................................................................................................................................ xii CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND OF STUDY....................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................................ 6 Latinos and inequitable access ............................................................................................ 6 Double jeopardy: being female and Latina ......................................................................... 7 Viewing access issues from a Catholic social justice lens .................................................. 9 Purpose of the Study ..................................................................................................................... 10 Significance of the Study .............................................................................................................. 11 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................................. 13 Research Questions ....................................................................................................................... 18 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 18 Limitations .................................................................................................................................... 20 Delimitations ................................................................................................................................. 20 Definitions of Key Terms ............................................................................................................. 21 Outline of the Dissertation Content .............................................................................................. 22 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 23 Breaking the Silence ..................................................................................................................... 24 Theoretical Framework ..................................................................................................... 25 Critical biculturalism. ........................................................................................... 25 Cultural democracy: a dialectical approach. ............................................. 26 A dialogical model. ................................................................................... 28 Empowerment and emancipation. ............................................................. 31 Chicana feminist theory. ....................................................................................... 32 Intersectionality and decolonization: developing a mestiza consciousness. 33 Voice. ........................................................................................................ 38 Resistance and oppositional consciousness. ............................................. 40 Breaking through invisibility: the power of survival. ............................... 42 Chicana feminist theory: unlocking possibilities. ..................................... 44 Catholic social teaching. ....................................................................................... 45 Life and dignity. ........................................................................................ 47 The collective good. .................................................................................. 48