Epistemologies From the Isthmus: U.S. Central American Women Challenging Homogeneity in Higher Education

• In Event: 35.036 - Women of Color Feminisms, Epistemologies, and Knowledge Production as Historical and Contemporary Truth in Education

Abstract

Objectives
The purposes of this paper are to 1) highlight the racial and ethnic heterogeneity of Latinxs in educational research and 2) begin the early articulations of a possible, new research framework through the experiences of Central Americans in higher education to add nuance in future research design on Latinx-centered issues. This paper focuses on the epistemologies of resilience of Central American women navigating higher education. More specifically, the following questions are examined: (1) How do historical and contemporary contexts impact educational trajectories for Central American women?; (2) How do Central American women challenge the homogenization of Latinx students within universities?

Theoretical Framework(s)
For this paper, I draw from Critical Race Theory (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017), Chicana Feminist Theory (Delgado Bernal, 1998), and transnational feminisms (Alexander & Mohanty, 2013) to guide the study. Also utilized, are frameworks found in sociology and migration studies due to the interdisciplinary nature of the research and the politicized lives of the participants (Alvarado, Estrada, & Hernandez, 2017). My own cultural intuition (Delgado Bernal, 1998) as the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants was also utilized as a framework.

Methods
This paper is an ongoing qualitative study with data collected from four interviews with self-identified, Central American women who are currently pursuing a Bachelor’s or graduate degree. Interviews were 60 to 90 minutes long and were transcribed and coded. Likewise, analytic memos written throughout the study were also utilized to guide the analysis. Between now and AERA, more interviews will be conducted.

Findings
Findings demonstrate that Central American women in higher education experience feelings of exclusion even in “Latinx” spaces because of the often mischaracterization of Latinx equating Chicanx (Torres, 2004; Nguyen, Alcantar, Curammeng, Hernandez, Kim, Paredes, Nguyen & Teranishi, 2017). Also found, were the transnational realities of Central American women. This transnationalism is exhibited in their home life and also the issues they seek to bring attention to on their campuses. In line with Torres (2004), I argue that the research in the field cannot view Latinx students as a monolithic group in creating policy and practice-based change. Even as we strive for “culturally relevant” changes, we must be intentional in how we are defining culture and for whom we are defining it for.

Scholarly Significance
Although the field of higher education has made significant improvement to ways in which is examines questions of equity for Latinx students, it has often done so in a homogenizing manner (Torres, 2004). I argue that the one-size-fits-all-model of “Latinx student research” renders the different realities of many Latinx students to the margins. In this political climate in which we are seeing family separation, political unrest, and gendered violence, it is often ignored that a large population of those affected are Central American women. As researchers we have an obligation to be explicit in the “who”, “what”, and “why” when we are conducting research in the name of student equity for Latinx students. This particular paper on Central American student experiences functions as a first-step in examining racial and ethnic heterogeneity in the Latinx population through a feminist lens.

Author

• Audrey D Paredes, University of California - Los Angeles