Date

4-7-2026

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Administration (PhD)

Chair

Mary Catherine Strickland

Keywords

transformational leadership, Latinos, inclusion, bilingual programs, higher education, administration

Disciplines

Adult and Continuing Education | Educational Administration and Supervision

Abstract

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of promoting the inclusion of Latino/a students through bilingual programs at higher education institutions in the United States. To include Latinos in higher education administrators redesigned courses originally taught in English into Spanish and Portuguese at several colleges and universities nationwide. This qualitative research was designed as a hermeneutic phenomenological study, and three data collection methods were used: journal prompts, individual interviews, and focus group interviews. Data were collected from educational leaders, including administrators, deans, faculty coordinators, advisers, and professors, who shared their perspectives and experiences as individuals involved in bilingual programs. The data were triangulated through codes, themes, categories, and subcategories, following Saldana’s (2021) procedures. Data analysis was conducted using van Manen’s (2016) four-step approach. The steps included (a) reflecting on the central themes, (b) describing the phenomenon through writing and rewriting, (c) maintaining a strong relationship to the phenomenon, and (d) considering the parts and the whole. Four themes emerged from the data: (1) educational inclusion in higher education; (2) transformational leadership; (3) linguistic limitations; and (4) administrators in higher education versus support for bilingual programs, addressing the central research question, sub-question one, and sub-question two. The study concludes with the following interpretations of the data: educational inclusion requires flexibility; transformational leadership must be resilient; linguistic limitations are the main issue for Latino/a students; and administrators in higher education must support bilingual programs. Recommendations for future research include addressing financial inequities in bilingual programs for Latino/a immigrants.

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