Entering the academy: exploring the socialization experiences of African American male

Abstract

This study explored the socialization experiences of African American male faculty at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and predominately White institutions (PWIs). Rosch and Reich’s Enculturation Model was used as the theoretical framework. To gain a better understanding of the socialization experiences of African American male faculty, a group that has traditionally been underrepresented and marginalized in academia, Critical Race Theory (CRT) was incorporated into the study. More specifically, counter-storytelling, a basic tenet of CRT, was used to learn the stories that African American male faculty tell about their socialization experiences. A mixed methodology research design was utilized. Interviews were conducted with 16 full-time tenured and tenure-track African American male faculty at both institutional types in Phase I. In Phase II, 128 African American male participants responded to a questionnaire about their socialization experiences. The findings of this study revealed that the experiences of African American males in the academy were both rewarding and challenging. The stories that participants told revealed a number of differences in the socialization experiences of African American male faculty at HBCUs and PWIs. However, quantitatively there was no difference in the “socialization experience” of African American male faculty at HBCUs and PWIs.