“We’re Not Going to Overcome Institutional Bias by Doing Nothing”

Latinx/a/o Student Affairs Professionals as Advocates for Equity

Bibliographic Data

ID22044482
AuthorsMichelle M Espino (0000-0003-1628-9091, University of Maryland, College Park, corresponding author), Juanita Ariza (University of Maryland, College Park)
Year2022
Volume12
Issue10
Pages716
Publication date2022-10-18
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEducation Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2227-7102 • E-ISSN: 2227-7102
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/educsci12100716
OpenAlexW4306743092
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited18

Higher education institutions continue to be contested environments where the goals of equity and inclusion are often at odds with the permanence of institutional racism. Through a multi-case study of 19 Latinx/a/o mid-level administrators who worked at 16 predominantly white, private four-year universities, the authors uncovered the ways that (a) private universities grant agency to Latinx/a/o mid-level administrators to serve student needs but restrict agency to address the inequitable organizational structures; (b) constituent groups within private universities, namely faculty, mark the racialized boundaries of power and decision-making through credentialing; and (c) private universities use silence as a means of controlling Latinx/a/o mid-level professionals administrators’ equity work. Although Latinx/a/o mid-level administrators have a significant role to play in advancing equity work inside higher education institutions, these racialized organizations will create barriers that maintain whiteness and white interests. Without addressing power structures and the bureaucracy of decision-making at private institutions, progress on equity throughout the organizational structure may be limited. Implications for research and practice for Latinx/a/o/ administrators are discussed

Bureaucracy · Credentialing · Higher education · Political science · Politics · Power structure · Public relations · Sociology · Student affairs · Critical Race Theory in Education · Higher Education Research Studies · Law · Mentoring and Academic Development · Public Administration

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Open DOIOpen Access