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Bañuelos, N., Jang-Tucci, K., & Benbow, R. J. (2022). Hispanic/Latino Student Community Cultural Wealth, social networks, and career development at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater: A report by the Networks and Cultural Assets Project (NCA). University of Wisconsin–Madison, Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions.
This report contains findings from a pilot study by the Networks and Cultural Assets Project (NCA) focused on the career development, cultural assets, and social networks of Hispanic/Latino students at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater (UWW), a public comprehensive university of about 11,000 undergraduates in rural southeastern Wisconsin. In partnership with UWW staff, NCA seeks to better understand student resources by drawing on the Community Cultural Wealth framework and social network analysis.
Keywords: Community Cultural Wealth, Latina/o college students, social network analysis, career development, asset-based research, cultural capital, social capital
Jang-Tucci, K., Benbow, R. J., & Bañuelos, N. (2022). Hispanic/Latino student Community Cultural Wealth, social networks, and career development at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater: A methods and data compendium to the report by the Networks and Cultural Assets Project (NCA). University of Wisconsin–Madison, Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions.
About the Study
In this methods and data compendium, we present the qualitative and quantitative methods, data characteristics, and analysis results for a pilot study gathering asset-oriented data from undergraduate
students identifying as Hispanic or Latina/o at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (UWW). Our goal was to better understand these students’ local academic and career development, valued relationships, and the cultural and social assets they derive from these relationships. With guidance from local educators, the design, data collection, and analytical work of the three human subjects-trained authors was undertaken with the permission of the UWW and University of Wisconsin–Madison institutional research boards.
Keywords: Community Cultural Wealth, Latina/o college students, social network analysis, career development, asset-based research, cultural capital, social capital
Jang-Tucci, K., Benbow, R. J., & Bañuelos, N., (2023). Using Multiple Generator Random Interpreters (MGRIs) for Studying Undergraduate Student Support Networks. Networks & Cultural
Assets Project. Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions. University of Wisconsin–Madison, Division of Continuing Studies.
Abstract: Researchers in higher education who study social support networks—groups of interpersonal relationships through which individuals exchange help, advice, and guidance (Wasserman & Faust, 1994)—widely use name generators and interpreters in surveys. “Name generators” are questions that elicit the names of people with whom survey respondents exchange information or discuss certain topics. After collecting these names, surveys often include “name interpreters” that ask respondents to provide information on the people who have been listed, including, for example, each person’s role in the respondent’s life, their education level, how close the respondent feels affectively to each person, etc. This research brief introduces the Multiple Generator Random Interpreter (MGRI; Marin & Hampton, 2007), a method for collecting personal or “ego” network data, as an alternative to traditional name generators and interpreters in social network research. Specifically, we focus on: (1) How MGRIs are different from Traditional Name Generators and Interpreters (TNGIs), and (2) What new insights can be yielded from using MGRIs when assessing college students’ support networks. We answer with a review of social network literature, and then focus on describing research methods and empirical evidence from two studies we have conducted of Latino/a/x/e (hereinafter “Latine”) college students in two U.S. states. We conclude with insights from our analyses and links to resources for implementing MGRIs in online surveys.
Bañuelos, N., Jang-Tucci, K., & Benbow, R. (2023). Forming Science Identity in Personal Networks: A Quantitative Study of Social Support for Latine STEM Students. Center for Research on
College-Workforce Transitions. University of Wisconsin–Madison.
Abstract: Although Latine students and their families maintain high aspirations for their achievement in STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), they continue to face barriers to STEM degree completion and remain underrepresented in the STEM workforce. Social support systems are key to science identity formation and sense of belonging, two important predictors of persistence and attainment in STEM, particularly among historically marginalized students (Chemers et al., 2011; Strayhorn, 2012). For this reason, documenting Latine college students’ social networks – including their strengths, structure, and how they change over time– can help researchers understand trajectories in STEM.
Using the Community Cultural Wealth framework (CCW) – a theory focused on strengths within Communities of Color (Yosso, 2005) – this study examines survey responses from Latine STEM majors across the University of Texas System and measures important contours of Latine STEM students’ social networks, including (1) the features of these social networks, (2) the forms of CCW students possess in their social networks, and (3) the relationships that exist between students’ networks, science identity, and sense of belonging.