Developing a Strengths-Based Transfer Receptive Culture for Latinx Transfer Students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

• In Event: Cultivating Inclusive Learning Spaces for Latinx Students: Centering Cultural Strengths in Transforming Educational Contexts

Abstract

Objective
Our mixed-method study examines the cultural strengths of Latinx and other transfer students of color (TSOC) and their experiences navigating a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI).

Theoretical Frameworks
Transfer rates from community colleges to universities and degree attainment remain disproportionately lower for Latinxs than for their white counterparts (Johnson & Mejia, 2020). Latinxs and TSOC face stigmatizing experiences producing disempowerment (Minikel-Lacoque, 2013), racial battle fatigue (Smith et al., 2007), and disengagement (Author et al., 2018). Research is limited on how relationships and students’ cultural strengths can foster their academic empowerment (Townsend et al., 2019), sense of belonging (Walton & Cohen, 2007), and self-efficacy (Zuckerman & Lo, 2021) which contribute to transfer receptivity (Jain et al., 2020).

Using a Transfer Receptive Culture (TRC) framework (Jain et al., 2020), centering on transfer students’ intersectional experiences and community cultural wealth (CCW; Yosso, 2005), our study examines how institutional and interpersonal practices and attitudes contribute to transfer receptivity for Latinxs and TSOC. We ask: 1) How do campus practices and students’ CCW impact their academic experiences? 2) What role do faculty, peer, and staff relationships have on their academic experiences?

Data and Methods
We collected 268 TSOC surveys (54.9% Latinx) and 12 focus group (FG) interviews (4 FGs, N=20; 50% Latinx) at an HSI where 59.7% of admitted transfers are TSOC and predominantly Latinx (IRAPS, 2021). The survey included academic experiences and relationship scales. The semi-structured interview protocol topics included CCW, relationships, and university experiences. We ran survey data regressions and conducted a thematic analysis of the FG data (Braun & Clarke, 2006).

Results
Results indicated that students’ perceived prejudice from others due to their transfer identity (β=- 0.167, p=.029) predicted lower levels of sense of belonging (R2=18.6, F(5,207)=9.45, p<.001). Conversely, better peer (β=0.402, p<0.001) and faculty (β=0.215, p<0.013) relationships predicted stronger sense of belonging (R2=.413, F(7,205)=20.58, p<.001). Stronger faculty (β=0.434, p<0.001; β=0.355, p<0.001) relationships predicted more academic empowerment (R2=.413, F(4, 231)=40.59, p<.001) and self-efficacy (R2=.299, F(4, 231)=24.59, p<.001). Students’ CCW [navigational (β=0.386, p<0.001), familial (β=0.217, p<0.001), aspirational (β=.232, p<0.001)] predicted stronger sense of belonging (R2=.386, F(7,206)=18.51, p<.001). FG themes, triangulating survey findings, included: 1) stigmatizing peer and faculty experiences due to students’ intersectional identities; 2) familial/cultural capital to overcome obstacles; 3) valuable relationships with faculty and advisors who understand students’ cultural backgrounds; 4) student of color spaces to share racist experiences; and 5) the transfer center and programs for first-generation, low-income students were the most transfer receptive.

Significance
By centering transfer students’ strengths to create more equitable learning experiences, HSIs can take a critical step toward successfully serving Latinx and TSOC. We used our findings to develop transfer receptive departmental practices that foster students’ CCW.

Authors

• Saskias Casanova, University of California - Santa Cruz
  Presenting Author

• Valeria Jacqueline Alonso Blanco, University of California - Santa Cruz
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sara A. Radoff, University of California - Santa Cruz
  Presenting Author

• Francia Cruz Silva, University of California - Santa Cruz
  Non-Presenting Author