Culturally Relevant Leadership Learning: Cultivating Latina Leaders Identity Development

• In Event: 9th Annual Emerging Scholars Research Consortium

Short Description

Socially just leadership educators have a critical role in the effort to help retain and understand Latina students through leadership classes. They must develop inclusive ways to empower Latinas to formulate their leader identity without negating their Latina identity in the process.

Detailed Abstract

Some of the best practices in leadership development and education stem from theories and models created by white men (Dugan and Komives, 2011).These best practices rarely focus on the intersectionality of multiple identities and how these intersections influence a student’s leader identity development. As students establish their leader identity it is possible that other aspects of their identities become less salient. Students are able to practice and learn their leadership skills in curricular environments. In bell hooks’ book, Teaching to Transgress, she emphasizes the value of classroom environments as providing an inclusive and holistic education. “Since the vast majority of students learn through conservative, traditional educational practices and concern themselves only with the presence of the professor; any radical pedagogy must insist that everyone’s presence is acknowledged (hooks, 1994, p. 8). Leadership educators have the potential to aid in the leader identity development of students by acknowledging their presence and their experiences.

The purpose of my project is to discuss on how socially just leadership educators can integrate and validate students’ various identities into leader identity development. This project will focus specifically on Latina college students, due to their increasing prevalence and marginalization in institutions of American higher education. “The numbers of Latinas alone – more than 26 million – make them a critically important group today, but projections are that by 2060 they will form nearly a third of the female population of the nation” (Gándara, 2015, p.7). This population is going to continue to grow and will have an even greater impact in institutions of higher education in the near future. This population is of particular importance due to low numbers in degree attainment. “Although Latinas are going to college in record numbers, they are significantly less likely to actually complete a degree, compared to all other major groups: in 2013, almost 19 percent of Latinas between 25 and 29 years of age had completed a degree, compared to 23 percent of African American women, 44 percent of white women, and 64 percent of Asian women.” (Gándara, 2015, p. 10). Socially just leadership educators have a critical role in the effort to help retain and understand Latina students through leadership classes. Socially just leadership educators must develop inclusive ways to empower Latinas to formulate their leader identity without negating their Latina identity in the process.

According to Castellanos and Jones (2003), “Similar to other ethnic and racial groups, a larger number of Latina women attend college than do men, though their numbers are low in comparison to other ethnic and racial groups (p. xvii). While Latina college students are faced with some of the barriers listed above, they have a set of unique circumstances affecting their persistence in higher education in comparison to their male counterparts. One of these circumstances is the decision of whether to attend college or not (Castellanos & Jones, 2003). Some Latino families expect women to get married, have children, and stay at home. “Gender-role stereotypes of Latinas suggests that they should be submissive and docile, and that their main purpose is to produce children” (Castellanos & Jones, 2003, p. xvii). The second circumstance affects a new generation of Latinas. According to Castellanos & Jones (2003), new generation Latinas are expected to stay close to home which results in them commuting to colleges or attending local community colleges. Latina students clearly face barriers as they navigate institutions of higher education, especially within their cultural identities. Socially just leadership educators must understand how Latina students’ cultures and backgrounds affect their decisions and behaviors. With this knowledge, socially just leadership educators will be well equipped to tailor specific programs and resources, especially in leadership learning, to reflect the cultural values and needs of this population.

The Culturally Relevant Leadership Learning (CRLL) model (Bertrand Jones, Guthrie, & Osteen, 2016), is a framework that addresses the experiences and backgrounds of marginalized and underrepresented groups in teaching leadership. The CRLL has five domains: historical legacy of inclusion/exclusion, compositional diversity, behavioral dimension, organizational/structural dimensions, and psychological dimension (Bertrand Jones et al., 2016). “These domains of culturally relevant leadership learning propel leadership educators to consider the importance of students’ experience of broader campus climate and how students engage in the leadership learning context of the campus” (Bertrand Jones et al., 2016, p. 15). Leadership educators should incorporate diverse authors and lessons within their curriculum. They also can establish a learning environment in which students are encouraged and affirmed in sharing their own experiences. It is also the role of the leadership educator to be aware of how their identities are perceived in the classroom. For example, an instructor who identifies as Latina may be perceived by other Latinas has someone they can trust or look up to because they share the same identity. This ties back to the idea of recruiting faculty and staff of color in order to create the perception, and eventually a reality, of a welcoming and inclusive environment on a college campus.

Socially just leadership educators should employ various means to ensure Latina students are encouraged to develop their leader identity without negating their ethnic identity. While there are co-curricular programs that may address this issue, it is important to look at the curricular aspect of leader identity development. Many of the outsides experiences Latina students possess can be integrated within class discussions and course work. A recommendation would be for leadership classes to take proactive steps to incorporate leader and identity development within the curriculum.
Leadership learning can incorporate culturally relevant, in this case Latina, curriculum into the classroom (Bertrand Jones, Guthrie & Osteen, 2016). Leadership educators must be aware that Latina students may define leadership and leader identity that differ from the traditional models that are taught in the classroom. By providing Latina women to use their voice and sharing their thoughts and perspectives on leader identity development.

Participant

• Maritza Torres, Florida State University