Unmasking Identities and Healing in the Classroom: The Impact of Ethnic Studies on the Psychosocial Well-Being of First-Generation Latinx College Students
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- This study explores the loneliness, self-esteem, and belonging that first-generation Latinx college students at a private elite university experience both within and outside of the Ethnic Studies classroom. More specifically, this study aims to 1) uncover the psychosocial effects (e.g., levels of loneliness, self-esteem, and sense of school membership) of engaging with culturally relevant Ethnic Studies courses and 2) understand the mechanisms by which Ethnic Studies impacts the psychosocial well-being of first-generation Latinx college students traversing a highly selective, exclusionary space within Higher Education. The sample population is comprised of 61 Stanford University students who self-identify as both first-generation college students and Latinx individuals. Group 1 is formed by 29 students who have taken two or more Ethnic Studies courses and Group 2 is formed by 32 students who have not taken two or more of these courses. Applying a mixed-methods approach, data were collected through an anonymous virtual survey and semi-structured exploratory interviews about the well-being and experience of participants in Ethnic Studies courses. Drawing upon the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and an adapted version of the Psychological Sense of School Membership Scale within the online survey, t-test results revealed a significant difference between Group 1 and Group 2 solely for the school belonging scale. Group 2 students who had not taken two or more Ethnic Studies courses demonstrated higher levels of school belonging overall, yet 86.2% of Group 1 students reported that Ethnic Studies helped cultivate their belonging on campus. Future studies and interventions should explore ways to mitigate the alienation first-generation Latinx students feel within the wider school community, a magnified contrast to the belonging they experience specifically in their culturally affirming, identity safe classrooms through community match and validation. Additionally, neither group scored exceptionally high in self-esteem or low in loneliness, illuminating the need for universities to acquire a whole student approach that centers well-being and culture in all classrooms as a means to promote educational equity and bolster the psychosocial well-being of underrepresented racially minoritized students.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | 2020 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Gutierrez, Clarissa |
|---|---|
| Advisor | Padilla, Amado |
Subjects
| Subject | Graduate School of Education |
|---|---|
| Subject | Stanford University |
| Subject | first-generation college students |
| Subject | Latinx students |
| Subject | Ethnic Studies |
| Subject | psychosocial well-being |
| Subject | belonging |
| Subject | loneliness |
| Subject | self-esteem |
| Subject | ethnic identity affirmation |
| Subject | higher education |
| Subject | elite institutions |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
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- Use and reproduction
- User agrees that, where applicable, content will not be used to identify or to otherwise infringe the privacy or confidentiality rights of individuals. Content distributed via the Stanford Digital Repository may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor.
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Gutierrez, Clarissa. (2020). Unmasking Identities and Healing in the Classroom: The Impact of Ethnic Studies on the Psychosocial Well-Being of First-Generation Latinx College Students. Unpublished Honors Thesis. Stanford University, Stanford CA.
Collection
Undergraduate Honors Theses, Graduate School of Education
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- Contact
- cgutier@stanford.edu
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