Culturally Irrelevant, Exclusively White: Latina/o Student Experiences of Leadership Education and Opportunities in College

• In Event: Smoke, Mirrors, and Education Practices: "Access" as Gatekeeping for Students and Communities of Color

Abstract

Purpose:

The purpose of this paper is to problematize current university leadership programs, policies, and curriculum, and pinpoint the specific ways messages about who can be leaders do not include most Latina/o students due to the lack of cultural relevance and critical pedagogy. Embracing AERA’s emphasis on accessible scholarship, this paper argues for the need to provide equitable and just leadership skill development for all in our growing diverse democracy. Current literature does not discuss the impact cultural and social identities have on leadership and power dynamics. The author argues that student development programs continue to cater to the majority student population by keeping race and culture out of curriculum and content. As such, critical analysis of having access to services versus having
equitable services is necessary.

Theoretical Framework:

This study utilizes Critical Race Theory (CRT) (Delgado & Stefancic, 1993) to analyze and discuss Latina/o students’ understanding, perception, and opportunities surrounding leadership while pursuing a bachelor’s degree. Grounded in tenets that recognize racism’s permanence (Bell, 1992) and challenge dominant claims of race neutrality in education (Crenshaw, 1989), CRT uses stories of individuals and communities of color as a means to examine racial formations and social practices that normalize inequality and oppression (Duncan, 2005).

Methods:

Counter narratives (Solorzano & Yosso, 2002) are utilized as method in this study as it provides space for Latina/o students to insert experiences that are erased in master narratives. Master narratives validate racism and create a saccharine view of what it means to be Latina/o. Crenshaw's (1989) theory of Intersectionality, Harris’ (1993) theory of Whiteness as Property, and Anzaldua's (1987) Borderlands Theory were used as frameworks for analyzing findings.

Data Source:

For this qualitative inquiry, the researcher relied on: semi-structured interviews with 15 Latina/o
college students who were currently pursuing/completed a bachelor’s degree from various higher
education institutions within the United States, a document analysis of leadership curriculum, and archived and current demographic information of leadership program attendance.

Results:

Data suggests that Latina/o college students do not feel connected to leadership education opportunities. Data also highlights a central tension when Latina/o students cannot connect to leadership curriculum due to lack of cultural relevancy for real world application. Additionally, traditional university scheduling practices are exclusive and allow for only a specific type of student to attend developmental programming, often of the majority group.

Significance:

This study calls attention to the ways in which Latina/o college students understand, perceive, and engage with leadership opportunities and education on campus. Although the largest ethnic minority in the United States, Latina/o students are not provided opportunities for leadership skill development in the same way that the majority student population is served, resulting in an unjust preparation for non-managerial employment and little room for professional elevated mobility. This work contributes to filling the literature gap surrounding leadership development, power, and identity development of Latina/o college students. The role that culturally relevant curriculum plays in these experiences and in academic support policies and practices is also analyzed.

Author

• Cecilia Elizabeth Suarez, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign