The Persistence of African American Female Students in Community Colleges

Abstract

ABSTRACT Community colleges have been an educational source for individuals to increase capital and social mobility. But the reality of these opportunities is not the same for all. First generation, low income, non-traditional minority students make up a large percentage of students enrolling in community colleges yet retention rates, primarily for African Americans remains relatively low. The purpose of this study was to determine what factors impact the persistence of African American female students attending community colleges. The study researchers tested study hypotheses using a 3-step hierarchical regression analysis. Demographic variables (race and age) were entered into the model first to control the confounding effect of these variables. Second, the researchers entered academic support, financial health, financial strain, and experiencing racism to examine change in variance explained by the model with main effects and the relative direct effect of each variable on college persistence. In the third step, study researchers entered two-way interactions between academic support and financial health, academic support and financial strain, and academic support and experiencing racism to examine indirect effects. African American female students who make the commitment to invest in furthering their education should have every opportunity available to them to persist and ultimately graduate. Reviewing and reforming current policies and practices may increase engagement, positively impact retention, and result in greater positive societal impacts.