“I'm Familiar With What They're Going Through”: Accounting for the Emotional Labor of Counseling Faculty at Hispanic-Serving Community Colleges

• In Event: Faculty Experiences and Environments: A Deeper Understanding

Abstract

AB 705 dismantled developmental education in California and required students to meet with a counselor before enrolling in courses. This study was guided by critical race theory in education and emotional labor of faculty to examine the experiences of 30 counselors at 16 Hispanic serving California Community Colleges as they navigated the implementation of AB 705 during the pandemic. Participants engaged in equity-minded perspectives to advise students as they navigated intersectionality. The emotional labor when advising students was informed by the critical consciousness of counselors and their understanding that educational inequities rooted in institutional racism persist. Emotional labor was exacerbated by a lack of time that counselors had to guide students and the high caseloads of counselors.

Authors

• Nancy Acevedo, California State University - San Bernardino

• James Grabow, California State University - San Bernardino

• Debahni Escobar, California State University - San Bernardino