Determining the Influence of Southeast Asian Faculty and Staff on Sense of Belonging of Southeast Asian Students at a Predominantly White Institution

• In Event: Institutional Leaders, Staff, and Contexts Shaping Southeast Asian American Student Success Along the Education Pathway

Abstract

Previous research has linked increased sense of belonging to higher student success metrics like retention and academic achievement (Ahn & Davis, 2020; Allen et al., 2008; Astin, 1993; Hoffman et al., 2002; Strayhorn, 2018). While there are studies specifically speaking at the aggregate level of Asian American sense of belonging (Samura, 2016), Southeast Asian American (SEAA) students are often overlooked in the general discourse and their unique background are misunderstood (Kiang & Museus, 2009). For example, SEAA students who come from Cambodia, Laos, or Vietnam have family histories rooted in refugee trauma. Museus and Maramba (2011) who studied another SEA group found that Filipino American students felt “pressure to commit cultural suicide and connections to cultural heritages significantly and indirectly influenced sense of belonging via their impact on cultural adjustment.”
The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of the identity of SEAA faculty and staff have on the sense of belonging of 25 Southeast Asian American students at a predominantly four-year, public White institution. The institution recently received an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) grant and opened an Asian American Center to support SEAA students and serve as a hub for community connections. SEAA faculty and staff share similar characteristics with their SEA college students (i.e., phenotype, religion, first generation college status). Utilizing Yosso’s (2005) Community Wealth Model as a theoretical framework, this study conducted five focus groups to explore Cambodian (Khmer) and Vietnamese American students’ perceptions and sense of belonging.
We found that SEA faculty and staff openly shared their personal stories, vulnerabilities and struggles with the students which helped SEA students relate to them. They also purposefully shared tips to navigate institutional barriers and connected students to campus resources. SEA faculty and staff created spaces where SEA students saw images of themselves reflected in their offices and Asian American Center as well as provided Asian American snacks and foods that reminded them of home.
This study will provide the field of higher education more insights into how the identity and culturally responsive practices of SEAA faculty and staff influences SEAA students’ experiences and sense of belonging. As institutions continue to build programs to raise retention and academic success rates, findings from this study will contribute to their efforts.

Authors

• Cherry Lim, University of Massachusetts - Lowell
  Presenting Author

• Phitsamay Sychitkokhong Uy, University of Massachusetts - Lowell
  Non-Presenting Author