Correlation Between Tolerance for Disagreement and Postsecondary Enrollment Among African American Men

Michael T Miller,G David Gearhart,David V Tolliver, Iii

doi:10.5296/hrr.v4i1.17979

Abstract

The study explored the concept of disagreement within family and societal structures, hypothesizing that for certain individuals to dramatically break with family and social traditions, they must have a high level of disagreement. Using McCroskey’s Tolerance for Disagreement scale, the findings indicated that those African American men who were included in the study had significantly higher levels of Tolerance for Disagreement than African American men who did not pursue postsecondary education.

Highlights

Multiple efforts have been made over long periods of time to increase the enrollment of underrepresented populations in higher education
Using McCroskey’s Tolerance for Disagreement scale, the findings indicated that those African American men who were included in the study had significantly higher levels of Tolerance for Disagreement than
In 1970, NCES estimated that 20% of African American men attended some form of postsecondary education, and by 2018 that percentage had increased to about 33%

Summary

Introduction

Multiple efforts have been made over long periods of time to increase the enrollment of underrepresented populations in higher education These efforts date to the founding of many institutions, with mission statements tied to the enrollment and education of certain populations, including Native Americans and the 1890 land grant universities designed to offer an education to African Americans. As an emerging adult questions authority, including legal, real, and perceived authority, one path might be to agree with the influencers encountered in their lives (parents, teachers, peers, local citizens, church leaders, etc.), and another might be to radically resist their ideas, values, and even life choices This thinking typically is that these influencers want the young adult to go off to college and find a job; Tolliver suggests, that there are many environments and homes where the opposite is true. He notes that in some cases parents and guardians do not want the young adult to leave home, to move away to a college town, to find a life that is different from what the parents and guardians have offered to the youth

Methods

Results

Conclusion