Counter-narratives of La Raza voces: An exploration of the personal and professional lived experiences of Mexican-American/Chicana/o faculty at California Catholic institutions of higher education

ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . v LIST OF TABLES . xi CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION . 1 Statement of the Problem . 1 Background and Need for Study . 3 Purpose of the Study . 6 Theoretical Framework of Critical Race Theory in Education . 7 Critical Race Theory . 7 Critical Race Theory in Education . 8 Research Questions . 10 Definition of Terms.11 Summary . 15 CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . 17 Restatement of the Problem . 17 Historical Overview of La Raza in the United States . 19 Current U.S. Population Demographics of La Raza . 27 Current Status of La Raza in Higher Education . 29 Undergraduate . 29 Graduate . 29 Doctorate . 30 Gender Disparities in Higher Education . 32 Faculty Diversity in Higher Education . 32 Faculty Recruitment . 36 Recruiting Foreign-Born Faculty versus Native-Born Faculty . 41 Tokenism.43 Faculty Retention . 44 Job Satisfaction . 44 Campus Climate . 47 Mentors . 48 Collegiality . 49 Tenure and Promotion.50 Critical Race Theory (CRT). 54 Critical Race Theory in Education . 56 Critical Race Theory Methodologies . 58 Criticisms of Critical Race Theory . 60 Summary . 61 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY . 65 Restatement of the Purpose . 65 viii Research Questions . 65 Qualitative Research Design . 66 Sample Procedure and Setting . 69 University of San Francisco . 73 Santa Clara University . 72 Loyola Marymount University . 73 University of San Diego.74 Data Collection . 77 Data Analysis of Narratives . 82 Procedures and Ethical Considerations . 83 Limitations . 85 Summary . 85 CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS: LA RAZA FACULTY COUNTER-NARRATIVES . 88 Introduction . 88 Demographic Analysis . 89 La Raza Primary/Secondary and Undergraduate/Graduate Experiences . 91 Professor Uno.91 Professor Dos . 93 Professor Tres . 96 Professor Cuatro.97 Professor Cinco . 99 Professor Seis . 100 Professor Siete . 101 Professor Ocho . 102 Career Progression of La Raza Faculty in Catholic Higher Education . 105 Realization of Interest in an Academic Career . 105 Graduate School Preparation . 108 Mentoring . 111 Attraction to Academic Career in Catholic Higher Edcuation . 114 Supports in Catholic Higher Education . 116 Challenges in Catholic Higher Edcuation . 119 Experiences of Discrimination and Racism . 122 Social and Cultural Climate for La Raza Faculty in Catholic Higher Education 126 Level of Association with Self-Identified Ethnic Group and EthnicRelated Involvement . 127 Ethnic and Cultural Compostion of Faculty and Level of Collegiality . 130 Socialization in Department and Institution . 135 Feeling Accepted . 137 Felling Isolated.138 Ethnicity Limited Progress for Tenure or Promotion . 139 Worked Harder to Be Perceived as a Legitimate Scholar . 140 Conflict of Culture with Others and Suppression of Culture for Acceptance . 143 A “Voice” Respected by Others . 149 Level of Satisfaction of La Raza Faculty in Catholic Higher Education . 150 ix Catholic Institution’s Mission, Vision, and Values . 150 Cultural Climate of Department and Institution . 152 Most and Least Rewarding Aspects for Faculty . 153 La Raza Recommendations for Mexican-American/Chicana/o Scholars . 156 Seeing the Connection between Catholic Mexicans and Catholic Higher Education . 157 Understanding the Expectations and Culture of the Department and Institution . 158 Being Assertive and Self-Promoting and Connecting with a Scholar in Your Field with a Similar Ethnicity . 159 La Raza Recommendations for Mexican-American/Chicana/o Faculty . 159 Clearly Understand the Tenure Requirements and Exceed the Requirements . 160 Do Not Isolate Yourself and Get a Mentor . 161 Protect Your Time and Set Limits .