University of Northern Colorado Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC Dissertations Student Research 8-2019 Students of Size: An Exploratory Case Study on a Hidden Climate Braelin Pantel Follow this and additional works at: https://digscholarship.unco.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Pantel, Braelin, "Students of Size: An Exploratory Case Study on a Hidden Climate" (2019). Dissertations. 596. https://digscholarship.unco.edu/dissertations/596 This Text is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research at Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholarship & Creative Works @ Digital UNC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ã 2019 BRAELIN PANTEL ALL RIGHTS RESERVED UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO Greeley, Colorado The Graduate School STUDENTS OF SIZE: AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY ON A HIDDEN CLIMATE A DIssertatIon SubmItted in PartIal FulfillMent of the RequireMents for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy BraelIn Pantel College of EducatIon and Behavioral ScIences DepartMent of Leadership, PolIcy, and Development: HIgher EducatIon and P-12 EducatIon HIgher EducatIon and Student AffaIrs Leadership August 2019 This DIssertatIon by: BraelIn Pantel EntItled: Students of Size: An Exploratory Case Study on a Hidden Climate has been approved as meetIng the requireMent for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in College of EducatIon and Behavioral ScIences in DepartMent of Leadership, PolIcy, and Development: HIgher EducatIon and P-12 EducatIon, PrograM of HIgher EducatIon and Student AffaIrs Leadership Accepted by the Doctoral ComMIttee _________________________________________ TaMara Yakaboski, Ph. D., Research Advisor __________________________________________ Gardiner Tucker, Ph. D., ComMIttee MeMber __________________________________________ Paul Klaczynski, Ph. D., ComMIttee MeMber __________________________________________ ElIzabeth GIlbert, Ed. D., Faculty RepresentatIve Date of DIssertatIon Defense: May 2, 2019 Accepted by the Graduate School _____________________________________________________ LInda L. Black, Ed.D. AssocIate Provost and Dean Graduate School and InternatIonal AdmIssIons Research and Sponsored Projects ABSTRACT Pantel, BraelIn. Students of size: An exploratory case study on a hidden climate. PublIshed Doctor of Philosophy dissertatIon (unpublIshed), UniversIty of Northern Colorado, 2019. Colleges and universItIes often espouse values related to equity and InclusIon for diverse students (Harper & antonio, 2008; Torres, ArmInio, & Pope, 2012;). Student affaIrs practItIoners are frequently responsIble for working towards inclusIve environments (AMerican College Personnel AssocIatIon (ACPA), & NatIonal AssocIatIon of Student Personnel AdmInistrators (NASPA), 2015). An estIMated 31% of college and universIty students are classIfied as overweIght or obese (AMerican College Health AssocIatIon, 2007), yet body weIght or sIze is rarely a consIderatIon in work related to student equity and inclusIon on caMpus. LIMIted research exists on the experiences of students of sIze In college and universIty settIngs. The current study was desIgned as an exploratory sIngle case study to understand the clIMate on caMpus for college students who self-IdentIfied as students of sIze. A feMInist theoretIcal perspectIve and a critIcal actIon agenda underpinned the study. UsIng a descriptIve sIngle-case desIgn, the clIMate for feMale students of sIze was exaMIned at an instItutIon In a region of the U.S. where rates of obesIty are aMong the lowest in the country. EMpathic interviews, as well as partIcIpant-generated photo elIcItatIon, were used to illumInate the clIMate and to explore the clIMate and understand how weIght- related stIgma and bias presented wIthin the clIMate. iii The clIMate at the instItutIon exaMIned was found to be one in which sIze is generally hidden and mIssIng from the instItutIonal rhetoric and work related to diversIty and equity. Students of sIze regularly experienced MIcroaggressIons that were perpetrated by meMbers of the universIty comMunity and as a result of environmental features wIthin the caMpus. CritIcIsM and judgment, as well as the fear of beIng judged, were omnipresent and harmful. Students of sIze were Isolated and relegated to the background, when they chose to engage in theIr universIty experience at all. The challenges experienced by students of sIze were partIcularly pronounced and aMplIfied for students who also IdentIfied as women of color. Cultural theory and the concept of probleM fraMIng were used to make meaning of the data and shape recomMendatIons for future research, as well as practIcal applIcatIon for hIgher educatIon admInistrators seeking to cultIvate inclusIve caMpus environments for students of sIze. Higher educatIon leaders are encouraged to adopt a sIze justIce fraMe in theIr work to shape the caMpus clIMate in ways that are supportIve of diverse students, including students of sIze. SpecIfic recomMendatIons for prograMMatIc and environmental changes are offered. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................1 Students of SIze: A Case Study on a Big Issue ..................................................1 What’s in a NaMe? .............................................................................................6 Knowledge and DIscourse Gap ........................................................................10 Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................13 Research QuestIons ..........................................................................................16 My Story ..........................................................................................................16 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................20 The 3 “C’s:” Culture, Context, and ClIMate ....................................................22 LIterature Review ConclusIon .........................................................................70 III. METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................72 My Worldview .................................................................................................77 TheoretIcal FraMework ....................................................................................84 Case Study Methodology .................................................................................89 Data CollectIon Methods .................................................................................98 Data AnalysIs .................................................................................................132 Goodness and Trustworthiness ......................................................................141 IV. THE CLIMATE ................................................................................................145 What’s in a NaMe? Part II ..............................................................................149 The PartIcIpants .............................................................................................151 The HIdden ClIMate .......................................................................................159 Sporty .............................................................................................................162 The SMall Things Eat at You .........................................................................168 Thoughts and Fears of Judgment ...................................................................179 IntersectIon of IdentItIes ................................................................................194 Isolated and in the Background: BeIng Unseen .............................................203 MIssIng DIalogue ...........................................................................................220 ProbleM FraMes .............................................................................................228 ConclusIon .....................................................................................................233 V. DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS, AND NEXT STEPS ..................................235 The Adverse Effects of a HIdden ClIMate .....................................................238 Towards a SIze JustIce FraMe ........................................................................252 RecomMendatIons for PractIce ......................................................................255 v LIMItatIons and ConsIderatIons for Future Research .....................................281 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................301 APPENDIX A. InstItutIonal Review Board Approval Letter ........................................................333 B. PartIcIpant-Generated Photograph InstructIons ...................................................335 C. PartIcIpant RecruitMent Poster ............................................................................337 D. PartIcIpant EMaIl RecruitMent Request ...............................................................339 E. PartIcIpant QuestIonnaIre .....................................................................................341 F. Interview #1 Protocol ...........................................................................................345