Graduation Year

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Major Professor

Vonzell Agosto, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Lauren Braunstein, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Zorka Karanxha, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Vanessa Vega, Ph.D.

Keywords

Culturally Relevant Practices, Educational Leadership, Latine, Latinx, Youth Development Programs

Abstract

The United States has been experiencing a demographic change for the last twenty years representing a rise in both Latiné students and families. Despite this demographic change, Latiné folk remain widely underrepresented in school leadership, and furthermore underrepresented in specific Youth Development Programs (YDPs), with the relationship between educational leaders and YDPs being widely unexplored in academia. This study sought to bridge the gap between YDPs and educational leadership, specifically for Latiné folk by asking how Latiné educational leaders used their cultural heritage to encourage YDP development. To accomplish this a testimonio methodology was implemented via a two staged interview process in which participants at a Puerto Rican based school in the urban Midwest spoke truth to power about their experiences with oppressive structures within and outside the education system. The findings were examined using a Community Cultural Wealth framework to better understand the use of non-monetary resources utilized in supporting students at a Latiné school that actively engages with its community. Participants spoke truth to power about their experiences with oppressive structures within and outside the education system. Their cultural heritage served as a source to develop YDPs for Latiné youth with their cultural experiences serving as units of resistance against hegemonic cultural structures not designed for the success of youth of color. Given these findings those studying educational leadership at schools should further with a predominant population of people of color should investigate how YDPs connect aspects of ethnic culture (i.e. emphasis on family) to organizational culture and how to support students from various ethnic/racial groups.

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