Sense of Belonging Among Cuban American College Students Attending a Predominantly White Institution in the Midwest

• Main Author: Yanez, Daniel Michael
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01.01.2021
• Subjects: Acculturation; College Students; Cubans; Data Analysis; Educational leadership; Educational psychology; Grade Point Average; Hispanic American studies; Hispanic Americans; Instructional Leadership; Learner Engagement; Literature Reviews; Multicultural Education; Predominantly White Institutions; Student Experience
• ISBN: 9798460465767

Hispanic college students constitute an increasing proportion of matriculants at colleges across the United States, with a majority of them attending predominantly White institutions (PWIs). As of 2017, Hispanics comprised 18.9% of all enrolled U.S. domestic students, an increase from 9.9% in 2000. An important factor for academic success for all college students, including Hispanics, is sense of belonging, defined as students’ feelings about their connection to the campus community and their perception of their acceptance, respect, and value to that community. Sense of belonging can affect a student’s degree of academic adjustment, achievement, and aspiration. While a few studies have examined sense of belonging among Hispanic students, there is a lack of research on sense of belonging among Hispanic college students that parses Hispanic students’ cultural or subgroup identity, preventing more tailored practices and policies to serve the diversity of Hispanic students, including those from Cuban origins. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to describe and understand sense of belonging among one growing Hispanic subgroup, Cuban American college students, attending a PWI in the Midwestern region of the U.S. The research questions that were explored were: (1) How do Cuban American college students’ experiences at PWIs shape their sense of belonging?, and (2) What factors promote or hinder their development of a sense of belonging? The setting for this study was Midwest University, a pseudonym for a four-year, private, predominately White research university in the Midwest; the participants were second- and third-generation White Cuban Americans of traditional college age (20-21) in at least their third year of attendance at the same institution. Analysis of the results from semi-structured interviews provided insight into the lived experiences of Cuban American college students at a PWI, which supported or challenged their sense of belonging. Three themes emerged from that analysis: (a) that sense of belonging was connected to how the students navigated their Cuban American identity (dual-identity of non-Hispanic White American and Hispanic), (b) that they felt exclusion from other Hispanic cultural/ethnic groups, and (c) the importance of residence hall community development. Ultimately, the most impactful supporting experience was residence hall communities. Therefore, colleges and universities should continue to enhance and build these communities in ways that assist all students, but particularly Cuban American college students, in supporting their sense of belonging and path to degree completion.