What is a fictive kinship network? Gibson, Gandara, and Koyama (2004) posit that it is a feeling of belonging connected to a person's confidence, self-efficacy, and resilience. Bourdieu (1973) suggested that fictive kinships act as an alternative form of social capital that encourages higher education persistence beyond socioeconomic status. Much of the research in this area has been connected to the African American community and its tradition of providing its members with a mutual aid system that nurtures and protects in the face of societal challenges.
Previous studies have found that minority students, especially those attending predominantly white institutions, often feel a disconnect with faculty; have a perceived lack of support from the institution find it difficult to identify and trust mentors; and have a sense of inadequacy in their environment (Herndon and Hirt, 2004; Allen,1992; Harper, 2009, 2012; Watson and Kuh,1996). The fictive kinship network in higher education extends beyond the traditional mentoring model due to linking faculty and student through shared cultural experiences. The connection creates a "mirror effect" that encourages academic and career persistence. The network shapes the development of coping skills, extended professional/community networks, and increases self-efficacy (Gopalan and Brady, 2019).
Broad recommendations to develop and sustain fictive kinship networks include a critical review of faculty diversity to meet the needs of the student population; continuous faculty/staff cultural awareness training; early formal and informal mentoring to introduce minority students to trained staff (Brooks, 2011); a critical examination of cultural inclusion in curriculum (Calarco, 2014); institutional programming focused on the development of metacognitive skills - fostering academic and professional persistence, self-efficacy, and resilience.
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