Creating a Climate for Diversity? The Institutional Response of Predominantly White Independent Schools to African-American Students

2013 ◽  
pp. 229-250
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Predominantly White ◽  
African American Students ◽  
Independent Schools ◽  
Institutional Response ◽  
American Students

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 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].

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document