Abstract

The study of marginalized students in higher education has been critiqued for focusing research attention on common areas of struggle rather than examining areas of success. This study attempted to address that gap, particularly at faith-based, predominantly White institutions as represented by the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of high-achieving students from historically marginalized groups involved in the Act Six program—a rigorous comprehensive urban leadership scholarship program—at four predominantly White CCCU institutions. The 30 participants defined their experience in terms of their sense of belonging, as measured by their perceptions of whether they as a student mattered (individual sense of belonging), and whether diversity mattered to the institution (institutional sense of belonging). Data from interviews indicated that peer support, institutional support, academics and faculty engagement, and campus-climate contributions and challenges all played a role in the student experience. The resulting implications for practice include pragmatic ideas for fostering a sense of belonging through the cadre model and campus community, within the classroom and the academic experience, and through the actions of senior leaders. Although this research documents a high degree of success for Act Six students individually, as well as of this particular program at the sponsoring institutions, the inconsistencies encountered by students in relation to their sense of belonging emphasizes the importance of educational leaders expanding efforts to develop hospitable campus services and a supportive campus climate.

摘要

对高等教育边缘化学生的研究因将研究注意力集中在共同的斗争领域而不是研究成功领域而受到批评。这项研究试图解决这一差距，特别是在以基督教学院和大学理事会为代表的以信仰为基础、以白人为主的机构中。本研究的目的是探索来自历史上边缘化群体的高成就学生的生活经历，这些学生参与了第六幕计划 - 一项严格的综合城市领导奖学金计划 - 在四个主要是白人的 CCCU 机构中。30 名参与者根据他们的归属感来定义他们的体验，这是通过他们对自己作为学生是否重要的​​看法（个人归属感）来衡量的，以及多样性对机构是否重要（机构归属感）。访谈数据表明，同伴支持、机构支持、学术和教师参与以及校园气候贡献和挑战都在学生体验中发挥了作用。由此产生的对实践的影响包括通过干部模式和校园社区、课堂和学术经验以及高层领导的行动来培养归属感的务实理念。虽然这项研究记录了第六幕学生个人的高度成功，以及赞助机构的这个特殊计划，