Transformation Through Community: Culturally Responsive Curriculum Development as a Communal Faculty Practice at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

Background: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) have acknowledged culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) as a transformative approach to addressing equity in higher education. However, faculty often lack the formal training and communal support necessary to implement CRP meaningfully. With HSIs enrolling nearly two-thirds of all Latinx undergraduates, understanding how institutions cultivate servingness through faculty development is essential. Focus of Study: This study examines how faculty members who participated in a CRP-focused curriculum design institute characterize their experiences as both learners and educators. It explores how these experiences shape their teaching philosophies, classroom practices, professional identities, and understanding of servingness. The central research question is: How do faculty characterize their experiences of learning and teaching as a result of their engagement in a CRP-focused curriculum design institute? Research Design: This study employs a qualitative, embedded case study design to analyze the experiences of 25 faculty participants across disciplines at an HSI. We analyzed interviews and classroom observations from faculty participants for this study. Guided by CRP and servingness frameworks, the thematic analysis revealed how this institute fostered transformation, cultivated pedagogical reflexivity, and built communal capacity. Conclusions: Findings suggest that faculty experienced both personal and pedagogical transformation, practiced reflexivity as an ongoing process of teaching with intentionality and equity, and built communal capacity by cultivating cross-disciplinary connections that advanced servingness as both a pedagogical and institutional commitment. Together, these insights highlight that CRP is not only a matter of individual teaching strategies but also a structural shift, positioning faculty development as a powerful lever for equity-centered transformation in higher education.