Racial Stratification and the Use of Hispanic Faculty as Role Models

Abstract

Introduction As the Hispanic(1) population continues to grow, it is expected that its enrollment in institutions of higher education also increase. The increase in the enrollment of Hispanic students in higher education not only add to the cultural diversity of the student population, but it also pose several important challenges. One important challenge be retaining those Hispanic students who enroll in higher education. In the past, and currently, there have been efforts at retaining Hispanic students by offering educational programs aimed at upgrading their skills. There have also been attempts at counseling Hispanic students who are at risk of leaving school before they earn their diploma [9, 11, 20]. Another proposal that is receiving attention is the concept of By role models is meant having Hispanics on campus who are in positions of status and power within and outside the institution. The belief is that if Hispanic students are able to see Hispanics in these kinds of positions, it not only motivate them to remain in school and achieve academically, but it also provide them with group that is natural sounding board for the many problems facing Hispanic students [11]. In discussions about role models for Hispanic students, Hispanic faculty are often targeted to fill this role. Unfortunately, the use of Hispanic faculty as role models is bound either to fail or to project unintended message. In both cases, the failure and the unintended message, the policy fail because Hispanic faculty lack the institutional status and power that would enable them to capably fill such role. The purpose of this article is threefold. First, I present theoretical framework, racial stratification, which clarifies many of the issues about the status of Hispanic faculty. Second, using the framework I examine data on Hispanic faculty and construct profile about their lack of institutional status and power. Finally, I use the framework in beginning the process of developing set of policies that will, I believe, enhance their institutional status and power. Institutional status and power would then form the basis for Hispanic faculty to conduct themselves as positive role models. Racial Stratification in Higher Education Stratification systems are complex social structures that maintain social order. They are a way of classifying people and their functions, of prescribing which sorts of people should do what sort of things [16]. The mechanisms by which stratification systems are maintained vary by individual societies, but two seem to be quite common: ideological mechanism and structural mechanism. Stratification systems construct elaborate ideological schemes justifying the existence of given social order through the totality of group ideas that explain relevant aspects of life. Ideological schemes have ranged, for example, from such justifications as the will of God to those alleging biological superiority. Bierstedt [2] has also noted: an ideology is idea supported by norm. Ideologies, then, encompass norms, mores, folkways, values, and theories; they provide explanations for the order of things. But more importantly, ideologies are rooted in group interests [21]. Racial stratification systems are also characterized by structural mechanisms. Structural factors are both social and concrete and operate to segregate and discriminate against ethnic/racial groups. Concrete structural mechanisms are such commonly observed phenomena as the separation and isolation of minorities in separate schools, neighborhoods, and jobs. Structural factors may encompass broad-based legal system that discriminates or isolates or set of institutionalized norms that affect social interaction and treatment of ethnic/racial minorities. Structural mechanisms, then, are those forces that isolate (whether physically or socially) ethnic-racial groups, foster greater misunderstanding about this group, and heighten ethnic-racial discrimination. …