How charismatic African American males culturally navigate becoming integrated at predominantly White two-year colleges

Abstract

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Rochester. Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development, 2018.African American males continue to show disparate outcomes in higher education contexts in relation to all other categories of students. This problem has been particularly under-addressed in relation to two-year colleges. The following explorative qualitative study explores the experiences of Charismatic African American males navigating predominantly white two-year colleges. In particular, it seeks to understand the intersectional nature of gender, religion, and race as these students interact with the two-year college context. The foundational concepts under investigation include academic and social integration, cultural change, and intersectionality. From the eight Charismatic African American Males who participated in the study three significant themes relating to how they culturally navigated the PWI two-year college emerged: socialization from the hood, faith as a framework for engagement, and finding and negotiating support. These themes are described along with implications for supporting African American college student persistence theory and practice