This week we would like to highlight the work of Dr. Cristobal Salinas Jr., Assistant Professor at Florida Atlantic University.
Dr. Cristobal Salinas conducted a phenomenological study to begin to fill the gap in research as it relates to the lived experiences of how Latino male faculty members make meaning of their socialization into the academia and how socialization impacts their decisions to pursue full-time and tenure-track positions in the field of education. As such, the following research questions guided his study: 1.) How do tenure-track and full-time tenured Latino male faculty members enter the field of education? 2.) How do tenure-track and full-time tenured Latino male faculty members make meaning of their socialization into the academy? Here is a summary of the key findings from this study.
The findings from this study suggest that through their socialization, Latino male faculty are crossing intellectual, emotional, psychological, and geograph- ical borders. Colleges and universities need to provide a more supportive and nurturing environment that promotes, supports, and rewards Latino male faculty. These faculty should be empowered by their departments and institutions to advance their research without a personal or professional cost. Neither they nor any other faculty member should be pressured to choose between their identities, their culture, their fami- ly, or their senses of self in order to be successful in the promotion and tenure process in higher education.
For Dr. Salinas’s full brief click here
For the rest of our brief series click here