A Road Less Traveled - Hearing the Voices of High Achieving African American Male Community College Graduates: A Narrative Study
Author: Charlita Yvonne Anderson
Publisher:
Published: 2016
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKCommunity college leaders recognize the need for a more systemic and comprehensive approaches to increasing the retention rates of African American males, which was the impetus for this study. African American males within the community college system are not persisting and graduating at the same rates as that of their male or female counterparts, and approximately 70% of Black male undergraduates who start college never finish, which is the lowest college completion rate among both genders and all racial/ethnic groups in higher education (Harper, 2006a). This is compounded by a gap in the research regarding the existence of academically and socially high achieving African American males, as most research focuses on their underachievement. The purpose of this narrative qualitative inquiry was to explore the experiences and perceptions of AFRICAN AMERICAN males who successfully navigated and graduated from an urban community college in Northern California, in order to identify the factors that contributed to their persistence and success. The rationale for utilizing a narrative qualitative inquiry was this approach aligned with the study's goal of "giving voice" to African American male students' educational experiences and successful outcomes. This research study identified the three main themes of, experiencing success, involving and engaging African American males on campus, and receiving institutional support. Four results were identified; (a) involvement and engagement inside and outside the classroom are critical to African American male persistence and degree completion, (b) interpersonal connections between students and the community at large (peers, faculty, staff, and administrators) are integral to providing both validation and support as core factors to African American male persistence and degree completion, (c) validating experiences affirm positive interactions with community college faculty and are associated with African American male persistence and degree completion, and (d) self determination was an important attitude that propelled African American males forward to develop the kind of self-efficacy needed to complete their degree. Arising from this research were recommendations for the enhancement of community college programs to support African American male student success. Recommendations are also made for future research to deepen understanding of factors that support or thwart the success of these students.
