Samuel D. Museus

Toward an Intercultural Perspective of Racial and Ethnic Minority College Student Persistence

Six of every 10 Black and Latina/o undergraduates who begin higher education at a four-year institution will fail to earn a bachelor’s degree within six years. These low rates of attainment are accompanied by negative consequences for individual students and the larger society. Consequently, scholars have advocated for the importance of considering new perspectives of minority college student persistence in higher education research. This study is aimed at generating a new intercultural framework for understanding racial/ethnic minority student persistence processes using existing literature and the voices of students of color. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Racial Differences in the Effects of Campus Racial Climate on Degree Completion: A Structural Equation Model

Racial minority student persistence is of paramount importance to higher education policymakers and practitioners. This study was aimed at understanding racial differences in the direct and indirect effects of campus racial climate on degree completion using structural equation modeling techniques and a nationally representative sample. The findings of this analysis highlight the importance of examining conditional effects and indicate that students from disparate racial backgrounds may experience and react to their campus racial climates in different ways. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Characteristics of Academic Advising That Contribute to Racial and Ethnic Minority Student Success at Predominantly White Institutions

Racial and ethnic minority student departure continues to be a major concern for higher education researchers, policy makers, and practitioners. We explore the role that academic advisors play in facilitating success among students of color at predominantly White institutions that have demonstrated effectiveness at generating ethnic minority success. Three themes emerged from the findings and underscore the characteristics of academic advising that contribute to that success. First, participants noted the importance of advisors who humanized the practice of academic advising. Second, they highlighted the impact of those who adopted a multifaceted approach to advising. Finally, participants emphasized the importance of proactive academic advising. Implications for academic advising practices are discussed.

Delineating the Ways That Key Institutional Agents Provide Racial Minority Students With Access to Social Capital in College

This study focuses on the characteristics of institutional agents who can and do facilitate racial minority student success by providing them with access to social capital in college. Individual semi-structured interviews with 60 Asian American, Black, and Latino undergraduates reveal that key institutional agents who positively influence those participants’ success and provide them with access to social capital share four common characteristics: They (a) Share common ground with those students, (b) provide holistic support for those students, (c) humanize the educational experience, and (d) provide proactive support for those students. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

The Culturally Engaging Campus Environments (CECE) Model: A New Theory of Success Among Racially Diverse College Student Populations

In this chapter, the author makes the case for a new theory of college success among racially diverse student populations. He analyzes Tinto’s theory of student departure and delineates four major limitations of this model in explaining success among racially diverse populations. The author also provides an overview of alternative culturally relevant frameworks of success that have been generated from the voices of racially diverse communities and proposed to explain success among diverse student populations. In doing so, he highlights the contributions of these culturally relevant frameworks and discusses how they fall short of offering a comprehensive, easily quantifiable, and testable theoretical model that can provide the foundation for a new generation of research on success among racially diverse populations in college. Then, the author proposes a Culturally Engaging Campus Environments (CECE) model of success among racially diverse student populations that accounts for the major critiques of Tinto’s theory, is derived from research on diverse student bodies, and consists of a set of quantifiable constructs and testable propositions that can provide the foundation for a new line of inquiry into diverse college students’ success. The chapter ends with a set of conclusions and implications for research and practice in postsecondary education.

The Model Minority and the Inferior Minority Myths: Understanding Stereotypes and Their Implications for Student Learning.

In-depth interviews with an Asian American and a black student reveal the negative influence of racial stereotypes on their learning experiences. Samuel Museus shares their stories and offers recommendations for postsecondary educators.

A Qualitative Examination of Multiracial Students' Coping Responses to Experiences with Prejudice and Discrimination in College.

National data indicate that multiracial individuals comprise a substantial and growing proportion of the US population, but this community is often invisible in higher education research and discourse. This study aims to increase knowledge of mixed-race students in higher education by examining the ways in which they cope with experienced prejudice and discrimination in college. Findings indicate that multiracial college students cope with prejudice and discrimination by educating others about multiracial issues, utilizing support networks, embracing fluidity of multiracial identity, and avoiding confrontation with sources of prejudice and discrimination. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Racism and Sexism in Cyberspace: Engaging Stereotypes of Asian American Women and Men to Facilitate Student Learning and Development

Samuel D. Museus and Kimberly A. Truong report on the negative consequences of the ubiquitous racialized and sexualized stereotypes of Asian American college students that appear online.

Socioeconomic Status and Asian American and Pacific Islander Students' Transition to College: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

The purpose of this study is to examine socioeconomic differences in the interpersonal factors that influence college access among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). Data on 1,460 AAPIs from the Education Longitudinal Study (ELS: 02/06) were analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques. Findings suggest that parental expectations, parental involvement, teacher quality, and peer academic orientation were associated with more positive transitions to college among AAPIs but that the nature of those relationships was complex and varied across socioeconomic statuses. The authors discuss the limitations of national databases in studying AAPIs and offer implications for higher education research, policy, and practice.

Vicarious racism: a qualitative analysis of experiences with secondhand racism in graduate education

In this article, the authors examine the role of vicarious racism in the experiences of doctoral students of color. The researchers conducted semi-structured individual interviews with 26 doctoral students who self-reported experiencing racism and racial trauma during their doctoral studies. The analysis generated four themes that detail the different ways in which doctoral students of color in the study experienced vicarious racism and the consequences of this secondhand racism. These themes are (a) observed racism, (b) trickledown racism, (c) normalization of racism, and (d) racial resistance. The article concludes with implications for future research and practice.