexts with the goal of ensuring the holistic success of Latina/os across higher education.

Author

• Marcela Cuellar, University of California - Davis