Latina Community College Presidents: Drawing from Cultural Intuition to Disrupt Leadership Norms in Higher Education

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Thank you for adding to the literature on the unique ways Chicanas and Latinas contribute to leading colleges. Areas of improvement include the following:

1. A more extensive discussion on cultural intuition needs to be provided in the literature review and in the methodology. Cite studies utilizing cultural intuition and differentiate the ways cultural intuition generates knowledge.

2. It is unclear if you use pláticas as a method or methodology. While you indicate methodology, there is no discussion of the literature and what type of pláticas you are utilizing (there are many). How are the pláticas different from an interview; this is unclear. What are the characteristics of the platica? 

3. In the methodology, be more precise about what you mean re: thematic coding and how the researchers derived a prior coding for the second round. Please review literature on thematic coding and more explicitly discuss how this study utilized thematic coding.

4. In the second round of coding you utilized a priori coding only? Why? How did this emphasize the voice of a partial amount of data before reaching data saturation? I am left wondering what nuanced knowledge was generated in the transcripts that did not undergo open coding.

Author Response

Hello, 

First and foremost, thank you so much for your very helpful feedback! I really believe it helped strengthen this paper, especially with the level of detailed that you provided in your responses. You didn't have to do that and I acknowledge the time and labor it takes to do that, so thanks again! With regards to the comments, I have provided my responses below. 

Comment 1: Carefully go over the paper for readability, there are a few instances throughout the paper that could be reworded for better flow. Specifically, identify areas where you can use language that is more concise.

Response: I did my best to look for passive voice, grammatical mistakes, so hopefully this is clearer now. 

Comment: The paper often presents claims that seem more opinion-based than evidence-driven, which may weaken its impact. In many instances, the authors are “telling” rather than “showing” information, which makes it difficult for readers to assess the credibility of the arguments.

Response: I definitely see where I could have cited more or provided more proof. I have highlighted any changes made in green. 

Comment: The first sentence in the introduction needs to be coupled with evidence, make sure the reader knows why community colleges are sites that reinforce white supremacy? Why is this true among college presidents? For example, how does white supremacy show up at the community colleges and in the presidency beyond the demographics? What leadership styles/approaches center whiteness? 

Response: I provided examples in the introduction. They are listed in green. 

Comment: “Across the nation, Latinas represent a small proportion of university leaders at 3% despite their larger share of student enrollment.” For example: Across the nation, Latinas only represent 3% of university leaders, despite their larger share of the student population. (make sure you clarify what student population, is this undergraduate?). 

Response: Community colleges do not offer graduate programs

Comment: At the end of the introduction, show, don’t tell the reader how higher education has reinforced white cis-men as the portrait of institutional leadership. What are examples and evidence of this?

Response: I addressed this by adding more evidence in green.

Comment: In the first sentence of the study purpose section, make sure you discuss why there is a dire need “to document and uplift the experiences of all Women of Color (WoC) in presidential roles”. Also why is this more important in states like California, what are the consequences? 

Response: I addressed this section as well with more evidence on WOC leaders and the diversity in California. 

Comment: I would change “parallel increase” in line 52 to parity.

Response: Good call, I made the change. 

Comment: Make sure you make it clear whose stories you are talking about in line 55-56.

Response: I made this more clear as well. 

Comment: Reword the first sentence [in background section] of this section for clarity and readability. 

Response: I changed this as well. 

Comment: Consider deleting the first sentence in line 91, “WOC leaders…” it repeats what was stated before in lines 89-90.

Response: I changed this as well. 

Comment: In lines 125-127 please consider editing this sentence, “As a result, Latinas tend to experience feelings of isolation and loneliness in their roles as the unequal power relations 126 make them both hyper-visible and invisible simultaneously” to “As a result, Latinas tend to experience feelings of isolation and loneliness in their leadership roles, as the unequal power relations simultaneously make them hyper-visible and invisible.” 

Response: I changed this as well. Thank you for this.

Comment: Consider changing the following in line 128 from “having to survive” to “enduring”.

Response: I changed this as well. 

Comment: Consider changing the following in line 130 to: end the sentence after [35, 39]. Then create a new sentence: “These factors make it difficult for Latinas to advance to senior roles.” 

Response: I changed this as well. 

Comment: The statement in lines 153-154 seems like an overgeneralization. Consider specifying the unique assets that Latinas bring to higher education, then, explain how these qualities are particularly valuable for supporting and engaging diverse students.

Response: I was not sure if you meant in this particular sentence? As the rest of the paragraph/section demonstrates what assets they bring according to existing research. 

Comment: In line 166 consider changing “extremely underdeveloped” to something like scant. The phrase "extremely underdeveloped" may carry a connotation that could misrepresent your intended meaning. Consider using alternative language to convey your point more precisely.

Response: I took your advice and made the change. 

Comment: Throughout this section, there is inconsistency in verb tense, as it shifts between present and past. To enhance clarity and cohesion, ensure that you use a consistent tense throughout.

Response: I addressed this as well. 

Comment: I do not have any suggestions for the methods section. 

Response: Yay!

Comment: Great findings. I do not have any specific edits for this section.

Response: Thank you so much for saying this!

Comment: I would consider adding something about community cultural wealth in the discussion section. I would also consider looking into relational models of leadership and how that might be relevant to this study.

Response: I added information about asset based frameworks like community cultural wealth and funds of knowledge. I also added scholarship about emerging leadership models that focus on diverse perspectives. 

 

 

 

 

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This is a great topic with interesting findings. I just have a few suggestions to help strengthen the overall manuscript. 

 

General comments: 

·      Carefully go over the paper for readability, there are a few instances throughout the paper that could be reworded for better flow. Specifically, identify areas where you can use language that is more concise. 

 

·      The paper often presents claims that seem more opinion-based than evidence-driven, which may weaken its impact. In many instances, the authors are “telling” rather than “showing” information, which makes it difficult for readers to assess the credibility of the arguments.

 

Introduction: 

·      The first sentence in the introduction needs to be coupled with evidence, make sure the reader knows why community colleges are sites that reinforce white supremacy? Why is this true among college presidents? For example, how does white supremacy show up at the community colleges and in the presidency beyond the demographics? What leadership styles/approaches center whiteness? 

 

·      I would edit the following sentence in lines 39-40. 

 

o   “Across the nation, Latinas represent a small proportion of university leaders at 3% despite their larger share of student enrollment.”

 

o   For example: Across the nation, Latinas only represent 3% of university leaders, despite their larger share of the student population. (make sure you clarify what student population, is this undergraduate?). 

 

·      At the end of the introduction, show, don’t tell the reader how higher education has reinforced white cis-men as the portrait of institutional leadership. What are examples and evidence of this?

 

Study Purpose: 

·      In the first sentence of the study purpose section, make sure you discuss why there is a dire need “to document and uplift the experiences of all Women of Color (WoC) in presidential roles”. Also why is this more important in states like California, what are the consequences? 

 

·      I would change “parallel increase” in line 52 to parity. 

 

·      Make sure you make it clear whose stories you are talking about in line 55-56. 

 

Background: 

·      Reword the first sentence of this section for clarity and readability. 

 

·      Consider deleting the first sentence in line 91, “WOC leaders…” it repeats what was stated before in lines 89-90. 

 

·      In lines 125-127 please consider editing this sentence, “As a result, Latinas tend to experience feelings of isolation and loneliness in their roles as the unequal power relations 126 make them both hyper-visible and invisible simultaneously” to “As a result, Latinas tend to experience feelings of isolation and loneliness in their leadership roles, as the unequal power relations simultaneously make them hyper-visible and invisible.”

 

·      Consider changing the following in line 128 from “having to survive” to “enduring”.

 

·      Consider changing the following in line 130 to: end the sentence after [35, 39]. Then create a new sentence: “These factors make it difficult for Latinas to advance to senior roles.” 

 

·      The statement in lines 153-154 seems like an overgeneralization. Consider specifying the unique assets that Latinas bring to higher education, then, explain how these qualities are particularly valuable for supporting and engaging diverse students.

 

·      In line 166 consider changing “extremely underdeveloped” to something like scant. The phrase "extremely underdeveloped" may carry a connotation that could misrepresent your intended meaning. Consider using alternative language to convey your point more precisely.

 

Conceptual Framework: 

·      Throughout this section, there is inconsistency in verb tense, as it shifts between present and past. To enhance clarity and cohesion, ensure that you use a consistent tense throughout.

 

Methods: 

·      I do not have any suggestions for the methods section.  

 

Findings 

·      Great findings. I do not have any specific edits for this section. 

 

Conclusion (7) *perhaps rename this since there are two conclusion sections.

·      I would consider adding something about community cultural wealth in the discussion section. I would also consider looking into relational models of leadership and how that might be relevant to this study.  

 

Conclusion (8) 

·      In line 820 you write that Latinas are student-centered, however I would argue that most college presidents are student centered, but these presidents specifically center the lived experiences of marginalized/minoritized students. 

Author Response

Hello,

First and foremost, thank you so much for taking the time to review our manuscript. We found your suggestions incredibly helpful and found that it helped strengthen our paper. With that said, I have made the appropriate changes and included my responses below. 

Comment 1: A more extensive discussion on cultural intuition needs to be provided in the literature review and in the methodology. Cite studies utilizing cultural intuition and differentiate the ways cultural intuition generates knowledge.

Response: Thank you, I added some language to both the literature review and methodology. It is noted in green. 

Comment 2: It is unclear if you use pláticas as a method or methodology. While you indicate methodology, there is no discussion of the literature and what type of pláticas you are utilizing (there are many). How are the pláticas different from an interview; this is unclear. What are the characteristics of the platica? 

Response: Thank you for this, I went in and made changes to this section. I specified that I am drawing from Fieros and Delgado Bernal and explicitly tied their principles to our study, whereas it was embedded before. I hope it is more clear now. 

Comment 3 & 4: (3) In the methodology, be more precise about what you mean re: thematic coding and how the researchers derived a prior coding for the second round. Please review literature on thematic coding and more explicitly discuss how this study utilized thematic coding. 

(4) In the second round of coding you utilized a priori coding only? Why? How did this emphasize the voice of a partial amount of data before reaching data saturation? I am left wondering what nuanced knowledge was generated in the transcripts that did not undergo open coding.

Response: I provided a more detail explanation of the coding process. I hope it is more clear now!

 

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Overall, much improved. I added some suggestions under citations. 

Author Response

Reviewer Comment #1: Overall, much improved. I added some suggestions under citations.

Citation suggestion #1: Chang, T.-H. Examining U.S. Higher Education’s Function in Fostering Social Justice Leadership Development among College Student Leaders of Color. Educ. Sci. 2023, 13, 820. doi: 10.3390/educsci13080820

Response: While this article focuses on Communities of Color, it has a specific focus on student leaders and not higher level executives like Latina community college presidents. It also focuses on how higher education institutions can create leadership development opportunities for Students of Color while ours focuses on how Latinas come ready to lead in many ways because of their cultural intuition.

Citation suggestion #2: Odom, S.F.; Donaldson, J.P.; Anderson, K.M.; Gui, H.; Glover, J.; Burns, A.; Armenta, V. Design Principles for Sustainable Leadership Learning: A Complex Analysis of Learner Experiences. Sustainability 2023, 15, 12996. doi: 10.3390/su151712996

Response: This article also has a specific focus on student leaders and not higher level executives like Latina community college presidents. It is also very much framed outside of the community college context which is very distinct from four-year institutions which are not open access.

Citation suggestion #3: Visintini, G. Reflections on an Academic Leadership Approach to Implementing Digital Education in Higher Education. Educ. Sci. 2022, 12, 904. doi: 10.3390/educsci12120904

Response: This article is set in the UK which is an entirely different context than our paper which is focused on the experiences of Latinas within the community college. It also has an emphasis on digital education which is outside of the scope of our study.

Citation suggestion #4: Curran, S.; Gormally, S.; Smith, C. Re-Imagining Approaches to Learning and Teaching: Youth and Community Work Education Post COVID-19. Educ. Sci. 2022, 12, 201. doi: 10.3390/educsci12030201

Response: This article is also set outside of the U.S. with a completely different higher education system. It also has a focus on student leaders and not administrators.

Citation suggestion #5: Jia, K.; Zhu, T.; Zhang, W.; Rasool, S.F.; Asghar, A.; Chin, T. The Linkage between Ethical Leadership, Well-Being, Work Engagement, and Innovative Work Behavior: The Empirical Evidence from the Higher Education Sector of China. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 5414. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19095414

Response: This study, set in China focuses on the interpersonal relationship between managers and their subordinates in relation to work quality. This falls outside of the scope of our study.