Restoring the village

Abstract

The purpose of this Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was to investigate the value and impact of community support for African American males' educational success and readiness for postsecondary education. The qualitative study, through semi-structured interviews with six African American males who identified as students interested in post-secondary education, aimed to answer the primary research question: How do African American male high school students experience and perceive sources of support for their educational advancement and readiness for postsecondary education? There were four sub-questions to follow up the primary research question. (1) How do African American males perceive and experience significant social and educational challenges? (2) What do African American males perceive to be critical sources of community support for their social and educational preparation for post-secondary education? (3) In what ways do African American males experience and perceive communication among the sources of support? (4) According to African American males, what kinds of community support tend to be lacking? This study employed the social ecological theory as a theoretical framework to investigate the significance of community support for African American males through lived experiences. Participants were asked to share their experiences of their academic journey and the academic and social challenges they faced. The findings revealed the different sources of support and how they impacted the development of these young African American males, providing an in-depth understanding of the perceptions and experiences needed to support young African American males to be adequately prepared for post-secondary education. --Author's abstract