"'I Was Gonna Go Off, but My Best Friend is White.": Hispanic Students' Co-Cultural Reasoning in a Hispanic Serving Institution. Issue 2 (15th March 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sanford, Amy Aldridge; Rudick, C. Kyle; Nainby, Keith; Golsan, Kathryn B.; Rodriguez, Stephanie Rollie; Claus, Christopher J.
• Is Part Of: Communication quarterly. Volume 67:Issue 2(2019)
• Page Start: 158
• Page End: 177
• Publication Date: 2019-03-15
• Subjects: Hispanic students -- Hispanic serving institutions -- co-cultural theory -- qualitative research; Communication -- Periodicals; 302.205
• DOI: 10.1080/01463373.2018.1557723
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0146-3373

Abstract

Abstract : The researchers engaged in a qualitative analysis (using journaling and focus group methodology) of the communicative behaviors of Hispanic students with White institutional members at a medium-sized, Southwest HSI. Utilizing Co-Cultural Theory and Elaborative Coding analysis, the authors mapped how Hispanic students narrated their co-cultural communication and reasoning (i.e., why they engage in one strategy rather than another). The findings show that, although Hispanic students used almost all co-cultural strategies, their responses were clustered primarily around assimilationist strategies – indicating that they engage in a high degree of self-monitoring and self-censorship when interacting with White institutional members in an HSI. These results suggest that even when Hispanic students constitute a large or majority part of the institution's population, they still feel the need to engage in behaviors that navigate White norms. The study concludes by examining the findings for co-cultural theorizing as well as providing insights for instructors who wish to engage in inclusive teaching practices.