Experiences Of African American Students Research Articles

The Compounding Impact of Racial Microaggressions: The Experiences of African American Students in Predominantly White Institutions

Background/Context: African American students often encounter racial microaggressions when attending predominantly white institutions (PWIs). Experiencing racial microaggressions can negatively affect African American students’ feelings of belonging to the campus community. Racial microaggressions can also affect their physical and emotional stability. Purpose of Study: Using a critical race theory (CRT) framework, we focused on the centrality of race and racism and intersectionality. We examined how experiencing racial microaggressions influenced African American students’ ( n = 15) feelings of belonging at PWIs. In addition, we explored how students emotionally coped with their experiences. Research Design: A semi-structured interview was conducted with participants. Using thematic analysis through the process of open coding and axial coding, we developed themes based on students’ experiences with microaggressions, feelings of belonging, and coping strategies. We connected the themes to the larger research literature, focusing on our CRT framework. Conclusions/Recommendations: Experiencing racial microaggressions made students feel devalued in the campus community. In addition, racial microaggressions intersected with other forms of oppression, further impacting students’ sense of belonging. These experiences often led students to use maladaptive coping mechanisms; despite this, students were able to create community by using self-protective coping mechanisms, such as creating supportive networks. Racism-related stress caused by racial microaggressions should be considered a public health issue. By exploring racial microaggressions, researchers and policy makers can understand how racism impacts individuals and provide tools on how to challenge racism on systemic levels.

The Field Experience as a Potential Barrier to Underrepresented Minority Student Participation in Ecological Sciences

The Field Experience as a Potential Barrier to Underrepresented Minority Student Participation in Ecological Sciences

“No Difference Between African American,Immigrant, or White Children! They Are All the Same.”: Working Toward Developing Teachers’ Raciolinguistic Attitudes Towards ELs

This study explored Midwestern US teachers’ raciolinguistic attitudes toward English learners. Two research questions guided the study: “How did teachers perceive racism and linguicism” and “How did a professional training influence teachers’ awareness of them?” Critical race theory was used to examine how racism evolved into racialized linguicism. Data analysis demonstrated that teachers tended to conflate the experiences of African American students and English learners, even though they are linguistically and culturally distinct. They also tended to understand the racism and linguicism encountered by the two groups in Black/White and Standard-English/Nonstandard-English binaries. Implications consider the future direction of TESOL teacher education.

They’re Moving in Spaces They’re Not Used to: Examining the Racialized Experiences of African American Students in a High School STEAM Academy

In this study, we explored how an urban high school with a STEAM (Science, Technology, Arts, and Mathematics) theme approached racialized student experiences as learning opportunities. We were interested in documenting curricular and pedagogical practices, and the mission of the STEAM Academy, which was aimed at exposing African American/Black students to possibilities beyond the school including university settings and workplace environments (through job shadowing and internships). Based on the perspectives of school personnel and community partners, we found the school administrators and teachers enacted social justice–centered curricular strategies to elicit emancipatory and participatory actions for administrators, teachers, and students. This type of curriculum for students helped them cope with the stressors of encountering racialized experiences and microaggressions in the school and beyond; thereby, enabling them to be resilient in the face of a discriminatory and oppressive society.

Coming from Where We're From: The Stories and Experiences of African American Students in Predominantly White High Schools

This research is presented in a narrative form that captures authentic student voices and experiences of African American students, who have faced the complexity of adjusting to and navigating through unfamiliar terrain while simultaneously building nuanced relationships—peer-to-peer and student-to-teacher—across racial, cultural, and ethnic boundaries. It notes that the social and academic experiences, opportunities, and outcomes for suburban White students, as compared to their urban African American peers vary significantly.

My Narrative is Not What You Think It Is: Experiences of African Americans in a Doctor of Education Program

Aim/Purpose: This paper examines the experiences of African American students in a doctor of education program at a comprehensive university in Southern California. Background: Qualitative case study methodology and critical race theory is used to highlight asset rather than deficit narratives of the participants, illuminating another aspect of commonly understood experiences for underrepresented students in education. Methodology: Qualitative case study methodology was used for a sample of 14 African American doctoral students in the Southern California area. Critical race theory provided a framework through which to support data analysis and subsequent findings. Contribution: The original contribution of this paper is the asset-narrative of African American doctoral students at an institution that is not research-driven. Findings: Findings assert that (1) asset narratives of African American students need to be highlighted, (2) action-research as an option for dissertation completion is important for Ed.D. programs, and (3) racial identity of African Americans is complex, therefore broader understandings of black identity are needed, and must be coupled with anti-deficit ideology. Recommendations for Practitioners: Recommendations for practitioners include expanding understandings of African American identity coupled with anti-deficit ideology to enhance student interactions with both faculty and peers throughout doctoral education. Recommendation for Researchers: It is suggested that future research continue to focus on doctoral student experiences in institutions that are not research intensive. Impact on Society: This research provides an original contribution by furthering understandings of the complexity of the African American experience with identity, research, and doctoral education experiences. Future Research: Future research should focus on other underrepresented populations in doctoral education at universities that are not research-intensive.

Exploring the Relationship Between Campus Climate and Minority Stress in African American College Students

During recent decades, there has been a growth in research exploring the social experiences of African American students attending institutions of higher education. Research that examines minority stress suggests that students of color experience cognitive stressors specific to their racial identity or status as minorities on campus. Many studies have expanded on this knowledge in terms of academic achievement, retention, and adjustment to campus during the first year. The present study explored the concept of minority stress in relation to campus climate and the mental health of African American college students. The participants in this study consisted of eight college students from a predominantly White Midwestern university who identified as African American. Utilizing one-on-one interviews, the students discussed their experiences on campus, their perceptions of campus climate, the stress they experienced as students of color, and how these aspects may have contributed to symptoms of depression and anxiety. Information shared by the students indicated that campus climate and minority stress are closely associated with one another, especially when considering the racial status of the students. While students described feeling stress, discomfort, and burden due to campus climate and minority stress, the investigators were unable to determine if the symptoms described were, in fact, due to anxiety or depression.

The Influence of Teachers’ Colorblind Expectations on the Political, Normative, and Technical Dimensions of Educational Reform

This ethnographic case study examined the experiences of African American students within an urban school detracking reform initiative, which was intended to replace tracking practices through the institution of small schools. Over the course of a year, the researchers interviewed administrators, teachers, and students while gathering observational data from classrooms to explore the political nature of the reform and its impact on how students were viewed and treated by their teachers. Although this school reorganization aimed to expand opportunities for African American students, ultimately the data illustrated that restructuring efforts failed to change teachers’ attitudes and academic expectations, thereby denying students equitable educations. We found colorblindness to be a key factor that informed teachers’ persistent low expectations for students of color that reproduced tracking practices and inequitable opportunity structures in the smaller schools, thereby reinforcing the former stereotypes of low achievement for those students. This study calls for educators to challenge the racial ideologies of academic achievement, vis-a-vis teachers’ colorblind expectations, through political, normative, and technical dimensions of change to actualize educational equity in urban schools.

Advances in stereotype threat research on African Americans: continuing challenges to the validity of its role in the achievement gap

Over the past two decades, there have been significant advances in stereotype threat research on African Americans. The current article reviews general issues of internal validity and external validity (or generalizability) beyond college laboratories in stereotype threat studies, and as they are revealed specifically in the context of advances in research on African Americans. Research suggests an internally valid operational definition of stereotype threat relevant to the African American students’ experience is the expectation of, and reactions to, interviewer or teacher bias. The external validity of laboratory research on stereotype threat is very limited. Effect sizes and variance explained in multivariate models in most survey and field studies of stereotype threat variables are very small. Advances in stereotype threat research emphasize the relatively greater importance of school racial climate and faculty diversity in efforts to reduce the achievement gap. Interventions to improve the educational experiences of African American students should address situational factors of school racial climate, faculty diversity, and cultural competence training for non-African American instructors and interviewers.

What’s in a Name? The Confluence of Confederate Symbolism and the Disparate Experiences of African American Students in a Central Virginia High School

In 2015-2016, news stories from Charleston, South Carolina, and the University of Missouri, among others, motivated and inspired many people to organize against assaults on the Black community generally and Black students in particular. Similarly, Black students at Robert E. Lee High School in Virginia have come together around what they perceive as racist symbolism and inequitable educational policies and practices. The Black student leaders at Robert E. Lee High School have presented their school principal with a list of demands. Meanwhile, the school’s football and basketball teams, The Rebels, are threatening to go on strike until students’ demands are addressed. This case study could be used in educational leadership graduate programs as well as curriculum and instruction coursework, especially in courses that emphasize social justice and ethical decision making. Particularly relevant courses might include School-Community Relations, Organizational Culture, Politics of Education, Contemporary Issues in Education, Visionary Planning and Strategies, and Schools as Learning Communities. In addition, this case study aligns with Standards 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 of the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards and can be integrated in leadership preparation programs accordingly. This case might also be used in school district–sponsored professional development workshops for current and/or aspiring administrators.

An Investigation of High-Achieving African-American Students Attending Community Colleges: A Mixed Methods Research Study

ABSTRACTWhile much more research has been conducted about African-American college students in recent decades, there still exists a need for further explorations concerning factors related to student success and retention. For example, articles often explore the experiences of African-American students at four-year institutions and often use deficit frameworks instead of focusing on the experiences of successful students. To add to what is known, this article summarizes the findings of a multi-institutional mixed methods research study that explored the experiences of high-achieving African-American students attending community colleges. Specifically, the researchers explored noncognitive factors that influenced high academic achievement—defined as grade point average (GPA) higher than 3.00, why students considered leaving an institution, and why students decided to remain enrolled. Findings suggested that studying alone promoted a high cumulative GPA and increased the likelihood students never seriously considered leaving their institution. Studying alone, family relationships, hours spent studying with family, engaged and supportive faculty, financial aid, and the strive to succeed also promoted persistence. Relating to sex differences, student organizational involvement appeared to be more important for male persistence than female persistence at a significant level. The article closes with implications for future research and practice.

Managing transitions, building bridges

Purpose This paper aims to highlight the potential of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) summer bridge programs to promote college persistence by fostering a positive science identity among participants that is culturally consistent with the values and experiences of African American students. Design/methodology/approach This case study included demographic data, journals, a focus-group interview and program evaluation reports. Carlone and Johnson’s (2007) grounded model of science identity provided a culturally sensitive framework for examining science experiences of minority students. Findings In a program that emphasized the academic readiness of students pursing bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering programs, the salience of students’ science identity was intricately related to their commitment to STEM. Research limitations/implications Understanding the program’s cultural components was not a specific objective of the study, but emerged as an important feature of students’ experiences and commitment to degree completion. Practical implications The program could assist students’ development of a science identity through the deliberate inclusion of activities and experiences that are culturally congruent with the students’ racial/ethnic identity. Originality/value Little empirical research is available to assess bridge programs for African Americans pursuing STEM degrees. Analyzing students’ transition from high school to college, within the context of a summer bridge program, affords a better understanding of how students navigate the early social and academic aspects of college and how participation in bridge helps plug the leaky pipeline to careers in STEM.

Gender Differences in the Experiences of African American College Students: The Effects of Co-ethnic Support and Campus Diversity

Abstract This study applies an intersectional framework to provide information about the ways in which race, gender, and on-campus social support influence the experiences of African American college students. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen, I examine how co-ethnic social support from the college community and the college racial composition influence the experiences of African American students attending selective colleges. The results suggest that African American women and men are differentially influenced by co-ethnic support and college racial composition. African American women are more likely than are African American men to receive personal support from African American members of the campus community, take classes with African American professors, and participate in an African American student group. I also find that co-ethnic support is positively related to the academic and social experiences of African American women during college, and I find that the college satisfaction of African American women is positively related to campus diversity.

Edward A. Bouchet: A Model for Understanding African Americans and Their Doctoral Experience

The life and experiences of Dr. Edward A. Bouchet, the first African-American to receive a doctorate from Yale in 1876, are used to model features of the African-American doctoral experience. Bouchet’s early years and educational experiences are discussed to draw references to contemporary research on prior socialization toward doctoral degree completion. His experiences during doctoral study are highlighted to develop conclusions about literature regarding doctoral student socialization frameworks as they relate to the current experiences of African-American students. Furthermore, Bouchet’s life after the doctorate characterizes many issues associated with challenges faced by African-American doctoral degree completers and their postdoctoral degree completion experiences.

Carl H. Walker and Betty Hollow. Soulful Bobcats: Experiences of African American Students at Ohio University, 1950–1960. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2013. 150 pp. Paper $22.95. - Robert Cohen and David J. Snyder, eds. Rebellion in Black and White: Southern Student Activism in the 1960s. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013. 352 pp. Paper $29.95. - Ibram H.

Carl H. Walker and Betty Hollow. Soulful Bobcats: Experiences of African American Students at Ohio University, 1950–1960. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2013. 150 pp. Paper $22.95. - Robert Cohen and David J. Snyder, eds. Rebellion in Black and White: Southern Student Activism in the 1960s. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013. 352 pp. Paper $29.95. - Ibram H. Rogers The Black Campus Movement: Black Students and the Racial Reconstitution of Higher Education, 1965–1912. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2012. 256 pp. Paper $32.00. - Volume 54 Issue 2

Making string education culturally responsive: The musical lives of African American children

The purpose of this study was to explore the violin experiences of African American students at an Elementary School in northern Florida to consider the potential for culturally-responsive string education. The hermeneutical approach was used to answer the research questions: (1) What are the personal musical worlds of these African American children? and (2) How do these children perceive the violin program at school? These helped to answer the study’s overall research question: how do the individual perceptions of the violin program and the sociocultural musical backgrounds of these students relate? The data revealed that the participants had shared perceptions of music; in particular, that music tells stories and has a distinctive beat. Their perceptions of music were learned and experienced in their cultural environments and social spaces. The data also made it evident that their musical lives and perceptions of playing violin affect each other. For instance, the children discussed playing violin at church, and tried to hear violin music in their favorite songs at home. They also expressed a desire to generate beat on their violins and play familiar songs. They were willing to link their experiences in the school violin classroom with their lives beyond.

The Double-Edged Sword: Coping and Resiliency Strategies of African American Women Enrolled in Doctoral Programs at Predominately White Institutions

The Double-Edged SwordCoping and Resiliency Strategies of African American Women Enrolled in Doctoral Programs at Predominately White Institutions Marjorie C. Shavers (bio) and James L. Moore III (bio) The pursuit of a doctoral degree can be extremely challenging, as evidenced in the average doctoral student attrition rate, which is anywhere from 40 percent to 50 percent.1 Of those who remain, African Americans earned only 6.1 percent of the doctorates awarded in the 2006–7 academic school year, despite making up 13 percent of the population.2 While these statistics are discouraging, a more encouraging picture is often painted about black women, who earn approximately 65.6 percent of the doctoral degrees awarded to African Amer-icans.3 Because African American women are earning more doctoral degrees than African American men, it is assumed that they are succeeding, and their experience at predominately white institutions (pwis) is often ignored.4 This is dangerous because despite their higher graduation rates African American women have been found to be the most dissatisfied and isolated students on pwi campuses.5 Consequently, research literature focusing specifically on African American women attending pwis is infrequent.6 This suggests that despite their ability to succeed academically, they are facing a variety of obstacles that are often overlooked. We conducted this study to explore the experiences of African American women doctoral students at pwis, and this manuscript, as part of a larger study, focuses specifically on strategies that African American women use to persist academically and cope in doctoral programs at pwis.7 In spite of research that has identified the negative effects of isolation, exclusion, and marginality, African American graduate students at pwis continue to report experiences shaped by these obstacles.8 With African American women being the most dissatisfied and isolated students on pwi campuses,9 these negative effects are even more concerning for them. Several studies address the experiences of African Americans students at pwis,10 and others explore strategies to overcome barriers to success at pwis.11 However, the research literature that focuses specifically on African American women enrolled in pwis is scarce.12 [End Page 15] Additionally, there is limited research available on the unique experiences of African American doctoral students at pwis and even less on the experiences of African American women.13 The lack of knowledge of the black woman’s doctoral experience is an example of the unique challenges faced by black women, which have been routinely ignored and excluded from the discussion of student experiences.14 This study aims to give voice to the unique experiences of black women in doctoral programs at pwis. theoretical framework African American women have unique experiences that are shaped by the intersection of race, gender, and class.15 Consequently, we used a theoretical research lens that could appropriately explain and comprehend the experiences of black women in order to capture their stories in a genuine and authentic manner.16 We used black feminist thought (bft) as a theoretical foundation and an interpretive lens. The theoretical constructs of black feminist thought access feminist and critical theories, while leaving room for the unique perspectives of African American women.17 Critical theory challenges dominant-group thinking and emphasizes experiential knowledge.18 This theory focuses on the effects of racism, while transforming oppressive conditions as men and women begin to gain a sense of who they are.19 Similarly, feminist theory places an emphasis on women’s experiences and challenges traditional male ideology, which has dominated thinking and research.20 The bft theoretical framework is founded in both feminist and critical race theories as a way to understand and validate the experiences of black women in their creation of knowledge.21 bft combines many tenets from critical race theory and feminist theory but recognizes that the intersection of race, gender, and class is often overlooked, which causes the experiences of black women to often be left out of both the previously mentioned theoretical frameworks. In 2005 Moore, Madison-Colmore, and Smith argued that African American women might be the most targeted group for racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression.22 Some of the major tenets that we used throughout the study are...

Barriers and Supports to Postsecondary Transition

Upon exiting high school, some African American students with disabilities experience difficulty accessing disability support services and appropriate accommodations. Many of these difficulties in access can be traced to high school transition planning as the source. To understand the underlying transitional barriers and sources of support, case studies were developed to examine the experiences of African American students with disabilities as they secured accommodations from disability services. The following themes resulting from the data were evident within the student portraits: (a) students believed deficit-ideologies undermined attempts at self-determination; (b) students emphasized the importance of adequate information prior to transition; and (c) students often refused to access services due to competing cultural identities. The theoretical frameworks of social and cultural capital were used to explore the transitional experiences of postsecondary African American students with disabilities.

A Qualitative Inquiry on the Multidimensional Racial Development among First-Year African American College Students Attending a Predominately White Institution

While persistence and completion rates in postsecondary education are on the rise, gaps based on racial/ethnic demographics remain. This is particularly evident at predominately White institutions (PWIs), despite increasing enrollment of African Americans at these institutions. Previous studies have linked psychosocial health of African American students with positive educational outcomes. Using qualitative data from a study of first-year African American students at a PWI, this article examines the influence of racial identity development on the educational experiences through an interpretive theoretical framework-the Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI). Five themes are presented, representing the influence of both internal reconceptualization of racial identity and external sources of support. Implications for policy development and future research are discussed. Keywords: African American students, postsecondary education, identity development, student persistence Postsecondary degree attainment has generated significant scholarly attention in recent years, particularly for traditionally underrepresented students (Bowen, Chingos, & McPherson, 2009; Rosenbaum, Deil-Amen, & Person, 2006; Sacks, 2008). While recent evidence suggests that persistence and completion rates at four-year colleges and universities are on the rise, a closer examination of the data reveals continued disparities based racial/ethnic demographics. In particular, persistence and degree completion rates for African American students continue to lag behind White students. Among a cohort of students who began at a four-year postsecondary institution in the 2003, 21 percent of African Americans dropped out of postsecondary education three years later, compared to just 1 1 percent of White students. A wider gap exists in graduation rates. Among a cohort of students who began at a four-year postsecondary institution in 2001, 42 percent of African American students completed a degree within six years, compared to 60 percent of White students (Aud et al., 2010). To address these observed educational inequities, considerable attention has been paid to the experiences of African American college students, particularly those who attend predominately White institutions (PWIs). Since McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents decision in 1950 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 established de jure access to all institutions of higher education regardless of race, African American students have increasingly enrolled at PWIs. By 2001, approximately 87 percent of all African American students in postsecondary education were enrolled in a non-historically Black college or university (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). Despite increasing enrollment rates for African American students at PWIs, establishing relationships and maintaining engagement on campus continues to present unique difficulties (Alien, 1992; Cabrera et al. 1999; Fries-Britt & Turner, 2002; Guiffrida, 2005; Hurtado et al. 1 998). When compared to their White peers, African American students at PWIs are more likely to develop perceptions of a racially hostile climate on campus. Based on direct experiences and observations, these feelings often lead to a sense of alienation, inhibiting an establishment connection and commitment to the institution. The feeling of isolation among African American students attending PWIs is of particular concern during the first year of college. Most first-time college students face academic and social challenges as they transition to the institution (Elkins, Braxton, & James 2000; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005; Upcraft, Gardner, & Barefoot, 2004). For African Americans attending PWIs, this difficult transition may become overwhelming, contributing to the persistence and degree completion disparities based on racial/ethnic categories. As first-year experiences have demonstrated a strong connection to persistence and degree attainment, it is critical to examine issues related to transitional experiences of African American students attending PWIs. …

African American Students in Private, Independent Schools: Parents and School Influences on Racial Identity Development

Although much research has focused on the public school experiences of African American students, few studies exist that explore their race-related experiences within an independent, private school context. Studies have suggested that, while private, independent schools may elevate the quality of African American students’ education, many of these students experience social isolation from their peers. Using a qualitative methodology, the current study explores the experiences of African American students attending a private, independent school. Moreover, this investigation explores how schools as well as parental contexts contribute to racial identity development. Results indicated the importance of parents, schools and other significant institutions as racial socialization agents as well as their influence on specific identity-related processes. Educational implications for findings are also discussed.