In this section, we provide a starting list of cited theoretical frameworks in student success research. These frameworks offer theory-driven, research-based arguments for thinking about student success in a more holistic way. If you are wondering how to frame or support your research or evaluation questions, these frameworks offer a great starting point for those reflections. Many of these frameworks embed the student experience in larger cultural systems, thus offering a more robust understanding of students' lived experiences.

For each framework, we offer a summary of the argument (Overview) and a link to the original source for more reading (Frameworks). For copyright purposes, we do not include an image of the authors' conceptual models. However, we do summarize the research work and include links to scholarly articles to provide access to this important information.

Our hope is to continuously build and strengthen the Survey Toolkit to better serve our shared campus goals of research and evaluation. If you have material to contribute or suggestions on how to improve the Toolkit, please feel free to provide feedback to the assessment team at the UCSC Institutional Research, Assessment, and Policy Studies (IRAPS, surveys@ucsc.edu) or request a consultation (https://iraps.ucsc.edu/surveys/consult.html).

NOTE: If you are working off-campus, access to some articles listed below will require you are signed into the campus Virtual Private Network (VPN).

[Return to Home Page]

Overview

Cultural Relevance Theories

Cultural relevance theories challenge traditional views of student success as a one-size-fits-all model. These models emphasize that students from minoritized backgrounds (e.g., low-income, first-generation, and/or students of color) bring valuable assets with them that are often ignored or not reflected in mainstream institutions. They argue that institutions should create a culturally engaging environment for students with diverse backgrounds to live and thrive.

Community Cultural Wealth Model (Yosso, 2005)
The Culturally Engaging Campus Environments Model (Museus, Yi, & Saelua, 2017)
Cultural Mismatch Theory (Stephens, Fryberg, Markus, Johnson, & Covarrubias, 2012)

Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Organizational Identities

The Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) organizational identities models focus on what it means to adopt an identity as an emerging HSI. These models define and distinguish between the terms Latinx-enrolling and Latinx-serving, and outlines a framework for understanding servingness.

Framework for Studying Organizational Identity of HSI (Garcia, 2013)

Typology of Hispanic-Serving Institution Organization Identities (Garcia, 2017)

Sense of Belonging & Engagement

These frameworks examine how students from diverse backgrounds experience campus life as they work to integrate with academic institutions. They identify the importance of the sense of belonging in the process of integration and discuss various activities critical for fostering students' sense of belonging.

A Conceptual Schema for Dropout from College (Tinto, 1975)
A Conceptual Schema for Dropout from College (Tinto, 1993)
Model of Sense of Belonging (Hurtado & Carter, 1997)
Sense of Belonging in Schools (Strayhorn, 2018)

Systems and Cultures

Systems and culture models focus on the important roles of multiple contexts for students, especially for underserved students. Scholars argue that underserved students experience and navigate multiple worlds as they interact with their academic institutions, and as educators, we should deepen our consciousness of educational and social inequalities that can shape student success, and adopt a model that’s multi contextual and inclusive of multiple social identities and standards.

Adapted Bronfenbrenner’s Developmental Ecology Model (Jehangir, Stebleton, & Deenanath, 2015)
Interactive Model of Success for Underserved Students (Rendón, 2006)
Multicontextual Model for Diverse Learning Environments (the DLE Model) (Hurtado, Alvarez, Cuillermo-Wann, Cuellar, & Arellano, 2012)
The Bridging Multiple Worlds Theory (Cooper, Cooper, Trinh, Wilson, & Gonzalez, 2012)
The Culture Cycle (Fryberg, Covarrubias, & Burack, 2018)
The Mutual Constitution of Cultures and Selves (Markus & Kitayama, 2010)

Overview

Cultural Relevance Theories

Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Organizational Identities

Sense of Belonging & Engagement

Frameworks

Community Cultural Wealth Model

Cultural Mismatch Theory

The Culturally Engaging Campus Environments Model

Framework for Studying Organizational Identity of Hispanic Serving Institutions

Typology of Hispanic-Serving Institution Organizational Identities

A Conceptual Schema for Dropout from College (1975)

A Conceptual Schema for Dropout from College (1993)

Model of Sense of Belonging

Sense of Belonging in Schools

Adapted Bronfenbrenner’s Developmental Ecology Model

Interactive Model of Success for Underserved Students

Multicontextual Model for Diverse Learning Environments (the DLE Model)

The Bridging Multiple Worlds Theory

The Culture Cycle

The Mutual Constitution of Cultures and Selves