Sylvia Hurtado, Ph.D. Marcela Cuellar Chelsea Guillermo-Wann Paolo Velasco

1. Empirically Defining Validation, Sense of Belonging, and Navigational Actions for Students in Diverse Institutions: The Diverse Learning Environments Survey Sylvia Hurtado, Ph.D. Marcela Cuellar Chelsea Guillermo-Wann Paolo Velasco May 31, 2010 Association for Institutional Research Chicago, IL A project funded by the Ford Foundation

2. Purpose • Empirically examine innovative and established constructs in the Diverse Learning Environments pilot survey (DLE) • General validation • Validation by faculty in the Classroom • Sense of belonging • Navigational action • Goal: Establish constructs that can be used to empirically examine relationships with student outcomes

3. Research Project Purpose & Goals • Assist educators in advancing the success of diverse students • Assess undergraduate skills for work and citizenship in a pluralistic democracy • Create the conditions for realizing the benefits of diversity in the learning process • Increase retention rates and improve the assessment of retention

4. Project Components Research: • Diverse Learning Environments Survey • Campus Case Studies of 8 Institutions • National Retention Study (Clearinghouse) Practice: • Institute for the Critical Analysis of Quantitative Data (July 13 – 15) • Diversity Research Institute (August 4 – 6)

5. Review of the Literature Sense of Belonging Validation Navigational Action & Capital

6. Sense of Belonging • Comprises cognitive and affective elements • Cognitive level: information about experiences with a group as a whole and other group members • Affective level: feelings that reflect the individual’s appraisal of their experiences with the group (Bollen & Hoyle, 1990) • Original factor items • I feel a sense of belonging to … • I feel that I am a member of the … community • I see myself as part of the … community

7. Sense of Belonging • Utilized in higher education research as a psychological sense of integration • Illustrates the interplay between the individual and the institution (Hurtado & Carter, 1997) • Original Bollen & Hoyle (1990) items modified to include broader concepts of cohesion • DLE uses the original construct

8. Sense of Belonging • Factors Influencing Sense of Belonging • Perceptions of the campus climate for both white and students of color (Hurtado et al, 2007; Locks et al, 2008) • Positive interactions with diverse peers (Locks et al, 2008) • Different college predictors for different racial/ethnic groups • Course-related faculty interaction, co-curricular involvement, and perceptions of supportive residential environments (Inkelas et al, 2007) • Sense of Belonging Impacts Persistence (Hausmann et al, 2007)

9. Validation “Validation is an enabling, confirming and supportive process initiated by in- and out-of-class agents that foster academic and interpersonal development” (Rendón, 1994) Differs from earlier theories on student persistence and learning (most notably Astin’s Theory of Involvement)

10. Validation • Examples of invalidation • Forms of validation • Academic validation • Interpersonal validation • Occurs both in- and out-of-class • Never empirically examined at a national level • DLE includes measures of both general validation from faculty and staff and validation in the classroom

11. Validation • Qualitative research has examined validation • Effects of validation on student experiences • Feel capable of learning • Experience a feeling of self worth • Feel that they, and everything that they bring to the college experience, are accepted and recognized as valuable. • Lacking validation, students feel crippled, silenced, subordinate, and/or mistrusted.

12. Navigational Action & Capital • Navigation is critical for increasing academic goal attainment (AAC&U, 2002) • Equip students with the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions about appropriate routes for their academic goals (AAC&U, 2002) • Actions and requisite knowledge represent navigational capital (Yosso, 2005) • Students of color must develop academic resilience that enables them to navigate social institutions (Alva, 1991, Yosso, 2005; see Solorzano, Ceja & Yosso, 2000)

13. Variables Related to Navigational Action & Capital • Family & Community Support (Delgado Bernal, 2001; Solórzano &Villapando, 1998) • Peer & Faculty Support (Solórzano, Ceja, &Yosso, 2000; Solórzano & Delgado Bernal, 2001; Solórzano & Villapando, 1998) • Identifying Career Goals & Multiple Paths to It • Having a Mentor • Joining an Ethnic Organization • DLE items measure navigational actions that demonstrate navigational capital at work • Includes individual and community agency for students of color (Yosso, 2005)

14. Diverse Learning Environments Pilot Survey • Integrated assessment of climate, diversity practice, and outcomes • Inclusive of diverse social identities • Modules targeting specific topics • Longitudinal when linked with other student data (e.g. other CIRP surveys, registrar data, etc.) • Nationally available CIRP survey in Spring 2011

15. DLE Pilot Survey Components • Core Survey • Modules • Classroom Climate • Transition into the Major • Intergroup Relations • Community College Students’ Transfer Pathway • Transition Experiences for Transfer Students at four-year Institutions

16. Data Collection • Online administration between January – May 2010 • 14 institutions (9 represented in this analysis) • 1 - community college (Midwest) • 3 - four-year private institutions (West, Midwest, East) • 5 - four-year public universities (West) • Target sample: cohorts of second year and third year students • Some institutions chose to sample additional cohorts

17. Sample • n = 3,306 undergraduate students • Racial/ethnic demographics* • Black – 6% • Asian American/Asian/Pacific Islander – 19% • Latina/o – 19% • White – 68% • Native American – 6% • Arab American/Arab – 2% • Other – 2% • Student characteristics • 11% Frosh, 31% Soph, 32% Junior, 25% Senior • 33% transfer and 9% re-entry students • * Students could choose multiple categories

18. Data Analysis • Structural Equation Modeling to conduct Confirmatory Factor Analysis • Partial correlations • Cross-tabulations

19. Sense of Belonging (α = .92)

20. General Validation (α = .86)

21. Classroom Validation (α = .88)

22. Correlation between Factors p < .01

23. Partial Correlations for Navigational Action *** p < .001 ** p < .01 * p < .05

24. Partial Correlations for Navigational Capital How often have you sought support from the following to successfully complete college? (5 pt Likert scale: never, seldom, sometimes, often, very often) *** p < .001 ** p < .01 * p < .05

25. General Validation Across Institutional Types χ² = 62.85 p < .001

26. Validation in the Classroom Across Institutional Types χ² = 66.28 p < .001

27. Discussion • Empirically identified useful constructs of validation to capture student experience • Useful in revised conceptual models for retention and future research • Student navigational actions are related to validation and sense of belonging, empowering students to learn

28. Discussion • Seeking faculty support is key to increased general validation and within the classroom • Staff are often left out of frameworks, however, preliminary research indicates they are important • Frequent use of academic counselors appear to influence a lower sense of general validation • Peer networks are central to sense of belonging

29. Future Directions • Final validation of these and other innovative DLE constructs • Develop studies examining relationships between these constructs and key student outcomes, e.g. retention • National launch of DLE survey through CIRP • Spring 2011

30. Contact Us Higher Education Research Institute http://www.heri.ucla.edu Diverse Learning Environments Project Website: http://heri.ucla.edu/dle Email: dleproject@gseis.ucla.edu Phone: 310-267-5930