Date of Award

3-23-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Department of Psychology: Clinical-Counseling Psychology

First Advisor

Jordan Arellanes

Abstract

Although there is continuing growth in higher education for Latinx individuals, they are disproportionately less likely to finish college compared to students of other ethno-racial groups (Snyder, 2018). Sense of belonging has been found to be a crucial component for student success, especially for Latinx students. The purpose of the following qualitative study was to gain an in-depth understanding of Latinx students’ sense of belonging on campus using Hurtado and Carter’s (1997) theoretical framework and explore how Latinx students' sense of belonging is related to interactions within classes designed around an Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Action (IDEA) framework. This study used a secondary data set that was collected starting in Fall 2019 and a primary data set that was collected in Fall 2022. This study features 24 Latinx undergraduate students and explores the following themes: transitioning from hometown to a campus environment, hostile climate on campus, and ways to increase sense of belonging. In addition to highlighting factors that impacted students’ sense of belonging, we found that IDEA-related courses greatly benefited Latinx students' sense of belonging and other recommendations from the students on how to increase sense of belonging. The findings of this research add to the body of literature on Latinx students and their sense of belonging at PWIs, and help higher education systems to develop transformative action plans such as implementing more IDEA-related courses in universities.

Comments

Imported from Faudoa_ilstu_0092N_12358.pdf

DOI

https://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2023.20230711063201077808.999986

Page Count

57

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