Copyright by Justin Thankachan Samuel 2019
The Dissertation Committee for Justin Thankachan Samuel Certifies that this is the approved version of the following Dissertation:
Faith and Chai: Exploring Sense of Belonging and Intersections of Cultural and Spiritual Identities in South Asian American College Students
Committee:
Richard J. Reddick, Supervisor
Huriya Jabbar
Victor B. Sáenz
Suchitra V. Gururaj
Faith and Chai: Exploring Sense of Belonging and Intersections of Cultural and Spiritual Identities in South Asian American College Students
by
Justin Thankachan Samuel
Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
The University of Texas at Austin August 2019 Dedication
I dedicate this dissertation to my family.
To my father, Your curiosity, intellect, and creativity inspire me.
To my mother, Your “go for it” attitude, tenacity, and resilience motivate me.
To my sister, Your generous support, care, and encouragement uplift me. Acknowledgements
On this mountaintop of completing a doctorate, I bow my life to my Creator who has provided me everything and more. He has truly blessed me with a fortified army of dedicated family, friends, and mentors who have pushed away negativity and filled my cup with positivity over many years. I thank our higher education leadership program and the department of educational leadership and policy at The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) for admitting this Brown kid from humble Houston roots. You fostered my enthusiasm, and you honed my raw skills. I have evolved into a scholar-practitioner because of all my resources gained here. What an honor to pursue a personal passion project and earn a doctorate through it! I thank the program for not only allowing me to research Desi students but encouraged me to do so. On that note, I want to thank all the participants in the study for entrusting me with their beautiful stories. With your rich narratives, together we contributed much to higher education research.
I cannot thank my committee enough for their guidance and direction of this study. First and foremost, many thanks to Dr. Rich Reddick for being the consummate role model and advisor for me – well before I entered the program and forever more. I cannot think of anyone else who would have been a better Chair. I thank Dr. Huriya Jabbar for being an organized, effective teacher and for showing me how to conduct sound qualitative research. Thank you to Dr. Victor Sáenz for showcasing genuine leadership and providing many opportunities for me to grow my leadership in the department. Finally, I have so much appreciation for Dr. Suchi Gururaj for our countless breakfast meetings and for being a consistent South Asian mentor for me on campus.
v Although not on my committee, I also want to acknowledge Dr. Beth Bukoski for being a voice of reason, advice, and wisdom throughout my time in the program. While pursuing my doctorate, I worked full-time as a residence life professional at UT Austin. I first acknowledge and thank Dr. Hemlata Jhaveri, who served as executive director at the time and initially pushed me to pursue my doctorate in 2014. I also give thanks to Gloria Allen, Dr. Mylon Kirksy, Dr. Marilyn Tyus, and the staff members who have reported to me over the years for supporting me in every way as I chased this dream, even if it meant time away from the job. Last but certainly not least, I am indebted to Dr. Aaron Voyles, my supervisor for three out of the four years while pursuing the program. I provide many thanks to Aaron for being a sounding board, a listening ear, an ideator, and a writing consultant. Above all else, he was one of my biggest cheerleaders. I am fortunate to have been awarded for my student affairs work many times over, but I give credit to my past supervisors for catalyzing my passion and leading me in the right direction. I want to provide special thanks to Dr. Angel Wilson, Dr. Cat Sanders, and Dr. Tricia Zelaya-Leon for believing in me and letting me be me as a budding new professional. You serve as exemplary models of scholar-practitioners for me. I have dear friends in Austin who have made this journey pleasant and rewarding.
I thank my classmates for all of their insight, critique, and encouragement. I want to especially thank Jorge Burmicky for being my friend and confidant through the highs and lows. Thank you also to Dr. Tracie Lowe and Dr. Ericka Roland for attending my proposal defense and offering much needed guidance and feedback on my research. I have had tremendous support from the South Asian community around the country, who supported me at every juncture. First, I want to provide special recognition to Merin John and OneWay for inviting me to “Faith and Chai” in 2018 and inspiring the vi title of this project. Secondly, I acknowledge Mr. Ali Khataw and Mrs. Nahid Khataw for their generous gift in support of my research and for continuing to support interfaith initiatives in Texas. Third, thank you to Sona Shah and Dr. Monica Thiagarajan for serving as my big sisters. Additionally, I want to also thank my Desi higher education and student affairs family, especially Dr. Mamta Accapadi, Dr. Smita Ruzicka, Dr. Amardeep Kahlon, Dr. Ajay Nair, and Dr. Vijay Kanagala, for blazing the trail before me. I stand on your shoulders.
To all my friends and extended family, both near and far, thank you. Thank you for your grace as I retreated to focus on my dissertation. I cannot wait to give back to you. And finally, thank you to you, dear reader, for referencing and using my work. May you be touched by these stories as I was, and may you be inspired to do much more. Now, onward…
vii Abstract
Faith and Chai: Exploring Sense of Belonging and Intersections of Cultural and Spiritual Identities in South Asian American College Students
Justin Thankachan Samuel, Ph.D.
The University of Texas at Austin, 2019
Supervisor: Richard J. Reddick
South Asian Americans (SAAs) are a burgeoning subpopulation in higher education settings. SAAs are not a monolithic group; they are affiliated with a variety of linguistic, immigration, socioeconomic, and spiritual identities. Furthermore, SAA spiritual identities have been increasingly minoritized and racialized in post-9/11 America, creating challenges unique to this group. The purpose of this study was to explore how SAA collegians experience a sense of belonging and navigate the intersections of their cultural and spiritual identities on campus. The point-of-entry model for Asian American identity consciousness (Accapadi, 2012) and the model of belonging for privileged and minoritized students (Vaccaro & Newman, 2016) were used as conceptual frameworks to ground the study. 12 SAA college students participated in this qualitative, phenomenological inquiry. Interviews, photovoice technique, and journal entries were used as instruments to collect data.
viii In considering the larger phenomenon of SAA collegians’ identity navigation and experience of belonging, three key findings emerged from the data. They included: (1) family serving as a primary source of support; (2) student organizations being a critical vehicle for spiritual identity exploration and belonging; and (3) a universal understanding that SAA solidarity is essential for community advocacy. Implications from the study were incorporated into a conceptual model and involved a need for further research on SAA collegians; institutional support for recruitment of SAA faculty and staff members and ongoing cultural competency training for higher education professionals; and promotion of community-building among SAA collegians.
ix Table of Contents
List of Tables ...... xvi
List of Figures ...... xvii
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study...... 1
Who Are South Asian Americans? ...... 2
Statement of the Problem ...... 3
Invisibility ...... 4
National Climate and Conversation ...... 5
Racialization of Religion ...... 7
Research Questions ...... 9
Overview of Methodology ...... 9
Scope of the Study ...... 12
Delimitations ...... 12
Limitations ...... 13
Assumptions ...... 14
Significance...... 14
Definition of Terms...... 15
Summary ...... 18
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature ...... 19
Historical Context and Influences ...... 19
Historical Context: Pre-1965 ...... 19
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 ...... 21
“Asian American” – A Pan-Ethnic Identity ...... 23
x Educational Demographics and Social Status Today ...... 26
South Asian American Cultural Identity Development ...... 29
Asian American Developmental Models ...... 29
Emerging Trends and Legal Considerations for South Asian Americans ...... 32
Research on South Asian Americans in Higher Education ...... 38
Literature Gaps Regarding South Asian Americans ...... 43
Spirituality in Higher Education ...... 44
Defining Spirituality, Faith, and Religion in the Higher Education Context ...... 45
Spiritual and Faith Developmental Models ...... 45
Emerging Trends in Studying Spirituality in College ...... 46
Spirituality and Asian Americans ...... 51
Spirituality and SAA College Students...... 53
Literature Gaps Regarding SAA Spiritual Identities ...... 57
Sense of Belonging ...... 58
Understanding Sense of Belonging: Contexts and Definitions ...... 58
Sense of Belonging and Diverse Backgrounds ...... 61
Sense of Belonging and Asian Americans ...... 64
Sense of Belonging and Spiritual Identities ...... 67
Identifying a New Gap: SAA Sense of Belonging and Intersections of Identities ...... 68
Conceptual Frameworks ...... 69
Point of Entry Model for Asian American Identity Consciousness ...... 69
A Special Note on Intersectionality ...... 71 xi A Model for Minoritized Students’ Sense of Belonging ...... 73
Summary and Analysis ...... 75
Chapter 3: Methodology and Procedures ...... 77
Epistemological Stance ...... 77
Methodological Rationale ...... 78
Rationale for Qualitative Inquiry ...... 79
Phenomenology...... 79
Research Questions ...... 82
Research Methods ...... 82
Summary of Research Design ...... 82
Research Setting...... 83
Sample Selection and Recruitment ...... 84
Data Collection ...... 86
Data Processing and Analysis ...... 90
Analysis Procedures ...... 91
Trustworthiness ...... 94
Limitations of the Study...... 95
Researcher’s Positionality and Validity ...... 97
“Me”-search ...... 98
Access ...... 98
Validity ...... 99
Reflexivity...... 100
xii Summary ...... 100
Chapter 4: Overview of the Participants ...... 102
Aishwarya ...... 103
Ajay ...... 104
Darshan ...... 105
Faiza ...... 106
Jamal ...... 107
Jaya ...... 108
Matthew ...... 109
Pooja ...... 110
Rebekah...... 111
Sherin ...... 112
Simran ...... 113
Zayn ...... 114
Chapter 5: Findings ...... 116
Section I: Navigating South Asian American Identity Intersections ...... 116
Finding 1: Hyperawareness of (Spiritual) Identities ...... 117
Finding 2: Valuing Prayer for Understanding and Healing ...... 124
Summary of Findings from Section I...... 130
Section II: South Asian American Collegians’ Sense of Belonging ...... 130
Finding 1: Academic Spaces as Affinity Spaces ...... 131
Finding 2: Belonging via Human Connections ...... 135
Finding 3: Invisibility of South Asian American Faculty and Staff ...... 138
xiii Summary of Findings from Section II ...... 143
Section III: The Phenomenon - South Asian Americans in the Present and Future of Higher Education ...... 144
Key Finding 1: Family as a Primary Source of Support ...... 144
Key Finding 2: Student Organizations as a Space to Navigate and Engage Spiritual Identities ...... 148
Key Finding 3: Encouraging South Asian American Solidarity ...... 151
Summary of Findings from Section III ...... 155
Summary of Findings ...... 155
Chapter 6: Discussion and Implications ...... 157
Overview of the Study ...... 157
Discussion of Findings ...... 159
Navigating South Asian American Identities ...... 159
Sense of Belonging ...... 161
The Phenomenon: SAA Collegians’ Identity Navigation and Belonging ...... 164
Discussion of Findings Related to Conceptual Frameworks ...... 169
Asian American Identity Consciousness ...... 169
Belonging for Privileged and Minoritized Students ...... 171
Limitations ...... 173
Implications for Research ...... 175
Implications for Practice and Policy ...... 177
Institutional Support...... 177
Strategies for SAA Connections ...... 180
Summary of Implications for Practice and Policy ...... 184 xiv A Conceptual Model of SAA Collegians’ Identity Navigation and Belonging ...185
Implications of the Model ...... 186
Significance of the Model ...... 188
Significance of the Study ...... 188
Closing Personal Reflection ...... 189
Appendices ...... 191
Appendix A: Recruitment Letter ...... 191
Appendix B: Demographic Survey ...... 192
Appendix C: Consent for Participation in Research ...... 194
Appendix D: Interview Protocol ...... 197
Appendix E: Coding List ...... 198
References ...... 200
Vita ...... 219
xv List of Tables
Table 4.1. Participant Demographics ...... 102
Table 6.1. Recommendations for Institutional Support and SAA Connections ...... 185
xvi List of Figures
Figure 2.1. Point of Entry Model for Asian American Identity Consciousness
(Accapadi, 2012)...... 71 Figure 2.2. Model of Belonging for Privileged and Minoritized Students (Vaccaro &
Newman, 2016)...... 75 Figure 6.1. Model of SAA Collegians’ Identity Navigation and Belonging (Samuel,
2019) ...... 186
xvii Chapter 1: Introduction to the Study
According to the Pew Research Center, there are currently 4.9 million South
Asians living in the United States, and this population has grown expeditiously in the past
50 years (Lopez, Ruiz, & Patten, 2017; SAALT, 2012; U. S. Census Bureau, 2010).
Recently, new research has explored this subpopulation and how they construct their cultural identities (Purkayastha, 2005). However, South Asian college students’ experiences are still largely understudied, especially as these experiences relate to academic major preferences and career decision-making processes (Roysircar, Carey, &
Koroma, 2010). Furthermore, there is a dearth of disaggregated data on the socially- constructed racial category of “Asian” – which has historically lumped together communities who trace their lineage to various countries in Asia. This problematic aggregation of data masks the challenges some sub-populations experience in higher education (Museus, 2014; Wang & Teranishi, 2012). This lack of disaggregation also makes it difficult to appropriately inform institutional policies, support services, and programs for students.
South Asian Americans (SAAs) comprise a diverse set of people who may geographically trace their lineage to one part of the world, but speak a variety of languages and identify with a multitude of religious and spiritual traditions. SAAs identify as Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, and other religions; they also identify as agnostic and atheist (Fenton, 1995). The few mentions of SAA spirituality are often couched within a larger conversation of Asian Americans. Furthermore, SAA spiritual identities are racialized, highlighting that larger political and social events (such 1 as the September 11th terrorist attacks) contribute to societal notions – stereotypes, biases, and judgements – of those religious and spiritual identities (Joshi, 2006). The current national climate exacerbates these negative notions.
Only recently have higher education scholars touched on SAAs and spirituality
(Park & Dizon, 2017). The focus of this study is to introduce and amplify narratives of
South Asian American college students with spiritual affiliations. In doing so, I will explore how SAA college students make meaning of their intersecting cultural and spiritual identities, identify how they make the college campus their own, and provide recommendations for higher education scholars, administrators, and policy makers. In this chapter, I introduce the South Asian American community, explain the problem statement, list my research questions, define key terms related to this group and this study, and provide an overview of the study.
Who Are South Asian Americans?
More often than not, South Asian Americans are considered, discussed, and cited within the larger Asian American racial category. Asian Americans are now the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States (Lee, 2015; Lopez et al., 2017). According to the 2010 Census, there are currently 20.5 million Asian Americans (Kelkar, 2012). This population in the United States is expected to double by 2050 (Ching & Agbayani, 2012).
South Asian Americans, in particular, have experienced a remarkable increase in numbers, growing 900% between 1960 and 1990 (Le, 2013; Leonard, 1997). These SAAs include those whose ancestry can be traced to the countries of India, Pakistan,
2 Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and the Maldives (SAALT, 2012). Indians, specifically, make up 84% of the South Asian population in the United States (Rahman &
Witenstein, 2014). Although many SAAs – especially immigrants – have strong ties to their nation of origin, they have cultivated a unique shared identity as South Asian
Americans in the United States, forming communities of common food, politics, and culture (Purkayastha, 2005). Considering a more microscale approach, a recent report from the Pew Research Center showed that 26% of Asians in the United States live in multigenerational households, which is higher than the overall United States average of
19% (Lopez et al., 2017). Since the Hart-Celler Act of 1965, which lifted immigration restrictions, there has been a rise in 1.5 generation – those who immigrated as children – and second-generation – those who were born and raised in the United States – SAAs
(Purkayastha, 2005). These 1.5 and second-generation SAAs have taken advantage of secondary and higher education in the United States. Oftentimes, these groups of SAAs label themselves as Desi – meaning “from the land” in Sanskrit – as a way to connect with each other in American public spheres, like education. In higher education settings,
SAAs have bonded over this collective identity as they participate in co-curricular activities, sports, and academic associations (Accapadi, 2005; Rana, 2016).
Statement of the Problem
South Asian Americans are a burgeoning group in the United States and in
American higher education institutions. They are, however, largely invisible in the literature concerning college students, the national climate has had detrimental effects on
3 their mental and physical health (Iwamoto, Negi, Partiali, & Creswell, 2013), and their religious identities have been increasingly targeted in the United States. In this section, these individual issues are outlined as part of a broader statement of the problem.
Invisibility
South Asian Americans are a growing population in American higher education today. However, they are understudied, underserved, and largely hidden from policy recommendations (Accapadi, 2005; Kahlon, 2012; Ruzicka, 2011). Additionally, the few empirical and editorial pieces recently published on this community do not highlight the diversity of spiritual identities which exist within the South Asian American community, especially as SAAs navigate college. The college setting, in particular, is where many individuals develop an understanding of self and their identities (Chickering & Reisser,
1993; Rodgers, 1990; Sanford, 1967). Having a greater understanding of SAAs and spiritual identities they hold in college is essential in designing future support programs and initiatives for this community.
Asian Americans as a whole are the most ethnically varied racial group in the
United States (Huang, 1997). At the same time, the limited data that highlight the challenges and accomplishments of Asian American college students are not disaggregated (Wang & Teranishi, 2012). Large data sets, such as from CIRP and NSSE, are difficult to filter down to South Asian Americans because most college surveys list the broader Asian American racial category for students to select. Thus, SAAs continue to be unseen as a group, and this invisibility trickles down to individual college
4 campuses, where there is a lack of SAA-specific academic and social support systems.
This informs part of this study, while another part explores how SAA experience a sense of belonging in a system where they are largely unseen.
National Climate and Conversation
This study is framed around the current national climate for people of Color, generally, and other historically marginalized groups in the United States. Living in a realm where institutions are set up by and for White, cis-gender, heterosexual, Christian men, SAAs have faced discrimination throughout history and continue to (Iyer, 2015).
College campuses are known to be bubbles of inclusion and acceptance, but they are not immune to negativity experienced by SAAs, and this section highlights a few of the challenges.
Microaggressions and implicit racism. Asian Americans as a whole, one of the fastest-growing sub-populations of students in college, encounter daily microaggressions and indignities relating to their identity (Kodama, McEwen, Liang, & Lee, 2001;
Teranishi, 2002). This racial oppression – manifesting in the form of microaggressions, discrimination, and bullying – creates psychological challenges for SAAs, leading to negative associations with SAA cultural identity and sense of self (Birman, 1994). As aforementioned, research has shown that SAAs have been characterized as perpetual foreigners and experiences of discrimination have led to negative self-images and mental health consequences (Iwamoto et al., 2013). The perpetual foreigner stereotype is discussed further in chapter two.
5 SAAs in the Trump era. Discrimination and crimes targeting Muslim and
Muslim-appearing South Asians ramped up noticeably after September 11th, 2001, but the
Trump election ushered in a new wave of anti-Muslim sentiment. For example, the South
Asian Americans Leading Together organization (2018) documented 302 hate- and xenophobic-fueled violent incidents targeting South Asians from November 2016 to
November 2017. In a significant hate crime on February 22, 2017, a White man shot two
Indian men, killing one – Srinivas Kuchibhotla – after yelling “terrorist” and “get out of my country” before firing. President Trump took six days before he addressed the incident publicly (Chandrasekaran, 2017). Sadly, the racialization of religion for South
Asian Americans has continued to the present day. From January 2017 to August 2018, the U. S. Department of Justice levied eight convictions in cases involving attacks on places of worship in the United States (India West, 2018).
At the same time, President Trump has sought acceptance from the South Asian
American community. As a presidential candidate, Trump met exclusively with the
Indian American community in Edison, New Jersey, to rally support (Chandrasekaran,
2017). Interestingly, Indian Americans overwhelmingly lean toward the Democratic
Party, despite gender or class differences (Haniffa, 2012). However, a conservative
Hindu group, the Republican Hindu Coalition, embraced Trump and was instrumental in getting him votes from the South Asian, mainly Hindu, community (Sohrabji, 2016).
Chandrasekaran (2017) notes that the Republican Hindu Coalition may have been inspired by the resurgence of a nationalist movement in India, where Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has a powerful pro-Hindu agenda. In contrast, President Trump’s 6 Executive Order 13769, also known as the “Muslim ban” or “travel ban,” sought to suspend or limit entry into the United States by individuals from seven countries with alleged terrorist ties. Fischer (2018) noted the travel ban affected college students, especially international students, who faced inability to enter, or, at the very least, experienced tougher screening upon entry to the United States.
Racialization of Religion
As stated, South Asians have origins from an array of countries in Asia. They also identify with a wide range of religious affiliations, such as Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism,
Buddhism, and Christianity (Mishra, 2013). A history of discrimination against American college students may largely focus on race, but religious discrimination has had an impact on college students as well. South Asian Americans have been the target of discrimination from microaggressions to hate-fueled violence, with incidents increasing noticeably after the September 11th terrorist attacks (Isler, 2006).
Although some South Asian Americans’ spiritual identities were stereotyped as docile – such as Hindu Americans (Chandrasekaran, 2017) – South Asian Americans are often not distinguished from each other, and they often lumped together and labeled as
“radical” and “threatening” (Mishra, 2013). The intersections of race and religion took center stage in discrimination incidents post-9/11. While the intent of the discriminators was on the basis of religion (largely anti-Islam), the actual practice of discrimination was based on race or physical appearance. One example was the mass killing of six Sikh
Americans, who were not Muslim, by a White supremacist at a Wisconsin Sikh temple in
7 2012 (Mishra, 2013). These horrific events have affected the consciousness of SAAs as they navigate American life.
From a higher education perspective, Muslim students are particularly underserved. Mir (2014) expertly stated:
Despite the efforts of higher education leaders, the vacuum of effective,
authorized campus policy on religious minority students enhances the
unauthorized power of mainstream leisure culture. Campus policies related to
leisure matters that affect religious Muslims are weak, shallow, inconsistent, and
selectively applied. (p. 177)
Mir’s comments illustrate that basic acceptance is insufficient; instead minoritized spiritual identities, such as being Muslim, should be embraced and celebrated by campuses. Take for example the American Sniper screening incident at the University of
Maryland in 2015. The student activities board created the university event for students from the university to enjoy. The negative depiction of Muslims in the film led the
Muslim Student Association to ask that the screening be canceled, as these students were concerned for their own safety (Park & Dizon, 2017). It was widely reported that the student affairs staff themselves were divided on the issue. In fact, certain alumni and media (including coverage by Fox News) expressed outrage over a potential cancelation, citing free-speech infringement. Eventually, facilitated dialogue led to the postponement of the screening, but the film was still screened by two other groups. University administrators and the President applauded the decision of the two groups to screen the
8 movie, and response to hateful language directed at Muslim students during the incident was absent.
This lack of response by University of Maryland administration about the incident at the University of Maryland underscores two points of this inquiry: South Asians’ religious and spiritual identities are racialized, and support from postsecondary administrators for minoritized religious and spiritual identities is deficient. These issues are closely connected with the subjects this study will explore, which include SAA college students’ experience of belonging and how they navigate their identities on campus.
Research Questions
The primary research questions for this study included:
(1) In what ways do SAA college students navigate the intersections of their SAA
identity with their spiritual identity?
(2) How do SAA college students experience a sense of belonging in college?
Overview of Methodology
The research questions for this study informed the methodology and design of the research. To explore the lived experiences of SAA college students, I employed a qualitative, phenomenological research design. Qualitative methods were used to draw out rich and vivid narratives from the participants and their lived experiences as South
Asian American college students with a spiritual identity (Creswell, 2013). The
9 epistemological stance was one of interpretivism, so as participants co-constructed meaning of their experiences in college, qualitative methods were used to extrapolate themes. Phenomenology was used as the methodology to understand the particular phenomenon of developing a sense of belonging in college while navigating social identities (Maxwell, 2013). The experiences of SAAs were explored through hermeneutical phenomenology specifically. This intentional research design was used to dismantle the Asian American college student monolith experience while also highlighting the diverse voices within the SAA college student community.
Two conceptual frameworks were used to analyze the data. The first was Asian
American identity consciousness (see Accapadi, 2012). This polycultural model offers multiple factors as points of entry into an individual’s consciousness as Asian American.
These factors include family influence, immigration history, and external perceptions.
The second framework used was sense of belonging as it relates to privileged and minoritized students (see Vaccaro & Newman, 2016). I make a special note to consider intersectionality. Intersectionality theory (see Crenshaw, 1989; Crenshaw, 1991) was largely constructed as a way to depict how layers of injustice – based on oppressive structures such as racism and sexism – create a cumulative effect on an individual. In the work of Crenshaw (1989; 1991), intersectionality was explicitly grounded in Black feminism. This framework was used to understand the simultaneous deleterious effects on individuals who identify as both South Asian American, as well as a racialized religious identity.
10 In-person, semi-structured interviews was used to provide participants the opportunity to reflect on their experiences and provide open responses (Patton, 1990).
Participants were encouraged to initiate new ideas and share freely about their lives in an effort to better understand their collegiate experiences. For data triangulation, that is, to collect information from a variety of sources to reduce systemic biases and improve trustworthiness, other methods were employed (Maxwell, 2013). Photovoice techniques were used to allow participants to share pictures they feel document the intersections of their cultural and spiritual identities (Pink, 2001). Finally, data were collected through journal entries where participants are able to reflect on their identities as well as the interview experience.
The sample used in the study consisted of 12 undergraduate students who all identified as South Asian American and also hold a spiritual identity. During data analysis, pseudonyms were used to protect participants’ identities and keep their identities confidential. Open and in vivo coding, along with codes based on the research questions, were used to draw out themes from the data gathered. As I self-identify as
SAA with a spiritual identity, and as a student affairs professional, my role as a researcher was integral to the study’s recruitment of participants, coding of data, and presentation of findings. Therefore, emic coding – from the inside perspective of the researchers – and etic coding – from outside the perspective of the participants – also served to analyze the data exhaustively (Morris, Leung, Ames, & Lickel, 1999). A full discussion of this study’s methodology and research design is provided in chapter three.
11 Scope of the Study
While this study hoped to expand the reach of what is known about South Asian
American college students and their spiritual identities, it is bounded by certain limitations and delimitations. “Casing” a research study is an important initial step in setting parameters (Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2014, p. 28). In this study, the case was defined as South Asian American college students who identified with a spiritual or faith tradition. While the focus was on exploring sense of belonging in college for students with various spiritual identities, the boundaries of the study include studying college students from a particular cultural background at a specific higher education institution.
Delimitations
In the way limitations are explained as constraints beyond my control in the study, delimitations are aspects that are intentionally controlled in order to case the study.
Delimitations are described further as “conscious exclusionary and inclusionary decisions made during the development of the study plan” (Simon & Goes, 2013, p. 4).
Delimitations are enacted for ease of participant recruitment, to strengthen the quality of the overall write-up of the study, and for the sake of time.
In this study, certain delimitations were carried out for efficiency and quality purposes. First, the study was conducted at an institution where the biggest share of students, in terms of racial demographics, are White. This context may play a part in how
SAA students experience a sense of belonging when they are not in the majority.
Secondly, all participants were asked to self-identify with a spiritual or religious 12 affiliation. I did not explore students who identified as atheist nor agnostic in this study.
Third, this study actively recruited students who identified as 1.5 or second-generation
South Asian American – those who have spent a majority of their upbringing in the
United States. The study also focused on undergraduate students. While experiences of graduate students and alumni may be beneficial due to identity development and reflexivity that occurs over time, recruitment of those participants would have been more challenging.
Limitations
This study was one of qualitative inquiry. Qualitative studies are often used to investigate naturally occurring events in natural settings (Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña,
2014). While the sample size was small, as a robust qualitative inquiry, the rich themes drawn out from individual narratives are considered to be a strength more than a drawback (Creswell, 2013). However, specific to this study, participants were recruited mainly through spiritually-based student organizations such as the Hindu Students
Association and Ismaili Muslim Students Association. Therefore, a limitation is that recruitment of students who were generally involved in student organizations can skew their interpretations of belonging. The study will be conducted on one site – at one large, public research university – which further limits its transferability to other institutional types and other contexts, so findings from this study should be adapted with the reader's own context in mind. In regard to methodology, it is widely understood that phenomenological studies cannot be replicated. However, this is also considered a
13 strength since it allows for the research to present deep, meaningful insights into each participant’s story and understanding of themselves as students at this institution.
Assumptions
This study relies on a few key assumptions. First, this study assumed that participants were factual in their demographic questionnaire and honest in their responses during the interviews. Other assumptions made include participants having a certain level of navigation and negotiation of their cultural and spiritual identities. At the same time, the study assumes the participants are not experts on student affairs issues and not familiar with all the resources on campus to support students’ social identities. From the researcher’s perspective, the data can be assumed to be documented confidentially and stored securely.
Significance
The benefits of diversity in higher education settings have been widely lauded
(Astin, 1993b; Gurin, Dey, Hurtado, & Gurin, 2002; Smith, 1997). College students’ satisfaction in their postsecondary educational experience is marked, in part, by their sense of diversity on campus (Fischer, 2007). Studying historically underrepresented identity groups in college provides insight into understanding academic barriers, demystifying stereotypes, and rationalizing support structures. This study contributed to the existing literature on sense of belonging in college for students with minoritized social identities. While Asian Americans in higher education have recently begun to be
14 explored as a racial group, this study will look at a specific subpopulation of college students – South Asian Americans – and how they make meaning of their college experience. Furthermore, this study hoped to dismantle the monolith of what South Asian
American is by contributing to the understanding that they exist on college campuses holding a variety of spiritual and religious identities.
College students can gain the full social and academic benefits of a diverse higher education institution, but they must be integrated and feel like they belong (Hurtado,
Milem, Clayton-Pedersen, & Allen, 1998). Exploring belonging was a key element to this study because while SAA college students with spiritual identities navigate the intersections of their identities, they simultaneously grapple with making the campus their own. An analysis of the data gathered in the study will be followed by a discussion of implications and recommendations for college educators, student affairs professionals, and policy makers.
Definition of Terms
This dissertation uses many terms to bolster the narrative of the study. These terms may be unfamiliar to broader American audiences. In order to provide a common understanding for presentation of the literature review and findings, I present here a list of commonly-used terms in the study and how they are defined:
1.5 generation. A group of individuals who immigrated to the United States before age 13; therefore, they have spent most of their lives in the United States (Oh &
Min, 2011).
15 Arangetrum. Literally meaning “ascending the stage,” this is a graduation dance recital for students of Indian classical dance after several years of training.
Desi. A term which comes from the root Sanskrit word desa or desh which essentially means “from the land.” A Desi comes from the motherland. In this study it is used interchangeably with South Asian American. Many South Asian Americans also identify as Desi.
Diwali. The Hindu festival of lights which marks the new year.
Gurdwara. A place of worship for Sikhs.
Hinduism. A religion based in India. It is practiced largely by South Asians in the
Indian subcontinent and around the world. After Christianity and Islam, it is consider the third-largest religion. An estimated 2.2 million Hindus (not all South Asian) live in the
United States.
Islam. This religion is considered to be the second-largest in the world. Their followers are known as Muslims. An estimated 36% of all South Asians are practicing
Muslims.
Ismaili. This is a branch of Shia Islam. Most Ismailis trace their ethnic heritage to
India or Pakistan, making most Ismailis South Asian.
Jamatkhana. A place of worship for Ismailis.
Masjid. Arabic word for mosque, a place of worship for Muslims.
Microaggressions. Subtle insults made by others which may be innocuous but add up over time; their cumulative effects are negative and damaging to mental health
16 Minoritization. How dominant identities subdue or place identities as inferior.
Verb-tense: minoritize.
Model minority. This phrase was coined in the United States in the 1960s to describe how Asian Americans were considered a role model to other ethnic groups due to their perceived success in education and careers. This is problematic to other ethnic groups and for Asian Americans as well. White Americans have historically used the model minority myth to wedge Asian Americans in between them and Black and Latinx groups and to undermine sense of diversity and socioeconomic needs in the Asian
American community.
Puja. A word used in Hinduism for prayer.
Racialization. This term denotes the process by which Americans attribute and attach racial characteristics, such as phenotypical features, with spiritual and religious identities (Joshi, 2006). The effects of this association on South Asian Americans are largely negative. Verb-tense: racialize.
SAA. South Asian American. Any individual who can trace their ethnic heritage or lineage to countries in South Asia, including but not limited to India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
Second-generation. Those born in the United States with at least one parent born in South Asia.
Sense of belonging. A feeling of connection or ownership to the higher education institution. While many studies recently have looked at sense of belonging, the concept can be traced back to Tinto’s (1987) work on integration. If students fail to integrate into 17 the college’s environment, both academically and socially, they may be at risk to leaving the institution.
Sikhism. A monotheistic religion with origins from the Punjab region of northern
South Asia. There are an estimated 25 million Sikhs around the world.
Zoroastrianism. A monotheistic religion with origins from Persia and many followers in South Asia. South Asian Zoroastrians are known as Parsis. There are an estimated 190,000 Zoroastrians around the world.
Summary
This chapter introduced the context and background for this study focused on
South Asian American (SAA) college students with a spiritual identity. The study explored ways in which SAA students navigate the interesections of their cultural and spiritual identities, experience a sense of belonging in college, and negotiate and affirm their identities. SAA students are largely invisible from the research concerning historically marginalized college groups. They are tokenized and exoticized in national conversations, and their religions have been racialized. An overview of the methodology and scope of the study was presented. In chapter two, an extensive review of the literature will be provided to situate the forthcoming study. The review will outline a brief history of the SAA community, summarize research on Asian Americans, spiritual identity development, and sense of belonging in higher education, and justifies the two conceptual frameworks that serve as lenses to analyze the data of the study.
18 Chapter 2: Review of the Literature
South Asian Americans are a growing population in American society, yet they are misunderstood and understudied. Furthermore, SAAs’ spiritual identities and development are inadequately addressed in studies related to college students. To provide background on this study of SAAs and their spiritual identities on college campuses, a review of the literature is expounded here. This chapter describes the historical context of the SAA community; synthesizes literature on Asian Americans, spiritual identity development, and sense of belonging; and presents the conceptual frameworks that ground the study.
Historical Context and Influences
In an effort to contextualize the importance of this sub-population in higher education, this literature review begins with a description of South Asian Americans, including their history in the United States and current demographics. It also situates the
SAA community in relation to other groups and provides a framework for understanding relevant issues affecting them.
Historical Context: Pre-1965
Before 1947, people from current day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh were considered Indian subjects of the British colonial empire (Purkayastha, 2005). Much of the initial wave of South Asians into the Americas in the 19th century was in conjunction of British efforts to maintain indentured laborers in various parts of the British Empire, 19 such as the Caribbean. Many of the first South Asian immigrants to the United States came from India at the turn of the 20th century to work as farmers in states on the west coast (Hess, 1969). Ever since Indians first came to the United States, they have received a variety of labels from the United States government, including “Hindu,” “East Indian,”
“Asian Indian,” and “South Asian” (Hess, 1969; Iyer, 2015).
It was a tumultuous early history for South Asians in the United States, featuring several instances of people from this community being denied citizenship early in the 20th century for many reasons, but mainly because they did not appear White. Namely, in the case of United States v. Thind (1923), Thind, having no other identifiers that represented him at the time, argued that he was Caucasian, but the Supreme Court ultimately ruled he was racially ineligible for naturalized citizenship. This denial of citizenship rights based on the American socially-constructed notions of race had many ramifications for immigrants throughout the 20th century. However, leadership and government officials – realizing the positive effects of immigrants on industry, education, and commerce – created plans to open American borders to South Asians. In a small but victorious step, the Luce-Celler Act of 1946 signed by President Harry Truman established a yearly quota of 100 immigrants from India who were allowed into the United States and who become naturalized citizens (Hess, 1969). However, this act was not sufficient; it still practiced exclusion by only admitting Indians with the highest of merits.
20 Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965
While the Luce-Celler Act allowed for a trickle of South Asians to enter the
United States, the first major waves of South Asian immigrants came after the passage of the 1965 United States Immigration and Nationality Act, also known as the Hart-Celler
Act, which was signed by President Lyndon Johnson, and published as part of Title 8 of the United States Code (U.S. Code, 2017). This act effectively lifted the restrictions on immigration to the United States from Asia; restrictions that opened American borders to
Asians for the first time in several decades (Keely, 1971).
Scholars today attribute the passing of the Hart-Celler Act to the 89th United
States Congress (Chin, 1996). Notably, this Congress also passed the Civil Rights Act of
1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, allowing more participation of historically marginalized and underserved populations to serve and thrive in American democracy. In an effort to invalidate racial discrimination, Congress looked to contribute to American diversification in this era. In large part, it is argued that the passage of the Civil Rights
Act the year before facilitated this reform in immigration policy.
In many cases, the Hart-Celler Act was inspired by the Civil Rights era of
American history, and in effect, it changed the demographics of the United States completely. The act removed race and national origin as criteria for immigration to the
United States, and rendered all previous immigration policies affecting South Asians null and void (Chin, 1996). By and large, the Act addressed a preference for Europeans as immigrants to the United States, which was an essential feature of immigration policy since American independence. 21 The impact of the Hart-Celler Act for SAAs in higher education is worth considering. Kammer (2015), a senior fellow for the Center of Immigration Studies in
Washington, D C notes that the Hart-Celler Act was an extension of the fight for civil rights in the United States. It led to expansive immigration like never before seen and had lasting political consequences in voting and representation. However, it is important to note that although the Hart-Celler Act essentially lifted restriction to immigration for
South Asians, the act still privileged skilled professionals working in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields (Museus, 2014). Other American groups were, at that time, in short supply to hold positions in those professional areas. Therefore, many
South Asians immigrating to the United States after 1965 came for work and not for higher education.
Highlighting the South Asian diaspora, a sub-category of SAAs are Indo-
Caribbean Americans, who trace their lineage ultimately to India but whose recent ancestors lived in the Caribbean islands (Purkayastha, 2005). As stated earlier, South
Asians arrived in the Caribbean in the 19th century as indentured laborers working for the
British colonial empire. Today, Indo-Caribbeans, many of whom are descendants of indentured laborers, comprise the largest ethnic group in Guyana and Trinidad and
Tobago. In the United States, Indo-Caribbeans made their way for economic opportunity after the Hart-Celler Act was passed. Today, there are 233,000 Indo-Caribbean
Americans who live primarily in New York and Florida, with other enclaves in California and Texas as well. Indo-Caribbean Americans have a complex history with intersections of South Asian and Caribbean culture. Still, many also identify as South Asian American. 22 “Asian American” – A Pan-Ethnic Identity
The term “Asian American” was not the dominant term used by Americans to describe immigrants from Asia until the latter half of the 20th century. This term originated in the 1960s as a way for Asian communities to build affinity with one another in the United States during the Civil Rights era (Wei, 1993). Many recount that Asian
American was also used in response and to denunciate the oppressive term of Oriental
(Accapadi, 2012). After experiencing exclusionary immigration practices and daily discrimination after entering the United States, Asian Americans leveraged the civil rights movement with inspiration from African Americans and Latinos (Espiritu, 1993).
For example, in 1969, the Asian American Political Alliance (AAPA) was formed at the
University of California, Berkeley, with the goals to unite Asian Americans to push for political and social change (Maeda, 2009). In doing so, the AAPA encouraged all Asian
Americans to vote and otherwise participate in social causes and action. This pan-ethnic identity was a source of empowerment for Asian Americans in the fight for equality and justice which continues on to this day.
Model minority stereotype. While Asian Americans united in a form of activism, this new pan-ethnic identity group’s status was leveraged by White Americans in discourse on economic prosperity. High success rates of Asian Americans, in both education and career advancement, contribute to the notion of model minority, a myth shared originally by Americans in the 1960s to showcase “to other” ethnic groups that widespread success is possible. The term “model minority” was first coined by William
Petersen in a 1966 New York Times article. In it, Petersen rationalized why Japanese 23 Americans were able to climb the social and financial ladder in the United States, despite facing racism and not passing as White.
The model minority myth has long dominated the landscape of racial thinking in regard to Asian Americans as a whole, and it specifically affects South Asian Americans just the same. Characterized by the stereotype in which Asian Americans are seen as hard-working and successful - in relation to other ethnic groups - the stereotype has been used as a tool to wedge the monolithic Asian American group between White Americans and African Americans and Latinos (Hune, 2002; Poon et al., 2016). In a blog post, Ellen
Wu (2016) describes how politician Nikki Haley personified the model minority stereotype and was heralded by Southern political figures and the Republican Party for assimilation into American culture, including currently identifying as a Christian.
While the model minority stereotype focuses on educational attainment and skilled professionals coming from East or South Asia, the dominant narrative ignores the fact that many recent Asian immigrants are refugees who comes from under-resourced and conflict-ridden nations (Lee, 2015; Museus, 2014). Nearly one million refugees from
Southeast and South Asia – mainly from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, but also from
South Asian countries like Sri Lanka – immigrated to the United States in the 1970s and
1980s under such legislations as the 1975 Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance
Act and the 1980 Refugee Act (Hune, 2002). This new wave of Asian immigration has profound implications for higher education policies, such as holistic admission procedures, financial aid, and safe ethnic-identity spaces. While still included under the
24 broader Asian American term, there are recent calls to support individual subgroups within the Asian American community.
Perpetual foreigner stereotype. Lee (2015) wrote that throughout American history, Asian Americans have been tagged and labeled as the “other.” Between exclusionary immigration practices, denial of equal rights, and being categorized as non-
White, Asian Americans as an entire umbrella group have been exoticized and seen as outsiders. Wu (2002) also contended that Asian Americans have been relegated to being otherized. The microaggressive question: “where are you really from?” highlights this notion that despite being part of the American fabric for generations, Asian Americans are still not as American as others. Recently, the perpetual foreigner stereotype entered popular culture with Hari Kondabolu’s 2017 documentary film, The Problem with Apu, in which The Simpsons character, Apu, is heavily discussed as a caricature of South Asian culture. The idea that South Asian Americans are seen as less assimilative has spread throughout American society (Lee, 2015), and this can have harmful effects for South
Asian Americans entering and sharing space with other students in college. Hank Azaria, the White American actor who voices Apu’s character on The Simpsons, has even acknowledged that Apu’s character was a basis of racially motivated bullying incidents of
South Asian Americans (Matz, 2015).
South Asian identity. Even though they may have immigrated (or had parents who immigrated) for diverse reasons, South Asian Americans built a kinship with each other early on to facilitate community. The phrase “South Asian” grew into prominence within the community in the 1980s, and it started on American college campuses 25 (Prashad, 1998). In their search for collective identity, and to find affinity within the larger Asian American group, students with roots in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri
Lanka, and Nepal posited the term South Asian which was inclusive, identified themselves as “brown” Asians, and connected with Asian Americans at large. Harpalani
(2013) noted that “South Asian American denotes individuals who choose to identify as a progressive collective, emphasizing their own common experiences in the United States rather than the political conflicts between and within their countries of origin” (p. 91).
Today, more individuals who trace their ancestry to South Asia call themselves South
Asian or Desi Americans. As South Asian Americans battle unique and targeted discrimination post-9/11 and in the Trump era, this SAA collective identity will be imperative for solidarity, social action, and change for the future.
Educational Demographics and Social Status Today
According to Fowler (2013), four percent of the elementary school-age population in the United States is Asian – a population eventually heading to higher education institutions. Seven-in-ten Asians in the United States, five years or older, spoke proficient
English in 2015 (Lopez, Ruiz, & Patten, 2017). Asian Americans made up approximately
8.8% of American college students in 2005 (Chang et al., 2007). This group is poised to grow rapidly in the near future. One report stated that Asian American college enrollment will have grown 30% between 2009 and 2019 (National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education, 2011). According to the Integrated
Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), approximately 1.5 million Asian
26 Americans and Pacific Islanders enrolled as undergraduate and graduate students at
American higher education institutions in 2014 (U.S. Department of Education, 2014).
This population is expected to grow to 1.7 million in 2019 (Museus, 2014). At The
University of Texas at Austin, the site of this study, Asian American students make up
19% of the student body. This number excludes international students who come from
Asia. To reinforce an earlier point, there is much diversity that exists within the Asian
American community, and this is mirrored in higher education demographic numbers as well.
In terms of statistics, research indicates that Asian American educational attainment rates are the highest of any minority group, including 77% of Asian American men and 71% of Asian American women who have graduated high school (Sue &
Okazaki, 2009). 87.6% of Asian Americans were enrolled in public 2-year and 4-year institutions (Wang & Teranishi, 2012). A recent article in The Economist (The
Economist Newspaper Limited, 2015) listed that 49% of Asian Americans have a bachelor’s degree, compared with just 28% of the general population. Once again, these statistics mask the differences between ethnic groups. 72% of Indian Americans hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (Center for American Progress, 2015). This is in contrast with 50% of Filipino Americans and less than 20% of Cambodian Americans who hold a bachelor’s degree,
In terms of socioeconomic status, the story is again varied. Earlier South Asian immigrants who came to the United States right after the passage of the Hart-Celler Act were wealthier and highly skilled, while newer immigrants in the 1980s and 1990s were 27 less-educated and among the working-class (Rahman & Witenstein, 2014). Indian
Americans are the ethnic group (Asian or otherwise) with the highest median household income at $100,547. On the other hand, Bangladeshi Americans (at $49,800) and
Nepalese Americans (at $43,500) have household incomes below the median for all
Americans (Lopez, Ruiz, & Patten, 2017). Naming the data points that go along with college attendance, degree attainment, and household income illustrates the diversity of experiences and livelihood that exists within the South Asian American community.
Recently, South Asian Americans have gained prominence in entertainment, technology, and politics. Hasan Minhaj, Mindy Kaling, and Aziz Ansari have recently become popular on television and on online streaming platforms such as Netflix. In 2014,
Indian American Nina Davuluri won the Miss America pageant, becoming the first South
Asian American to do so. Many Americans do not know that, in 2019, the CEOs of
Google (Sundar Pichai) and Microsoft (Satya Nadella) are both of South Asian descent.
And Kamala Harris and Nikki Haley continue to make their mark in politics, be it on both sides of the aisle. While certainly this is not an exhaustive list of SAAs on public platforms, they all have risen to their ranks only in the past ten years. As SAAs proliferate in many industries, will they rise in leadership as well? More research on leadership pathways of SAAs in various industries are warranted to better understand their trajectories. It is also important to note that prominent SAAs come from various spiritual affiliations as well. For example, Hasan Minhaj comes from an Indian Muslim family and Lilly Singh (host of the NBC late night talkshow A Little Late) was raised as a
Sikh. Nikki Haley was raised in a Sikh household but today identifies as a Christian. 28 South Asian American Cultural Identity Development
Only in our lifetimes have much of the research on Asian American identity development, especially during the collegiate years, been explored (Museus, 2014; Wang
& Teranishi, 2012). Even in this limited research, there is much more left to investigate on identity development in Asian Americans. Museus (2014) noted that “Asian American identity is complex” (p. 70). No one model can capture the essence of the Asian
American development experience, but a few seminal scholars have posited development models which should lay the foundation for future research on this population. This section outlines those foundational models and also describes emerging trends in the
South Asian American community today.
Asian American Developmental Models
Asian Americans comprise a group of multi-faceted ethnicities, cultures, and generations. However, after traditional models of psychosocial development were formulated with homogenous – namely White – groups (see Chickering, 1969), ethnic identity models for people of Color were designed and recognized towards the last quarter of the 20th century. Ethnic identity models help to provide schemas about general beliefs and ideas of a specific ethnic group and a framework for organizing and interpreting events and people (Uba, 1994). However, it should be pointed out that conceptualizing race and ethnicity can be messy (Johnston-Guerrero, 2016). In this section, I describe a few psychosocial models concerned with identity development in
Asian Americans. 29
Asian American identity development. Kim (1981) established the first identity development model on Asian Americans. The model consists of five progressive stages, including: (1) ethnic awareness; (2) White identification; (3) awakening to social political consciousness; (4) redirection to Asian American consciousness; and (5) incorporation. Kim’s study analyzed participants’ perceptions of their struggle to achieve positive identities as Asian Americans. This model is often cited as being applicable to all
Asian Americans. However, a limitation to this framework is Kim specifically studied the sub-population of Japanese women.
Psychosocial development of Asian American students. Seeing a lack of applicability with traditional models of identity development—in which study samples were largely White men—Kodama, McEwen, Liang, and Lee (2002) proposed a new model for psychosocial student development theory that embraced racial identity and external influences as factors. In examining existing sociological literature concerning the
Asian population, the researchers found that notions such as Asian collectivism, familial values, generational status, and level of acculturation all play a part in how Asian
American form their identity. Central to this new model is an interrelationship between identity and purpose. The model also depicts influences from relationships, emotions, and competency levels. Implications for student affairs educators are discussed including: considering the role of family expectations in academic advising, awareness of emotional perspectives of Asian American students in counseling settings, understanding the impact of microaggressions and racism targeted towards Asian Americans. Although this model
30 was revolutionary, it still aggregates all Asian Americans into one identity development model without consideration of differences among Asian American ethnic groups.
Asian American identity consciousness model. The Asian American identity consciousness model depicts identity development beyond the construct of stages and uses an individual’s context and environmental factors as catalysts to be more conscious of one’s Asian American identity (Accapadi, 2012).
Accapadi (2012) forwarded a new model to consider the contextual factors Asian
Americans hold and live through to develop identities in college. This model presents the notion of polyculturalism, as opposed to multiculturalism, to describe the needs for Asian
Americans to become familiar with and understand various identities before entering a space like college. The model also gives attention to the fact that there are multiple points of entry which lead Asian Americans towards identity consciousness. These multiple points include experiences and interventions in college which catalyze identity consciousness. Finally, this model is unique in that it considers immigration history, ethnic attachment, and familial and community factors which lead to how Asian
Americans may experience college. This model is used as one conceptual framework to analyze the data of this study.
Reconsidering Asian American student development. Most recently, Kodama and Maramba (2017) reported on the relevance of the original model forwarded by
Kodama and her colleagues in 2002. The purpose of the chapter was to provide an update on Asian American identity development with holistic and critical views on student development that have undertaken the field of higher education and student affairs in 31 recent years. Using Jones and Stewart’s (2016) critical article on the evolution of student development theory, showcasing relevance of context and intersectionality in how students may view and develop their self, Kodama and Maramba (2017) emphasized how these concepts could tie back into Asian American identity development. For example, in understanding context, Kodama and Maramba puts forth an explanation that geographic location can influence an Asian American’s student’s perception of racial isolation and cultural engagement. While universities in larger cities or the coasts provide many resources to Asian Americans, there may be fewer strategies developed to serve Asian
American students at smaller or rural institutions in the heartland of the United States.
Intersectionality, Kodama and Maramba (2017) admitted, was also an important idea to study when reconsidering Asian American identity development. For example, they noted that recent research on Asian Americans highlight a variance in gendered norms and expectations between Asian American men and women. While Kodama and
Maramba’s reconsideration expanded notions and norms of Asian American development, they also reinforced the Asian American monolith and did not specifically discuss South Asian Americans’ identity development. To this day, there is not a developmental model which specializes the South Asian American community.
Emerging Trends and Legal Considerations for South Asian Americans
Framing this study on SAA college students and intersectionality of their identities requires an explanation of foundational developmental models on Asian
American students. At the same time, it would be remiss to not also include a list of
32 emerging trends specific to the SAA community to round out the picture. In this section, key cultural elements of SAA culture are described, followed by a discussion of key issues affecting the community, including acculturation and mental health.
South Asian cultural values and traditions often differ from mainstream American cultural norms. Some key cultural values include collectivism, priority of family, hierarchy of relationships, patriarchy, strict gender roles, and importance of education and financial success (Rahman & Witenstein, 2014, p. 1123). While these values play a part in how SAAs traverse the collegiate landscape, they influence how SAAs manage
American life in general. Separately, but related, Ngo (2006) noted that collectivism and high priority of education of SAA parents place on their children results in pressure and tension. Again, this pressure and tension plays out in college, but Ngo pointed out that it starts well before SAAs enter higher education. In other words, many SAA students who experience acculturation, colorism, or academic stress in college are hard-wired to think and believe certain ways as inculcated by their families. This section forwards a few emergent research trends in the broader SAA community: acculturation, colorism, and mental health.
Acculturation among second-generation South Asian Americans.
Generational and immigrant statuses affect how college students view themselves and form their cultural identity. The term acculturation refers to cultural changes resulting from individuals who have managed to adapt to a new cultural context (Berry, 1997). In a study on South Asian Muslim Americans, Syed Ali (2008) found acculturation is more complex and dynamic that previously cited. Instead of a linear process where individuals 33 become more assimilated to their host culture as time progresses, the author proposed acculturation is affected by situational context, relationships with peers, and life events
(Ali, 2008). This research is useful because it highlights how situational factors influence individuals’ sense-of-self.
Colorism. As earlier stated, historically, Americans have had a complicated time racially categorizing SAAs, especially among the Black-White binary paradigm.
Harpalani (2015) stated that SAAs do not fit neatly in a racial category, as it relates to color, and are seen –from within and outside the SAA community – as racially ambiguous. Within the community, SAAs are conflicted about being Black, White, or
Brown. South Asian colonial history, where fair-skinned people were more favorably treated by British imperialists, also cast lasting effects on the diaspora as well (Banks,
2015). When Nina Davuluri won the Miss America title in 2013, SAAs were quick to note her “dark Brown” skin tone and how she would not have succeeded in such a pageant in India, where fair skin is considered more beautiful (Banks, 2015). More recently, Louisiana’s former governor, South Asian American Bobby Jindal, was accused of “white-washing” and entered controversy for having a portrait of himself, with noticeably fairer skin, hanging in the state Capitol in Baton Rouge (Camia, 2015). In another example, Vijay Chokalingam, brother of actress Mindy Kaling, was featured in over 100 media outlets for posturing as a Black man while applying to medical schools, hoping that his self-identification as Black would woo admissions officers (Pearson,
2015). This was a failed attempt to make a disparaging point about affirmative action in
34 higher education admissions. These prominent stories of SAAs in American culture highlight the complicated nature of racial categorization and colorism in the country.
South Asian Americans and mental health. As a larger ethnic group, Asian
Americans encounter many challenges which negatively impact their mental health.
Namely, Huang (2012) wrote about social isolation, racial discrimination, body image, dating, sexuality, and career success are all topics Asian Americans have brought to counseling. For South Asian Americans, there are reports of significant acculturative and intergenerational stress (Inman, Ladany, Constantine, & Morano, 2001). Furthermore, research shows that South Asians are at increased risk for suicide (Neelman, Mak, &
Wessely, 1997). This heartache may be heightened by the fact that South Asian
Americans have low help-seeking behaviors. Huang explains that Asian collectivistic culture values the sharing of struggles with family or internally with oneself. Shame and guilt are also part of the culture which deemphasizes mental health resources. Coupled with this is the fact that there are few culturally-competent mental health therapists which focus on Asian Americans. The result is that Asian Americans enter treatment in extreme crisis or otherwise dire situations (Chen, Sullivan, Lu, & Shibusava, 2003). Later, this chapter specifically addresses mental health and help-seeking as it relates to SAA college students.
DesiCrit. Inspired by Critical Race Theory (CRT), DesiCrit discusses society’s understanding of South Asian racial identity as ambiguous, while simultaneously racializing it (Harpalani, 2013). CRT arose in the 1970s from legal studies to account for the role of race and racism in law (Crenshaw, 1997; Delgado & Stefancic, 2000). Since 35 then, scholars have used CRT in other fields. Particularly in education, scholars point to challenging White supremacy and traditional power relations (Ladson-Billings, 1998;
Soloranzo & Yosso, 2002). From here, Chang (1999) expanded CRT by proposing guiding principles for Asian Critical Theory (AsianCrit), which included the incorporation of diverse Asian narratives and acknowledging the need to extend beyond the Black-White binary of racial relations in the United States. Furthermore, Museus and
Iftikar (2013) conceptualized how AsianCrit could be considered in education. Museus and Iftikar’s framework presents seven interconnected tenants. These include:
Asianization, transnational contexts, (re)constructive history, intersectionality (discussed in detail in a forthcoming section), and commitment to social justice. While this is a useful framework to study Asian American students and their concerns as an aggregate,
AsianCrit does not focus on the South Asian American experience explicitly, and as we have learned, the SAA brings unique complexities.
Harpalani (2013) advances CRT – and by way, AsianCrit – for South Asians.
Postulated as DesiCrit, Harpalani recognized the racialized positions and climates in society for South Asians, or Desis. “Racial microclimes,” Harpalani reasoned, “are local historical and political climates that impact racialization” (p. 88). DesiCrit forwards three central tenants: racial ambiguity, formal racialization of SAAs, and informal racialization of SAAs.
The first tenant of DesiCrit is on racial ambiguity. Harpalani claims that between the Black-White paradigm, along with the Asian model minority stereotype, Americans lack knowledge, are less-versed, and ill-equipped to understand the complex Desi 36 identity. For example, Harpalani discusses the lack of awareness of diversity within the
South Asian community: well-educated, white-collar professional Indians live in the suburbs, while many recent migrant Nepalese are less educated and live near Black and
Latinx communities in urban environments (Harpalani, 2013). Asian Indians account for the largest non-White group who are health care professionals. On the other hand, in
2002, 16,000 of 40,000 licensed taxi drivers in NYC were South Asian descent. While scholars of SAA history understand the divergent trends based on immigration waves – the – this is not known to the average American. Moreover, media portrayals of South
Asians exacerbate stereotypes and perpetuate racial ambiguity of SAAs.
Racialization of SAAs, in formal and informal ways, constitute the second and third tenants of DesiCrit. Formal racialization of SAAs was described by Harpalani
(2013) as “creation, application, and transformation of legally cognizable racial categories” (p. 88). Informal racialization of SAAs was characterized by societal behaviors and attitudes towards SAAs. Examples include perpetuation of model minority stereotypes, glass ceiling effects in employment, racialization of religion (see Joshi,
2006), even racialization of SAAs as “Black.”
Unlike AsianCrit, in which Museus and Iftikar (2013) theorized for the education sphere, DesiCrit has not yet been used as an analytic lens for a study on SAA college students. The data collected in this study will be analyzed through the tenants of DesiCrit by pulling themes from SAA student narratives that align with racial ambiguity as well as racialization.
37 Research on South Asian Americans in Higher Education
There is a dearth of research on South Asian American college students. While a few emerging social issues in the larger South Asian American community were described in the previous section, more work is needed to understand the experiences of
South Asian Americans who navigate the American college environment. This section outlines specific literature on South Asian Americans in the higher education sphere.
Cultural conflict and gender differences in SAA college students. Rahman and
Witenstein (2014) examined bi-cultural conflict and gender differences in SAA students using the cultural values conflict theory. This theory is used to describe how individuals negotiate tension and conflict between ethnic and American cultures and is used in studying South Asian American women’s conflict and distress while navigating systems
(Dasgupta, 1998; Inman et al., 2001). In this case, the researchers wanted to examine the degree of conflict with families in making educational and career decisions. Ninety-five students who identified as 1.5 and second generation participated in this quantitative study. Rahman and Witenstein found that both men- and women-identified students experienced high conflict when their parents participated in social comparison and dating.
Male students experienced more conflict on academic issues than females, and female students experienced more conflict on sociocultural issues than males. While the researchers asked about religious affiliation, students who identified as Hindu were overrepresented in the sample. Rahman and Witenstein also did not report any findings or differences between SAA college students and differing religious identities.
38 Intergenerational issues and identity development in SAA college students.
Ruzicka (2011) addressed the void in SAA higher education literature by exploring issues between SAA women in college and their mothers. The qualitative study looked at the experiences of eight SAA college women in individual interviews, nine in a focus group, and four mothers. Five themes emerged from the findings. They include the importance of the immigration story in the upbringing of the students; the volatile nature – closeness, separation, and transformation – of the mother/daughter relationship; intergenerational issues regarding sociocultural topics like dating and marriage; navigating the model minority myth and stereotype; and developing a Desi woman identity. The most obvious point to highlight in this study is the lack of data on SAA college men, since this study looked exclusively at women. While Ruzicka asked about religious identification country of ancestral origin, she did not report any findings or differences associated with these identities.
While Ruzicka (2011) studied SAA college women and mothers, Kahlon (2012) used a phenomenological study to explore intergenerational relationships of SAA students as it related to academic choices and performance. Kahlon specifically looked at students whose origins came from India (as opposed to South Asia in general). Findings from the study indicate that South Asian parents did in fact put pressure on their college- age students to major in certain fields. However, the students cited gratitude for their parents providing values and guidance. Nevertheless, the Indian American students felt stressed when there were expectations from their families, communities, and institutions
39 to perform well. This shows that SAA students value familial guidance and also face negative mental stress when dealing with the burden of expectations placed before them.
SAA college students and mental health. Asian Americans as a whole, one of the fastest-growing college groups, encounter daily microaggressions and indignities relating to their identity (Kodama, McEwen, Liang, & Lee, 2001; Teranishi, 2002). SAA students phenotypically “look” like other South Asian students, so they are frequently lumped together, and, therefore, they can also frequently be the target of microaggressions despite other identities (Sue et al., 2007). Microaggressions and daily indignities correlate with averse mental health conditions (Iwamoto et al., 2013; Ong et al., 2013).
Research has shown that Asian Americans use mental health resources on college campuses at lower rates than their White counterparts (Eisenberg, Golberstein, & Gollust,
2007). Loya, Reddy, and Hinshaw (2010) investigated attitudes of mental health help- seeking behaviors of college students. Using a quantitative approach, 128 students were surveyed to measure any personal or perceived stigma of using mental health resources.
Out of the participants, 54 identified as SAA, and the rest were White. In doing so, the researchers wanted to capture any significant differences between White and SAA students on their attitudes. They found that White students had more positive attitudes to counseling than SAAs. Furthermore, help-seeking personal stigma accounted for 32% of differences between the White and SAA groups. One limitation to the study was the sample size and the scholar’s recognition that it may not be generalizable; another limitation was that the study looked at attitudes regarding mental health and not on the 40 behaviors themselves. The researchers conclude by saying colleges should make efforts to acknowledge and reduce stigma in the SAA population as it relates to mental health.
One example stated was educational outreach, while another stated was continuing to talk about the internalization of stigma by the SAA population within the group.
While SAA students have been found to have more negative attitudes toward help-seeking behavior than White students, there are differences which exist within the
SAA community as it relates to gender. Arora, Metz, and Carlson (2016) conducted a quantitative study with 160 college students who all identified as South Asian American.
All identified as second generation. They looked at potential differences between personal and perceived stigma with mental health help-seeking. The researchers found that higher levels of personal stigma were associated with negative attitudes toward mental health resources for men. There were no differences across gender associated with perceived stigma. This shows that not only being SAA, but also being male could be a deterrence toward mental health seeking behavior. While an investigation into gender differences contributed to the dearth of literature on SAA students and mental health, future research can look to see if there are differences between SAA students of different spiritual identities and generational status.
SAA college students and co-curricular activity participation. For college students, campus involvement has been linked to positive retention and graduation rates
(Astin, 1999; Berger & Milem, 1999). Moreover, research has shown that there are positive effects for Asian American college students through involvement in ethnically- affiliated organizations (Bowman, Park, & Denson, 2015; Museus, 2008; Nguyen & 41 Gasman, 2015). Inkelas (2004) authored a research study to explore if participation in ethnic co-curricular activities facilitates a sense of ethnic awareness and understanding.
The sample in her study was comprised of 184 Asian-Pacific American (APA) undergraduates at a large, public university in the Midwest. The method used was a survey, with questions asking about the racial climate on campus, family educational background, and engagement of diversity conversations with peers. The longitudinal study over four years yielded interesting results. The analysis of the data showed that participation in ethnic co-curricular activities strengthened Asian-identified students to their heritage and community interests. The results of the study also yielded that participation in activities led to heightened awareness and understanding of APA issues.
As SAAs build a support network in college, they often connect through affinity groups. Student organizations, dance groups, intramural sports, Greek life, and other leadership positions have provided safe spaces for SAA students to express themselves and support each other. Research has shown that these spaces are deemed safe because they allow historically underrepresented students to relate to each other candidly and openly within predominately White institutions (PWIs); (Inkelas, 2004). The concept of
“safe spaces” also relates to research conducted with Latino students in which these communities create outlets for helping students develop a sense of belonging to the institution (Hurtado & Carter, 1997).
Accapadi (2005) explored how Greek life made an impact on identity development of SAA college students. Namely, she looked at how involvement in a
South Asian-based sorority affected SAA college women. Using qualitative methods and 42 examining the sorority as a case study, Accapadi found that participation in this sorority led to positive self-images and pride of self. Rana (2016) also used a qualitative approach to explore campus involvement and SAA college students. Like many other studies already reviewed, Rana also found that family influence and career choice played a part in campus involvement. Other data in the study revealed that participation in culturally-based groups provided a support network and general comfort in the campus environment. Collective interdependence, as a value that was inculcated by family during a student’s upbringing, played center stage in campus involvement opportunities. This highlights the importance of South Asian-based student organizations on college campuses as one meaningful way SAA students can remain involved on campus.
Literature Gaps Regarding South Asian Americans
Most of the literature on South Asian Americans in higher education have emerged as doctoral dissertations within the last ten or so years. A review of literature about Asian Americans and SAAs in higher education indicate that the same concerns and myths surrounding the population are raised and discussed by scholars in a cyclical fashion (Accapadi, 2012). Despite significant contributions by these few scholars, we do not yet understand SAA students in nuanced ways. The intersections of SAA cultural identity and other social identities continue to be an area worth exploring more. The next section of this literature review brings to light research trends on studying the spiritual and religious identities of college students, which is followed by a discussion on spirituality and Asian Americans.
43 Spirituality in Higher Education
Spiritual dissonance and development are experiences of college students who use those years in higher education to reflect and make meaning of their identities and purpose. In recent times, religion and spirituality have taken center stage in higher education research (see Astin, Astin, & Lindholm, 2011; Bryant & Mayhew, 2013).
However, scholars point out that religious identities of college students are still understudied (Bowman & Small, 2012; Clark, 2003).
While there is a paucity of research concerning the spiritual identities of college students, recent studies have begun to explore how spirituality affects college students with historically underrepresented identities. For example, one study found that women and students of color gravitate toward spirituality at a higher rate than average
(Rockenbach, Mayhew, Morin, Crandall, & Selznick, 2015). On one hand, students of color who participate in spiritual groups establish a sense of belonging, develop ethnic identity, and nurture resilience (Strayhorn, 2011). On the other hand, students from religious minority groups – those who identify with a non-Christian religion such as
Hinduism or Islam – are hidden minorities on their college campuses (Singer, 2008). This section of the literature review begins by defining spirituality and related terms within the higher education context, describes research trends on spirituality in higher education, and concludes with a discussion of spirituality as it relates to South Asian American students.
44 Defining Spirituality, Faith, and Religion in the Higher Education Context
Discussing spirituality in college can sometimes meet with hesitation due to ambiguity of terms. Mayhew (2004) described spirituality as “the human attempt to make sense of self in connection to and with the external world” after he studied eight students from different spiritual identities (p. 666). Rockenbach (2011) described core dimensions of spirituality, which included “meaning, purpose, wholeness, authenticity, transcendence, and connectedness” (p. 336). Rockenbach, Mayhew, Davidson, Ofstein, and Bush (2015) note that meaning and purpose, faith, or inner life may be more reflective of students’ experiences than spirituality. Rockenbach (2011) states that religion “takes shape in organized traditions of belief and practice” (p. 336). Fowler
(1996) described faith as an umbrella term containing belief and religion. While many connotations of spirituality, faith, and religion exist within literature, considering spiritual or religious affiliation as a social identity – on top of the development of students’ experience – is relevant to the nature of this study. Additionally, religious and spiritual development were cited in the Student Personal Point of View (1937, as cited by the
American Council on Education, 1994) as one of higher education and student affairs’ concerns. Seminal faith development theories and notable studies of spirituality in higher education are addressed next.
Spiritual and Faith Developmental Models
In Fowler’s theory of faith development (1981), six linear stages note the progression of understanding one’s own faith. From primal faith to universalizing faith, 45 the stages are represented over a lifetime. Notably, stage four of individuative-reflective faith may be most relative to the college student experience: Fowler describes this stage as when the individual has self-authored and self-defined their system of beliefs, and it typically occurs after adolescence. One critique of Fowler’s theory was the biased research sample foundation of the theory; over 97% of the sample he studied identified as
White, and over 80% identified as Christian.
Understanding that young adulthood is when many individuals make meaning of their spiritual and faith identities, Parks (1986, 2000) designed her own theory of faith development focused on individuals of traditional college age. In this theory, three forms of development – knowing, dependence, and community – are identified. Forms of knowing related to the phases in which the individual places trust in other’s cognition to developing commitment in one’s own. Forms of dependence speaks on the individual’s reliance on authority figures developing into a sense of independence. Forms of community articulate networks of people in which the individual can explore themselves and values. Critiques of Parks’ work indicate an emphasis on cognition over community, while many communities of Color indicate the importance and prevalence of community in building faith development (Watt, 2003).
Emerging Trends in Studying Spirituality in College
Newer research on understanding the role of spirituality in the lives of college students have been published in the past 10 years. In this section, spirituality and its
46 general influences, impact on well-being, and interfaith engagement are all discussed in the context of higher education.
Spiritual development and connections to others. In the largest national research on spirituality in higher education, Astin, Astin, and Lindholm (2010) conducted a seven-year longitudinal study to measure the role spirituality played in college students’ lives. Collecting data from 14,527 students from 136 colleges nationwide, the primary findings of the study indicate that when students were actively engaged in “inner work” through self-reflection, contemplation, or meditation, they grew in the areas of their spiritual quest, charitable involvement, finding meaning in hardship, an ethic of care, and ecumenical worldviews. Ecumenical worldviews were defined as having care and connection to all humanity. Certainly, these areas of growth are congruent to what many higher education administrators are seeking from their students. Therefore, the results of this study point to an increased need in focusing on students’ holistic development, especially their spiritual development.
In a content analysis of a study which asked students what spirituality meant to them, Rockenbach, Mayhew, Davidson, Ofstein, and Bush (2015) showed that connectivity is the primary way students describe spirituality. The researchers also discerned that students of various worldviews understood spirituality to be transcendent.
Out of 1,071 students who responded in the study, 15% identified as Asian American;
Buddhist and Hindu students accounted for 23% of the sample.
Spirituality and well-being. Affiliating with spiritual groups has been cited as positively associated with emotional well-being (Bonderud & Fleischer, 2004). Bowman 47 and Small (2012) conducted a longitudinal study using data from the Cooperative
Institutional Research Program (CIRP) Freshman Survey. For this study, a total of 14,527 college students participated from 136 different institutions around the United States. The researchers looked at two measures: hedonic well-being and eudaimonic well-being.
Hedonic well-being was defined as the obtaining of pleasure and avoidance of pain.
Examples included active management of stress, anxiety, and depression. Meanwhile, eudaimonic well-being was basically defined as living life to its fullest. Examples included the pursuing and development of self-confidence, cooperativeness, and understanding of others.
Bowman and Small (2012) found that students who engage with religious activities have greater gains in both hedonic and eudaimonic measures of well-being.
Students at institutions with an inclusive religious climate also showed greater signs of well-being. However, students with no affiliation religiously have reduced well-being.
These findings showcase the importance of supporting religiously affiliated programs and services on college campuses. One limitation to this study was that religiously-affiliated institutions were overrepresented. There was also no specific discussion on Asian
Americans.
Spiritual struggles. As with many social identities, but especially true for spirituality, students face dissonance during their college years. Bryant and Astin (2008) authored a study to explore spiritual struggles. They defined “spiritual struggle” as
“intrapsychic concerns about matters of faith, purpose, and meaning in life” (p. 2). In this
48 quantitative study, two national college student surveys by the Higher Education
Research Institute were used: the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) freshman survey and the College Students’ Beliefs and Values (CSBV) survey. The
CSBV survey specifically asked questions related to meaning-making, beliefs, values, and spiritual development. 3,493 students’ responses were analyzed for the sample. 4% of the sample identified as Asian. A majority of the respondents identified as Christian
(79%).
Bryant and Astin’s (2008) study suffered a few limitations in terms of achieving variation in the sample. However, the findings highlight the importance of understanding minoritized students. The results of the study indicated that college students affiliated with minority religions (e.g., Islam, Hindu) are more likely to experience struggles in their spirituality than Christian students and even unaffiliated students. This may be due to the fact that college administrators, who are not well-represented in non-Christian spiritual identities themselves, fail to acknowledge unique needs and services for students from minoritized spiritual identities. Still, qualitative data to draw out narratives of why minoritized students experienced such struggles will be beneficial to provide a clearer picture.
Interfaith engagement. Recent studies have pointed to the importance of inclusion and cross-cultural engagement on college campuses (Gurin, Dey, Hurtado,
Gurin, 2002; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Furthermore, engaging students of multiple faiths for collaboration has also proven to be beneficial for students (Patel, 2007).
49 However, research has shown that most Christian-oriented student organizations, known as “campus fellowships” are largely racially homogenous (Park, 2011).
Rockenbach, Mayhew, Morin, Crandall, and Selznick (2015) aimed to see if interfaith co-curricular engagement fostered pluralistic orientations in college students.
Pluralism is identified as a way for people of various identities to peacefully coexist. In a quantitative study incorporating responses from over 13,000 students from 52 institutions, they found that, indeed, informal interactions between students of different religious boosted pluralism. Secondly, participation in interfaith activities were also found to increase pluralistic orientations in college students. Another finding showed that students’ regard for diverse faiths corresponded with multi-faith centers on their respective campus.
Many of the findings from Rockenbach and colleagues’ (2015) study are aligned with the notion of contact hypothesis, which alludes to the understanding that the more people of different identities are in contact with each other, the better their relations with one another (Allport, 1954; Pettigrew, 1998). The researchers encourage campus administrators to foster campus climates that promote interfaith engagement among students. Separately, qualitative data are needed to draw narratives on the impact of students’ interfaith engagement. Besides this, one other limitation of the study was the low number of public institutions represented, while another drawback was that only 6% of respondents identified as Asian American. Still, this study is useful due to the large sample size covering many institutions and for the potential for direct application of recommendations from the findings. 50 Spirituality and Asian Americans
In a comprehensive publication on religion and spirituality for Asian American college students, Park and Dizon (2017) note that 74% of Asian Americans affiliate with a religion. Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam are all represented in the Asian
American population. Park and Dizon (2017) remind us that it can be challenging for higher education and student affairs educators to promote spiritual expression in students, especially at public institutions. Nonetheless, calls for increased awareness of Asian
American spiritual needs from higher education practitioners are discussed, especially as it relates to supporting the climate for spiritual diversity on college campuses.
Spirituality and psychological well-being. Earlier, Park and Millora (2010) explored psychological well-being of college students related to spirituality among different racial and ethnic groups. Data were derived from the College Students’ Beliefs and Values Survey. Park and Millora found a significant relationship between religiousness and spirituality to psychological well-being. For Asian American students, in particular, the researchers found that intellectual self-concept – making sense of the ups and downs of college – was the second strongest predictor of psychological well- being. For recommendations, Park and Millora suggested colleges and universities build resiliency and coping skills to help Asian American develop a health sense of self as they handle challenges. Psychological well-being and intellectual self-concept are concepts similarly found in the existing literature on South Asian Americans and spirituality.
Therefore, while it is hoped that the next iteration of Park and Millora’s (2010) work
51 focuses on disaggregating the knowledge of Asian American college students, it would be beneficial for special consideration to SAAs.
Ethnoreligious communities. In an original exploration of how Asian American ethnicity and religious identity can interplay, Park (2011) studied Korean Americans in college in an ethnographic investigation as to whether or not they would engage with an ethnically diverse Christian group or join a Korean American-affiliated Christian organization. Park noted that Christianity has been an integral part of the Korean immigrant experience to the United States, and the Korean Christian community proliferates on many American college campuses today – giving a platform to Korean
Americans to use their voices and strengthen their leadership skills. In fact, UCLA boasts more than 10 Korean Christian fellowships alone (Ko, 2012).
Park conducted observations and interviews with four Korean Americans involved with KORE – the Korean American Christian fellowship associated with
Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. Park’s findings showcased the challenges Asian
Americans (in this case, Korean Americans) face in negotiating their ethnic identity with their spiritual identity. Although the students in the study acknowledged the value of diversity and multiethnic communities in college, they felt most comfortable in a
Christian environment with their fellow Korean Americans.
Park’s study shows the prevalence of the ethnoreligious community – a space where members of the same ethnic group share a common religious identity. Thereby, a two-fold identity affiliation further bonds the members of the groups. Interestingly, one of the groups Park originally wanted to study was a South Asian American Christian 52 student group, but that group was on hiatus when Park wanted to conduct the investigation, so Park worked with Korean Americans. Nevertheless, this study highlights an important scaffold to understanding the study on SAA college students and spirituality in that ethnoreligious communities can foster a safe for students to engage in their ethnic and religious identities simultaneously. The next section outlines the few publications on
South Asians and spirituality.
Spirituality and SAA College Students
While few studies exist that center the South Asian American student experience, no studies were found in a literature search that discussed the religious and spiritual identities of South Asian Americans. Hence, this is one of the purposes of this study. This section reviews tangential studies on the topic, along with a presentation of the issue of racialization of religions.
Educational outcomes for South Asians with religious identities. While this study concerns South Asian Americans, many initial studies on education in the South
Asian community developed from ethnic enclaves in other countries. Abbas (2002) explored educational achievement of South Asian British students. In this qualitative study, students and parents were both interviewed to determine how issues of religion and culture at home influence educational achievement. Abbas identified that differences emerged based on the individual’s religious background. South Asian British Muslims appeared to have more disadvantages regarding the British schooling system, while South
Asian British Hindus and Sikhs experienced their education more favorably. It was noted
53 that within Britain, Hindus and Sikhs are often characterized and perceived more positively than Muslims. The researcher hypothesized that this may be a reason for negative impressions of schooling for the Muslims in the study.
Cole and Ahmadi (2010) examined educational outcomes in postsecondary education for Muslim Americans. Along with the problems already stated framing this study, Cole and Ahmadi also contended that national attention on extremism has caused increased overall scrutiny on certain religions, such as Islam. The information in their article state that 28% of Muslim Americans trace their lineage to South Asia. Although this may seem like a fraction of the total Muslim population, considering that there are 6-
7 million Muslims in the United States, that would mean abut 1.8 million Americans are both South Asian American and Muslim.
In their quantitative study, Cole and Ahmadi (2010) looked at the responses of
203 college students on their student experiences. Namely, 66 students of the sample were Muslim; the rest identified as either Christian or Jewish. The researchers found, on a statistically significant level, that Muslim students tutored other students more than the other groups, attended cultural awareness workshops more, were more likely to have a roommate of a different racial or ethnic group, and socialized with someone of different ethnic group more than the Christian and Jewish groups. They summarize that the
“findings suggest that Muslim students are an integral part of the campus community and embracing their presence can lead to diversity-enriched campus environments” (Cole &
Ahmadi, 2010, p. 136). While this study indicated a welcome need to embrace and celebrate Muslim students as a whole on college campuses, one limitation to the study 54 was that it was not disaggregated by cultural identities, so the impact on educational outcomes for South Asian American Muslims is unknown.
Racialization of religion in the South Asian American community. Joshi
(2006) defines racialization as a set of processes in which groups are defined by their race or ethnicity based upon socially-constructed racial assumptions. Joshi (2006) was one of the first to write about racialization of American followers of Hinduism, Islam, and
Sikhism. In terms of demographics, 1 to 1.3 million Hindus live in the United States – a majority of them who trace their lineage to South Asia. There are approximately 250,000-
500,000 Sikh Americans, and as noted in the previous section, about 1.8 Muslim
Americans who may also identify as South Asian.
Joshi (2006) essays that racialization of Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims occurred with misuse or mischaracterization of religious identities in American media and pop culture. As one can imagine, many of this results in negative experiences. Joshi wrote that the “blurred boundaries between race and religion [is where] we find the racialization of religion” (p. 212). Herein lies an underlying fact that can help Americans understand why discriminating against, say, Muslim Americans could be detrimental two-fold.
Furthermore, Joshi illustrates this vividly in understanding racialization:
that particular religious in particular historical moments, come to be associated
with certain real or imagined phenotypical characteristics and that race thereby
becomes a proxy for a presumed belief system. The process is both enabled and
aggravated by the presence of a White and Christian norm in American society.
(p. 223) 55 While racialization supports White supremacy, it also exemplifies the illegitimacy of Hinduism, Sikhism, and Islam. It upholds Christianity and Whiteness as a norm, while exoticizing other religious groups. Historically speaking, as seen earlier in this chapter, early South Asian Americans, such as Thind, have argued to fit into American- constructed boxes of what “race” is, and racialization of non-Christian religion continue to perpetuate the manufactured American construct of race.
While Joshi (2006) spends most of her essay extrapolating examples of how racialization takes place in American society, she also takes time to offer recommendations that policy makers and higher education administrators alike can consider. First, leaders in politics and education spheres can take meaningful interest in
Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim Americans. They can validate and celebrate the sacrifices and commitments these Americans make to our communities on a daily basis. Leaders should step up, respond to, and speak out against violence against religious minorities. Lastly,
Joshi indicates a desperate need for increased research and scholarship on these communities. Certainly, Joshi’s essay is merited in today’s climate. To take it further, a discussion on other minority South Asian religious groups, such as Ismailis and South
Asian Christians, is warranted.
Sikh Americans and ethnoreligious identity. In a new frontier, policy changes are looming on both the societal and collegiate levels as it relates to considering religious identity as synonymous to ethnic identity. Ethnoreligious identities, or communities of shared culture and religious affiliation, have emerged as a way for individuals to find stronger affinity within larger identity spaces (Park & Sharma, 2016). 56 Sikh Americans trace their ancestry to the Punjab region of northern India and eastern Pakistan. There are an estimated 250,000-500,000 followers of Sikhism, most identifying as South Asian, in the United States today (Joshi, 2006). Many Sikh
American men are noticeable due to their turbans and long beards. Sikh Americans have been mistaken for Muslims and targeted correspondingly and unfortunately. In 2012, a mass shooting took place in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, in which six Sikh Americans were murdered at their gurudwara, or Sikh temple (Mishra, 2013). In a move which aligned with supporting ethnoreligious identity, in August 2018, the Department of Education approved a definition of Judaism as both a religious identification as well as an ethnicity
(Klein, 2018). Later that month, a group called Sikhs United asked the Department of
Education for the same ability and rights. One reason for this push is to have greater leverage of hate crime protection if those incidents arise. If the Department of Education shows indication they will approve, Muslim and Hindu Americans, among other religiously minoritized groups, may also make calls to do the same to be afforded similar protections to Jewish Americans.
Literature Gaps Regarding SAA Spiritual Identities
New literature on spiritual identities and Asian American college students, especially SAAs, is emerging. However, the current research available is inadequate. In regard to understanding how SAA college students make sense of their spiritual identities, more attention needs to be paid to development of the identity beyond racialization. Too often, as seen in this review, a deficit model is used to describe
57 spirituality in SAAs. Few narratives focus on the actual religious experience of SAAs
(Cole & Ahmadi, 2010; Mir, 2014). How SAA college students see spirituality as a source of solace, comfort, and support is a gap that should be filled. Furthermore, how
SAA students feel like they belong on a college campus, given their specific spiritual identity, would also be an important focus for future studies. The next section addresses the importance of belonging for students in college and finishes with highlighting needs for SAAs.
Sense of Belonging
Belonging is a basic human need. Maslow’s (1954) seminal work on the hierarchy of needs points to belonging as a way that individuals relate to each other and form communities; it is also an integral part of psychological well-being. Moreover, environmental perceptions, involvement, and relationships all are factors that tie into an individual’s sense of belonging (Vaccaro & Newman, 2016). The following section addresses the concept of sense of belonging as it relates to the higher education sphere, along with discussions of belonging transecting with being Asian American and holding a spiritual identity.
Understanding Sense of Belonging: Contexts and Definitions
Student belonging and mattering have been ideas administrators and policy makers have considered when thinking about creating an institutional environment that would lead to appropriate student success measures. Belonging is critical for students to
58 be successful in college, and this factor has been well-cited in higher education literature
(Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Johnson et al., 2007; Museus & Maramba, 2011; Museus &
Truong, 2009; Strayhorn, 2012). This underscores the importance of campus administrators to focus on students finding belonging on their respective campuses.
Tinto (1987) suggested that students who fail to integrate into the academic and social environment of college are at risk of dropping out. Meanwhile, Schlossberg (1989) pointed out early in higher education belonging literature that students have a need to feel noticed and important to faculty, staff, and peers. Meanwhile, learning communities were designed to cultivate a sense of community in residence halls (Berger, 1997). The concept of “fit” was used by Nora (2004) to describe how students felt they belonged to an institution in both academic and social realms. These early connotations of belonging in higher education have grown to recent extensive studies to examine how students feel a sense of belonging, especially for students with historically marginalized backgrounds.
Sense of belonging is a critical part of the college experience, as it can affect students’ academic attainment, retention, and social integration (Strayhorn, 2012).
Strayhorn (2012) highlighted that the level and sense of belonging varies based on social identities such as race, gender, and religion. Rendón (1994), for instance, revealed the importance of cultural integration to argue how college faculty and staff can challenge themselves to invite and engage students of various backgrounds into the academic, social, and cultural elements of the campus.
Strayhorn (2012) noted that sense of belonging is key to making all students feel included. He argued that sense of belonging for students leads to educational success. 59 Knowing that educational success is what contributes to college rankings, donor participation, and institutional pride, it behooves educators to constantly explore new ways to support all students’ sense of belonging on campus.
Looking at belonging from a different lens, Samura (2016) examined how students’ engagement with different physical spaces on campuses reveal aspects of their feelings of belonging. For example, campus buildings all named after White men may signal to students from diverse backgrounds that they are a foreigner or they do not have ownership over their campus environment. This is particularly important given the site of my study which has historically been a predominately White institution in terms of student body (although not one currently) and has a predominately White faculty and administration.
Taking both the psychosocial as well as physical factors of belonging into account, Museus (2014) conceptualized the culturally engagement campus environmental
(CECE) model of college success. Museus proposed that individual influences do not entirely contribute to success outcomes. Rather, an important part of student success is how culturally engaging campuses environments are. Museus highlights that culturally engaging campus environments both hold cultural relevance and display cultural responsiveness. This may be thought of as proactive and reactive ways campuses can be culturally engaging, respectively. Examples of cultural relevance are campus administrators being familiar with cultures represented on campus and providing opportunities for cross-cultural engagement. Examples of cultural responsiveness are supporting students holistically or otherwise respond to the needs of the campus’s diverse 60 student body. The next section outlines a few studies on sense of belonging as it relates to students from diverse backgrounds. Overall, the model underscores the need for students to enact their own culture on campus, be exposed to different cultures, and have meaningful interactions with students different than themselves; however, Museus emphasized the responsibility for campuses to provide engaging environments to facilitate positive student interactions.
Sense of Belonging and Diverse Backgrounds
Higher education scholars (Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Strayhorn, 2012; Vaccaro &
Newman, 2016) have provided recent research to indicate the challenges students from diverse and minoritized backgrounds in developing a sense of belonging. Johnson and colleagues (2007) wanted to examine sense of belonging among college students from various racial and ethnic groups. In a study looking at nearly 3,000 first-year college students, they used quantitative methods to identify how aspects of the college environment contributed to sense of belonging. In general, the researchers found that
Students of Color reported a less strong sense of belonging than White students. While only 9.9% of the sample identified as Asian American, important results from this specific group showed that a socially-supportive residence hall environment, participation in ethnic/cross-cultural clubs, and a smooth academic transition from high school to college were all important to how Asian American students perceived a strong sense of belonging to their college. However, like almost all research in higher education, data for
61 Asian American students were not disaggregated, and there was no indication on what may contribute to South Asian American college students’ sense of belonging.
Sense of belonging and various diverse subgroups. Hurtado and Carter (1997) studied the perceptions of sense of belonging of Latino college students as it related to campus racial climate. Using data from the National Survey of Hispanic Students
(NSHS), 272 students made up the final sample with longitudinal data from their first and second years in college. The authors found that participation in co-curricular activities, such as student organizations, contributed to a positive sense of belonging for the students. However, students perceiving a negative racial climate on their campus indicated lower levels of belonging. Hurtado and Carter also summarized their findings in a conceptual model, highlighting how ease of transition and climate could lead to sense of belonging. This important study signified the importance of both participation in student organizations and a welcoming campus climate may be beneficial for students from diverse backgrounds to experience a sense of belonging. It also laid the foundation for future studies with students from other ethnic backgrounds.
Other studies have indicated the importance of studying belonging as a construct for Black collegians’ institutional commitment (Hausmann, Ye, Schofield, Woods,
2009); Black collegian’s college satisfaction (Ancis, Sedlacek, & Mohr, 2000); students of various social classes (Ostrove & Long, 2007); international students (Horne, Lin,
Anson, & Jacobson, 2018); and contextual settings in lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, and queer (LGBPQ) students (Vaccaro & Newman, 2017). Still, more studies are warranted on belonging as it relates to diverse subgroups in American higher education. 62 Sense of belonging comparing privileged and minoritized students. After scholars used belonging as one construct or measure in the aforementioned studies, there were calls to theorize belonging, especially for historically marginalized student groups.
Vaccaro and Newman (2016) contributed greatly to the literature on sense of belonging in college by designing a constructionist grounded theory. They wanted to explore how students defined sense of belonging during their first year in college and see if any differences emerged between privileged and minoritized students. Minoritized in this regard refers to students who would self-identify as a member of a social identity group that has been historically underrepresented or disenfranchised. Furthermore, Harper
(2013) described minoritization as situational, as well as a “social construction of underrepresentation and subordination in US social institutions” (p. 207). To determine if students were minoritized, they were categorized as such if they identified as belonging to at least one historically underrepresented social identity group.
Using a sample of 51 first-year students, Vaccaro and Newman (2016) conducted in-depth interviews. The researchers found that students described how perceptions of the campus environment defined their sense of belonging, relationships were a hallmark of their belonging, and involvement in campus co-curricular activities was connected to belonging as well. In comparing privileged and minoritized students, Vaccaro and
Newman (2016) found that privileged students stated a common theme of “fun” and
“friendliness” to note how environment, relationships, and involvement cued their idea of belonging. Meanwhile, students with minoritized identities shared a common theme of authenticity as a lead towards belonging. A limitation to the study’s usefulness in 63 informing other scholars and practitioners was the sample itself. Only five of the 51 students self-identified as Asian American, and only 14 identified with a religious or spiritual affiliation other than Christian. Nevertheless, the components of environment, relationships, and involvement align with studies on Asian American college student success explored earlier. In addition, the disaggregation of data between privileged and minoritized identities provides a model for future studies on how students with minoritized backgrounds experience a sense of belonging. Consequently, the emergent model by Vaccaro and Newman is used as a conceptual framework for this study.
Sense of Belonging and Asian Americans
The research conducted by Johnson and colleagues (2007) on sense of belonging, in which data were broken down by racial and ethnic groups, paved the way to understanding the unique needs of specific groups. Many recent studies on sense of belonging of college students have spotlighted the needs of Black and Latinx students, but the experiences of Asian American students – especially related to belonging – continue to be underreported (Lee & Davis, 2000; Museus & Maramba, 2011). For example, a recent analysis showed that out of the five top-read scholarly journals in higher education, less than one percent of the published articles were about Asian
Americans (Museus, 2009). This scarcity underscores how Asian American literature lacks visibility, or belonging, in higher education and it emphasizes the need for scholars to contribute to the literature, especially as it relates to Asian Americans experience belonging in college.
64 Sense of belonging is not stagnant; it is contextual, subjective, and uncertain.
Specifically, for Asian Americans, faculty and staff should consistently revisit their respective campus climates. Samura (2016) noted that belonging should be examined as an interactional process by higher education administrators. Asian Americans’ widely- cited academic achievement should not be assumed. Results of a recent study found that
Asian Americans were constantly repositioning themselves and remaking space to better find a fit at the institution (Samura, 2016). This exemplifies the effort it takes for Asian
Americans to feel a sense of belonging on campus. Thirty-six students participated in this study, which included those who self-identified as Chinese, Japanese, or Filipino; however, none self-identified as South Asian.
Wells and Horn (2015) explored in what ways campus climate predicted a sense of belonging in Asian American college students. One hundred sixteen college students participated in the study, which used existing surveys as instruments to look into this association. The surveys used were the Campus Connectedness Scale (SCS-C; Lee &
Davis, 2000) and the Cultural Congruity Scale (CCS; Gloria & Robinson-Kurpius, 1996).
The latter survey related to congruence between home and campus culture. Gloria and
Robinson-Kurpius (1996) noted that students were more likely to feel stress if their home and campus cultures were not aligned.
In their study, Wells and Horn (2015) found that students’ positive perceptions of the campus climate were associated with overall sense of belonging. Another finding of the study was predictions of cultural congruity. This was discussed as the students own feelings of whether their Asian culture aligned with campus culture. Students’ positive 65 perceptions of the campus were found to predict their level of cultural congruity. This shows that administrators understanding and creating more open campus climates can lead to positive feelings of belonging by diverse students. There were a few limitations to this study. First, as a quantitative study, the researchers only examined associations and did not report on student narratives and to the extent they felt a sense of belonging. The campus on which the study took place – and the participants were found – had been widely cited as one of the nation’s most diverse. It is not considered a predominately
White institution (PWI). Therefore, an already diverse campus may help establish the sense of belonging felt by the students via cultural congruity. Lastly, the 116 participants all self-identified as Asian American, but the data was not disaggregated. There is no indication how many of the students were South Asian American in particular.
In trying to understand specific disparities in higher education by different subgroups in Asian America, Museus and Maramba (2011) explored how Filipino
American college students’ cultural background influenced sense of belonging. This was one of the first studies on sense of belonging by a particular ethnic group within the larger Asian American demographic. One hundred forty-three Filipino American college students participated in the quantitative study, in which data were collected through a survey instrument. The survey asked questions that focused on cultural congruity and sense of belonging. Findings indicated that the Filipino American students in the study faced cultural challenged that disrupted their sense of belonging. Secondly, pressure to commit cultural suicide – feeling to change oneself to fit in or leaving behind family values when entering college – significantly made an impact on sense of belonging due to 66 their influence on cultural adjustment. While the focus of the study was on Filipino
Americans, and not South Asian Americans, the study provided a quantitative investigation in an otherwise qualitatively-focused area. The study also provided optimism that other Asian American subgroups, such as SAAs, can also be explored with this study as a foundation for future research.
Sense of Belonging and Spiritual Identities
In many cases, spiritual identity is not readily apparent to others. It is not as easy to discern on the surface as race or gender. Therefore, a sense of belonging for members of similar spiritual groups is often facilitated by organized, religiously-affiliated groups.
In American society in a macro sense, sociological scholars have pointed to religious communities being a potential beacon for belonging (Nagel & Ehrkamp, 2016).
Especially in the United States, a country founded by immigrants fleeing religious persecution and shaped by Christian moral truths, communities flourished around a shared spiritual identity.
In the higher education arena, Parks’ (1986, 2000) theory on faith development identified an avenue of development in forms of community. To explore their spiritual identity, Parks indicated a need for individuals to have dependable networks for people.
In one particular form of community, Parks acknowledged the mentoring community for young adults as a transitional space away from home as they develop their own spiritual beliefs and identity. Another form of community espoused by Parks is the self-selected group, in which young adults seek out communities which share their spiritual identity. In
67 both these cases, sense of belonging is exemplified as an important contributor to faith development.
Park’s (2011) study on Korean American Christian student organizations showed how mono-ethnic spiritual groups can engage students and actually facilitate dialogue on identity and relations with members of other groups. In another example, Mir (2014) discussed avidly the importance of safe spaces for Muslim American women to dialogue about dating and teetotalism within their spiritual organizations. In these cases, spiritual organizations provided not only a sense of belonging, but also community cultural wealth
– cultivating, expanding, and disseminating resources for their identified members.
Identifying a New Gap: SAA Sense of Belonging and Intersections of Identities
In the aforementioned study conducted by Hurtado and Carter (1997), Latino college students’ sense of belonging was explored and the researchers found that a chilly racial climate on campus contributed to lower effects of sense of belonging. Interestingly,
Hurtado and Carter also found that membership in faith communities on campus were strongly associated with sense of belonging. This demonstrates that support for faith communities on campus could contribute to positive levels of sense of belonging, not just for individual students, but also for ethnic communities at large. Virtually nothing is known of the effect of spiritual and faith communities on sense of belonging for South
Asian American college students. As such, this study aims to fill that gap.
68 Conceptual Frameworks
The conceptual frameworks for the examination of SAA college students’ sense of belonging in the intersections of their spiritual identity emerged through review of the literature and aligned with the research questions. Conceptual frameworks are used as prisms to make sense of, analyze, and understand data collected. In using the frameworks, the data will be presented as findings. In this section, two larger conceptual frameworks that will be used in the study are presented. In addition, intersectionality theory is described as additional construct to consider.
Point of Entry Model for Asian American Identity Consciousness
As discussed earlier, Accapadi (2012) forwarded a new model to understand
Asian American identity in response to linear stage models that held limitations. Namely, she wanted to highlight the variety of factors which affect Asian American students and their identity consciousness. In acknowledging these various factors and influences,
Accapadi conceptualized a point of entry model to showcase influences that may drive how an Asian American makes meaning of their identity.
The model was designed with inspiration from Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the concept of polyculturalism. Accapadi stated: “polyculturalism is distinct from multiculturalism in that it requires us to understand the ways in which our cultural histories intersect, draw parallels in the experiences and social location of communities, and sustain an emancipatory, anti-racist educational effort… polyculturalism challenges
69 us to examine how the intersections of our identities perpetuate the oppression of certain groups and the dominance of other groups” (p. 71).
The model aspires to be dynamic in nature and representative of the complex social identities Asian Americans hold. Therefore, this model of Asian American identity consciousness is apt to use as a framework for this study on SAA collegians and their spiritual identities. Because it is not a stage model, it is also designed to be fluid and continuous, but non-linear. Points of entry toward Asian American identity consciousness, as depicted in the model, include (in no particular order): ethnic attachment, self as other, external influence and perceptions, one’s immigration history, familial influence, and other social identities. While the development of other social identities informs an individual’s Asian American identity, Accapadi notes that this exploration can be experienced vice versa.
Data collected in this study will be analyzed by way of understanding factors which contribute to the SAA identity consciousness. Interview questions will specifically ask for participants to name influences and factors that have helped them form their identities. For example, Hindu religious identity may inform Asian American racial identity for a student, but their immigration history and familial influence may also play a significant role. In another case, external influences and perceptions, perhaps through social media or entertainment, may inform how a student sees themselves as SAA.
A visual diagram of the point of entry components of the Asian American Identity
Consciousness Model is depicted in Figure 2.1.
70 Other Social Identities (Gender, Sexual Orientation, Ability, Class)
Ethnic Self as Other Attachment
Asian American Identity Consciousness
External Family Influence & Influence Perceptions
Immigration History
Figure 2.1. Point of Entry Model for Asian American Identity Consciousness (Accapadi, 2012).
A Special Note on Intersectionality
While using the framework of Asian American identity consciousness forwarded by Accapadi (2012), data will also be analyzed through intersectionality, knowing that many participants in the study will hold both SAA cultural identity along with a
71 minoritized spiritual identity. Intersectionality Theory was first studied as a Black feminist sociological concept by Crenshaw (1989) and later expanded by several scholars from a variety of fields and perspectives (Collins, 1989; McCall, 2005; Shields, 2008).
Intersectionality is a methodological strategy studying the relationships among various identities and dimensions, especially as it relates to development or formation.
Crenshaw (1989) noted that different marginalized social identities one may possess, such as being both Black and female, contributed to multiple layers and levels of oppression. Using this framework assists in understanding and analyzing how being both
SAA and another marginalized identity could shape students’ college experiences. For example, a qualitative study by Ruzicka (2011) looked at South Asian Americans who identified as women. She found that inter-generational communication patterns and value systems made an impact on SAA women’s identity development and college experiences.
McCall (2005) defined intersectionality as “the relationships among multiple social dimensions and modalities of social relations and subject formations” (p. 1771).
Indeed, not only do multiple identities exist within a person, they converge, interact, and hold relationships with each other. In turn, this plays out as students, from even similar identities, experience their college years in a multitude of ways. Museus and Griffin
(2011) argued for the use of intersectionality frameworks in higher education research.
As colleges grow in diversity of their student bodies, researchers and educators must
“maximize understanding of their students” by exploring “the experiences of these groups situated at the intersections of various social identities and groupings” (p. 9).
Additionally, intersectional frameworks spotlight students who may have multiple 72 identities which are marginalized. Third, use of intersectionality helps us understand how converging identities may contribute to inequity in society.
A Model for Minoritized Students’ Sense of Belonging
To distill how students in this study experience a sense of belonging on campus,
Vaccaro and Newman’s (2016) emergent model on sense of belonging for privileged and minoritized students will be used. One reason this model was chosen as a framework was the fact that the scholars rejected a singular definition of belonging, noting expertly that definitions of belonging can differentiate by population.
The model incorporates three emergent themes from Vaccaro and Newman’s
(2016) grounded theory study. These three themes (in no particular order) are environment, relationships, and involvement. Each theme showcases two views: how privileged students and minoritized students each made meaning regarding how the theme influenced their sense of belonging. While there are similarities to privileged and minoritized students’ feelings, there are distinctions which are noted in Figure 2. One example is in involvement, as that experience heightens belonging in different ways; in the study, privileged students emphasized having fun and mattering, but minoritized students sought opportunities where they could be real. It is important to note that, in the model, minoritized students view safety and respect as important aspects of belonging.
South Asian American students already belong to the minoritized group as
Vaccaro and Newman (2016) would describe it, simply for the fact that they identify as
SAA. Secondly, other identities can layer the effects of minoritization, as seen in the
73 discussion on intersectionality. One of the research questions of this study is how SAA students with a spiritual identity experience a sense of belonging. In using this framework, data collected will be analyzed through the lenses of campus environment, relationships, and involvement to: (1) understand and organize the data in the scope of an established framework; and (2) see if narratives from SAA college students align with findings from Vaccaro and Newman. Specifically, findings from this study will be discussed through the lens of how Vaccaro and Newman describe experiences of minoritized students to affirm and critique their model.
A visual diagram of the Belonging for Privileged and Minoritized Students Model is depicted in Figure 2.2.
74
Figure 2.2. Model of Belonging for Privileged and Minoritized Students (Vaccaro & Newman, 2016).
Summary and Analysis
South Asian Americans have had a complex history of immigration, assimilation, and success in the United States. Studies on Asian Americans in higher education have only gained traction in the past decade. Recent studies on psychological well-being and 75 acculturation have provided new insights into this community. There is growing literature on spiritual identities and religious affiliation of students in higher education. However, more studies are needed on students with non-Christian spiritual identities. Sense of belonging is now being understood as an important factor for student success. Recent studies point to belonging as particularly beneficial for minoritized students. While Asian
Americans as an aggregate are largely seen as successful in college, much is unknown about how they experience a sense of belonging on campuses.
Research on South Asian Americans is severely lacking. Even more so, South
Asian Americans collegians, as it relates to their spiritual identities and sense of belonging, are fundamentally invisible in scholarship and discourse. The dearth has informed the nature of the study of this dissertation. To understand the sense of belonging of SAA college students who hold various spiritual identities, data collected in the study will be analyzed through the lenses of DesiCrit, the model on Asian American identity consciousness, and the model of belonging for privileged and minoiritized students. The next chapter discusses the methodology and procedures of the study.
76 Chapter 3: Methodology and Procedures
This study sought to explore how South Asian American (SAA) undergraduate students find belonging on college campuses. Secondly, this study looked to see how
SAA students make meaning of their spiritual identity while traversing a higher education institution. This study also aimed to unbury the struggles SAAs face as they make friends, learn from faculty members, and interact with staff members. The purpose of this chapter is to explain the methodology and procedures of the study. As an overview, this chapter details the four elements of the research paradigm of the study: epistemology, ontology, methodology, and axiology (Kivnuja & Kuyini, 2017). Creswell (2013) defined a research paradigm as a set of beliefs that guide action. Within the discussion of the research methods are descriptions of recruitment strategies, data collection, interview protocol, and data analysis of the qualitative study. Finally, this chapter will conclude with an explanation the role and positionality of me as the researcher.
Epistemological Stance
Epistemology is often used to describe how truth or reality is known (Kivnuja &
Kuyini, 2017). Meanwhile, Crotty (1998) describes epistemology as “the theory of knowledge imbedded in the theoretical and thereby in the methodology” (p. 3). The epistemological paradigm of interpretivism is about constructing meaning through social realities (Creswell, 2013). The central purpose of research in the interpretivist paradigm is to understand issues (Glesne, 2011). Answering the research question presented will be most effective by conducting interviews and drawing out themes. The qualitative 77 methods described here are often used through an interpretivist orientation (Crotty,
1998). Interpretivism allows for the capturing and understanding of multiple realities; this in turn acknowledges nuances and differing constructed realities. Furthermore, interpretivist studies honor the multiple realities that exist. Studies which employ interpretivism indicate it as a collective process. Furthermore, the belief that contextual factors should be considered in understanding the world is also a characteristic of interpretivist research (Kivnuja & Kuyini, 2017).
Secondly, as SAA college students remain an understudied group, especially in the realms of education and sociology, this study explored how SAA college students understand their experiences and how others may build up understanding of them.
Therefore, the epistemological positioning which best complements the purposes of this research study is interpretivism.
Methodological Rationale
This study looked to explore the experiences of SAA college students on college campuses. A qualitative research design was used in the study to draw rich narratives from the participants. Within the qualitative inquiry, the specific methodology used was phenomenology. The following subsections identifies why qualitative inquiry and phenomenology are appropriate methods for this study.
78 Rationale for Qualitative Inquiry
Qualitative inquiry is an appropriate means to conduct this study because exploring SAAs’ sense of belonging and navigation of identity intersections is a search for how participants find meaning in their lives as college students (Maxwell, 2013).
Since the epistemological stance is interpretivism, the interpretive nature of the study provides open opportunities for in-depth exploration (Creswell, 2013). Words such as exploration represents openness to enlightenment, which is a feature of qualitative inquiry (Jones, Torres, & Arminio, 2014). Students finding a place to belong in college is arguably a typical experience in a young adult’s life, and qualitative inquiry is the best mode used to study naturally occurring events in natural settings (Miles, Huberman, &
Saldaña, 2014). Since there has been virtually no research on SAA college students’ spiritual identities, and since the study aimed to uncover new phenomena, qualitative inquiry provided openness and flexibility for emergent themes. This presentation of emergent themes often has a profound richness, and has been shown to provide a vivid, powerful impact on readers (Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2014). These are several reasons why qualitative methods were chosen for this study.
Phenomenology
This study intended to understand South Asian Americans’ perceptions and experiences of a particular phenomenon – finding belonging in college. As such, the specific methodology used was phenomenology. Essentially, phenomenology is the study of experience (Henriksson & Friesen, 2012). Intentionality, relationality, and subjectivity 79 are all components of this methodology (Cibangu & Hepworth, 2016). Phenomenological methods emphasize how individuals perceive reality and experiences that are subjective in nature (Moustakas, 1994). Phenomenological studies are widely used to capture the essence of how participants individually make meaning of their reality. Within an interpretivist paradigm, phenomenological studies pursue the question “what is it like to have that experience?” (Kivnuja & Kuyini, 2017, p. 36). Seeing how the study aimed to understand sense of belonging for participants who identified as SAA and with a spiritual identity, phenomenology was used as a methodology to inform the interview protocol and coding schemes as well.
While rich descriptions of lived experiences (Moustakas, 1994) is an important component of phenomenology, the phenomenological approach historically has been used to “discover and describe the meaning or essence of participants’ lived experiences, or knowledge as it appears to consciousness” (Hays & Singh, 2014, p. 50). This connects to ontology, or the understanding of what is (Kivnuja & Kuyini, 2017). Finding the
“essence” of a phenomenon helps explain the kinds of things that actually exist. Jones and colleagues (2014) describe ontology as assumptions about the nature or structure of reality.
Phenomenology is complex, and there are several branches used for different purposes of research. Constitutive phenomenology emphasizes the idea that “lifeworld and consciousness interact with and influence one another, and are thus mutually and originally constituted through a variety of forces (e.g., culture, organization, economy, person, technology, art)” (Cibangu & Hepworth, 2016, p. 151). Transcendental 80 phenomenology refers to understanding the true essence of a phenomenon (Creswell,
2013). This can be purely descriptive.
The purpose of this study is to interpret the lived experiences of the participants; therefore, the branch of phenomenology which most closely aligns with the study would be hermeneutical phenomenology (Jones et al., 2014). Whereas transcendental phenomenology is purely descriptive, hermeneutical phenomenology is interpretive.
Hermeneutics is “the art and science of interpretation and thus also of meaning”
(Henriksson & Friesen, 2012, p. 1). Using hermeneutical phenomenology relies on the openness to everyday realities and actual experiences rather than theoretical ones.
Drawing rich narratives from participants and their lived experiences, using open-ended and semi-structured interview questions rather than leading questions, is part of hermeneutics. Fundamentally, it is not about finding objective truth, but rather meaning.
Finding the essence of being South Asian American in college is difficult no matter the epistemology or methodology used. However, hermeneutic phenomenology emphasizes the beauty of participants’ individual narration of their respective lives and the inquiry into meanings of experiences. Building understanding of SAA collegians with spiritual identities and how they traverse a college campus requires research that taps into collecting anecdotes, narratives, and experiences. Thus, the hermeneutic tradition of phenomenology fits best with this inquiry.
81 Research Questions
The review of current literature on SAA students informed the research questions for this study. Before the methods of the study are discussed, to serve as a reminder, the primary research questions to guide this study include:
(1) In what ways do SAA college students navigate the intersections of their SAA
identity with their spiritual identity?
(2) How do SAA college students experience a sense of belonging in college?
Research Methods
This section presents the logistics of the research study. Included are a description of the research design, the sample chosen for the study, how the data were collected, and how the collected data were analyzed.
Summary of Research Design
The research design parallels a pilot study that I conducted in fall 2016 on a similar topic. In that study, focusing on SAA Christian college students, five participants were interviewed to understand how they experience a sense of belonging at a large, public research institution. Findings from that study guided how this study was to be designed. Using a multiple-case hermeneutical phenomenological approach, this study was designed to recruit participants in a purposeful manner and provide an opportunity for them to share in-depth experiences about how they find belonging on a particular
82 college campus and how they navigate the intersections of their cultural and spiritual identities.
Research Setting
According to Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña (2014), a research study should be bound by a case, or a particular population of focus. For this study, the case is South
Asian American college students with a spiritual orientation. The research setting is where the data is collected. Participants, college students in this case, are asked about their experiences within the context of this specific research setting. Additionally, a research setting is chosen with certain parameters. Limits to time and resources, along with ease of recruitment and researcher’s knowledge of the setting, were all factors in setting boundaries on the research setting.
The setting of the research was The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), a large, public, research higher education institution located in the southern region of the
United States. As the flagship institution of the state of Texas, UT Austin is often listed as one of the country’s highest-ranking public institutions of higher education. Several of
UT Austin’s academic programs are listed in the top ten nationally (The University of
Texas at Austin, 2018). According to the institution’s website, the fall 2018 total student enrollment was 51,832; of that, 40,804 were undergraduates.
UT Austin was chosen as the site of this study for multiple reasons. First, compared to other institutions, especially in the South, UT Austin has a high enrollment of students who identify as Asian American. 19% of students were Asian American,
83 while 41.1% identified as White (The University of Texas at Austin, 2018). This critical mass of students (Hurtado & Carter, 1997) could have allowed for students to present and perform identities in a more visible way than at institutions with smaller Asian American populations. It is important to note, however, that UT Austin’s racial demographic data is not disaggregated by specific ethnic groups, so a precise number of South Asian
American college students at UT Austin cannot be reported.
Nevertheless, UT Austin’s vibrant SAA student community can be identified by the number of SAA-affiliated student organizations. A search for South Asian on UT
Austin’s student organization database, called HornsLink, yielded a list of 42 university- sponsored groups in 2018. Texas is the state with the fourth-largest South Asian
American population after California, New York, and New Jersey (SAALT, 2012).
Furthermore, Houston and Dallas, as urban areas, have significant numbers of South
Asians. For Bhutanese and Pakistani Americans, Houston serves as the second-largest enclave in the country for those respective South Asian groups. With large concentrations of SAAs in the state, it is natural for those urban centers to yield a high volume of SAA students to UT Austin.
Sample Selection and Recruitment
Recruiting and selecting a sample with intentionality is an important procedure in a qualitative study. Before recruitment can start, I identified potential participants with specific qualifiers, also known as criterion sampling (Patton, 2002). Criterion sampling is used to set up boundaries to provide clear and strict guidelines on who is included. In this
84 case, the sampling frame was bound by identities and classification. Specifically, I sought participants who met the following requirements:
1. Self-identified as South Asian American
2. Affiliated with a spiritual or faith identity
3. Self-identified as a 1.5 or second generation South Asian American
4. Enrolled as full-time undergraduate student at The University of Texas at
Austin
5. Classified as a current sophomore, junior, or senior
First-year students were not recruited because the data to be collected asked participants to reflect on their time in college and sense of belonging, and thereby it was presumed that having at least one full-year of college experience would allow for more in-depth reflection.
Qualitative research usually allows for a small number of participants, as opposed to quantitative research. This is because of the preservation of individuality and understanding of contextual factors within qualitative inquiry (Maxwell, 2013). For this study, the yield was 12 participants, which is in line with phenomenological studies
(Creswell, 2013). A recruitment plan was necessary to get maximum variation in this sample. I strived to include diverse genders, majors, hometowns, and spiritual identities.
To recruit for maximum variation, purposeful sampling was employed (Maxwell, 2013).
This allowed for targeted solicitation of participation in the study. First, I contacted student leaders of various SAA-affiliated spiritual organizations to share my study and recruit participants. My next step was to publicize the study through social networking 85 sites, fliers, and communication with student affairs administrators. Students who are interested in participating in the study were then able to complete a demographic survey
(see Appendix B) to be potentially selected as a participant. Once a few participants were selected, snowball sampling strategies were used by allowing those initial participants to identify and nominate additional participants (Patton, 2002).
Data Collection
After participant selection, data collection was the next step of the study. Data to explore sense of belonging and identity intersections in SAA college students can be gathered in multiple ways. This section provides a discussion of the specific instruments used in this study and procedures for collecting the data.
Instruments. As stated in the sample selection and recruitment section, all students interested in participating in the study were first given a web link to an online form which served as the demographic survey (see Appendix B). This pre-interview form allowed me, as the researcher, to acknowledge interest as well as identify potential participants for the study. The responses in the demographic survey are self-reported by the interested students. Examples of information gathered in the survey included generational status, major, spiritual or religious affiliation, and country of ancestral origin. This was an initial instrument for data collection.
Secondly, much of the data collected were from individual semi-structured interviews. Patton (2002) articulated that interviewing is an effective technique for qualitative inquiry. Interviews provide the ability to collect meaningful data while
86 allowing participants to reflect on experiences (Holstein & Gubrium, 1995). Essentially, interviews allow the researcher to excavate for unique stories, varied insights, and multiple perspectives. Aligned with hermeneutical phenomenology, the interview protocol (see Appendix D) was designed with broad questions to stimulate rich discussion and gather deep experiences (Moustakas, 1994). Each participant was interviewed twice over the course of one month. Each interview lasted approximately one hour. The first interview was composed of questions to build rapport, establish trust, reflect on participants’ upbringing, and share their understanding of identities. The second interview engaged participants to discuss the intersections of their cultural and spiritual identities, describe how that intersection plays out on campus, and provide ideas for further support.
A third instrument used was photovoice. It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. To further engage participants in the study and stimulate rich conversation in the second interview, participants were asked to take two pictures that:
(1) depicts a space on campus they feel belonging; and (2) a space on or off campus where their spiritual and cultural identities are explored together. These prompts, and subsequent discussion between researcher and participant, were methods of data collection called photovoice (Pink, 2001). Photovoice is an affirmative research technique which facilitates participant engagement in the research. They become the co- creators of the knowledge. Pink (2001) acknowledged that photovoice technique is reflexive and subjective, which aligns with both qualitative inquiry and phenomenological methodology. Participants will be allowed to interpret their picture in 87 their own way, and thus, meaning is produced in context of social and cultural frameworks. Pairing narrative with photographs assists participants describe their experiences in a richer way. Harper (2002) noted that photovoice furthers the narrative as images prompt a deeper reflection on experiences. A limitation to photovoice technique is minding to consent and privacy issues; if the photos used are published to support findings, participants asked for permission and consent before photographing others, and as the researcher, I was mindful of redacting and censoring images to protect privacy of individuals.
Lastly, in concluding the second interview, participants were asked to write a quick journal entry to reflect on their identities as a college student and summarize their feelings of being part of the study. This was used to allow participants who are more comfortable in written voice to express themselves that way. The journal entries were collected and used as data.
Procedures. While recruiting for participants, a recruitment letter was sent to students as well as campus administrators to invite participation. Within the letter was a web link to the demographic survey online. The goal was to get approximately 20 students to complete the survey. Next, 12 total participants were selected, making up a
“cohort” of students with maximum variation in spiritual identity, gender, South Asian linguistic tradition, and major. These students received communication to schedule an initial one-hour interview. All the interviews were conducted in a public location with a semi-private space. Third, selected participants were asked to read and acknowledge the
88 research study’s consent form (see Appendix C). The two one-hour interviews were digitally recorded using a voice recorder.
Fourth, the first interviews commenced. Patton (2002) affirmed that the more in- depth interviews go, the quality of data goes up. Semi-structured interviews describe that an interview protocol with certain questions or topical areas are prepared, but the researcher, as well as the participant, can carry the conversation in different, but related, ways. With semi-structured open-ended interviews, interpretation occurs along the way, and it was presumed that participants would go into depth in areas they are more passionate about discussing. This flexibility is a key feature of semi-structured interviews. As stated, building rapport and trust was the purpose of the first interview.
After the first interview ended, I asked participants to schedule the second interview at least one week out from the first interview. Phenomenological approach highlighted the need for longitudinal interviewing for reflection and understanding of a phenomenon. Furthermore, Seidman (as cited in Hays & Singh, 2014) indicated a desirability for a two- or three-stage phenomenological interview process for proper data saturation. During this time, participants were asked to take pictures using their own phone or other hand-held device that depicts or symbolizes how they navigate their cultural and spiritual identities on campus. Specifically, they were asked to take pictures responding to these prompts: (1) photograph a setting where you feel safe and like you belong; and (2) photograph a setting where your cultural and spiritual identities are explored together. Participants were then directed to email the pictures to me.
89 After about 7-10 days, a second interview was conducted with each of the 12 participants to dig deeper in relationship-building and reflection. The second interview started with a discussion of the picture the participant took and then launched into how the participants navigate their identities on campus. The semi-structured second interview led into a discussion of policies and practices which supported their identities. Following this, the participants were asked to produce a short journal entry, approximately two paragraphs, to reflect on their identities and their experience as a participant in the study.
The audio files were all saved in an electronic file on UT Austin’s Cloud
Platform, UT Box. The files on UT Box are highly secure; they are password-protected and encrypted. The audio files were then fully transcribed. The interview transcriptions were also uploaded to a separate file on UT Box. In order to maintain anonymity using photovoice technique, the emailed pictures were saved under the participant’s pseudonym in another electronic file in UT Box. Emails were deleted. Typed journal entries were saved as a document file and uploaded in a file on UT Box. A total of five electronic files were associated with this study’s data: (1) demographic survey entries; (2) first interview transcripts; (3) second interview transcripts; (4) photos used in photovoice techniques; and (5) journal entries.
Data Processing and Analysis
Collected data included interviews, photos, and journal entries from participants in the study who engaged in exploring their sense of belonging and identity intersections as SAA college students. The interview transcriptions and journal entries were analyzed
90 in many ways to draw out findings. While other forms of qualitative methods have procedural steps for analysis, phenomenology does not have a common set of steps for data analysis. Therefore, much of the analysis in this study was inspired by writings of
Moustakas (1994), Creswell (2013), Maxwell (2013), and Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña
(2014). The following sections on analysis procedures, trustworthiness, study limitations detail the analysis and related considerations of the study.
Analysis Procedures
The start of data analysis commenced simultaneously with data collection. During the digitally recorded interviews, I completed analytic memos concurrently as a way to take notes of how participants respond to the questions as well as my own summaries of responses (Creswell, 2013; Saldaña, 2016). These memos served in the initial method of understanding the data, as I began to build relationships between ideas the participants shared within their own interview as well as between interviews. After transcribing all interviews, the transcriptions were first fully read and reviewed (Maxwell, 2013).
Bracketing, or making comments in the margins of transcriptions using my own judgments on what was being said, was completed during transcription review
(Moustakas, 1994).
Condensing the large amount of data was the next step of the analysis. Data condensation is described as “selecting, focusing, simplifying, abstracting, and/or transforming the data that appear in the full corpus of written-up field notes, interview
91 transcripts” (Miles et al., 2014, p. 12). For this study, and for many qualitative studies, this transformation was presented as codes.
This study identified themes through both inductive and deductive analysis.
Deductive analysis starts by developing a list of codes first and then assigning sections of data to a code (Miles et al., 2014). This pre-determined list of codes is inspired by the research questions, conceptual frameworks, and factors important to studying the topic.
In this study, words such as “belonging,” “identity,” and “relationships” will all be used as initial codes. On the other hand, inductive analysis is a process by which emergent themes are considered. This is an important process to data analysis as it allows openness and flexibility for participants to bring up novel ideas not earlier considered by the researcher (Miles et al., 2014). Inductive analysis is especially significant in this study because there was a lack of existing research on SAA college students, especially as it related to their spiritual identity. As a researcher, I wanted to be especially cognizant and open to uncovering new ideas, themes, and relationships. For this study, a combination of both deductive and inductive analysis was used.
Coding is an iterative process (Saldaña, 2016). After the first reading of transcriptions and journal entries, first-cycle coding commenced. First-cycle coding is about reviewing portions of data with the intention to discover and detect reoccurring patterns of those portions (Saldaña, 2016). While there are several effective approaches to coding qualitative data, In Vivo coding (Miles et al., 2014) was used as a primary way of coding during the first cycle because it used participants’ own language. Specifically, In
Vivo coding uses words or short phrases pulled directly from interview transcription and 92 journal entries. In doing so, In Vivo coding aimed to preserve words and phrases in a group’s cultural categories, in this case specific to the SAA community. This process honored the voices of the participants, especially since this study valued interpretivism as an epistemological stance. A second approach to coding used in this study was process coding (Miles et al., 2014). Using verbs as codes to note observable or conceptual action, process coding was used in this study to code actions participants took to experience sense of belonging and navigate the intersections of their identities.
After first-cycle coding, second-cycle coding was used as a way of meta-coding by bridging meaning, connections, and relationships among the initial codes. Pattern- coding was used as a second-cycle coding process to deduce the initial codes into similar themes and constructs (Miles et al., 2014). On top of simplifying codes into a smaller number of codes, pattern-coding also assisted with understanding emergent themes.
Coding was completed using Dedoose. Dedoose is a web-based coding and data analysis software program used for qualitative and mixed-methods studies; this program was used extensively in this study for line-by-line coding. As codes emerged, a codebook was developed to keep track of codes, as well as serve as an organizational technique when reviewing additional transcriptions and journal entries. From here, a data display was designed to showcase information in an organized way which led to conclusions and action (Miles et al., 2014).
A third cycle of coding was completed using the analytical and conceptual frameworks of this study. Using the model of Asian American identity consciousness
(Accapadi, 2012), and the model of belonging for privileged and minoritized students 93 (Vaccaro & Newman, 2016), pattern codes from second-cycle coding were aligned to extenuate relationships with the conceptual models. This was done to solidify the rationale for using the frameworks in the first place, and connecting codes to the models was necessary to determine gaps within the frameworks themselves.
For this study, pattern-coding and connecting codes to the conceptual frameworks eventually helped with the development of a cognitive model to display themes and their interactions with each other. Member checking was also used as a technique to allow participants to see pattern codes and themes before they finalized in a cognitive map
(Maxwell, 2013). Member checking is described in detail in the next section under validity.
Separately, as part of the analysis, I wrote up a narrative describing each participant. These vignettes are provided in detail in chapter four. The purpose of these vignettes was to provide a snapshot of the participants, their family background, why they attended UT, and how, in general terms, they see themselves experiencing college.
Chapter four will provide context before discussing the findings in detail in chapter five.
Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness is a vital consideration for any study to ensure that it was completed systematically and ethically. Specifically, Miles and colleagues (2014) noted that privacy, confidentiality, and anonymity are important factors in establishing trustworthiness. Specific notes on how these factors are protected was noted in the research proposal presented to the Institutional Review Board (IRB). Privacy is
94 protecting control over others’ access to information. In this study, only I, as the researcher, held access to the recorded data (demographic information, interview transcripts, photos, and journal entries). These were all stored in UT Austin’s password- protected cloud platform, as stated earlier. Confidentiality is about what will be done with the data. In this case, confidentiality is promised through the recruitment and consent verbiage provided by me to the participants; the consent form detailed the benefits and risks, along with the purpose, of the study. The data were used to identify themes, with direct quotes used to emphasize those themes. Direct quotes that are presented did not compromise confidentiality of the study, the researcher, nor the participants.
Anonymity is a practice to deidentify participants and keep information that connects participants with their data from anyone else. In this study, pseudonyms were used to maintain anonymity of the participants. These pseudonyms were selected by me and used for file naming and storage, along with references in this dissertation. Beyond these measures, additional strategies to uphold trustworthiness and validity, including data triangulation, limiting bias, and reflexivity are discussed in the next section as these topics more closely align with my positionality statement.
Limitations of the Study
This section will address limitations of the study. Specifically, it will list limitations given the way the actual study was completed, not necessarily about the type of research or about the population. As a qualitative study, this inquiry does not pose to generalize findings to a larger population. Moreover, this study used purposive sampling;
95 each participant was carefully chosen and thus, the sample does not represent SAA students at large. As a hermeneutic phenomenological study based in interpretivism, the study aimed to uncover how participants find belonging at the institution while navigating their cultural and spiritual identities.
One limitation of the study was connected to the way purposive recruitment was used to gather participants. I sought out spiritual and faith-based SAA student organizations at UT Austin for participants. Specifically, I aimed to contact presidents or other officers of these organizations to share my recruitment flier. Inherently, this meant that participants were already involved in at least one student organization. Furthermore, students who self-selected to participate may have been the most outgoing or involved of the students in the organization. SAA students with a spiritual identity who are not involved in a spiritual organization may be overlooked. Similarly, selection bias, in using both purposive and snowball sampling, may have prohibited certain students from participating. To address this, I posted fliers in public areas and shared it with administrators on campus, on top of sending recruitment materials exclusively through student organizations.
Secondly, this study asked that participants affiliate with a spiritual or faith identity. This meant that SAA students who self-identify as atheist or agnostic would be invisible in the study. Certainly, future studies should include atheist and agnostic SAA students and their sense of belonging. In a similar vein, I strived for maximum variation in spiritual identities within the sample. However, I know access and communication would provide for easier recruitment of certain spiritual identities versus others. In certain 96 cases, there are simply more SAAs identifying with one spirituality over others, and this influences recruitment.
A third set of limitations ties into logistics of the study. Part of data collection involved participants use time outside of interviews – and my presence – to take photos on their personal phone or other handheld device and email it to me. While I aimed to provide clear instructions on taking the pictures, the format, and how to send photos to me, much of the photovoice project relied on participants’ own inspiration and creativity at work. I was available to respond to questions about the photovoice project, but foresaw the project being confusing as it was unlikely the participants had completed this before.
Finally, interviews for qualitative studies, especially in phenomenology, occur over time.
In discussing logistics, another limitation was keeping all participants engaged and active to participate in all portions of the data collection process without attrition, or loss of participants. Thankfully, there was no attrition in this study.
Researcher’s Positionality and Validity
Axiology is an essential element of a research paradigm and it refers to considering the ethics and validity of a research study (Kivnuja & Kuyini, 2017). This section addresses the axiology of this study on SAA collegians with a spiritual identity.
Namely, I explain my positionality, my access to the sample, the bias associated with the study, and validity of the research design.
97 “Me”-search
I am a South Asian American. I also identify with a spiritual tradition. I was born in the United States to two immigrants from India. At 18, I had the opportunity to leave home and attend The University of Texas at Austin, the very site of this study. Through my experience in college, I became aware of the importance of belonging in my new home away from home. I became interested in serving as a student leader, first as an academic tutor and then as a resident assistant, to assist forthcoming students in finding belonging. I was especially drawn to SAA students as, at the time, we did not have mentors who looked like us. This is all to say that conducting this inquiry was not only significant in providing new snapshots of SAAs in college and adding to the void in the higher education literature, it was also personally significant to me and a way of conducting “me”-search. In doing so, conducting this study was a liberating process, unearthing thoughts and experiences I had as a college student that at times I shared with the participants of the study.
Access
In an effort to be fully transparent, I worked at The University of Texas at Austin as a student affairs administrator while conducting this study. I have mentored students who identify as SAA, and I have served as the primary advisor for a SAA faith-based organization for four years prior to dissertation publication. This establishes credibility for the study two-fold – students who know me were likely to participate and students who knew about my role as a researcher would have found the study reputable. This 98 relationship with students provided and facilitated access into the SAA student community.
Validity
One caveat of qualitative inquiry is that it is impossible to completely eliminate the researcher’s beliefs and perceptions (Maxwell, 2013). As a SAA personally knowledgeable about the constructs explored, such as SAA identity and belonging, I may have selected data that stood out based on my positionality and role (Maxwell, 2013).
While this can be interpreted as bias, it also presents an argument for authenticity of the study. At times, I revisited experiences or even trauma – either expectedly or unexpectedly – and this in turn made the findings significant. While acknowledging this,
I also aimed to improve objectivity by keeping my story private to the participants and strived to amplify their voices and not my own.
Trustworthiness, access, and bias are discussed to showcase the validity, and in this section, I will explain further steps to solidify integrity of the study. On top of establishing credibility from an access standpoint, I did so by personally conducting each interview. I also maintained privacy by handling the data myself. Triangulation was also a feature of data processing and analysis. Triangulation is a strategy using a variety of methods to discover findings; it reduces risk of chance associations and systemic biases
(Maxwell, 2013). Part of triangulation of this study’s data involved comparing my memos with the interview transcripts. Secondly, leveraging the intensive, long-term involvement of the participants, and my relationship with them, participants were given
99 the opportunity to review their vignettes and provide reflections in a journal entry. This particular strategy is called member checking, and the advantages include having participants verify interpretations and identify potential anonymity problems (Miles et al.,
2014). Additionally, member checks can improve objectivity and decrease researcher- related biases.
Reflexivity
Member checking is also a response to considering reflexivity in the study. As a researcher, I am part of the world I am studying (Maxwell, 2013). This is especially true given my shared identities with the participants along with being a student who experienced college life at the university which served as the site of this study.
Undoubtedly, many points of personal nostalgia and reflection wove into the research.
Reflexivity is shown in this study as two facets: (1) identifying with experiences shared with the participants on the phenomenon at hand and (2) interpreting data collected and exploring subsequent findings.
Summary
This chapter provided an overview of the methodological plan of the study. The chapter described the phenomenological and qualitiatve nature of the study and discussed how the sample was selected. The discussion then followed with instruments for data collection, including interview transcripts, photos, and journals. Data analysis procedures included pattern coding and allowance of emergent themes. Next, trustworthiness and
100 limitations of the study were detailed. Finally, this chapter addressed the researcher’s positionality and validity. The next chapter provides an overview of the participants of the study.
101 Chapter 4: Overview of the Participants
12 UT Austin college students participated in the study. Before the findings of the study are presented, this chapter will first list a table (Table 4.1) displaying demographics of the participants and later share vignettes of all the participants to provide context.
Spiritual South Asian 1 Gender Generation Classification Field of Study Name Identity Languages
1 Aishwarya Woman Hindu 2 Telugu Sophomore Liberal Arts Zoroastrian/ 2 Ajay Man 2 Gujarati Sophomore Engineering Hindu 3 Darshan Man Hindu 2 Bengali Junior Engineering
4 Faiza Woman Muslim 2 Urdu Senior Liberal Arts
5 Jamal Man Muslim 2 Gujarati Sophomore Engineering Natural 6 Jaya Woman Hindu 2.5 None Junior Sciences 7 Matthew Man Christian 1.5 Kannada Senior Engineering Natural 8 Pooja Woman Sikh/Hindu 2 Hindi Sophomore Sciences Natural 9 Rebekah Woman Christian 1.5 Telugu Junior Sciences 10 Sherin Woman Christian 2 Malayalam Junior Liberal Arts Punjabi, 11 Simran Woman Sikh/Hindu 1.5 Sophomore Liberal Arts Hindi Natural 12 Zayn Man Muslim 2 Urdu Junior Sciences
Table 4.1. Participant Demographics
Out of the 12 participants, two-thirds held majors in the science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) fields. The remaining one-third of participants held majors
1 All names listed are pseudonyms. 102 in the liberal arts college. Although the demographic questionnaire allowed for participants to identify with many genders, five men and seven women comprised the entire sample. In terms of spiritual affiliation, nine participants affiliated with one spirituality or religious tradition; three identified with multiple affiliations. In regard to generational status, eight of the participants identified as second-generation South Asian
American, three identified as 1.5 generation, and one identified as 2.5 generation. Apart from English, participants spoke various other South Asian languages which represent distinct regions of South Asia.
Aishwarya
Aishwarya was a sophomore studying liberal arts. Originally from a major Texas city, Aishwarya identified as a second-generation South Asian American. Her parents emigrated from southern India. She grew up Hindu and continues to practice the faith.
Although she was born and raised in the United States, Aishwarya described her childhood upbringing as essentially Indian in nearly every way. “It was Indian food every day,” Aishwarya stated when asked what kind of food was prepared in her house growing up. Aishwarya spoke her mother tongue, Telugu, at home with her family every day, and even learned that language before English.
Religion was an integral part of Aishwarya’s home growing up. Her family would take her to the Hindu temple in her hometown fairly regularly for prayers and devotions.
She also has a prayer room - called a “puja” room - in her house where prayers were also regularly offered. While she enjoyed practicing her faith during her childhood,
103 Aishwarya relayed a newer fascination with the mythology and literature of Hindu scriptures. This inspired her to join the Hindu Students Association (HSA) in college.
Education was highly prioritized in Aishwarya’s childhood. Her parents emphasized that education should be Aishwarya’s primary focus in this college-stage of life. Praising her family, especially her mother, for being emotionally supportive of her academics, Aishwarya shared a story of how her mother stayed up all night to give
Aishwarya company while she was studying for an exam. When choosing a college,
Aishwarya looked primarily at Texas schools so she could be physically close to home.
In the future, Aishwarya hopes to attend medical school or pursue a doctoral degree.
Ajay
Ajay was a sophomore, majoring in engineering. Originally from a major Texas city, Ajay identified as a second-generation South Asian American. Ajay comes from a multi-religious household and upbringing. His father was born and raised in India, to a
Hindu family. Ajay’s mother was born into and raised in a Parsi family, and she practiced
Zoroastrianism, one of the world’s oldest religions.
Ajay shared that his parents brought him up to follow both faiths - Hinduism and
Zoroastrianism. The primary language spoken in Ajay’s household growing up was
Gujarati, which was his mother’s primary language. Gujarati was also the language spoken by Ajay’s babysitter growing up, someone Ajay credits as having an influential part in his upbringing as well.
104 In his childhood, Ajay recalled observing different traditions in association with the two faiths represented in his house. For example, he participated in a Bengali Hindu thread ceremony and a year later, a Zoroastrian thread ceremony. Ajay shared that relatives and friends on either side showed some contention growing up and hesitated to acknowledge the other side. While he remembered being more spiritual as a child, Ajay discussed that part of his identity has become less salient. In college, Ajay spends most of his time with fellow students from his hometown or from his major. He aspires to one day become an engineer or a doctor.
Darshan
Darshan was a junior, studying engineering. Darshan spent most of his upbringing in a large Texas city. He identified as a second-generation South Asian American. Both of his parents come from the eastern part of India and were born and raised in Calcutta.
Both parents speak Bengali and were raised Hindu, although Darshan noted that his mother attended a Catholic school, which played an important role in her socialization.
Both of Darshan’s parents were highly educated. His father completed two master’s degrees and a doctorate in engineering. His mother received a master’s degree in biology. Both parents started their higher education in India and completed it in the
United States. Darshan and his younger sister were both encouraged to pursue hobbies and talents, and Darshan was involved in tennis, choir, and dance from an early age.
Today, Darshan speaks Bengali and practices Hinduism. He was taught to meditate and incorporate mindfulness into his daily life. When something good happened
105 in his life, his parents guided him to be grateful to God for the blessings. Education was integral to Darshan’s upbringing, his parents “made [him] test for the GT program,” and he opted into the highest academic level of every class in high school. Darshan chose to attend UT Austin because of the notable engineering programs. From a cultural standpoint, Darshan is heavily involved with a dance group on campus.
Faiza
Faiza was a senior, majoring in liberal arts. Originally from a major Texas city,
Faiza identified as a second-generation South Asian American. Faiza identifies as an
Ismaili, and Ismailism is a branch of Shia Islam.
Both of Faiza’s parents were originally from Pakistan. They were educated well and emphasized making the most of every opportunity. This played out by Faiza participating in many extracurricular activities growing up, including basketball, volleyball, soccer, and voice lessons. Faiza also spent part of her childhood with her grandparents living with her, which added many cultural influences into her upbringing.
For example, Faiza learned the Urdu language through them, and after they were no longer living with the family, Faiza noticed how her younger sister was less quick to grasp the language.
Faith was an important part of Faiza’s upbringing. She and her family regularly attended the local house of worship, called Jamatkhana. As it related to education,
Faiza’s parents emphasized prayer and seeking God’s blessings before the first day of school and final exams. In fact, Faiza even shared a habit of praying over blank scantrons
106 before starting multiple-choice exams. Faiza ended up applying to 12 higher education institutions around the country, including Ivy League and liberal arts schools. Eventually, she settled for UT Austin after the highest and most prominent leader of Ismailism formed an agreement with the Islamic Studies department at UT. At UT Austin, Faiza is involved with the Ismaili Muslim Students Association. Feeling as though her Muslim identity is misunderstood or misinterpreted, she has gone through training on how to best
“articulate” her faith to others.
Jamal
Jamal was a sophomore, majoring in engineering. Unlike the other participants in this study, Jamal was from a small town, and not from one of the urban areas. He recalled his family loading up in the car and taking road trips to the city a few times a year to get their cultural fix. In the city, they would buy Indian clothing and groceries, eat at Indian restaurants, and occasionally watch Bollywood movies. Like Faiza’s family, Jamal’s family was also Ismaili Muslim.
Jamal’s parents were from India, and he learned the regional Gujarati language at home, along with English. Up until 2016, Jamal’s grandmother lived with them in
America. She would teach Jamal their native language, and it is through her that Jamal learned about customs and traditions. With Jamal’s grandmother around, Jamal remembered getting satellite channels from India so his grandmother felt more at home.
Through these channels, Jamal was introduced to aspects of South Asian culture as well.
107 Always playing with wires and disassembling electronics, Jamal was keen on studying engineering in college. He applied to many top-ranked schools, including MIT.
After an older cousin told him about his experience at UT Austin, Jamal was encouraged to apply. At first, Jamal was overwhelmed by the size of UT Austin, given his upbringing in a small town. Jamal shared that he is not involved with the South Asian community at
UT Austin in general, but he does participate in the student organization for Ismaili
Muslims, which he regards as his inner circle. He shared that this community offered him a place to be Texan, Indian, and Muslim all at once.
Jaya
Jaya was a junior, studying natural sciences. Unlike other participants in the study, Jaya identified as a 2.5 generation South Asian American. She explained that her parents were children when they immigrated to the United States, and since they identified as 1.5 generation, she felt exactly one generation removed. Jaya was born and raised in a major Texas city and was brought up in a Hindu household. Her grandparents were the first to immigrate to the United States, coming from southern India, where they speak Telugu. However, Jaya relayed that she does not know any South Asian languages.
Although both of Jaya’s parents are Hindu, she explained that her father displayed less religiosity than her mother and grandparents (her mother’s parents). Meanwhile,
Jaya’s grandparents would offer daily pujas – or prayers – at home. While she was interested in the philosophy of Hinduism, Jaya recalled pushing back when her mother
108 forced her to go to the Hindu temple regularly. “Hinduism is a religion that allows for a wide variety of methods and ways to practice it that are all still equally valid,” she shared.
Jaya discussed that she was brought up to think that UT Austin was a “safety school” and that she should yearn to go to a highly-ranked or ivy-league school. Upon deciding she wanted to pursue science, she felt UT Austin’s science program was notable and applied. Knowing she would be surrounded by South Asians in her academic program, Jaya has decided to not participate in South Asian-affiliated student organizations. Instead, she became involved in student activism.
Matthew
Matthew was a senior, studying engineering. Originally from southern India,
Matthew immigrated to the United States in early adolescence and considered himself a
1.5 generation American. Matthew identified as Christian, and both his parents were brought up in a Christian household in India. Matthew’s uncle - his father’s older brother
- had previously established himself in a major Texas city and filed visa requirements for
Matthew’s family to also come here.
Matthew’s grandfather was a pastor in India, and attending church activities was a regular part of Matthew’s upbringing, which also included Sunday School and Bible camps. When he and his family first came to the United States, they first attended, and continue to attend, a Methodist church near their apartment complex.
Matthew’s family instilled in him the power of education and the importance of education being a vehicle for social mobility. However, unlike other participants in this
109 study, being an immigrant meant Matthew had less access to resources that were commonplace for second-generation South Asian Americans. For example, Matthew knew about SAT preparation courses, but he knew his family could not afford them.
Because he did not want to burden his working-class family with the expense of these courses, Matthew self-prepared for the SATs.
When considering colleges, Matthew mistook Cockrell School of Engineering at
UT Austin as Cornell University and applied right away. He only found out later that the
Cockrell School was part of UT Austin, but heard about the reputable rankings of the school and stayed. Apart from his academics, Matthew is involved with UT Austin’s
South Asian Christian student organization. He knew he wanted to participate in both cultural and spiritual organizations on campus and was relieved to see an organization that explored both identities together.
Pooja
Pooja was a sophomore, studying natural sciences. Originally from a major Texas city, she identified as a second-generation South Asian American. Like a couple of other participants, Pooja was raised in a multi-religious household. Her father identifies as
Sikh, and her mother identifies as Hindu. Pooja recalled that her mother was vegetarian and her father ate meat, although he recently became a vegetarian himself. Pooja’s parents were highly educated. Her father earned an MBA and her mother earned a master’s degree in physics, so academics were a priority.
110 Pooja’s grandparents – her father’s parents – were around during her upbringing.
As such, she was taken to the Sikh temple – or the Gurdwara – regularly. Growing up,
Pooja recalled that she was one of the few South Asian Americans in a largely White school. She remembered one time opening up her lunchbox at school with a Desi meal packed for her by her mother, and her classmates complained of the smell. On another occasion, Pooja came to school with henna on her hands, and teachers remarked that she needed to “wash the marker off her hands.” These experiences of cultural insensitivity made a mark on her understanding of her cultural identity.
Pooja chose to attend UT Austin for its reputable science program. She also had many friends who attended the University. While in college, Pooja became involved with the Sikh Students Association, where she was able to learn more about the Sikh faith, while also championing initiatives and programs about Sikhism to an external audience.
One of her favorite programs is “Tie a Turban Day,” where the Sikh Students Association teach UT Austin students how to tie a turban in an effort to increase cultural and religious awareness.
Rebekah
Rebekah was a junior, studying natural sciences. Born in Andhra Pradesh in southern India, Rebekah’s family moved to the United States when she was one year old.
She grew up in an urban environment and identified as a 1.5 generation South Asian
American. Rebekah’s father was a software engineer and was recruited to the United
States to help solve issues related to the Y2K crisis in 2000. Rebekah’s mother spent
111 most of Rebekah’s childhood as a homemaker, but she also worked at a Montessori school. Both of Rebekah’s parents are Christian, and her family attended a Baptist church
– the same church her family continued to attend while she was in college.
Although her family spoke Telugu, a regional language from southern India,
Rebekah described her childhood as disconnected from her cultural background. She described her parents as strict and conservative. Rebekah recalled several instances during adolescence when her friends were allowed to go out in the evenings and stay out, whereas Rebekah was not able to do so. Education was a top priority for Rebekah’s parents, who instilled the value of higher education to her and her younger sister.
Rebekah chose to attend UT Austin after a family friend told her about the social culture of the campus. Because Rebekah felt she was disconnected from her cultural heritage, she was keen to connect with this part of her identity in college. As a Christian, she was also committed to finding a community of South Asian Christians, and she spent much of her time outside of classes participating in a student organization at UT Austin where both identities were represented.
Sherin
Sherin was a junior, studying in liberal arts. Born in major Texas city, her family moved to the Dallas area when she was 9. Sherin identified as a second-generation South
Asian American. Sherin’s familial origins were from the southern Indian state of Kerala; her mother speaks fluent Malayalam, but her father had less of a handle of the language.
Although they were from different sects, both of Sherin’s parents were Christian. One of
112 Sherin’s younger brothers is on the autism spectrum, and her mother was called to teach in special education.
Sherin’s connection to her culture was solidified by her grandparents, who spent time with her during childhood. They would frequently cook Desi food and watch Indian satellite television at home. Sherin’s grandparents were also religious. They instilled in
Sherin a deep appreciation for prayer. Sherin recalled that prayer was an essential part of her daily life, praying multiple times a day, including before meals and driving anywhere.
Education was a topic of conversation nearly every day of Sherin’s childhood.
She recalled daily conversations at the breakfast table about her high school homework and grades. Her entire family was involved in making the decision to attend college and choose a major. While Sherin originally declared science as a major at UT Austin, she eventually switched to liberal arts. While her parents are “not jazzed about” her new major, Sherin has found passion in writing and telling stories. As an upperclassman,
Sherin became more involved activist communities at UT Austin.
Simran
Simran was a junior, double majoring in liberal arts. She was born in New Delhi and came to the United States at seven years old. Simran identified as a 1.5 generation
South Asian American. Simran came from a multi-religious household; her father was
Sikh and her mother was Hindu. Simran’s parents were relatively young when they got married. Her parents later divorced. Simran was the only South Asian American in her graduating class. In middle school, Simran was the object of teasing and bullying because
113 of her identity. She spoke about how she came to realize her South Asian identity only later in high school.
Simran applied to many Ivy League colleges, as encouraged by her family. She eventually chose to attend UT Austin because of course offerings in South Asian studies.
Simran’s mother had a psychology background, so she was inspired by her to pursue psychology as a degree. In college, Simran craved to be in a community where others spoke Hindi. She was engaged in both her Sikh and Hindu identities. She was heavily involved in both the Sikh Students Association and Hindu Students Association at UT
Austin. In doing so, she was able to compare the two organizations. Sikh Students
Association was described by Simran as more of a social and cultural hub with students who happened to have a shared religious identity. Meanwhile, Hindu Students
Association was illustrated as a much more structured space, where religion was central to the regular meetings. In summary, Simran spoke at length about her mission in building awareness and cultivating civility among religious groups.
Zayn
Zayn was a junior, studying in natural sciences. He identified as a second- generation South Asian American. Zayn came from a Muslim household, and his family was originally from Pakistan. Zayn’s family eventually settled in a suburb outside of a major Texas city. He described that his older brother is relatively fluent in Urdu, their family’s native language. However, Zayn can speak it less well.
114 Zayn’s upbringing was marked by an emphasis on Islam. His parents prayed five times a day, and attended masjid (or mosque) regularly. His parents also emphasized education. As an elementary and middle-schooler, Zayn’s parents enrolled him in Kumon classes for supplemental instruction after school. He was also involved with other hobbies, such as computers and athletics. All activities were endorsed by Zayn’s parents as they valued him learning new skills.
Zayn described that he was always fascinated with solving puzzles and was intrigued about the complexity of fixing problems from an early age. After attending a private high school, he wanted to attend an Ivy League college. Zayn believed he was never a victim of Islamophobia growing up, and furthermore, explained that he had not experienced hateful jokes at UT Austin. However, Zayn recalled his parents cautioning him about expressing his religious beliefs on the internet. Zayn articulated that he had few Pakistani American friends at UT Austin, but does attend the local mosque, near the
UT Austin campus, on a weekly basis, where he has met other Muslim Americans.
The 12 participants in this study come from a wide spread of spiritual affiliations, linguistic traditions, immigration statuses, and majors. All of the students participated in the demographic questionnaire, both semi-structured interviews, photovoice project, and journal entries. After collecting the data and transcribing the interviews, themes related to the research questions were identified. These findings are presented in the next chapter.
115 Chapter 5: Findings
This chapter will describe initial findings from the interviews, photos, and journal entries gathered from the 12 participants in the study. The purpose of the study was to explore how South Asian American (SAA) students experience belonging in college while understanding and making meaning of their diverse spiritual identities. The findings are presented in three sections. The first section provides themes from participants’ discussion on navigation of identities, the second section shares findings from the participants’ understanding of belonging, and the last section details examples of participants’ making meaning of their identities and belonging together, while offering areas of growth for campus.
As a reminder, the research questions were:
(1) In what ways do SAA college students navigate the intersections of their SAA
identity with their spiritual identity?; and
(2) How do SAA college students experience a sense of belonging in college?
Section I: Navigating South Asian American Identity Intersections
This first section focuses on findings derived from the first research question on identity intersections in SAAs. Specifically, etic coding was used to align findings to the conceptual framework of point of entry model for Asian American identity consciousness
(Accapadi, 2012). While findings on this research question came from instruments throughout data collection, the first semi-structured interview conducted with each
116 participant focused on identity and navigating intersections of cultural and spiritual identities. Participants were asked open-ended questions to narrate how their identities showed up (or not) in college spaces and how they practiced their spirituality and faith as a college student. The following sections highlight the two larger findings of hyperawareness of spiritual identities and valuing prayer.
Finding 1: Hyperawareness of (Spiritual) Identities
Participants of the study came from various spiritual and faith backgrounds.
Muslim, Hindu, Christian, and Sikh students were all represented. Many participants, regardless of spiritual affiliation, discussed hyperawareness of their spiritual identities growing up and continuing into college. While the majority of Americans identify as
Christian, the participants in the study found their spiritual identity to be incredibly salient, despite it being a minoritized identity for most participants (except for Christian- identified participants). However, they were also keen to acknowledge that their spiritual identities could only take space in certain environments. The following sub-findings details this hyperawareness, including silencing identities while remaining vigilant; dealing with microaggressions; and educating others on identities.
Silencing identity and holding vigilance while navigating identities.
Participants discussed hiding parts of their identity from their non-Desi friends or simply living “separate” or “double” lives as a way to not only compartmentalize their identities to various contexts, but also out of protection. Jamal shared:
117 I really wouldn’t say I was very comfortable when I was little about expressing, “Hey, I’m Ismaili.” Just because there’s a whole stigma associated with saying, “I’m Muslim,” and whole 9/11 situation. One of my older cousins was really pushed around about the whole 9/11 situation.
Jamal’s discomfort with revealing Muslim identity in school was coupled with the acknowledgment that a family member was bullied or discriminated against because of the identity. Meanwhile, Zayn, also a Muslim, had parallel remarks to Jamal about separating home and school life:
I tried living a double life… [my hometown] is relatively conservative. It’s a majority White. I would say that the way I handled it was separating my school life from my home life. So in school, I wouldn’t bring up anything too much about culture, other than on culture days, where I would then go in traditional Pakistani clothing.
Zayn was not the only one who would only “present” their cultural identities on
“multicultural” or “international” days at school. Several participants noted that this was their one opportunity annually to showcase their culture. Faiza commented, “we wore
[Desi clothes] when it was multicultural day at school. It was so fun to wear it because you’d be the only one in your garb and people would be like ‘oh my gosh it’s so pretty’.”
For some students, becoming hyperaware or silencing cultural or spiritual identities were results of wrong assumptions made on their part about the other students with whom they went to school. Simran recalled a misunderstanding from middle school when she moved from a largely Desi neighborhood out of state to a city in Texas:
You don’t understand racial differences especially. I came here, I thought every single Hispanic person was an Indian person. I got really excited. We were talking Hindi to everybody. Nobody spoke Hindi so I was the only Indian person actually in my graduating high school class. It was interesting realizing I have an Indian identity and somehow it’s separate than everybody else… then coming to terms with what that means. 118
While many participants acknowledged an easier time being themselves in college, becoming hyperaware and navigating identities in college was more challenging with those who presented multiple marginalized identities beyond culture and spirituality. Jaya described what the Multicultural Engagement Center (MEC) meant to her as a Queer
South Asian woman:
That’s probably the only place that I would consider expressing my cultural and spiritual identities at all because I think in the other spaces on campus where South Asians gather for cultural or spiritual reasons, it’s all very traditional...for me, each of my identities informs the others…. Being in South Asian spaces is uncomfortable because I see how openly they disregard Queerness and being in White Queer spaces is uncomfortable because I see how much complacency there is towards issues affecting people of color. [The MEC] is one of the only places on campus where both of those things are valued and actually talked about.
Meanwhile, Sherin discussed how she has sought out a community from a group external to UT Austin where she can be herself, saying “finding that space of Desi Queer folk who also have the same spiritual sense as me hasn’t existed for me. I think the closest thing
I’ve ever found is a group outside the University, AZAAD, that’s older Desi folks and a lot of them are Queer. That has been good for me.” This tension between “traditional”
South Asians and South Asians on the margins was a recurring theme brought forth by a few participants and inform some of the other findings of this research.
Other ways participants masked their cultural or spiritual identity was by westernizing the pronunciation of their Desi name or simply not speaking up in class discussions when they believed they had an opposing viewpoint. Interestingly, collecting data on the vigilance of identities also brought up a contrasting experience for one
119 participant. Matthew, a 1.5 generation SAA Christian, who spent most of his childhood in
India and then came to the United States in middle school, provided a unique perspective:
In India, it’s different because the majority of the Indian population is Hindu. So I grew up knowing that I was converted from that culture to a different culture through my great grandfather. So it was the sense I wasn’t supposed to be Christian, but I am Christian. Whereas coming to America… it feels like, okay, so this is how Christians are.
Matthew’s insight sheds a light on context and environment and how one can feel like a fish out of water depending on the situation.
Microaggressions. A positive educational environment is free from taunting or bullying. However, bullying is seen frequently in school environments, and furthermore, effects of bullying include low self-esteem, anxiety, and negative academic outcomes
(Bondue, Rothmund, & Gollwitzer, 2016). Most participants indicated that they have never been victims of blatant discrimination or hate crimes in school or college.
However, several participants provided instances of microaggressions and bullying in educational environments. As stated in an earlier chapter, microaggressions are defined as implicit or explicit slights, snubs, or insults - intentional or unintentional - related to social identities, that create chilly environments of hostility (Sue et al., 2007). Some participants recalled microaggressions related to their culture displayed by educators.
Pooja remembered one exchange in childhood with a teacher:
I remember coming to daycare once with henna on, and I still can’t believe this happened, but my daycare teacher was like, “wash the marker off your hand” or something. And part of me didn’t really, I was just like… I was just really confused because it happened to me when I was really small, but when I look at it, later on, I was like, “did she really not know what hennas is?”
120 Jaya displayed an interest in theater from an early age. But in high school, she recognized that she was being left out of lead roles no matter how much she tried to improve her acting skills.
I was constantly sidelined because I’m Brown, and my high school did a lot of shows that were specifically in the ‘40s in America, and Brown people didn’t exist in America in the ‘40s apparently. So I would like never get cast. I even asked my directors, “oh, what can I do to improve?” and they’d be like, “you were good, just not good enough.” And that was fishy… and that kind of convinced me that I didn’t want to do theater as a major [in college].
Pooja also recalled a negative incident when she took Indian food to school for lunch and then decided she would not do it again. “I opened my lunchbox and someone complained of the smell, and I was just like I don’t want this kind of attention.” Matthew took a positive outlook on the bullying regarding odor, saying, “a lot of terms they would use was ‘curry,’ the smell of curry… but it was not harsh, just bringing you down. It was more playful. So, I wasn’t offended at that.”
Jaya translated episodes of microaggressions as exoticization and wants to thereby promote education:
I don’t interact with that many White people by choice on campus, because anytime I have talked to a White person about Indian cultural events, there’s always this fascination. And I think there just needs to be… honestly, make all White people take a class that teaches them how to deal with these, with people of Color. How to deal with not falling into that pattern of exoticization.
Other participants remembered bullying or microaggressions related to their spirituality or faith or what was perceived to be their faith. As a Muslim, Zayn said, “usually, it’s terrorist jokes. So they would make some kind of terrorist joke regarding bombs or
‘Allahu Akbar,’ or something like that. Those are the ones that I usually hear.”
121 While Zayn’s incident could be categorized as blatant bullying, Ajay recalled childhood memories that were more in line with microaggressions due to the unintentional or implicit reactions by fellow students with dominant spiritual identities:
There have just been some misunderstandings I guess. I remember vividly telling someone, “yeah, I’m not Christian.” And I was pretty confused as to why they thought I was Christian, and they gasped. And then as a little experiment, I started trying to tell other people, slid it into conversations, that I wasn’t Christian. They were really, really surprised. “So you don’t go to church?” and the inevitable question, “what happens if you eat beef? You know, do you get punished or something?”
Darshan described a time when clothing and spirituality were topics addressed by educators through microaggressive behavior. Assuming that only Muslim women wear the traditional salwar kameez2, Darshan explained a reaction by a school employee and his mother when the employee saw her wearing a salwar kameez. “Ms. Makati straight up asked my mom, ‘Rinni, why are you wearing that? You’re Hindu, don’t y’all not wear that?” and my mom was like, ‘Laurie, all Indians wear this. It’s not just particular to
Muslims’.”
The need to educate others. Cultural taxation was a phrase coined by Amado
Padilla (1994) to describe how non-White faculty are burdened with additional responsibilities, such as serving as “experts” as it relates to specific cultural identities.
Since then, many scholars have discussed this burden in other educational contexts
(Joseph & Hirshfield, 2009; Martinez, Chang, & Welton, 2017; Reddick & Sáenz, 2012;
Turner, 2002). In this research study, many participants discussed going out of their way
2 Traditional clothing attire worn by South Asian women, regardless of religious affiliation. 122 to educate other students, teachers, and administrators on their cultural or spiritual identities, especially while dispelling misconceptions.
Many participants discussed making this education a fun and interactive experience for non-affiliated students. Both of the participants who identified as Sikh described an annual event on campus aimed to spread awareness of Sikhism in a light- hearted way. Pooja described:
In the fall, there’s ‘Tie a Turban Day,’ which is really fun. So we’ll go out, we’ll table and get permission to play Punjabi music on the speakers. It’s near the West Mall and we’ll serve some type of Indian snack food. And we encourage people to come up and ask us about what Sikhism is, what the religion is about and it’s purely educational purposes… we just want to remove that whole stigma around, if you see someone with a turban, why they are wearing it.
Simran also discussed “Tie a Turban Day,” and as a person who identifies as Hindu as well, she discussed how Hindu Students Association has a Hinduism Awareness Week to promote education and understanding of the faith.
While participants discussed needing to educate others on their own spiritual identity, there were a few who spoke up about other SAA students on campus who do not share their spiritual identity. Matthew, a Christian, shared:
I’m not sure how much the university supports Muslim students in terms of Ramadan… how much does [the University] support them being able to wake up and eat before sunrise and getting to eat after sunset? Sunrise happens pretty early here.
Out of the entire group, Faiza was the participant who spoke about this need to educate others in the most technical way. “Faith articulation,” as she called it, was ingrained by her parents during her upbringing and something she honed throughout her college years as well: 123 After 9/11 happened, I remember my parents sat us down and gave us a lesson on how we can articulate our faith in terms of how a six-year-old would say it. They taught us how we should perceive our faith. Even at our place of worship, there were a lot of announcements and sessions that started happening on how we talk about our faith. First of all, not to come off as a bad Muslim, but also not to come off as not standing with the other Muslims either.
Faiza continued to discuss how she further took faith articulation classes throughout her adolescent years, and now as a college student in a Muslim-related student organization, she took time out to train other members how to articulate their faith:
We learned that our members sometimes do not have that verbiage or those strategies and those tools, so now, I work on that so we have articulation modules. We had a board training on articulation modules so we go through that explaining how first board needs to be able to represent because board goes out to collaborate with different organization and goes to different events where anybody can ask you what it is and you should be able to say it without even thinking.
Finding 2: Valuing Prayer for Understanding and Healing
While a central focus of this study was on how SAA college students navigated their cultural and spiritual identities, many participants recalled how specific spiritual practices, such as prayer, learned in childhood, informed how they made meaning of their spiritual identities as college students. The following sub-findings describe in more detail the participants’ memorable spiritual practices in childhood, their spiritual practices at the time of research, and their desire for future University students to take part in safe and convenient spiritual practices in college.
Prayer in upbringing. In many ways, when asked to recall how spirituality was emphasized as children, described the importance and vividness of prayer in their
124 upbringing. Some participants described in great detail the type, duration, and frequency of the prayers, while others detailed prayers as it related to their education.
Faiza discussed how prayer was a part of her morning routine growing up:
When my mom would wake me up in the morning, there’s a prayer you’re supposed to do in the morning that happens at five o’clock, but as a child, we don’t get up at five o’clock so it’s expected that when you wake up in the morning, you do that first. As soon as she’d come to wake us up, she’d be like, “don’t forget to say your morning prayers.”
Jaya also described sharing morning prayers, or pujas, with her grandparents, saying,
“my grandparents, you know they do pujas every morning and then they, for the special occasions or festivals or religious days, they would do even more in-depth pujas.” Sherin recalled that her mother “insisted on my praying multiple times a day. Definitely before bed, but before meals.” Zayn also described prayer as a constant throughout the day recalling that it was:
A strong part of my upbringing. Both my parents pray often, probably five times a day. And we go to the masjid relatively often, I would say. Actually, my dad goes probably to the masjid three times a day… whenever I was off school, it was mandatory for me to go.
Many participants noted that beyond prayer in the home, prayer and other spiritual practices in their respective place of worship were also consistent memories of their childhood. “We would go to the temple very regularly… the temple was for prayer, but it was more community prayer and at home, we would have our little puja corner, a room dedicated to prayer as well,” Aishwarya described. “Especially throughout middle school, we were going every day. Mom and dad were going, and you’d just get in the car and you’d go,” Faiza recalled. Matthew articulated, “so growing up, I went to church every
125 Sunday. I went to Sunday School every Sunday, then I participated in different Bible camps and vacation Bible studies.” “We would go every Sunday, try to make it a point, to the temple. And this became, especially as my own faith declined, this actually increased,” Ajay shared.
One of the most prevalent themes from the discussion on spiritual practices was prayer in times of success or good news. Many participants stated they were taught to show gratitude through prayer when they accomplished something. Here are a few excerpts to describe this phenomenon in the participants’ own words:
“Usually, whenever something good happened to you, my parents made it clear that it wasn’t just me. It was good fortune, like God willed it.” – Zayn (Muslim)
“My mom, whenever something even small would happen that was positive or a good thing, would always be like ‘oh, give your thanks to God.’” – Darshan (Hindu)
“One thing my parents always emphasized is that everything we have is thanks to the grace of God and also our own karma or own actions. You should be grateful to God and give God your gratitude and the credit when things go right.” – Aishwarya (Hindu)
“We’ve always grown up thanking God first for our accomplishments.” – Matthew (Christian)
“It was always like, if you mess up something, it’s your fault, but if you do well in something, it’s thanks to God.” – Ajay (Zoroastrian and Hindu)
Furthermore, as it related to education, participants described seeking blessings from God and other spiritual leaders before school began or significant exams. As an example,
Faiza remembered, “we were supposed to go [to the place of worship], especially the night before school starts, we were supposed to go to our leaders, kind of like our priests and ask them for special prayers.” 126 Prayer in college. As the participants described how prayer was an integral part of their upbringing, they also shared that many of the practices translated to life in college. Faiza described how she would go to Jamatkhana before the school year started to seek blessings from spiritual elders. Furthermore, she described how she brought in those spiritual practices to her time in college:
If we needed to do well on a test, our mom would tell us special prayers to say the night before. My mom would say to even say it on the scantron before we turned it in! Even when we got our scores back, there was a thankfulness prayer that we do thanking God. It's like, I’m doing my party, “God, you help me through the rest,” type of thing.
Matthew indicated that he, too, prayed before every exam in college. “Even if it’s a small quiz, I pray, ‘please help me to do well, and get a 100 on the quiz’,” he shared. Matthew also shared how his spirituality intervened when he was tempted to cheat on a test. He recalled an instance when classmates were able to get questions for a test ahead of time:
I was in a conundrum. I was like, “do I take the question papers and then get great scores, or do I not?” I chose not to do it, because I think through spirituality, I knew cheating was wrong, and it’s a disservice to God, in the sense that if I’m accomplishing something by cheating, then I’m not using God’s given gifts for me to do well in school.
While many participants described that their spiritual practices changed somewhat upon coming to college due to the fact that they were no longer living with family, some participants found that spiritually-based student organizations allowed space for community prayer. For example, Aishwarya described how joining the Hindu Students
Association helped her understand unique contexts of Hinduism she did not gather in her upbringing.
127 While participants had varying descriptions of how their spiritual practices played out in college, all participated in the photovoice exercise. Using the prompt, “take a picture of a space where your cultural and spiritual identities are explored together,” some participants documented spaces where student organizations met or where they held a special event. Jamal and Zayn, both Muslim, described spaces where their spiritual identities are explored in college are where they live. Jamal shared a picture of an outdoor space near his apartment. He stated that he would go to the courtyard or sky deck of his apartment building to do evening prayers, while Zayn took a picture of his bedroom and described how that is where he can be himself, have his prayer mat out, and “be spiritual without disturbing anyone.”
Matthew shared that space where he felt he safe or that he belonged and the space in which his identities were explored together was the same space on campus - a multipurpose room in the Student Activity Center:
It’s actually not two pictures, but it’s one picture. And it’s the picture of the room in the SAC. So this room holds large groups [for his South Asian Christian student organization] every week. And I look forward to going into this room because when we go to this, we do praise and worship… we do songs and then a speaker speaks about a certain topic in Christianity.
Desire for reflection spaces on campus. By far, one of the most widely described situations for the participants, as it related to spirituality and college, was the lack of places of worship near campus. While some described the inconvenience of traveling far from campus to attend a place of worship, others discussed the need and desire for more reflection spaces on campus. Still, others described confusion why so
128 many mainstream Christian churches existed so close to campus without many places of worship for other faiths nearby. Jamal discussed grappling with this problem:
The biggest issue with Ismaili students right now is that we got a new Jamatkhana in Austin, and it was moved farther away, and so going to Jamatkhana, to some extent, became a hassle, just because if you have to through Austin traffic for 30 plus minutes, and drive 30 minutes away, and not everyone has a car, not everyone has a ride.
Similarly, Simran discussed how her Sikh Gurdwara is difficult to get to, indicating that it takes “30 to 40 minutes and most students don’t have vehicles because parking on campus is so expensive.” Darshan shared, “there’s not a single Hindu temple that’s even within close proximity here. I think the closest one to UT is like a 45-minute drive away.”
Recently, UT Austin, sponsored by initiatives from the undergraduate student government body, opened up a few reflection spaces on campus. These spaces served students by providing a religiously-neutral setting where students of any faith could pray or meditate. While the first reflection space on campus was at the Union building, Ajay described how a recent reflection space was designed at the Engineering school, stating that a SAA engineering student got a reflection space in an academic building. “I’ve actually got to visit it, it’s right next to my math classroom.”
One of the final questions in the interview with the participants asked what they would like to see changed or improved at UT Austin. Many participants stated an increase in the number of reflection spaces on campus, along with better marketing of current spaces, is needed. Besides reflection spaces, there is also a desire for actual places of worship to be built near campus. “I think one thing that we could definitely do here at
UT is we should build maybe a temple for Hindus and Buddhists alike,” Darshan stated. 129 Simran echoed these sentiments and added “I don’t know how much of it there is off- campus or in the city, but I would love a place of worship that would be close by. Would love that.”
Summary of Findings from Section I
Participants in the study came from a variety of spiritual identities, but many navigated their cultural and spiritual identities in strikingly similar ways. Participants described how they would silence or be hypervigilant of their identities based on the context. They recalled instances of bullying – from microaggressions to explicit racism – in their childhood and college years, and have used their experiences to educate others.
As it relates to valuing spiritual practices, many participants shared how prayer was an integral part of their upbringing and is a practice they continue in college. Finally, participants identified the lack of convenient spiritual spaces as a hurdle to developing their spiritual identities, and they expressed the desire for more spiritual spaces they can call their own, on and near campus. Next, Section II will present findings on the participants’ sense of belonging.
Section II: South Asian American Collegians’ Sense of Belonging
This second section focuses on findings derived from the second research question on belonging in college experienced by SAAs. Specifically, etic coding was used to discover findings related to the second conceptual framework used in the study - the model of belonging for privileged and minoritized students (Vaccaro & Newman, 130 2016). Participants in the study offered points related to belonging throughout the data collection process, but many of findings presented here in this section come from responses to the second open-ended interview which focused on belonging at UT Austin.
The following sections highlight three larger findings related to belonging for SAAs.
Namely, these are finding affinity in academic spaces, establishing belonging through relationships, and calling out the lack of SAA-identified faculty and staff, indicating a need to have them as support agents.
Finding 1: Academic Spaces as Affinity Spaces
Participants in the study consistently shared the value of education in their household growing up. For many, some of their most prevalent culturally-immersive experiences were in academic spaces. While some participants discussed participation in extracurricular activities such as the arts and sports, nearly all discussed involvement in academic spaces as a way to connect with other SAA people, both while growing up, as well as in college.
SAT prep courses. The SAT is a standardized test that many American high school students take before their senior year. The results of the test are predominately used for college admissions. While all of the students described their parents’ emphasis on educational success, most also described financial and emotional support as it related to preparation related to the SAT. Typically taken in the summer months between high school years, these test preparation courses allowed for students – in many cases SAA
131 students – to bond, celebrate, and commiserate. One of the participants, Rebekah, even worked as a tutor at one of the test preparation programs.
Participants relayed that oftentimes, these preparation courses were encouraged by their parents after hearing success from an older sibling or relative. Sherin’s test preparation was long-term, recalling, “it was a long-term SAT prep program that I started my freshman year of high school. You went to class for the SAT every week or twice a week.” Faiza’s parents had no qualms about spending the money to support Faiza going to SAT preparation courses. She recalled, “my parents would always say they would rather put $1000 on an SAT class than they would on shopping or a trip or something.
Their first and foremost responsibility is education and whatever supplements.”
Similarly, Jaya’s test preparation started early and her parents enrolled her out of obligation:
We got to that point and they put us in SAT prep classes, but most of my peers had been in SAT prep since 8th grade and they put us in SAT prep maybe three months before we took the SAT. They did it because they thought it was required.
A popular SAT preparation program in the Houston area for SAAs was called
“Testmasters.” Founded in 1991, in Houston, Testmasters is known for its “Testmasters
Score Increase Guarantees,” stating that all students who put in the work in the course will notice score increases or they can get additional instruction for free (from testmasters.com). Ajay shared:
When I got into high school, I definitely did that Testmasters prep, in Sugar Land, of course. I feel like every single person in my friend circle right now has done some sort of SAT prep. I’m not sure how much money my mom shelled out for that, but it was a lot. But it was one of the things they would pay for unquestionably. 132
Darshan recalled the process of getting his family to send him to Testmasters:
For the SAT, I actually did do a prep course, and it was because a couple of my friends were saying, “oh, Testmasters helps so much for the SAT.” At first, my parents were very hesitant, because those prep courses cost like $1000 to $2000. But I think one of my really close friends, two years older than me and kind of a big brother to me, my parents look up to him as an example poster child, happen to mention, “when I took the SAT, I took a prep course.” After he said that, then my dad was like, “ok, we’ll put you in a prep course. If he said it’s good, then it should work.”
Finding community in college academic spaces. Belonging on campus can be sparked by a variety of factors, including positive social settings, mentors from similar backgrounds, or student employment. While some of these themes were brought up by the participants, nearly all the participants described finding affinity in distinctly academic spaces. When asked about his friendships, Zayn described that has “a community in the science department, just through the various classes and seeing each other in the computer lab. So I would say that’s my core community.”
Through the photovoice data collection, other participants indicated they found community in academic spaces as well. With the prompt of, “take a picture of a space on campus where you feel safe and like you belong,” participants captured their favorite lecture hall or study space. Faiza photographed the liberal arts building, and shared, “I think that the reason why I picked that building was since the beginning of my time at
UT, I changed my major a bunch of times. Pooja shared her photo of a science building and described that “as a student on campus, that building is where I met a lot of my friends that I have classes with. I know that if I want to see familiar faces, I can go to that
133 building and study and I will end up running into people.” Ajay described that study groups have helped him establish a community, sharing, “somewhere I feel safe on campus, and that is basically with my study group… we like to sometimes just commandeer if there’s a room that’s left unlocked, we like to stay in there and study.”
Furthermore, Ajay made a connection between his cultural identity and academic spaces:
I feel like a part of the campus community a lot, and I don’t derive that necessarily from cultural experiences as much as academic experiences and involvement through organizations. It’s very comforting to go into a situation like the Student Engineering Council where, even if it wasn’t cultural, there are a bunch of people there who look like me and who definitely relate to my experiences.
Aishwarya, too, described a study space on campus as the place where she feels most safe and like she belongs. Even though she does not identify as a member of the academic group which the study space was technically designed for, she shared what it meant to her: “a lot of my friends are there and it’s a nice place to study and it’s a comfortable environment and I found that a lot of the people there are always willing to have a good discussion or really helpful so that’s a place I feel safe on campus.”
In contrast to academic spaces, Pooja, who described earlier that the science building is where she feels most safe, also shared spaces on or near campus where she feels unsafe:
This past weekend was Round Up (a signature weekend hosted by fraternities and sororities at UT Austin), and I definitely feel out of place when I go to fraternity houses just because Round Up is mostly White people. I feel very out of place when I go to things like that.
Pooja was not the only participant to mention Round Up and feeling unsafe. Although the event takes places just off campus, weekend is marked by visible participation on campus 134 by students. Sherin brought up the Greek life event as a space she did not feel comfortable navigating:
Round Up was a couple of weekends ago. I view Round Up as inherently problematic. There’s just a lot of things that make me feel unsafe that weekend. Just the massive amount of racist things that have happened at Round Up, the sexual assault that happens at Round Up, all these things make me feel very weary that weekend.
While Pooja and Sherin were not the only participants to share a space nearby campus where they did not feel belonging, this question was not asked of all the participants, and a future study could be more intentional about asking SAA students about spaces on or near campus they do not feel safe nor belong in order to capture a more meaningful insight into safe spaces on campus.
Finding 2: Belonging via Human Connections
Many discussions on belonging, including the work by Vaccaro and Newman
(2016) with the model of belonging for privileged and minoritized students, center physical environments as an important part of creating a sense of belonging. While participants discussed various academic spaces as where they feel most safe, many shared that the relationships they built while in college are how they are able to measure belonging. The sub-findings presented here describe participants developing authentic friendships and emphasizing connections to others rather than physical spaces.
Authentic friendships. Of note in the model of belonging for privileged and minoritized students is the finding from Vaccaro and Newman (2016) that minoritized students desired deep, authentic relationships and found belonging when they connected
135 with others on campus in an authentic way. The findings of this study found similar themes among the participants. Ajay described a friendship with his lab partner as “really nice and organic.”
Rebekah stated that her main friend group was within her South Asian Christian student organization. Matthew, who is part of the same Christian organization, recalled an experience in which members of this organization made him feel special:
My birthday was on a Wednesday night, and I couldn’t go home. So, this was probably the first time that I wouldn't be celebrating my birthday, on my birthday. But when I went [to the organization meeting], they all started singing “Happy Birthday” to me, and then they had a big poster where everyone signed. That was a great experience!
Other points brought up by the participants regarding authentic friendships include the convenience of traveling to worship places together. Simran indicated, “one of my friends, here and I go to temple together. So, we do that weekly built-in thing.” And many participants shared how authentic friendships, especially with other SAA students, were catalyzed through group projects in their classes.
While on one hand, participants discussed organic and authentic friendships - especially those made in the classroom - on the other hand, participants shared how they left spaces when connections were not as authentic. Zayn recalled how he left a student organization after a few meetings when he could not connect. “What caused me to leave was that I didn’t see myself enjoying a long-term commitment with the club,” he shared.
Faiza, meanwhile, discussed how social activities of some mainstream University student organizations, such as drinking and partying, did not match up with her values, especially as a Muslim. She shared: 136 Their social activities didn’t line up with my social activity beliefs. So they did a lot of drinking and going out. Because of my faith, I made that decision where I will not participate in those social activities. So I very much didn’t feel a sense of connection or belonging.
Other views on authentic friendships brought up by the participants shared Faiza’s point on commonality - that a shared cultural background is a great starting point to build a friendship. Rebekah summarized, “it’s easier to talk to other people who have the same religious background and cultural background… like ‘my parents said this,’ and then that person’s like, ‘oh my gosh, my parents, too!’” Nevertheless, nearly all participants also shared the importance of seeking diverse friendships. Aishwarya noted, “I think if you have just one kind of insulated group of friends, you tend to fall into a kind of mindset where you only see things one way.”
Connecting with others rather than spaces. Invariably, connection and belonging do go beyond environmental and physical spaces. While participants were fragile in discussing their sense of belonging as it related to physical spaces on campus, they were quick to acknowledge that connections to others, and thus, connections to the
University at-large, were more important than connecting to individual spaces.
Many students discussed how long-term group project members, or study partners from their major, met frequently at certain places on campus, but that even changing around these places did not interfere with their connection to each other. Jamal discussed how he met a group of students at the tutoring center. “I met a friend group, and we were just five people who came for tutoring, and we ended up becoming a study group.”
137 As it related to spirituality, participants shared that a lack of a nearby place of worship forced them to meet with their friends of shared spiritual identity wherever it was convenient. Furthermore, special one-time or annual events, no matter where they are held, are times when participants felt connected to the University. Pooja shared, “so last weekend I went to Holi, which we celebrate on the LBJ lawn every year. I went my freshman year with my roommate and we had a crazy awesome time and I was like, ‘I need to basically bring everybody I know next year.’” Pooja and a few other participants also remarked on the annual Diwali festival at UT Austin, proudly noting that this event is only one of two yearly events (with Commencement) where fireworks are set off from the iconic University tower.
Some participants also noted that different roles on the campus offered various opportunities to get connected and feel belonging. For example, Simran shared:
It doesn’t really matter to me for [that] I feel like a part of the UT community. Okay, like, maybe I don’t watch football games and stuff, but I don’t think that’s the only that with being a Longhorn. I’m familiar with the campus now. I understand the city of Austin. I know professors really well. I’ve found different friends within my majors. I have a job on campus. So I think things like that really makes me feel like I’m a part of this.
Finding 3: Invisibility of South Asian American Faculty and Staff
As stated in chapter three, the percentage of students at UT Austin who identify as
Asian American is 19.0% as of fall 2018 (The University of Texas at Austin, 2019).
However, the faculty and staff demographics of the University is not representative of the student body. Participants noted the lack of SAA faculty and staff members at the
138 University, which may be related to several expressing difficulty finding mentors on campus. Another sub-finding detailed below include a desire for the University to recruit and hire more SAA faculty and staff members.
In search of South Asian American faculty and staff. Sherin shared how she needed to find an SAA faculty or staff member to further process a crisis after already being assisted by another campus resource:
Last year, I had a bit of a crisis. Academically, I just wasn’t doing well. Really, really depressed. I was seeing a counselor at [the counseling center], and then after that I went to [a SAA staff member’s] office and basically cried for an hour and a half. [The SAA staff member] really, really guided me through that.
Sherin shared more details about this experience, saying that the SAA staff member brought up options that were culturally relevant on how to speak with her family about what she was going through.
Matthew recalled an experience with a classmate in a science lab. This lab had many teaching assistants (TAs), and students had the option to go to any TA for extra tutoring or assistants. This example was when Matthew and his classmate went in search of a specific teaching assistant (TA) for one of his labs:
So me and my roommate were lab partners and are both South Asian. So we went to a TA who was South Asian all the time. There were other Asians TAs and non- Asian TAs… This [South Asian] TA was South Asian. So we felt like if we went to the South Asian one, then he would know what type of mentality we’re coming from in terms of like grade-wise, like all right, you want a 100 percent basically.
A few participants mentioned an interfaith panel that the University sponsored earlier in the academic year. The participants noted that the person representing Hinduism on the panel was a graduate student, while the other panelists were professionals. Furthermore,
139 this graduate student was a non-practicing Hindu and did not present as South Asian.
Aishwarya narrated the incident in detail:
The interfaith panel was going along, it was fine, and when students started to pose questions to the panel, when it opened up to the floor, I noticed that, I don’t know, it might’ve just been me, but I noticed that the grad student, she wasn’t Indian and she wasn’t a practicing Hindu… her answers were very kind of like dismissive of the changes Hinduism has undergone over time… and also I felt she didn’t have the same nuanced understanding of it that a practitioner of Hinduism might have.
Aishwarya noted that a practicing SAA Hindu might have been a better representative for the faith on this panel, aimed to educate the University student body.
Lack of mentorship in college. Mentoring in college is a critical component of many students’ success, and this has been cited in higher education literature (see Berrett,
2011; Reddick, 2006; Reddick & Young, 2012). Darshan provided an experience of positive mentorship on campus. Coincidentally, this mentor identified as South Asian:
So I think for the majority of the professors, race didn’t make too much of an impact, but actually with [SAA faculty member], I would call it a super big impact. She is South Asian like I am, so whenever I tell her, ‘oh, I have a Arangetram recital, I don’t even have to explain what that is. She knows what that is and she gets super excited. And she’s like I’ll definitely come. When she came to that dance recital, she was telling a lot of my classmates that she had seen before, yeah this is like an Indian classical art that requires eight to ten years of training, so she knew all of that stuff.
However, most participants in this study consistently commented on the lack of explicit mentorship in college from faculty and staff. Pooja stated, “Mentors on this campus. I don’t think I have a mentor.” When asked who he would consider mentors on campus,
Jamal answered, “I wouldn’t say I found one yet. I’m definitely looking for one.” And
Ajay shared:
140 Professors-wise actually, at UT, I have not built such a strong relationship with any professors in particular. I go into office hours occasionally and ask questions, but I’m not sure how many of them actually know my name or anything. And that’s despite me already being in smaller classes because of honors. That’s something that I’ve noticed as well, that I haven’t really built personal one-on-one kind of relationships with professors, as in, one I could really ask for a recommendation at this point.
Moreover, Rebekah shared negative experiences with faculty on campus when the question of mentorship was asked, and she ascribed it to the large size of the campus:
With a university this size, it kind of makes sense when the professors become incredibly jaded, you know, and it just kind of happens that way? But I mean, so many times where I’ve definitely felt like going to a professor, going to a TA… kind of felt more like a belittling environment than an actual helping environment. I really cannot think of a time where I was actually helped, or actually felt good about going to a TA or a professor, whatever it was.
Conversely, a few participants did mention that certain upperclassmen or family members served in mentorship roles for them, even if there were not faculty and staff members to fit that role. Zayn shared:
I have a few friends who are upperclassmen who I would consider mentors on campus. Originally, my freshman year, it was my older brother, because he was also here. So I would just talk to him what I should do here, like how to navigate registration. As far as right now, I don’t think I have a mentor on campus.
Other participants shared structured mentorship in organized settings, such as freshmen interest group and study group leaders. Apart from Darshan, no other participant was able to articulate a mentorship relationship they had in college with a faculty or staff member.
Desire for more South Asian American faculty and staff. Many participants shared a desire for more SAA faculty and staff members at the University, indicating that
141 this would positively benefit them and others in many ways. Simran recalled an experience from high school:
Well it’s not just about being South Asian, it’s about people knowing about South Asia a lot. The high school that I went to, it was a smaller city, but very close-knit city, and I would always see that the teachers and the students would go to the same church, and they would talk about church. Or we had a lot of Hispanic faculty members and all the Hispanic students and they’d feel comfortable talking in Spanish, which is so good to see, but I know that I always felt that would be so exciting if… not even faculty, if anyone spoke Hindi or knew about India or even like traveled to India enough to talk about it. I know really wanted that connection.
Matthew, a science student, advocated for more SAA faculty and staff in other fields of study, noting that non-STEM SAA faculty and staff members are even more rate. When asked if he would like to see more SAA faculty and staff, he responded:
I would add them more in the liberal arts school actually. There are in the engineering school and science school. So they’re just there. But the [South Asian] population never leaves engineering, science, or business. So maybe adding more in different fields would encourage the [South Asian student] population to probably pursue degrees in those other fields and see that there is a career there. Because I personally would not go to a liberal arts school because I don’t see many South Asians in the liberal arts department, students or faculty.
Even if the University cannot attain more SAA faculty and staff, Sherin commented that connection to SAA students is critical:
Hire culturally competent people who can really connect to students, because at the end of the day, even creating organizations, creating buildings, that doesn’t mean anyone’s gonna walk in. I think it is so much more about the people in it, who have access to the resources that they need to do the programming that they need.
Sherin, along with many other participants, noted that recruitment should not simply focus on SAA faculty members. Recruitment and hiring efforts should be extended 142 throughout the University in various administration and staff roles beyond academia. As examples, participants commented on a desire for more SAA mental health counselors, dining hall chefs, and student affairs professionals.
Summary of Findings from Section II
This section presented findings related to sense of belonging for SAA college students. Belonging is an integral aspect of college student success, and this sentiment was echoed by the participants in this study. Although several extracurricular organizations, initiatives, and events existed at the University, most of the participants actually found affinity with other SAA students in academic spaces, such as classrooms and study lounges, with many participants also claiming their high school SAT preparation courses lent itself to finding affinity in such academic spaces. Aligned with the model of belonging for privileged and minoritized students (Vaccaro & Newman,
2016), participants in the study shared that they yearned for authentic friendships, and once they were found, these friendships superseded any physical environment in terms of belonging to the University. Lastly, participants consistently commented on the lack of
SAA faculty and staff members at the University and a desire for the institution to recruit more SAA faculty and staff members in a variety of roles to serve students. The last section, Section III, will present findings on larger umbrella phenomenon of SAA college students, their diverse spiritual identities, and ideas to further their belonging on campus.
143 Section III: The Phenomenon - South Asian Americans in the Present and Future of
Higher Education
This study aimed to explore how South Asian American college students navigating their intersecting cultural and spiritual identities and how they interpreted and developed a sense of belonging on a college campus. Data collection included a short demographic questionnaire, two semi-structured interviews, two photos as part of a photovoice project, and a journal entry. After coding for themes related to identity navigation and sense of belonging separately, there were also findings related to the convergence of both these topics. This last section of findings details how the participants of the study made meaning of their identities and belonging as a shared idea.
Furthermore, this section provides findings from the participants on how to improve belonging for SAA college students in the future.
Key Finding 1: Family as a Primary Source of Support
Participants in the study used their time in college to make attempts to understand their spiritual identities, make meaning of their belonging in college, and forge authentic friendships. Ultimately, however, they were keen to address that their primary and biggest source of support in college was family. Specifically, their parents and older siblings were more likely – than anyone else – to help the students process academics, social life, and their identities. The following sub-findings present examples of how strong the connections were between individual participants and their respective families, as well as listing how they communicated with their families while in college. 144 Strong family unit context. Every participant communicated a strong relationship with their family. This was especially the case as it related to supporting the participants’ education, both in grade school as well as in higher education. Some participants brought up examples of parents supporting their science fair projects, while others discussed financial support with extracurricular activities. For instance, Faiza stated her familial support for education started early; her parents started a college savings account when she was born.
When asked who their sources of support were in college, participants claimed it was family:
“I’d say a lot of support comes from my parents.” – Ajay
“My number one support are my parents.” – Rebekah
“I think I’ve mostly relied on my family; I knew that my family would support me and they already had the context to support me well.” – Jaya
“My parents certainly are all very big guiding figures and sources of support.” – Aishwarya
“I would say during my first two years in college, a lot of my social support did still depend on my family.” – Faiza
“Definitely my parents. And then I do have a good group of friends, but I would mostly say it’s my parents.” – Zayn
Parental priorities were made clear to the participants. Ajay described his family context growing up in this way:
School comes first, it was always a priority, school comes first before extracurriculars. You have to have good grades. And if there was some money we needed for school, or a trip somewhere, like a National Science Olympiad trip, five of which I’ve taken, and they cost at least what, like $800 each? Some have been over $1000, they pay without question. Because that’s their way of 145 prioritizing education over something that they perceive as more tangential to our success.
A strong family unit went beyond parents. Interestingly, several participants discussed the role of grandparents in their upbringing, especially as a conduit of cultural wealth.
Sherin discussed how having her grandparents around when she was younger helped her learn the Malayalam language. Pooja talked about the Sikh Students Association with her grandparents, saying, “I would go back home and talk to my grandparents and be like,
‘hey I learned this in SSA’, it’s really neat, can you tell me more about it?” Separately,
Faiza recounted:
I think a lot of my cultural knowledge and exchange was very heavily done because my grandparents were with us during my elementary years which I think was the time when I really absorbed a lot of our culture and was also interested and had the time, at that time in my life, to learn more about it and to explore it. I think I’m very happy that my grandparents were living with us.
Siblings, especially older ones, helped participants navigate college. Understandably, these older siblings managed college, many of them first-generation, while navigating their identities themselves. Zayn commented, “my freshman year, though, my brother was also UT, and he was much more involved in Pakistani culture, so I got a lot of that from him.” Extended family members, such as aunts and uncles, helped the participants, particularly if they were physically closer in proximity to the students in college. Sherin acknowledged:
Also, the other thing is I’m very close to my uncle and aunt that live here [in Austin], and my uncle is my dad’s brother. I see my uncle and aunt at least twice a week because I also nanny for their kids. I think that keeps me attuned to my family, because my uncle and aunt are part of my immediate family pretty much.
146 Siblings, especially older ones, helped participants navigate college. Understandably, these older siblings managed college, many of them first-generation, while navigating their identities themselves. Zayn commented, “my freshman year, though, my brother was also UT, and he was much more involved in Pakistani culture, so I got a lot of that from him.”
A strong family unit context was cultivated by the students themselves as well, and many of them discussed reciprocating the love and care provided by their parents.
This played out by meeting and exceeding parental expectations, as well as revering their values. Aishwarya stated, however, that this could cause tension:
Honestly, it is quite a bit of pressure because you want to honor everything your parents have done for you. They’ve raised you, they’ve supported you this whole time. You want to give back to them for that. If I’m every struggling in class, I don’t want to tell them because I feel like it will disappoint them.
Family communication. Participants in the study consistently discussed the role of family as it related to support. Furthermore, participants articulated modes and frequency of communication with their family. In most cases, participants expressed that they communicated with their family on a daily basis.
Sherin shared how her parents have navigated technology to communicate with her in a variety of methods. She said, “I text my parents every day pretty much, even if it’s just like one text. My mom spends a lot of time on her phone.” Zayn calls his family, but has started using FaceTime. He said it he especially made it a point talk with his mother after Friday prayers. Matthew indicated that he calls his parents every night. “We do video calls every night at around nine o’clock some nights… for about an hour or so.”
147 Still, other participants enjoyed the simplicity, convenience, and routine of a daily phone call. “I would still be calling them all the time,” said Faiza. College brings highs and lows for all students. Furthermore, participants shared that when they had bad news, they chose to call their parents over anything else. Zayn shared an experience of receiving a poor grade on a test:
A couple of days ago, I did poorly on an exam. Did not get the grade that I wanted just by studying really hard for it. And the first people who I told about that was my parents. Called them, explained the situation, said, “yeah, it kind of sucks. I’m kind of disappointed.” And then they would tell me they care. So it’s my source of support. It’s mainly my parents. I talk to my parents when things aren’t going the way I want them to.
Key Finding 2: Student Organizations as a Space to Navigate and Engage Spiritual
Identities
During the interviews, participants in the study discussed microaggressions they faced while in college, the desire for spiritual and reflection spaces on or near campus, and authentic friendships they forged. One strategy many participants used to navigate their identities, while also establishing belonging to the University, is by finding and participating in student organizations. The participants shared how they found student organizations and what has kept them engaged in them.
Finding student organizations. One major way students get involved and engaged on campus is by participating in student organizations. Research points to many positive outcomes for being involved in student organizations (see Astin, 1984; Astin,
1999). There is also extensive literature on the positive aspects of student organizations
148 as it relates to sense of belonging (see Strayhorn, 2012). However, finding student organizations can be difficult for students who hold minoritized identities. Participants identified some ways they found student organizations, many of which are cultural and spiritual. Some participants found student organizations in a traditional way – when upperclassmen were present at booths (also known as “tabling”) during freshmen orientation. Rebekah recalled:
The first week of school my freshman year, I was lost, and I was going back and forth in the West Mall, because I couldn’t find a certain building. I didn’t know which direction to take. Then I got stopped by these two girls who were a part of [the South Asian Christian] organization, and they tabled to me. Then I signed up to be in a small group, and that’s kinda how it started.
Matthew also found the same Christian organization while the group tabled in a public area on campus.
Aishwarya recounted a similar experience in finding Hindu Students Association:
At freshman orientation, they have their big booth running, and I just went up to talk to them and one of them was Telugu (a South Indian language and ethnic group) and they all seemed really nice. They were such a nice group of people. I went to their info session and they were all super nice there, too.
Family and friends also steered participants into joining student organizations. Zayn shared about how his brother helped him connect to Muslim students on campus. Ajay discussed the vast networks of SAAs on campus as a reason he, even as a high schooler, became was interested in joining student organization, saying:
We knew about [the organization] because my friend followed his brother who was the captain of [a South Asian] dance team, to an after party or something. He had a bunch of fun and would not stop talking about it for like a month afterwards when he came back to high school.
149 Active participation in student organizations. By and large, participants shared positive attributes and effects of their active participation in student organizations on campus. This was particularly and entirely true about their participation in South Asian and South Asian, spiritually-related student organizations. Some participants talked about expanding their cognitive understanding. For example, Pooja said, “I definitely learned a lot more about Sikhism” while participating with that group. Commenting about the same group, Simran discussed that learning more of her family’s native language, Punjabi, was an outcome of her participation.
From a practical sense, Jaya is part of an Asian American activist group on campus. She said, “it’s been nice to meet other like-minded people who are focused on activism at various levels. I feel like I’ve made connections across UT that I just wouldn’t have made without this organization.” Aishwarya shared that her biggest takeaways from joining Hindu Students Association are the event planning and teamwork skills. Simran commented that being part of her cultural organization has given her “a sense of the social capital already built-in.”
Faiza said being part of her group, a registered student organization with the
University, has strengthened her sense of belonging on campus. Ajay discussed the support he has received from friendships he was able to forge in his group, saying,
“people coming and giving me care packages before my finals and stuff, that’s all extremely thoughtful kind of stuff, and that has completely helped me feel like I fit in here, feel like there’s a place.” Matthew, meanwhile, discussed how his student organization, a South Asian Christian group, has been spiritually beneficial for him. 150 Furthermore, he articulated that if it were not for this community, he would feel disconnected to Christianity as a whole.
Other participants had a profound sense of gratitude for being part of their group.
Rebekah commented, “I was telling my mom about all this stuff. She was like, ‘your prayers have been answered.’ My prayer of wanting friends who actually understood me spiritually and culturally, finally happened.”
Key Finding 3: Encouraging South Asian American Solidarity
One-fifth of students at The University of Texas at Austin racially identify as
Asian (2018). While an exact number of SAA students is unknown, they are still a sizable group on campus. Like SAAs in general, the SAAs at the University are diverse; they come from varied ethnic, linguistic, socioeconomic, and spiritual backgrounds. While as an aggregate, the group may seem sizable, there are also various subgroups within the
SAA community at the University. In effect, while reckoning these subgroups, some participants shared a desire for SAAs across campus to connect to promote causes and affect change to better their collegiate experience. The sub-findings below summarize the participants’ thoughts on the subgroups, a common challenge affecting all SAA subgroups, and a desire for unity.
Acknowledgment of South Asian American factions. Many participants acknowledged that subgroups of SAAs are insular and SAA factions exist. Darshan summarized, “we have so many different South Asian orgs here at UT, but so many of them are disjointed.” Jaya remarked that organizations have grouped up and divided in
151 the past due to “petty disagreements.” Faiza shared an unfortunate incident which occurred that created tension between her organization and another SAA organization.
Pooja acknowledged the factions, but relayed that it stems from various respective identities the groups hold, further commenting that it might be better to disrupt the monolith that non-SAAs have about the community:
A lot of my friends think like, oh there’s one type of Indian. But I always have to explain to them, like no, no, no. We’re so different. Just from being North Indian and I meet like South Indians, and I’m like their food is different, their language is different, you know, the way they dress is different. And so it’s like a whole another culture to me in some aspects.
Advocating for mental health resources. One challenge for the SAA community on campus that the participants discussed was the rise of mental health issues.
Particularly, they discussed the lack of acknowledgment of these issues affecting the community, the lack of help-seeking behavior by SAA students, and the lack of SAA- identified or culturally competent mental health counselors on campus.
Pooja said, “mental health isn’t really a topic that’s talked about at least inside of the South Asian community, and you’re just kind of expected to just go on with it.” Other participants echoed Pooja’s sentiments, stating that the stigma of discussing or seeking help for mental illness is rampant in all parts of the SAA community, regardless of spiritual affiliation. When asked if they had discussed mental health within the safety of their cultural or spiritual organizations, most identified that they had not. Jamal said, “I don’t think we’ve kind of talked about it at all, but definitely as a freshman, we’ve talked about CMHC as a resource, and I feel like most people know that is a resource they have.
152 Darshan claimed, “I definitely notice through my friends, that are South Asian students, they tend to shy away from those types of services, especially counseling and things related to mental health.” Darshan further commented that SAA college students are more likely to reach out and make “good use of other resources” such as academic advising, than to seek out counseling. Faiza shared that out of 20 friends she may have, she knows “one that has used it.” Other participants commented that they are aware of the counseling center as a resource, but have not engaged mental health as a topic as it relates to the SAA community. Matthew emphasized that securing anonymity and discreteness could help SAA college students use the counseling center more.
Sherin critiqued how she perceived the counseling center on campus, saying the long wait times to get an appointment and lack of culturally competent counselors have deterred SAA students from using those services. While participants discussed the importance of discussing mental health, barely any engaged their friends about this topic.
Furthermore, most of the participants had not seen a counselor themselves. Even though participants spoke with their family frequently, most even daily, mental wellbeing was not a topic of conversation with their family.
Desire for South Asian American collaboration, unity, and solidarity.
Between the conversation about SAA factions and SAA mental health came engaged dialogue from many participants about the desire to connect SAA students from across campus into a larger network, where resources could be shared widely and advocacy for the community can be promoted.
153 Participants remarked that on occasion the SAA community does come together, but it is largely focused on social and entertainment purposes. Many participants commented on Taal – the annual South Asian talent showcase and competition which happens on the UT Austin campus in April. Participants shared that this is one of the only events that happen where they visibly see SAA diversity. Students from all linguistic, cultural, and spiritual backgrounds – many representing student organizations – participate. Participants also commented, however, that this event – however grandiose it has evolved to be over time – has still remained about talent in dance and vocals, and not necessarily about deeper issues.
Celebrations such as Diwali and Holi, by the Hindu Students Association, has drawn assistance from SAAs from different faiths. In 2018, various SAA student organizations at the University collaborated on an event titled SAA Olympics. Several participants of the study remarked on this event, indicating that it was enjoyable and hoping it would become a tradition. However, like Taal, many also commented that the
SAA Olympics focused on entertainment, in this case sport and athletic ability. Although this is one way that students can certainly connect with one another, participants commented that it, too, could be seen as superficial.
Ultimately, some participants discussed that a unifying, umbrella organization for
South Asian students could be a resolution to form a representative body to advocate for
SAA needs on campus. While designing and managing this potential collective group brought varying opinions, Jaya summarized a lot of the collective feelings from the participants on SAA collaboration, saying: 154 If there was some sort of just, you know, South Asian student org or collective or something, where all the orgs were under that one banner, and you know, it wouldn’t have to be like they’re under that one org that like rules them all or something, but just some unifying title that groups them all together so it’s easier for students to find them, it’s easier for them to collaborate with each other, maybe easier for them to apply to get resources together, leveraging the resources that each of those separate orgs have. I just think that’s just smart.
Summary of Findings from Section III
Participants in this study had much to comment on in regard to the phenomenon of being a diverse SAA college student and establishing a sense of belonging on campus.
They also shared at length about how changes, from both within and outside the SAA community, could positively impact their wellbeing and success. Nearly all the participants in the study indicated that family, despite being physically apart, was their number one source of support while going through their college years. Closer to campus, participants discussed how student organizations allowed space for them to make meaning of and understand their cultural and spiritual identities, as well as their intersections. Lastly, participants in the study acknowledged the diversity that exists within the SAA community at the University and shared ideas to cultivate unity and encourage solidarity.
Summary of Findings
This chapter compiled and described findings from the study on identity intersections and sense of belonging of South Asian American college students. In navigating their cultural and spiritual identities on campus, participants in the study noted their hyperawareness of their spiritual identities on campus, with the need to silence 155 certain identities for safety and belonging. In living out their spiritual identities on campus, participants discussed the value of prayer for understanding and healing.
Sense of belonging is an important factor for student success, and participants in this study agreed. Many participants found affinity in academic spaces over other social and informal spaces on campus. Furthermore, they valued human connections as a conduit for belonging rather than connections to physical spaces. Participants also discussed how a lack of SAA-identified faculty and staff members on campus has affected their sense of belonging.
In connecting the navigation of intersecting identities with sense of belonging, participants claimed that despite their physical separation, family remained their primary source of support while traversing life as a collegian. They discussed in many ways how student organizations were an appropriate and developmental space to navigate and engage their identities. Finally, participants in the study acknowledged the diversity of the SAA community, the challenges the community faces, and ways the community can unify to promote wellbeing and success for the next generation of SAA college students.
Chapter six will provide a discussion and analysis of these findings, describe implications for practice, and present opportunities for further research.
156 Chapter 6: Discussion and Implications
This final chapter of the dissertation offers a discussion of the findings and provides ideas for future directions. Specifically, this chapter will provide an overview of the study, synthesize the findings based on the research questions and conceptual frameworks, identify limitations of the study, explain implications for research and practice, and conclude with discussing the significance of the study. The final section includes a closing personal reflection.
Overview of the Study
In 2019, there were nearly five million South Asian Americans (SAAs) – those who trace their ancestry to countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri
Lanka, and the Maldives – and this population continues to rise. SAAs are affiliated with a variety of religions and spiritualties, including Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and
Sikhism. At the same time the Hart-Celler Act of 1965 allowed for waves of South Asian immigrants to enter the United States and work, their children entered American school systems.
The children of these immigrants, also known as 1.5 and second-generation SAAs in this study, continue to face a myriad of challenges both in educational sectors and society at large. The purpose of this study was to explore how SAA college students navigate their cultural and spiritual identities while traversing American higher education institutions. Furthermore, the second purpose of this study was to understand how SAAs
157 experience a sense of belonging in college. Two conceptual frameworks were used to guide this study and offer a lens to analyze findings: the model on Asian American identity consciousness (Accapadi, 2012) and the model of belonging for privileged and minoritized students (Vaccaro & Newman, 2016).
Chapter three detailed the methods of the study. This was a qualitative inquiry.
Specifically, the study used a hermeneutical phenomenological methodology to draw narratives from the participants, understand the perception of their lived experiences, and build meaning of their experiences. The site used in the study was The University of
Texas at Austin, a large, public, research university where 19% of the student body identified as Asian American in fall 2018. 12 participants took part in the study, and their profiles were presented in chapter four. I strived for maximum variation in spiritual affiliation, South Asian ethnic group affiliation, and field of study. Data collection instruments included a demographic questionnaire, two semi-structured interviews, photovoice technique, and journal entries.
Data collected from the instruments were coded based on the research questions and conceptual frameworks. Both inductive and deductive analysis were performed to extract themes. Chapter five described the resulting eight findings. These findings were separated into three sections – the first two sections aligned with the two research questions, respectively. The third section of findings was informed by conceptualizing the two areas of focus – identity navigation and sense of belonging – into one larger phenomenon. In this final section, three key findings were identified. A discussion of these findings follows this overview. Finally, a critical part of this study was to explain 158 the implications for practice, policy, and future research, and this is presented after the discussion of findings.
Discussion of Findings
This section will discuss the findings presented in chapter five. Namely, the findings that correspond to each of the two research questions will first be analyzed separately. As a reminder, the research questions were:
(1) In what ways do SAA college students navigate the intersections of their SAA
identity with their spiritual identity; and
(2) How do SAA college students experience a sense of belonging in college?
After this initial analysis, discussion will continue with synthesizing the three key findings which emerged from understanding the unique phenomenon of SAA spiritual identity navigation and experiencing belonging. Saldaña (2016) noted that each researcher has a personal lens or filter while coding. As a South Asian American and a higher education professional, I used my identities advantageously and reflexively while conducting the study and synthesizing the findings.
Navigating South Asian American Identities
Participants from the study all culturally self-identified as South Asian
Americans, but they held a variety of other social identities. Some of these other identities, such as socioeconomic status and sexual orientation, were brought up in conversation by the participants in the semi-structured interviews. However, the social
159 identity that was of focus, particularly during the interviews and photovoice, was spirituality. Participants recalled how they first understood their family’s spiritual affiliation and some discussed their spiritual development over time.
Hyperawareness of identities. Most participants discussed how they “showed up” in society was, in part, due to their cultural and spiritual identities – in many ways acting in tangent. Racialization was defined in chapter two as society attributing religious identity to people by perceived phenotypic characteristics (Joshi, 2006). This was manifested in experiences leading to heightened awareness by the participants, both growing up and in college. By and far, participants discussed that their identities, specifically their spiritual identity, was both a personally salient identity as well as an identity they silenced based on context. This dissonance led to participants needing to live separate lives, or at least compartmentalize their identities, for safety and comfort.
While all the participants denied being a victim of overt racism while on campus, many experienced microaggressions. They also recalled past experiences of bullying or shaming related to their culture or spirituality. This reliving of hurtful childhood memories could be a source of post-traumatic stress on SAAs, and it is important for higher education leaders to consider this as they help SAA college students navigate their identities. Participants indicated a desire and need to educate the public about their spiritual identity. While this is a benefit for faculty, staff, and students, the onus of this education on SAA collegians can mark an added stressor or burden.
The value of prayer. One finding from the study was prayer being an integral part of the participants’ upbringing. For many, faith is a source of strength they call upon 160 when they are challenged or weary. Participants in the study indicated that through challenging times, whether personal or familial, prayer was an essential part in resolution.
They were taught to incorporate prayer as part of a daily routine, and many continued this practice in college. Participants used prayer as a practice for solace, meditation, and connection with others who affiliated spiritually the same way they did. Thus, the meaning of prayer was articulated in a multi-faceted way.
Prayer – especially in one’s own home – also served as a proxy for those who could not physically visit a place of worship. This frustration was made evident when participants were given the task to take photographs through photovoice technique, and many could not name a space on or near campus where they could explore their cultural and spiritual identities together. In fact, many participants chose to take pictures of spaces back in their hometowns. Higher education institutions are espoused spaces where learning and personal development for students go hand-in-hand. Designing more spaces on campus for students to reflect, pray, and meditate should be an important part of ongoing discourse to help promote inclusive, well-rounded leaders for tomorrow. It should be acknowledged, however, that participants who had knowledge of nondenominational reflection spaces provided by the University were appreciative of them.
Sense of Belonging
Belonging is a biological and psychological need. Students feeling and experiencing a sense of belonging in college is important because it builds a stronger
161 connection between students to physical spaces, as well as to people occupying teaching and advising roles on campus. Literature also points to belonging being integral to student retention as well as positive academic outcomes (Strayhorn, 2012). Findings from the study showed that belonging was experienced by students in non-traditional spaces on campus. Additionally, certain connections, or in some cases lack of connections, enabled or disrupted feelings of belonging.
Academic spaces as affinity spaces. One of the most interesting findings from the study was about extracurricular academic activities the students were involved in while in high school. Many discussed how these activities, such as SAT preparation courses, were a cultural phenomenon in themselves. On one hand, these activities were promoted and pushed by SAA students’ parents almost universally. On the other hand, attending these activities, especially with other SAA-identified students, allowed students to see self as other and further their ethnic attachment (Accapadi, 2012). Moreover, having a critical mass of SAA individuals in these spaces created a sense of belonging.
This point parallels with this study’s participants indicating that academic spaces on campus were where they felt the most belonging, even more so than traditional “social” spaces on campuses such as the student union, residence halls, or recreation centers.
Belonging via human connections. Participants stated during the interviews that their connection to campus was in large part a result of connections they built with other
SAAs. This yearning and desire for human connection for belonging eclipsed belonging to physical spaces on campus. Participants sought out authentic friendships. While participants had many SAA friends, they pursued friends who were genuinely interested 162 in getting to know them and their identities, even if they were different. Once friendships
– and an overall social network – were built, the space did not matter as much as being with others. For example, many participants indicated that their spiritual organization meetings and events were where they felt belonging; however, these meetings and events were not in the same location. Despite the change in physical space, the belonging remained constant due to the connection with others.
Invisibility of SAA faculty and staff. While the population of Asian Americans have increased in higher education, Asian American faculty and staff members have not increased in numbers to be representative of the student body. As stated in chapter two, only four percent of NASPA members in 2010 identified as Asian American (Wang &
Teranishi, 2012). While this statistic is quantitative in nature, qualitative narratives, especially from Asian American students, illustrate the gravity of this invisibility. The participants in the study discussed the invisibility of SAA-identified faculty and staff, providing examples of when they have earnestly searched for SAA faculty and staff members. They also expressed a desire to hire more.
It was also acknowledged that SAA faculty need to be hired in fields of study such as liberal arts and education. These fields have not been occupied by SAAs, traditionally, which may be a result of societal and familial pressure to pursue certain fields that lead to lucrative careers. Attention should be made to SAA students who pursue non-STEM fields who may return to a higher education setting for teaching or administrative positions. These SAAs will in turn serve as role models for SAAs.
163 Students acknowledged the power of mentorship in college, but unfortunately, most participants in the study could not identify one mentor on campus who held a faculty or staff position. The tie between a lack of SAA faculty and staff, the desire for more, and the current lack of mentorship could be space for further interrogation.
Separately, the invisible labor of the few SAA faculty and staff on campus who support
SAA students outside of their work duties and hours should also be recognized.
The Phenomenon: SAA Collegians’ Identity Navigation and Belonging
Upon extracting themes from the individual interviews which focused on identity navigation and sense of belonging, respectively, a larger set of three key findings on the entire phenomenon was identified. The purpose of identifying these three key findings was to illuminate and create a larger understanding of the phenomenon of SAA collegians with disparate spiritual affiliations establishing belonging on an American college campus. This section will go into further detail about these key findings.
Family as support and residual immigrant grit. For SAAs, family members are invisible, yet omnipresent on campus. While they are not physically present, they are emotionally there for their students. They are at the other end of daily phone calls. They pay tuition bills. They guide their college students to pursue academic fields of study and get involved in particular organizations. For participants in this study, family was consistently and universally stated as their primary source of support. Interestingly, some participants articulated that certain other minoritized identities, such as sexual orientation, were not areas they were comfortable speaking to family about, but nevertheless, they felt
164 a close connection with family. While not often on campus, parents and family members were present at other events on campus – both traditional, such as Honors Day, as well as cultural, such as the annual South Asian talent show. These conversations blended together to help me, as the researcher, understand that familial support was a vital part to both SAA collegians’ navigating their identities as well as experiencing a sense of belonging on campus. Further discourse should also take place between the tri-fold intersection of culture, spirituality, and education.
1.5 and second-generation SAAs respect and revere their immigrant parents – for the sacrifice they made in leaving their homeland and also for creating a new life out of nothing in a strange land. This was acknowledged by the participants of the study and was brought out as an important factor to remain connected. While some participants indicated a need to carry on a legacy, and a few others shared added expectations, most shared that remaining connected to family was more than just a community obligation, it was a cultural value. My analysis of the findings from the discussion about support and family led to an asset-based understanding of participants’ connection to their family.
However, there is nuance related specifically to parental expectations and communication and this could be further extrapolated in future studies. Ultimately, participants in this study emphasized that family support motivated their identity navigation and sense of belonging.
Furthermore, participants in the study discussed how keeping their parents’ immigration histories in mind have helped them remain resilient to struggles in college. I label this phenomenon as residual immigrant grit. Grit, as it related to educational 165 contexts, was largely popularized by Duckworth and colleagues (2007) who defined it as a personal characteristic encompassing perseverance and passion for long-term goals.
Immigrants are known to have this characteristic when they envision a life outside of their homeland and do what they can once they get to their new land to be successful.
Participants in the study relayed many anecdotes of “gritty” behavior on the part of their immigrant parents. However, in understanding how they managed triggers and microaggressions in college, the participants themselves displayed grit, and this may have been passed on as a value or trait by their immigrant parents. It must also be noted that grit can also be used against marginalized students. For instance, grit can be fetishized as a quality that institutions look for, which also takes some responsibility off of institutions to support students who may not exhibit those traits when they arrive on campus.
Student organizations as a critical vehicle for spiritual identity navigation and belonging. Student organizations have an important function on a college campus.
They help students find common interests and connect with the larger campus. We also know in education literature that involvement in student organizations is related to positive academic and social outcomes (Astin, 1984). Furthermore, involvement in student organizations also align with an increased sense of ethnic awareness and belonging, especially for Asian Americans (Inkelas, 2004; Museus, 2008). While the themes in the literature parallel findings from this study, spiritually-based student organizations were found to be particularly impactful for students. For many, spiritually- based student organizations were ostensibly places of worship for SAA students. This was especially true for those who did not have access to a place of worship in the Austin 166 area. Participating with peers in these organizations, with weekly meetings that incorporated prayer and other forms of worship, was spiritually fulfilling for the students.
Participating in student organizations facilitated authentic friendships. The anecdote of participant Matthew describing his organization celebrating his birthday
(shared in detail in chapter five) was one of many examples brought forward by the participants of how active participation in student organizations has facilitated both identity understanding as well as belonging to campus. Simran shared, “participating in student orgs gives me confidence to pursue more general student leadership opportunities.” Understanding that cultural and spiritual organizations are edifying and allow students to build competencies and skills to step outside their comfort zone is evidence enough for institutions to continue supporting these groups on campuses.
Encouraging SAA solidarity. “Humans are tribal. We need to belong to groups.
We crave bonds and attachments, which is why we love clubs, teams, fraternities, family.
Almost no one is a hermit.” (Chua, 2018, p. 1). Amy Chua’s book on political tribes has large-scale implications for arenas well beyond politics. Sociologically speaking, humans congregate with people of similar identities for belonging and safety needs. This is true for SAAs. In a place like UT Austin which has a critical mass of SAAs, factions have emerged within the SAA community. In 2019, there were 42 registered student organizations that had names of South Asian groups in the title or description at UT
Austin. Although some organizations overlapped in meaning and membership, many did not. Participants in the study acknowledged there were disparate groups within the SAA community, while also contending that non-SAA individuals considered the entire group 167 monolithic. As stated earlier, dealing with and breaking down monolithic stereotypes were ways SAA collegians navigated their identities.
One issue brought forth by the participants as a common hurdle for all SAAs was the rise in mental health concerns. While colleges and universities are seeing growing mental health concerns on campus for students of all backgrounds (Spano, 2011), SAAs are also faced with two additional barriers related to this issue: (1) the stigma which exists within the community about discussing mental health issues and help-seeking behaviors and (2) the lack of SAA-identified or culturally competent counselors in mental health centers. These barriers were identified by a majority of the participants in the study, indicating that although not widely discussed, they are issues in the hearts and minds of SAA students. Higher education institutions should consider opportunities to mitigate these barriers for SAA and non-SAA students alike.
After acknowledging SAA factions on campus and identifying common challenges faced by SAAs, the participants in the study postulated that having a justice- centered SAA collective organization – one that would house the other individual SAA culturally- and spiritually-based organizations – would be essential for community advocacy. This umbrella organization would serve as a platform for amplified visibility of the community as well as efforts to support the community to external constituents.
While established events, such as the Taal South Asian talent show, brought
SAAs from diverse backgrounds together, recent events such as the “SAA Olympics,” have begun to emerge as additional opportunities for SAAs to connect. In 2018, the South
Asian Christian student organization and the Hindu Students Association spearheaded an 168 event on the UT campus called “Faith and Chai,” which inspired the title of this dissertation. This event brought many South Asian spiritually-based organizations together for dialogue, networking, and understanding. While interfaith efforts have proliferated on the UT campus in the recent past, this was an interfaith event that was exclusive to SAAs. Discussion at “Faith and Chai” called for increased collaboration among SAA students and a move toward unity and solidarity. Moreover, the recent desire for SAA collaboration at UT Austin was marked by the need for further advocacy of the community in the wake of the national climate since 2016.
Discussion of Findings Related to Conceptual Frameworks
The three key findings of family support, student organization involvement, and
SAA solidarity – along with the other findings from the study – were illuminated from a coding process. Part of the coding process included pattern-coding to align themes with the two conceptual frameworks stated in chapter two. This section will provide analysis of these connections to the established models in the literature.
Asian American Identity Consciousness
Accapadi (2012) conceptualized the model for Asian American identity consciousness, which was informed by both Critical Race Theory (CRT) and polyculturalism. Critiquing earlier stage models, where development was designed linearly, the model for Asian American identity consciousness used a factor-based approach. This model identified many factors that individuals can use as a point-of-entry
169 to become conscious of their Asian American identity. For this model, family history, ethnic attachment, self as other, external influence and perceptions, and other social identities were identified as factors. As a reminder, this model allows for multiple points of entry and is “fluid, continuous, and dynamic” (Accapadi, 2012, p. 72).
For this study, besides cultural identity, the social identity of spirituality was centered during the interviews and photovoice project. Participants noted how their spiritual affiliation informed their South Asian identity and vice-versa. Findings in the study point to how this other social identity was interdependent on racial identity consciousness. This finding corroborated with the model in that other social identities and
Asian American identity consciousness had a two-way arrow – they influence and inform each other. This other social identity factor was the only factor out of the six which had this multiway approach.
Beyond this, participants discussed other factors which influenced their SAA identity. For example, the microaggressions they faced on campus, and the need to educate others on their spiritual identity, both align with external influence and perceptions. Most notably, family influence was a factor in the model which also played an integral role in how participants in the study became more conscious of their SAA identity. Family relationships served as a primary source of support and influenced how
SAA students navigated their identities and experienced a sense of belonging on campus.
Family checked in with their students about academics and social organizations, and they also served as people to lean on spiritually.
170 While many findings in this study were in fidelity with the model for Asian
American identity consciousness, some findings diverged or did not share parallels with the model. While Accapadi (2012) discussed heavily the role of external influences and perceptions as informing identity consciousness, she relied on negative incidents and events as ways racial identity exploration was affected. On the contrary, participants in my study discussed how positive episodes, such as celebrating religious holidays on campus and active participation in student organizations, were externally influenced and also allowed them to become more consciousness of their Asian American identity.
Belonging for Privileged and Minoritized Students
Belonging, as an important goal for college students, has gained traction in recent years (Strayhorn, 2012). Much of this is attributed to the fact that students’ sense of belonging is connected to positive academic and social outcomes for college students
(Freeman, Andermen, & Jensen, 2007). Vaccaro and Newman (2016) understood the importance of belonging for college students and hypothesized that this may look different for students with privileged identities versus those with minoritized identities.
Citing Harper (2013), Vaccaro and Newman operationalized minoritization as underrepresentation and the act of individuals being rendered as minorities, especially in contexts where Whiteness is overrepresented. Vaccaro and Newman identified three key factors that attributed to students’ sense of belonging in college: environments, relationships, and involvement. They found that privileged and minoritized students had divergent experiences within the three factors that related to their belonging.
171 Several sub-findings and larger key findings from this study on SAA collegians’ identity navigation and sense of belonging parallel concepts from the model on belonging for privileged and minoritized students. Certain SAA students in the study felt they were treated differently than their peers (Vaccaro & Newman, 2016). This manifested in microaggressions and the need to navigate their spiritual identity vigilantly on campus.
Furthermore, the visibility of Christian churches near campus and the invisibility and inaccessibility of places of worship from other faiths “other-ized” the students in the study. Recommendations for SAAs to explore interfaith relationships to build community with one another is described further in the implications section.
Relationships were noted as integral for SAAs to feel belonging on campus, and this is identified as a key factor in Vaccaro and Newman’s model (2016). SAA students articulated that belonging was fortified through human connections rather than physical spaces. The relationships they built with fellow SAA peers helped them feel like a part of something greater than themselves. They also used these relationships to navigate the
University successfully. Affective support was a feature of how minoritized students in
Vaccaro and Newman’s study felt their relationships led to belonging. This was also true for the participants in my study. The reliance on family for support, along with the desire for more SAA faculty and staff members on campus, are evidence of this wish for affective support.
Authenticity was defined in Vaccaro and Newman’s (2016) study as being true to oneself. This was seen as an important feature for minoritized students in all three factors of their belonging - environments, relationships, and involvement. This self-awareness 172 was discussed by the students in my study as well. For example, participation in spiritually-based student organizations allowed for a space in which SAA students could be their whole, true selves. SAA students desire authentic connections when seeking help. This was articulated in their search for SAA faculty and staff to connect with on a deeper level. This need for authenticity was also exemplified in SAA students’ discussion of mental health concerns and their desire for SAA solidarity for advocacy.
Limitations
This study on SAA collegians’ identity navigation and sense of belonging fills a gap in the literature about understanding the diversity and nuances that exist in the SAA community. However, there were several limitations to this study. Qualitative methods, with a sample size of 12, were used to draw out rich narratives from the participants about their lived experiences. An inherent limitation to qualitative research is the inability to generalize to the larger population. Secondly, the site of UT Austin should be considered with its features: a large, public institution located in the southern United
States with a significant Asian American population. Due to this, UT Austin has several unique characteristics uncommon for other institutions.
In terms of the research design, one limitation was the exclusion of SAA students who identified as atheist or agnostic. This was done with the intention that SAA students who were spiritually affiliated may have experienced belonging through their spiritually- based student organizations, of which many of the participants took part. Future studies can incorporate atheist or agnostic SAA students to see if there are differences in how
173 they experience belonging. Secondly, only undergraduates – and specifically sophomores, juniors, and seniors – were included in the study. Graduate students may or may not have produced similar findings. Since graduate students are traditionally older and more mature, family may not have provided the same primary source of support for them.
After the conclusion of data collection, other limitations of the study emerged.
The 12 participants in the study provided rich data to answer the research questions. I strived for maximum variation in spiritual affiliation and South Asian linguistic/ethnic groups. However, according to the demographic questionnaire, all 12 participants traced their ancestry to either India or Pakistan, and South Asia traditionally includes additional countries which should be a focus for recruitment in future studies. Furthermore, most the participants identified their hometowns as one of two major Texas cities, which reduced diversity of hometowns. Third, two-thirds of the participants identified as having majors in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) fields. Participants relayed that many SAA friendships were formed in their STEM classes. For those non-STEM majors, friendships were not as easily found in academic spaces and they were more likely to identify non-academic spaces as affinity spaces. Lastly, most of the students discussed participation in private, extracurricular academic tutoring or test preparation programs. While students were not directly asked about their socio-economic status, one participant did discuss how his family could not afford the test preparation program.
Therefore, this sample may have skewed toward middle- and upper-middle class.
174 Implications for Research
This study on SAA identity navigation and sense of belonging in college adds to the few, but important, dissertation studies on SAA college students. A unique component of this study was understanding the intersections of cultural and spiritual identities for SAA students. Furthermore, this study adds to the ongoing discussion about belonging for college students.
As previously stated, the South Asian American community is growing in the
United States and in American college campuses. While not many participants spoke at length about how the current political climate has influenced their belonging in college, this feeling may evolve as more SAA students enter college and national conversations change. There is a need for further studies on SAA college students to continue to understand their experiences in American higher education institutions. Ideas for future research include a study on exclusively non-STEM majors and their sense of belonging, especially given the lack of SAAs in non-STEM fields. Although most participants in the study found academic spaces to be affinity spaces, findings from this study point to some discrepancy between those who built affinity outside of academic spaces and those that did. The participants who also discussed social and identity-based spaces as affinity spaces tended to be those with liberal arts majors. Further studies can expand on how pressures and aspirations unique to each major may contribute to belonging and identity navigation.
Students who identified with a religion or spirituality were recruited for this study, but their actual spiritual development was not investigated. This developmental 175 process could be a focus of a future study, especially to see similarities and differences with existing spiritual development theories. Along the same lines, atheist and agnostic
SAA students were not represented in this study, but their voices matter in developing policies and practices that intend to benefit the entire SAA community. Participants identified as 1.5, second-, or 2.5 generation as their immigrant status. As more generations of SAAs make the United States home over time, subsequent studies on third- and fourth-generation SAAs will be warranted to juxtapose their experiences of belonging with those of earlier generations. A future study could also explore how SAAs of various socio-economic statuses experience belonging in college.
Additionally, further research can be conducted to compare and connect SAA college student experiences to other groups which have been historically underserved or marginalized. Comparative work on belonging and identity navigation with African
American and Latinx populations in higher education could be informative for future directions in SAA higher education research. Moreover, previously established work with these other communities can provide ideas for best practices to work with SAAs. On this note, further studies on the SAA community and other Asian American subgroups can be brought together to reaggregate into the larger Asian American umbrella. This may be a necessary impetus for institutions who may not have a large SAA community but have a large students of Color population – leading to interest convergence.
Lastly, a quantitative study on SAA college students, with a larger quantitative data set of SAA collegians, would be beneficial for many reasons. If these data are collected across diverse institutional contexts, generalizability could be facilitated easier. 176 Secondly, a large data set of SAA college students could assist many researchers in making a wide variety of analyses without having to meet the participants. In the end, a large data set on SAA college experiences could be part of a grounded theory study to design an inaugural model for South Asian American college student identity development, one which does not exist at this time.
Implications for Practice and Policy
Higher education institutions have a critical role in fostering environments where students of all identities feel safe, nurtured, and valued (Turner, 2013). In this section, I outline implications and recommendations for practice and policy. Specifically, these recommendations are organized into two categories: institutional support and SAA connections.
Institutional Support
Drawing on the findings and corresponding analysis, there are many ways higher education institutions can better support SAA collegians with diverse spiritual identities as they pursue belonging on campus. First, institutions can focus on how data is acquired by students throughout their time before and during college. Namely, institutions can ask for more qualitative data on racial and ethnic groups, or at least provide more options.
This would allow for disaggregated data on Asian American students on campus.
Family was identified as a primary source of support for SAA students. One recommendation is to focus on enhancing parent and family programs in college. Offices
177 for parent and family programs exist to provide parents and families with context about
University policy. The office also serves as a point of contact to navigate campus.
Providing intercultural competency training for administrators in this office can bridge any gaps between the office and SAA families. A second recommendation for parent and family programs is to have affinity groups within the parent and family membership. Just as SAA students desire for community, so may SAA parents of college students.
Maximizing this relationship can leverage the close relationship SAA students have with their parents.
The value of prayer was shared as an integral part of SAA college students’ upbringing, as well as their college experience. However, many students stated that places for prayer and worship were not accessible in college. Recently, higher education institutions have designed interfaith and reflection spaces on campus for students to use.
At UT Austin, in 2019, there were three reflection spaces on campus, with the most recent addition in the engineering college in 2018. Participants in the study varied in their acknowledgment of these spaces. Therefore, increased marketing and publicity for the established reflection spaces is warranted. Furthermore, participants indicated a desire for more reflection spaces on campus, including in residence halls and recreation centers.
As discussed earlier, student organizations are important for students to feel belonging, and they were shown to be particularly critical for SAAs for serving as a proxy for attending a place of worship. With this understanding, administrators of higher education institutions can financially support these organizations to hold these organization meetings on a consistent and visible basis. 178 Opportunities for SAAs to dialogue and seek assistance with mental health is another practical recommendation for institutions. Since SAA students find affinity with and spend much time in academic spaces, more resources to support mental health within academic spaces may be necessary. Counseling centers should look to design satellite offices and decentralize their services in order to meet students where they spend the most time. At UT Austin, the counseling center also provides free processing group sessions for various affinity groups. For example, there is an Asian American Voices group for students who identify as Asian American to process experiences in college. It is facilitated by an Asian American counselor. Groups like this can destigmatize mental health resources and attract students to attend.
Participants in the study expressed desire for more culturally competent faculty and staff members. Faculty and staff could be awarded credit or professional development funds to pursue conferences or webinars involving diversity, inclusion, and equity topics. Additionally, institutions can invest in measuring intercultural sensitivity of their administration and faculty through measures such as the Intercultural Development
Inventory (Hammer, Bennett, & Wiseman, 2003). Furthermore, institutions of higher education can reach out to scholars and consultants on identities held by a critical mass of students on their campuses. For example, if a campus has a high population of SAA students, administrators can look to identify and bring in scholars with expert knowledge on SAA identity development and student success strategies. Trainings by these scholars and consultants can provide benefits two-fold for the University: (1) provide visibility for
179 students who identify with the scholar; and (2) ideate on tangible steps in creating safer and more comfortable environments for students now and in the future.
Administrators in higher education, particularly high cabinet-level leaders, should consider acknowledging religious holidays. One participant in the study, Faiza, stated that she enjoyed how US President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau took to social media to wish followers on particular religious holidays such as
Ramadan and Holi. Faiza shared how meaningful it would be for college presidents to do the same. In a series titled Bridging Research and Practice to Support Asian American
Students, Accapadi (2017) stated:
For the first time in the history of my institution, in 2016, my campus president
hosted Diwali dinner in his home for Desi students. This moment mattered for this
community. It was the first time they felt “acknowledged” by “the
administration.” (p. 93).
This reflection by Accapadi illustrates the beauty of valuing all students. Beyond acknowledgments, college administrators can promote cultural and spiritual events on campus knowing they serve as experiences which better promote belonging for students.
Strategies for SAA Connections
There are many practical implications institutions can pursue, but equally as important is empowering SAA college students to navigate institutions successfully. The findings of this study highlight the significance of SAAs connecting to each other. For
180 moral, emotional, and spiritual support, SAAs look to each other as they traverse the modern American college campus.
Specifically related to spirituality, the “Faith and Chai” event led by the South
Asian Christian organization on campus provided a venue for breaking down barriers, learning, connections, and solidarity. Through this event, SAA students were introduced to a variety of spiritual affiliations, along with understanding the lived experiences of
SAA students of diverse spiritual backgrounds. It is recommended that this event continue and gain sponsorship from offices on campus that support diverse identities.
One practical recommendation brought forth by the participants themselves was the creation of an SAA collective, an umbrella organization that would encompass all other individual SAA spiritual, cultural, and social student organization. The collective should be visible, while also listing all the student organizations that are members. The purpose of this collective would be two-fold: first, to break down barriers within the SAA community and second, to unite SAAs under a common banner for community advocacy.
Beyond the borders of campus, local and civic groups can serve as other resources for SAAs. In building a larger SAA community, students can share spaces off-campus with each other. For example, SAA Christian students can use their privilege to advocate for church spaces to be used as places of worship for various faith groups throughout the week. In a similar vein, interfaith coalitions and organizations can also provide an avenue for SAA students across spiritual identities to engage with each other. For example, according to their website, the Interfaith Action of Central Texas (IACT’s) mission is to
181 bridge faith divides, cultivate peace and respect, be a place for inclusion, dialogue, service, and collaboration.
While transportation might serve as a barrier, for those with access and ability, these established organizations can serve as spaces where they can navigate and explore their identities safely. For example, Queer-identified participants in the study discussed a lack of resources on campus to support their SAA/Queer intersectionality, but they also noted that a group in the city of Austin, AZAAD, served that purpose. Institutions can benefit from collecting information about these groups in order to build connections between SAAs. Additionally, off-campus community groups, like AZAAD, can look into establishing liaison roles so they can promote and engage college students proactively.
Technology, and specifically social media, can be leveraged as another tool for
SAAs to connect with each other. For example, the Facebook group “subtle curry traits” contained over half a million South Asians across the globe in 2019. While typically a space to post memes and funny anecdotes, it has also served as a space for dialogue on prevalent topics affecting the community. When no physical community space is provided, students have taken advantage of online forums to connect with like-minded people.
Encouraging SAA connections should go well beyond student-student interactions. To contextualize the larger SAA community, and in encouraging SAA solidarity, SAA students can connect with SAA faculty and staff members. Institutions can also focus on recruitment and hiring of faculty and staff who are representative of the student body. With few SAA faculty and staff members on campuses nationwide, it is 182 important for SAAs in professional positions at institutions to also remain connected to each other. Informal groups on social media and texting applications, such as GroupMe, can provide a forum for SAA-identified faculty and staff to connect, vent, process, and offer advice to each other.
More formalized groups, such as institutionally-recognized resource groups, can further provide visibility and spaces for advocacy for faculty and staff. For example, at
UT Austin, the Asian/Asian American Faculty Staff Association (AAAFSA) serves to provide a space for faculty and staff members to convene and share their experiences.
Beyond the institution, larger professional organizations have constituent groups and knowledge communities to promote affinity and connection. NASPA – one of the umbrella professional organizations for the field of student affairs – has an Asian Pacific
Islander Knowledge Community (2019) whose mission is:
To educate and inform NASPA members about the current issues, trends, and
research facing Asian Pacific Islanders in higher education. [They] activity
nurture and support the professional development of students and professionals
through a variety of programs and by providing leadership and involvement
opportunities within the knowledge community.
Institutions should be connected to these knowledge communities, as on top of affinity spaces, they serve as research cultivation groups. Likewise, knowledge communities can also bridge relationships with institutions to share out best practices. For example, if an institution that serves SAA students exceptionally well was connected with the Asian
183 Pacific Islander Knowledge Community, the community can be used as liaison to inform other less-resourced institutions.
As stated earlier, only four percent of NASPA members identify as Asian
American (Wang & Teranishi, 2012). Building a recruitment and mentorship program within this knowledge community will also be vital to retain these staff members. In
2019, the Asian Pacific Islander Knowledge Community designed the inaugural Asian
Pacific Islander Desi American Leadership Academy. They identified their vision on their website:
While the number of domestic and international students who identify as Asian
Pacific Islander or Desi American (APIDA) on U.S. college campuses continues
to grow, APIDA staff and faculty often lack spaces to develop skills and
relationships to further their impact in student affairs. APIDALA seeks to prepare
student affairs professionals to move into positions of greater visibility and
influence in higher education. (NASPA, 2019).
Summary of Implications for Practice and Policy
Based on the aforementioned implications for practice and policy, a summarized list of recommendations is provided in Table 6.1 in a user-friendly way. Specifically, the table outlines ideas for how institutions can better support SAA students, as well as ideas which can further connections between and among SAAs.
184 Institutional Support SAA Connections
Disaggregate APIDA data Continue SAA interfaith dialogues
Allow for open-ended responses to racial Promote an SAA collective organization and ethnic categories on applications
Build in affinity groups within parent and Collect a list of all SAA affiliated student family programs organizations and provide as a resource
Design and implement reflection spaces on Connect SAA students with local SAA civic campus groups and interfaith groups
Support faith- and spiritually-based Leverage affinity groups on social networking organizations in an equitable way sites
Decentralize counseling centers to provide Recruit faculty and staff who are visibility in academic spaces representative of student demographics
Create affinity processing groups facilitated Build connections between SAA students and by counselors SAA faculty and staff
Facilitate University Resource Groups (URGs) Invest in intercultural competency training for SAA faculty and staff to connect with each for faculty and staff members other on campus
Support SAA faculty and staff in participating Acknowledge religious holidays and host in professional organizations to connect with spiritually-based events on campus other SAAs around the region and nation
Table 6.1. Recommendations for Institutional Support and SAA Connections
A Conceptual Model of SAA Collegians’ Identity Navigation and Belonging
Considering the three key findings after analyzing the phenomenon of identity navigation and sense of belonging for SAA college students, as well as identifying areas for practical implications, I designed a conceptual model (see Figure 6.1) to make meaning of the current state and the future for SAA college students with diverse identities. This proposed model highlights that institutional support, in addition to SAA connections, can lead to successful identity navigation and belonging. 185
Figure 6.1. Model of SAA Collegians’ Identity Navigation and Belonging (Samuel, 2019)
Implications of the Model
The model depicts that SAA spiritual identity navigation and belonging in college is cultivated by institutional support mechanisms as well as established SAA connections.
The findings of this study point to family support structures and student organization participation as additional vehicles for identity navigation and belonging. Furthermore, navigation and belonging can also inform how SAAs continue to engage family as support; navigation and belonging can also motivate SAA students to continue
186 participation in student organizations to develop their identities further. For example, as it relates to spirituality in particular, family and student organizations helped students make meaning of their spiritual identity while simultaneously facilitating belonging to the institution, which in turn affecting how they gave back to their families and organizations. Hence, family as primary support and student organizations to engage identities are bidirectional (visualized as a two-way arrow). Finally, with institutional support and established connections with peers, SAAs who are navigating their identities successfully and finding belonging can look towards building solidarity with other SAAs, the proposed outcome of identity exploration and understanding of belonging.
In practice, the model can be operationalized in many ways. First, institutions can see that support they provide only plays a part in identity navigation and belonging, albeit a critical one. Institutions should also look to ways they can facilitate relationships between SAAs and build affinity spaces where SAAs can connect with SAA faculty and staff members. While family and student organizations serve roles to affect SAA identity exploration and belonging, institutions should also be mindful that this works the other way, too. Family bonds can be strengthened when students have resources to navigate their identities. Student organizations can thrive when students feel a sense of belonging.
Institutions desiring to build or expand their family programs and student activity networks should consider that students, in this case SAAs, can promote the growth of these programs with structures in place to support their identities and belonging needs.
187 Significance of the Model
The model of SAA collegian’s identity navigation and belonging is novel for many reasons. First, this is the first model for South Asian American college students which brings together both identity exploration and sense of belonging as dually important and interdependent aspects of SAA college student development. Other established models discuss identity consciousness and belonging separately. Secondly, the model incorporates cultural values – such as parental reverence and familial relationships – with already understood factors of student success – such as student activity involvement – into one model. This a nod to many 1.5 and second-generation
SAAs who feel equally attached to their American identity, as well as their South Asian cultural roots. Finally, this model was designed to be practically applicable and action- oriented. Institutional support and SAA connections were placed at the top to signify that college administrators and SAA college students alike have a role in promoting identity navigation as well as establishing a sense of belonging.
Significance of the Study
The purpose of this study was to explore the sense of belonging and intersections of spiritual and cultural identities in South Asian American college students. In doing so, the study contributed to higher education literature and the field of student affairs in many other ways as well. First, this study contributes to an area of previous paucity in the literature on South Asian Americans in higher education. Secondly, this study highlighted the diversity within the SAA community. SAAs are not a monolith; they come from a 188 variety of linguistic, socioeconomic, and spiritual identities. While findings were similar with SAA participants in study across spiritual identities, each subgroup within the SAA communities has unique needs.
Third, this study provided insight into strategies that SAAs use to navigate their identities. While seemingly unconventional, the findings point to administrators leveraging novel resources, such as parents and families, to support students. Fourth, this study showcased the multitude of ways SAAs make the college campus their own. From using academic spaces as affinity spaces, to celebrating religious functions on campus,
SAAs have already acquired many resources on their own, with plans to continue pushing forward. Another significant contribution of this study was the discussion of practical considerations for research and practice in fostering environments to better support SAAs in higher education. Lastly, using the findings extracted from a sample of SAA students across identities, this study proposed a new model to promote SAA collegians’ identity navigation and belonging that institutions and researchers can use as a framework to make further contributions to the SAA community.
Closing Personal Reflection
I am a South Asian American student affairs professional. My identities provided me access to the SAA community and positioned me as a person the participants could trust. What was most rewarding was the beautifully articulated experiences of the participants. Spending time with the students felt less like conducting interviews and more like sharing quality time with old friends. While in some ways it was painful to
189 relive similar stories of otherization that seemingly have not changed since I was in college, it was also heartening to gather insights into how these students want to make a better future for the next generation of SAA college students. Stitching their experiences into a story of how a group of students made their campus community their own was fulfilling to me, and my hope is that it would encourage researchers and administrators alike to consider offering space to hear the untold stories on other campuses.
I am also reinvigorated to contribute to my field and apply what I learned in this study to my practice. Particularly, I was inspired to conceptualize the findings and implications of the study into a proposed model that higher education institutions and the
SAA community can use to better the experience of SAA college students. Beyond this study, I look to using the model and expanding on my findings in multiple settings, all in the hope to pave the path for other researchers of SAA college students. South Asian
Americans will continue to grow in all sectors of the country, including and especially in higher education settings. Together, we all can cultivate a culture that promotes identity exploration, development, sense of belonging, and coalition-building in the SAA community.
190 Appendices
Appendix A: Recruitment Letter
My name is Justin Samuel. I am a doctoral candidate in the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin, and am writing to inquire if you might be interested in participating in a research study.
We are seeking participants for an exploratory research study focused on understanding how South Asian American (SAA) college students experience a sense of belonging on campus and make meaning of the intersections of their cultural and spiritual identities. Your perspective will be immensely helpful in contributing to research about effective strategies to support South Asian American college students.
To participate you must: Be a full-time UT sophomore, junior or senior Identify with a spiritual or faith identity Identify as a 1.5 or second generation South Asian American
We are seeking participants who fit the above criteria to participate in a brief demographic questionnaire, private interviews, and submission of two photos and a journal entry. Your participation in the project, including taking the survey and being interviewed, will take approximately two hours. The interviews will take place in person. All responses and identifying information will be kept confidential.
There is no compensation for participation in this study. However, participants will be entered into a drawing to win one of four $25.00 gift cards. Potential indirect benefits to participants include the opportunity to contribute to knowledge and understanding regarding South Asian American college students. We also intend to share major findings with the participating institutions to inform them about the findings of this work. If you are interested in participating, please fill out this survey: https://tinyurl.com/UTSouthAsianStudy
This study has been approved by the UT Austin Institutional Review Board (2016-11- 0100). If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected].
Thank you very much for your consideration.
Justin Samuel
191 Appendix B: Demographic Survey
(1) Your classification at UT Austin: a. First-year (freshman) b. Sophomore c. Junior d. Senior
(2) Your major: ______
(3) What is your gender? a. Man b. Woman c. Other: ______
(4) Country of ancestral origin: a. Bangladesh b. Bhutan c. India d. Nepal e. Pakistan f. Sri Lanka g. Other: ______
(5) Please indicate your generational status: a. First-generation: I was not born in the United States, and my first school experience in the United States was college. b. 1.5 generation: I was not born in the United States, but I came here as a child and completed high school in the United States. c. Second-generation: I was born in the United States, and my parents immigrated to the United States. d. Third-generation: I was born in the United States, and I have at least one parent who was also born in the United States.
(6) Indicate your spiritual/religious affiliation: a. Buddhism b. Christianity c. Hinduism d. Islam e. Jainism f. Sikhism g. Other: ______
192
(7) Where do you consider your hometown? a. Austin area b. Dallas area c. Houston area d. San Antonio area e. Another city in Texas: ______f. Another city outside Texas: ______
(8) Apart from English, what other languages do you speak? ______
(9) What is your availability for an initial one-hour interview? ______
193 Appendix C: Consent for Participation in Research
IRB USE ONLY Study Number: 2016-11-0100 Approval Date: 12/13/2016 Expires: 12/12/2019 Name of Funding Agency (if applicable): N/A
Consent for Participation in Research
Title: Exploring Sense of Belonging and Identity Intersections in South Asian American College Students
Introduction
The purpose of this form is to provide you information that may affect your decision as to whether or not to participate in this research study. The person performing the research will answer any of your questions. Read the information below and ask any questions you might have before deciding whether or not to take part. If you decide to be involved in this study, this form will be used to record your consent.
Purpose of the Study
You have been asked to participate in a research study about South Asian American college students. The purpose of this study is to understand how South Asian American college students make meaning of their cultural identity development and make meaning of their intersecting identities as South Asian and their spirituality. Another purpose of the study is to explore South Asian American college students’ sense of belonging on campus.
What will you be asked to do?
If you agree to participate in this study, you will be asked to:
Complete a brief demographic questionnaire. Participate in two private interviews in person with the researcher. Take two photos using a smartphone or other handheld device and share the photos with the researcher. Complete a short journal entry reflecting on your experience as a participant in this study.
This study will take approximately two hours and will include approximately 10-15 study participants. 194 Your participation will be audio recorded. You will not be video recorded.
What are the risks involved in this study?
There are no foreseeable risks to participating in this study.
What are the possible benefits of this study?
The possible benefits of participation are contributing to research about effective strategies to support South Asian American college students.
Do you have to participate?
No, your participation is voluntary. You may decide not to participate at all or, if you start the study, you may withdraw at any time. Withdrawal or refusing to participate will not affect your relationship with The University of Texas at Austin (University) in anyway.
If you would like to participate you will provide verbal consent at the beginning of the interview. You will receive a copy of this form via email for your records.
Will there be any compensation?
There will be no direct compensation for participants of the study. However, participants may enter themselves into a raffle to receive one of four $25.00 gift cards.
How will your privacy and confidentiality be protected if you participate in this research study?
Your privacy and the confidentiality of your data will be protected by not including your real name in any transcriptions (you will be assigned a pseudonym). A key connecting your email to your pseudonym will kept separate from the data files and will be destroyed as soon as data collection is completed. Audio files will not be labeled with identifying information and will be destroyed immediately upon transcription. All files related to this project will be kept on a password-protected and encrypted cloud server, UT Box, and only the research team will have access to our study files. We will not be collecting your digital or physical signature on this consent form to avoid connecting your identity to the study.
If it becomes necessary for the Institutional Review Board to review the study records, information that can be linked to you will be protected to the extent permitted by law. Your research records will not be released without your consent unless required by law or a court order. The data resulting from your participation may be made available to other 195 researchers in the future for research purposes not detailed within this consent form. In these cases, the data will contain no identifying information that could associate it with you, or with your participation in any study.
If you choose to participate in this study, you will be audio recorded. Any audio recordings will be stored securely and only the research team will have access to the recordings. Recordings will be kept for no longer than 3 months and then erased.
Whom to contact with questions about the study? Prior, during, or after your participation you can contact the researcher Justin Samuel at [email protected] for any questions or if you feel that you have been harmed.
This study has been reviewed and approved by The University Institutional Review Board and the study number is 2016-11-0100.
Whom to contact with questions concerning your rights as a research participant?
For questions about your rights or any dissatisfaction with any part of this study, you can contact, anonymously if you wish, the Institutional Review Board by phone at (512) 471- 8871 or email at [email protected].
Participation
If you agree to participate you will provide verbal consent at the beginning of the interview in the form of a “yes” answer.
Consent
When you give verbal consent, you are agreeing that you have been informed about this study’s purpose, procedures, possible benefits and risks, and you have received a copy of this form. You have been given the opportunity to ask questions before you consent, and you have been told that you can ask other questions at any time. You voluntarily agree to participate in this study. By giving verbal consent, you are not waiving any of your legal rights.
196 Appendix D: Interview Protocol
First Interview: Building Rapport, Upbringing, and Understanding of Identities
(1) Tell me more about your upbringing. (RQ 1) (2) How do you identify culturally and spiritually? (RQ 1) (3) Tell me more about your spiritual background? (RQ 1) a. What do you want colleges to know about your spiritual background? (4) What do you believe is the impact or influence of your SAA identity on your spiritual identity? (RQ 1) (5) How did your cultural and spiritual identity play a part in how you were brought up? (RQ 1) (6) What led you to apply to UT Austin? (RQ 2) (7) How do you hope to use your degree? (RQ 2) (8) Tell me more about relationships you have with South Asian Americans in college who do not belong to your spiritual or religious tradition, if any. (RQ 1;2) (9) Tell me about your involvement in student organizations. (RQ 1;2) (10) How have the student organizations supported your South Asian identity? (RQ 2) (11) How have the student organizations supported your spiritual identity? (RQ 1;2)
Second Interview: Identity Intersectionality, Belonging, and Ideas for Support
(1) Tell me about your photos. (RQ 1) (2) Some people feel they wear multiple hats when discussing their social identities, such as race and religion, while others say they have integrated those identities. How does it look for you? (RQ 1) (3) To what extent do you feel like a “part of” the campus community? (RQ 2) (4) What are your sources of support in college? (RQ 2) (5) Who would you consider as mentors on campus and why? (RQ 2) (6) What do you believe are some ways South Asian Americans from different religious groups can collaborate? (RQ 2) (7) What are your perceptions of this campus supporting spirituality and faith-based organizations in general? (RQ 1:2) (8) What are your general feelings about using student support services, such as the Counseling and Mental Health Center or Student Emergency Services? (RQ 2) (9) What can the University do to support your cultural and spiritual identities better? (RQ 2)
197 Appendix E: Coding List
Silencing Identity/ 1.1.1 Vigilance while SIL ID Navigating Identities Hyperawareness of 1.1 Spiritual Identities 1.1.2 Microaggressions MICROAG Navigating SAA 1.1.3 Educating Others EDUCATE Identity 1 Intersections 1.2.1 Prayer in Upbringing PR UB (RQ1) Valuing Prayer for 1.2 Understanding and 1.2.2 Prayer in College PR COL Healing Desire for Reflection 1.2.3 SPIRIT Spaces on Campus SPACE
2.1.1 SAT Prep Courses SAT Academic Spaces as 2.1 Affinity Spaces Finding Community in 2.1.2 College Academic ACAD Spaces
2.2.1 Authentic Friendships FRIEND Belonging via Human 2.2 SAA Sense of Connections Connecting with 2 2.2.2 Others Rather than CONNECT Belonging (RQ2) Spaces In Search of SAA 2.3.1 FS SEARCH Faculty and Staff
Invisibility of SAA Lack of Mentorship in 2.3 2.3.2 MENTOR Faculty and Staff College
Desire for More SAA 2.3.3 FS DESIRE Faculty and Staff
Strong Family Unit FAM 3.1.1 CONTEXT The Phenomenon: Family as a Primary Context 3.1 Current State and Source of Support Family 3 3.1.2 FAM COMM the Future (RQ1; Communication RQ2) Student Finding Student 3.2 3.2.1 FIND ORGS Organizations as a Organizations
198 Space to Navigate and Active Participation in 3.2.2 PART ORGS Engage Identities Student Organizations
Acknowledgement of 3.3.1 FACTIONS SAA Factions Encouraging SAA Advocating for Mental MENTAL 3.3 3.3.2 HEALTH Solidarity Health Resources Desire for SAA 3.3.3 Collaboration, Unity, SOLIDARITY and Solidarity
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218 Vita
Justin Thankachan Samuel was born in Houston, Texas, USA in 1988. Justin spent his formative years growing up in Stafford, Texas, and Sugar Land, Texas – suburbs of Houston. He attended The University of Texas at Austin and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in human development and family sciences in 2010. This is where he first became passionate about working with college students. He then pursued a Master of Arts degree in higher education and student affairs from The Ohio State
University, graduating in 2012. Justin’s first professional position in student affairs was at The University of Texas at Arlington, where he served as a residence director. After two years, he rejoined the Longhorn family and worked as a complex coordinator at The University of Texas at Austin. From there, Justin began the doctoral program in educational leadership and policy in 2015, and was subsequently promoted to assistant director for residence life.
Permanent email address: [email protected] This dissertation was typed by Justin Thankachan Samuel.
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