A Path to Visibility and Leadership: How Mentoring Relationships Impact Career Advancement in Student Affairs for Asian American Women

<p>Asian American women who choose a career in student affairs within the field of higher education are severely underrepresented in both staff positions and top officer/administrator positions compared to White women and other women of color. As the Asian American college student population continues to rise and women make up the majority of undergraduate students in the United States, institutions of higher education must address the need for student affairs staff and administrators to proportionally represent their diverse student bodies. Unfortunately, with an average of 2% of the roles of higher education administrators filled by Asian Americans, few Asian American women are available to mentor and encourage other Asian American women through career advancement in student affairs. This dissertation study examines the mentoring relationships of Asian American women in student affairs and how those relationships impact career advancement within the context of multiple layers of culture. A qualitative biographical narrative inquiry approach and semistructured interviews provided story narratives as data, which were analyzed through open coding and categorization. The findings of this study revealed that mentoring relationships do in fact support Asian American women in student affairs as they navigate their careers, build professional networks, strengthen their skills, and pursue advanced degrees. This study also challenges the application of Kochan’s (2013) cultural framework for mentoring to Asian American women in student affairs, thus resulting in the creation of a multi-layered cultural framework for mentoring Asian American women in student affairs which expands Kochan’s framework.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Computational Science Joint PhD with San Diego State University, PhD

Level thesis:degree_level

Open Access Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

School of Educational Studies

Year dc:date.available

2022

Author dc:creator

• Aros, Erica Alcantara

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dina C. Maramba
• Eligio Martinez, Jr.
• Marva Cappello

• Asian American
• Career Advancement
• Cultural Framework
• Mentoring
• Student affairs
• Women of color
• Educational Administration and Supervision
• Educational Leadership
• Higher Education

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/411

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarship.claremont.edu:cgu_etd-1407