"It's About Identity": Confronting Deficit-Based Assumptions About Latinx Students at a Developing Hispanic-Serving Institution

• In Event: 21.061 - MTCC Roundtable Session Five
  In Roundtable Session: 21.061-8 - Exploring Language and Bilingualism for Latinxs

Abstract

Research indicates that all students benefit from a diversified teaching force. In an effort to recruit and prepare more Latinx teachers, our university procured a Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions (DHSI) teacher pathway grant. Once work was initiated, it became clear that significant institutional barriers related to how the university marks Latinx student identity would need to be contested to effectively support Latinx college and career goals. Using a variety of methods and data sources, including qualitative surveys, informal interviews, anecdotal notes, and curricular materials, this paper describes the process of challenging overt and covert deficit-based assumptions about Latinx students, and the impact of transformative acts on the institutional culture supporting a movement towards an asset-based approach to student identity development.

Authors

• Rhianna Henry Casesa, Sonoma State University

• Kelly Estrada, Sonoma State University