Uncertainty and evolution: Contributions to identity development for female college students who identify as multiracial/biracial-bisexual/pansexual

Posted in Dissertations, Gay & Lesbian, Identity Development/Psychology, Media Archive, United States, Women on 2012-08-17 00:07Z by Steven

Uncertainty and evolution: Contributions to identity development for female college students who identify as multiracial/biracial-bisexual/pansexual

Iowa State University
2008
322 pages
Publication Number: AAT 3310805
ISBN: 9780549596066

Alissa Renee King

A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

In this study, I explored how female college students who identify as multiracial/biracial-bisexual/pansexual made meaning of their racial and sexual identities, how they described their identity development process, and the ways in which college contributed to their identity formation. Utilizing a proposed model of biracial-bisexual identity development and the ecology of student development model as foundations for this study, I sought to better understand the experiences both before and during college, and the impacts of those two environments on the processes of racial and sexual identity formation for the female college students in this study. Findings, based on in-depth interviews, revealed that the females in this study were impacted in different ways during the pre-college experience and during college, with influences coming from family, peers, and the school setting before college. The themes during the college experience at the time of the interviews were related to Trying On new labels, Negotiating Self within a variety of spaces, and Finding Fit in places where the participants felt safe and supported. Findings also revealed that context had the biggest impact on identity development and that racial and sexual identity were primarily separate processes rather than intersecting experiences. I offered contributions to biracial-bisexual identity models and I shared recommendations for current practice and future research to better serve females in both secondary and post-secondary institutions who identify as multiracial/biracial-bisexual/pansexual.

Purchase the dissertation here.

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Environmental Influences on the Development of Female College Students Who Identify as Multiracial/Biracial-Bisexual/Pansexual

Posted in Articles, Campus Life, Gay & Lesbian, Identity Development/Psychology, Media Archive, Social Science, United States, Women on 2011-07-29 04:27Z by Steven

Environmental Influences on the Development of Female College Students Who Identify as Multiracial/Biracial-Bisexual/Pansexual

Journal of College Student Development
Volume 52, Number 4 (July/August 2011)
pages 440-455
E-ISSN: 1543-3382 Print ISSN: 0897-5264

Alissa R. King, Instructor in Social Sciences
Iowa Central Community College

Using Renn’s (2000, 2004) ecology of college student development model as a theoretical framework, I report and discuss the findings of my study involving 6 female college students who identify as multiracial/biracial-bisexual/pansexual. I describe how these findings validate Renn’s model, specifically discussing how the campus environment influenced the students’ identity development in relation to three themes that emerged from my study: trying on, negotiating self, and finding fit. Finally, I discuss the implications of the results of my study for student affairs practice.

Read or purchase the article here.

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Biracial and Multiracial Students: New Directions for Student Services, Number 123

Posted in Anthologies, Books, Campus Life, Canada, Census/Demographics, Identity Development/Psychology, Media Archive, Teaching Resources, United States on 2009-11-24 21:10Z by Steven

Biracial and Multiracial Students: New Directions for Student Services, Number 123

Jossey-Bass an imprint of John Wiley & Sons
October 2008
88 pages
Paperback ISBN: 978-0-470-42219-9

Edited by

Kristen A. Renn, Associate Professor of Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education
Michigan State University

Paul Shang, Assistant Vice President and Dean of Students
University of Oregon

Editors and contributors of this important work have designed it to meet the needs of student affairs professionals who have previously had few resources on which to draw in understanding the experiences and identities of mixed race students.

Within a multiracial framework, the authors address the contemporary context for understanding racial issues on campus; several approaches to identity developments; experiences of students and faculty; and student services, programs, and policy, including a Canadian perspective.

A substantial amount of literature addresses developmental and service needs of monoracial students of color (Asian and Pacific Islander, Black, Latino, Native American), Student affairs educators have observed an increase in the number of biracial and multiracial college students: students who have parents from more than one federally defined racial or ethnic background such as Asian-White, Latino-Black, or Native-White-Latino. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this population is only going to increase. This volume is sure to become an indispensable resource for student affairs professionals serving the needs of this increasing student population.

This is the 123nd volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Student Services, an indispensable resource for vice presidents of student affairs, deans of students, student counselors, and other student services professionals.

Each issue of New Directions for Student Services offers guidelines and programs for aiding students in their total development: emotional, social, physical, and intellectual.

Table of Contents

Editor’s Notes

  1. An Introduction to Social and Historical Factors Affecting Multiracial College Students (Paul Shang)
    This chapter introduces the volume by describing social and higher education challenges that impact the identities and experiences of traditional age biracial and multiracial college students.
  2. Research on Biracial and Multiracial Identity Development: Overview and Synthesis (Kristen A. Renn)
    This chapter presents three main bodies of research on identity development of biracial and multiracial college students: foundational theories, ecological models, and psychological studies of the impact of multiracial identity.
  3. Exploring the Experiences and Self-Labeling of Mixed-Race Individuals with Two Minority Parents (Donna M. Talbot)
    A student development researcher describes a qualitative study of ten mixed-race young adults whose parents are from different minority monoracial groups (Black, Latino/Hispanic, Asian, or Native American).
  4. Student Perspectives on Multiracial Identity (Alissa R. King)
    In the context of research on multiracial student experiences, this chapter provides personal reflections of a multiracial individual on campus at a time when Who am I? and What are you? questions prevail.
  5. Multiracial Student Services Come of Age: The State of Multiracial Student Services in Higher Education in the United States (Michael Paul A. Wong, Joshua Buckner)
    The authors describe emerging services to serve multiracial students, the service traditions from which these services evolve, how they are staffed, and their relationships with student organizations.
  6. The Space in Between: Issues for Multiracial Student Organizations and Advising (C. Casey Ozaki, Marc Johnston)
    Based on research and experience working with multiracial student organizations and leaders, the authors describe the functions and challenges of these student groups and provide suggestions for student affairs educators who work with them.
  7. Being Multiracial in a Wired Society: Using the Internet to Define Identity and Community on Campus (Heather Shea Gasser)
    This chapter describes established and emerging technologies, including online social networking, blogs, and wikis, that affect how multiracial students form communities and express their identities.
  8. Bicultural Faculty and Their Professional Adaptation (Michael J. Cuyjet)
    An associate professor and graduate school dean describes the ways that minority faculty members, monoracial and biracial, must learn to be bicultural to thrive in the dominant culture of higher education at predominantly White institutions.
  9. Looking North: Exploring Multiracial Experiences in a Canadian Context (Leanne Taylor)
    A Canadian scholar describes a particular context for understanding mixed-race college student experiences outside the United States and raises questions for higher education policy and student services practice.
  10. Student Affairs and Higher Education Policy Issues Related to Multiracial Students (Angela Kellogg, Amanda Suniti Niskodé)
    This chapter describes student affairs policy issues that have particular impact on multiracial students, such as collecting and reporting data on student race/ethnicity, implementing campus programs and services, and enacting affirmative action.

Notes

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