Date of Award

8-2017

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School

College of Education and Human Services

Department/Program

Counseling and Educational Leadership

Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair

Dana Heller Levitt

Committee Member

Jeremy Price

Committee Member

Kathy Gamor

Committee Member

Angela Sheely-Moore

Abstract

Using a basic qualitative research design, this author interviewed eight Latino doctoral students in counseling programs about their professional identity development experiences. The author analyzed the data from a Latino Critical Race theoretical perspective to explore the ways in which power and privilege played a role in the participants’ professional identity development as Latino doctoral students in a predominantly White American profession. The results supported that ethnicity played a central role in the participants’ experiences navigating professional identity within a predominantly White American profession. The three themes that emerged were: (1) being one of the few, (2) navigating professional identity development, and (3) becoming a Latino counselor educator. Further, the participants’ professional identity development was like a rollercoaster and proceeded in a less linear fashion than the current models explained. The implications for the counseling profession, counselor education, counseling doctoral programs, and Latino doctoral students included: promoting inclusion, creating community, and providing support.

Included in

Counseling Commons

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