Friends from Home: Asset and Liability to African American Students Attending a Predominantly White Institution

2004 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas A. Guiffrida
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Predominantly White ◽  
African American Students ◽  
Predominantly White Institution ◽  
American Students ◽  
White Institution

scholarly journals African American Student Persistence at a Predominantly White Institution

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Bourke ◽  
Nathaniel Bray
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Predominantly White ◽  
African American Students ◽  
Institutional Factors ◽  
African American Student ◽  
State University ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
Predominantly White Institution ◽  
American Students ◽  
White Institution

Persistence in college among African American students continues to remain low compared to persistence among White students. Often, the focus in examining this issue has been on institution-wide retention efforts, which can ignore socio-cultural elements that can influence the decisions of individual students to persist at an institution; however, persistence may rely on a combination of institutional factors and socio-cultural elements. The purpose of this article is to present findings from a research project that highlight institutional factors and socio-cultural elements that influence the persistence of African American students at a predominantly White institution. The findings from focus groups with African American students suggest that they persist despite a “cold” campus climate and ongoing experiences with racism and prejudice at Southern State University [pseudonym].

Friends from Home: Asset and Liability to African American Students Attending a Predominantly White Institution

NASPA Journal ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas A. Guiffrida
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Student Affairs ◽  
Predominantly White ◽  
Student Development ◽  
African American Students ◽  
Predominantly White Institution ◽  
Student Affairs Practitioners ◽  
Student Departure ◽  
American Students ◽  
The Impact

The importance of connections with peers to student development and retention has been highlighted in Astin's (1984) Theory of Student Involvement and Tinto's (1993) Theory of Student Departure, which are two of the most widely referenced and validated models in student affairs literature. However, recent research has questioned the applicability of these models to African American students who attend predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Although prior research has indicated that the models should be modified to recognize the importance of students’ relationships with their families, research has failed to understand the impact of relationships with friends from home. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the conditions under which friends from home were perceived as assets or liabilities to 99 African American undergraduates who attended a PWI. The results provide a link for broadening the applicability of Astin’s and Tinto's models and offer student affairs practitioners deeper insight into African American students' experiences at PWIs.

scholarly journals Student Retention Through The Lens Of Campus Climate, Racial Stereotypes, And Faculty Relationships

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 21-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derrick Love
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Predominantly White ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Campus Climate ◽  
African American Students ◽  
Racial Stereotypes ◽  
African American College Students ◽  
Predominantly White Institution ◽  
Faculty Relationships ◽  
American Students

Higher Education Institutions are seeing increased retention rates among African-American college students at predominantly white institutions (PWIs). Institutional barriers such as unwelcoming campus climates, racial stereotypes, and faculty relationships have raised concerns as viable factors as to why the attrition rate for African-American students at PWIs is still on the rise. Ninety African-American college students participated in the Culture Attitude and Climate (CACS) survey. This study revealed a direct relationship between campus climate, racial stereotypes, and faculty relationships and student retention in African-American students attending a predominantly white institution. There was a statistically positive correlation between the perceptions of African-American students pertaining to student retention and campus climate, racial stereotypes, and faculty relationships at a predominantly white institution. African-American students want to be a part of an inclusive academic body that promotes diversity and student success.

How Involvement in African American Student Organizations Supports and Hinders Academic Achievement

2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 88-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas A. Guiffrida
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
African American ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
African American Students ◽  
Student Organizations ◽  
African American Student ◽  
American Student ◽  
Predominantly White Institution ◽  
American Students ◽  
White Institution

The perspectives of 84 African American students attending a predominantly White institution (PWI) were qualitatively analyzed to identify the conditions under which African American student organizations were perceived as assets and liabilities to academic success. Results indicate that involvement in African American student organizations can hinder the academic achievement of students who value hierarchical leadership styles, service toward systemic change, and leadership experiences over grades. Implications for advising African American students at PWIs are provided along with suggestions for modifying Astin's (1984) theory of student involvement when applying it to African Americans at PWIs.

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