Assessing the community readiness of a Latina/o campus community to address lesbian, gay, and bisexual concerns

Research on the campus climate for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals evidences that heterosexism at institutions of higher education is still prevalent. Although campus climate research is increasing, studies have been primarily conducted with European American samples. Sexual orientation issues within ethnic minority campus communities have remained largely unexplored. The current study is the first to examine the readiness of a Latina/o community at a major Midwestern State University to address LGB concerns. Using the Community Readiness Model (CRM), data were collected through individual interviews with 16 key informants from programs and organizations serving the Latina/o campus community. The Community Readiness Assessment scoring procedure was used to analyze the interview data. Findings suggest that the community is at a vague awareness readiness stage to address LGB issues. Culturally sensitive recommendations for stage-appropriate strategies to improve the Latina/o campus community’s readiness are presented.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Psychology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2012

Author dc:creator

• Rivera-Ramos, Zully

Contributors dc:contributor

• Oswald, Ramona F.
• Buki, Lydia P.
• Neville, Helen A.
• Toro-Alfonso, José

• lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB)
• Latina/o
• readiness
• campus climate

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2012 Zully A. Rivera-Ramos

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/34503

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/34503