Ethnicity in College: Advancing Theory and Improving Diversity Practices on Campus - Softcover

"Ortiz and Santos accomplish their goal of discovering how college students make meaning of their ethnicity in a multicultural world... The work's key strenghts include a comprehensive literature review and multi-method research design. The qualitative data adds exponentially to the findings and conclusions... All involved in higher education need to be aware of students' need to develop and express their ethnic identities. This invaluable resource is a must read. Summing Up: Essential."-- (07/01/2010) "By studying the experiences of 120 Southern California college students, researchers Ortiz and Santos take an in-depth look at the role college plays in ethnic identity development. Their book provides a close look at the divergent developmental paths traversed by students of different ethnicities, and the effect college has on students' understanding of their ethnicity. With smart analysis and helpful suggestions for maximizing the positive effects of campus diversity, the volume is a significant contribution to the literature on identity, diversity, and education."-- (01/01/2010) "This book provides a thorough description of ethnic identity theories and previous research on the identity processes of White, African American, Latino and Asian American individuals. The authors' careful multi-method study of student development across these racial and ethnic groups provides unique opportunities to link institutional policies and practices to encouraging student growth and change. Educators and scholars alike will find helpful information and analyses."-- (03/01/2009) "In this book, we come to understand how race, ethnicity, and culture are foundational for higher education into the twenty-first century. What is particularly compelling about Ortiz and Santos' exploration of ethnic identity development is the persuasive linkage they make to the literature on the educational effects of diversity in college. The quantitatively-dominated literature in that field has clearly established relationships between cross-cultural interaction and many democratic, educational, and developmental outcomes. And while racial differences are found, we are largely unable to fully account for them. Ortiz and Santos provide a tremendously important yet missing piece to this literature. Practitioners will come to find this book as a valuable resource for understanding how ethnic identity development is intertwined in all aspects of student life, both inside and outside the classroom. Researchers as well as practitioners will appreciate the deep insight this study provides to our understanding of ethnic relations and the relationship between diversity and development on campus." With its comparative, multi-ethnic design and its contributions to theory, knowledge, and practice, this book stands out in the higher education literature."-- (04/01/2009) "Reading Ethnicity in College is like taking a course in ethnicity and its effects on college students....It is useful for not just learning about specific groups but also helpful for gaining perspective into student experiences as garnered from their own words."-- (02/01/2011)

This book explores the importance, and construction, of ethnic identity among college students, and how ethnicity interfaces with students' interactions on campus, and the communities in which they live. Based on qualitative interviews with White, Latina/o, African American and Asian students, it captures both the college context and the individual experiences students have with their ethnicity, through the immediacy of the students' own voices. The authors observe how students negotiate their ethnic identity within the process of becoming adults. They identify the influences of family, the importance of socio-historical forces that surround students' educational experiences, and the critical role of peers in students' ethnic identity development. While research has begun to document the positive outcomes associated with diverse learning environments, this study emphasizes and more closely delineates, just how these outcomes come to be. In addition, the study reveals how the freedom to express and develop ethnic identity, which multicultural environments ideally support, promotes student confidence and achievement in ways which students themselves can articulate. This work is distinctive in eschewing an ethnic minority perspective through which Whites are the primary reference group, and the standard from which all ethnic and racial identity processes evolve; as well as in considering the influences that growing up in a multi-ethnic context may have on ethnic identity processes, particularly where the "other" is not White. This perspective is particularly important at a time when students entering universities are more likely to come from highly segregated high school environments, and will confront ethnic and social differences for the first time in college. This book is intended as a resource for researchers and practitioners in psychology and higher education. It offers insights for student affairs and higher education administrators and leaders about the ways in which their campus policies and practices can positively influence the development of more supportive campus climates that draw on the strengths of each ethnic group to create an overarching pluralistic culture. It can also serve as a cultural diversity text for upper division or graduate courses on pluralism. Moreover, understanding students' ethnic identity, their personal growth, and adjustment to college, it is central to preparing individuals for life in a pluralistic society.