Browsing by Author "Vigil, Patricia, committee member"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7

Open Access
Acritical examination of non-Native pracitce of Native American religion
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Goar, Allison Marie, author; Vernon, Irene S., advisor; Black, Ray, committee member; Vigil, Patricia, committee member
This qualitative study examines the experiences and perceptions of non-Native American people who practice Native American religion. Semi-structured interviews with ten participants, all of whom identify as Caucasian or White, reveal a series of strategies to avoid or dismiss critiques of cultural appropriation. These strategies include, but are not limited to: neoliberal values, the practice of spiritual materialism, denial of spiritual agency, and racial stereotyping.
Open Access
Campus employment as a high-impact practice: relationship to academic success and persistence of first-generation college students
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Savoca, Marianna, author; Feller, Richard, advisor; Peila-Shuster, Jacqueline J., advisor; Gloeckner, Gene W., committee member; Vigil, Patricia, committee member
The double burden of spiraling costs and limited financial aid has prompted more college students to work more hours than ever. Yet, working more hours can be detrimental to students’ academic success and persistence, and first-generation college students are at even higher risk. While institutions cannot control off campus employment students choose, they do have opportunity to influence the content of jobs on campus. Campus jobs purposefully designed to provide a high-impact experience for students could potentially mitigate risk. The purpose of this study was to investigate how campus employment impacts academic success and persistence of first-generation college students, and compare differences in academic success and persistence of first-generation college students whose campus jobs were configured as high-impact practices with first-generation college students whose campus jobs were not, and make recommendations for practitioners. Archival datasets were collected from two institutions with a selection of campus jobs configured as high impact practices. The final sample included 1413 records of sophomores who had entered college as first-time, full-time freshmen, and worked on campus during their sophomore year. Regression analyses and factorial ANOVA were used to analyze the data. Results supported much of what has been shown in the literature about first-generation college students: they receive Pell, work more hours, earn lower GPAs and persist at lower rates. Results with respect to campus employment were inconclusive: type of campus job was not shown to be a significant individual predictor of either success measure, GPA or persistence. Yet, a statistically significant interaction of first-generation student status and type of campus job was found. While caution is recommended in interpreting such results, this interaction may stimulate different thinking for practitioners and researchers alike. Practitioners might consider the extent to which they could structure their campus jobs to include elements of high-impact practices; researchers may be encouraged to design studies of high-impact campus jobs and the extent to which they provide support for first-generation college students.
Open Access
Fathering behind bars: testimonio and the Prison Industrial Complex
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Martinez, Ashley V., author; Bubar, Roe, advisor; Cespedes, Karina, advisor; Montoya, Fawn-Amber, committee member; Vigil, Patricia, committee member
Chicano boy and girls are twice more likely to go to prison than grow up with their fathers compared to their White counter parts. This is due to the Prison Industrial Complex, a term used to identify how government and industry work together to implement systems that oppress and marginalize "undesirable" citizens through surveillance, policing and confinement. The Prison Industrial Complex is a tool of power used to marginalize and displace Chicano men as fathers leaving over 2.3 percent of children of Latino descent to be raised with a father behind bars.' The research questions guiding this study are: 1) How does incarceration affect Chicano fathers and their relationships with their families/communities? 2) How does spirituality affect how Chicana/os experience incarceration and perceptions of fathering; and 3) How do Chicano fathers understand what experiences led to their incarceration? This research project utilized interviews in the form of testimonio and extensive document data in the form of personal correspondences to explore the experiences of incarceration for Chicano fathers. A non-probability (purposive) sample was used for the document data and the 4 semi-structured interviews of formerly incarcerated Chicano fathers. A basic qualitative design and approach was used to analyze the document data. The purpose of this project was to expose how the P.I.C. empowered by Governmentality works to displace Chicano men as fathers. To also facilitate a theory on fathering from "behind bars" and to validate the use of testimonio as methodology in this under-researched area. Finally, to challenge traditional means of parenting and to validate the different forms parenting from behind bars can emerge.
Open Access
Participant outcomes of restorative justice conferencing within a higher education student disciplinary context
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2025) Wichmann, Brooke Elizabeth, author; Cavanagh, Tom, advisor; Chesson, Craig, committee member; Vigil, Patricia, committee member; Donovan, Jody, committee member
The focus of this dissertation was to understand the experiences of participants who engaged in restorative justice conferencing as part of a university's student conduct process. Student misconduct has long been a challenge within higher education, and some see restorative justice as an effective means of addressing student violations of university rules and norms. While restorative justice has been associated with positive outcomes for participants in criminal justice and K-12 educational settings, little research has been done on restorative justice within higher education. With more colleges and universities interested in incorporating restorative justice into their student conduct process, it is important to understand the experiences of participants who engage in restorative justice processes in these settings. As part of this dissertation, a non-experimental quantitative study was conducted with victims, student offenders, and community members who participated in a restorative justice conference as part of Colorado State University's student conduct process. Participants were administered pre and post-conference surveys with quantitative questions designed to obtain information about their attitudes, perspectives, experiences, and motivations. Quantitative descriptive analysis was used to investigate the frequency and variation of their scores and connections were explored between participant responses and the restorative justice theoretical paradigm, empirical findings of restorative justice research, and contemporary student conduct standards. The findings of this study suggest that it is possible for campus restorative justice programs to foster positive experiences for participants, follow contemporary student conduct standards, and be aligned with restorative justice theory. The dissertation concludes with recommendations for future research that are presented along with implications for practice to help colleges and universities operate effective restorative justice programs.
Open Access
"Take me to the river": mapping global flows from crayons to connections
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Kirhner, Jean Denison, author; Kamberelis, George, advisor; Jennings, Louise, advisor; Anderson, Sharon, committee member; Vigil, Patricia, committee member
In this dissertation I studied an ongoing professional development project that involved educators from Belize and the United States. In the end I argue that sustainable change within transnational and transcultural professional development activities and research projects is most effective when it involves Freirean-like dialogue, sharing life stories and sharing lifeworlds. Using a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach, I used interviews, focus groups, personal communications, and field notes of professional development activities to document the life stories, shared dialogue, and lived worlds of my colleagues in Belize. Using a basic thematic analysis approach, my Belizean colleagues and I distilled themes from the data to more deeply understand my colleagues' lives and perspectives on literacy and education. Embracing a fully collaborative (or participatory) research approach, I chose to represent our collective work as a narrative. Several key themes emerged from analyses: the effects of colonialism and postcolonialism on the entire enterprise, the exigencies of becoming a teacher in Belize, the effects of engaging in Freirean dialogue, sharing life stories, and sharing life worlds on teachers' identities and practices. First, I describe the context of colonialism/postcolonialism in which this work was embedded. Then I chronicle the early years of Belize Education Project's work. I begin by describing the origins of the Belize Education Project (BEP) and its focus on providing material resources and "best practice" teaching strategies to teachers in Belize. Importantly, I describe a watershed moment in which I realized that something more—something more human and more humanizing—was needed for the project to flourish. After that, I map the exigencies of becoming and being a teacher in Belize, a trajectory closely linked to forces of colonialism/postcolonialism. I also explain how intentionally enacting Freirean-like dialogue, sharing life stories, and sharing lifeworlds, led to key changes in the professional identities and practices of all BEP participants, my Belizean colleagues as well as members of Belize Education Project in the United States. Finally, I discuss the effects of changing relationships, identities, and practices on pedagogy and student outcomes in Belizean classrooms. I conclude by discussing the relevance of my findings for transnational and transcultural professional development work and global educational stewardship.
Open Access
The borderlands of Black mixed-race women's identity: navigating hegemonic monoraciality in a white supremacist heteropatriarchal society
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Evans, Corey Rae, author; Bubar, Roe, advisor; Souza, Caridad, advisor; Vigil, Patricia, committee member; Céspedes, Karina L., committee member
This research study examines and deconstructs the identity formation and development of black mixed-race women and highlights the ways in which black mixed-race women have engaged in developing a "borderlands consciousness" that fosters a sense of positive identity as they navigate hegemonic monoraciality and white supremacist heteropatriarchy in the U.S. This qualitative research study analyzes data from three sources: one-on-one interviews; a focus group; and blog posts on the social media platforms Twitter and Facebook that discuss the identity development of black mixed-race women. In this study, grounded theory methodology is used to explore and theorize around the identity development of black mixed-race women and their potential to utilize a "borderlands consciousness" to embody a disidentified position in response to the dualistic stance and counterstance positions that reify monoraciality within the social and political context of the Midwestern state of Colorado. The following themes with incorporated sub-themes emerged from the three aforementioned data sources with an overarching theme of the borderlands: external oppression representative of a stance position; internal responses to oppression representative of a counterstance position; proximity to whiteness representative of both external oppression and internal responses to oppression; and creating a third space towards a position of disidentification.
Open Access
The socio-cultural and leadership experiences of Latina four-year college and university presidents: a través de sus voces (through their voices)
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Maes, Johanna B., author; Gray-Davies, Timothy, advisor; Johnson, Christine, committee member; Vigil, Patricia, committee member; Banning, James, committee member
The Latina population in the United States is one of the largest of all racial and ethnic groups, and it is expected to grow exponentially within the next forty years. Despite these large numbers of Latinas in the U.S., there is a disparity with this population who are leading our nation's four-year colleges and universities. A reason for this may be what some education researchers call a "broken pipeline," where many Latinas reside in poorly-funded k-12 schools and are inappropriately tracked out of college preparatory classes and programs. Many Latinas are also tracked into trade or two-year community colleges where their opportunities for advanced degrees are delayed if not limited. However, those Latinas who successfully transfer from community colleges to four-year colleges and universities, as well as those who begin their baccalaureate programs in a four-year institution, are sometimes met with cultural, racial, and gender bias which can discourage their future professional leadership aspirations. This study, "The Socio-cultural and Leadership Experiences of Latina Four-year College and University Presidents: A Traves de sus Voces (Through their Voices)" considers the framework of intersectionality, where race, ethnicity, gender and socio-economic issues may contribute to the overall recruitment and retention of Latinas into presidential positions of four-year colleges and universities. Additionally, this study explores the notion of leadership from a Latina perspective, which often emphasizes themes such as character, competence, compassion, community servant hood and role modeling received by elder Latinas. It is my hope that this study will highlight the stories from this marginal population and also provide much-needed credible narratives to academic research.