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CULTURAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE PERSISTENCE
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CULTURAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE PERSISTENCE OF
AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS
By

Velvie C. Green

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulﬁllment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Educational Administration

2003

ABSTRACT

CULTURAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE PERSISTENCE OF
AF RICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS

By

Velvie C. Green

Since the 19708, doors of Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) have opened
for African-American student enrollment; however, Aﬁican-Americans enrolled in PWIs
tend to be less successful than White students, as evidenced by the attrition disparity.
African-American students receive fewer associate degrees, and their premature
departure rate is signiﬁcantly higher than their White counterparts.

The community college must begin to recognize the need to reﬂect the lives,
experiences and ways of knowing of its entire student population and community. In this
study, I examine the degree to which the marginalized African-American culture predicts
the attrition rates of Aﬁican-American community college students. In other words, how
do speciﬁc cultural factors inﬂuence the persistence of Aﬁican-American community
college students?

A survey was mailed during the Winter 2003 semester to 399 African-American
individuals who were ﬁrst time college students and enrolled as full-time students at
Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) during the Fall 2001 and F all 2002 semesters
with intent to earn an associate degree. The 43-question survey was designed to assess
the experiences of the participants in an effort to determine which experiences

contributed to their decisions to persist or to withdraw from the institution. Descriptive

statistics, Pearson correlation coefﬁcients, analysis of variance and comparison of means
were techniques used to organize, summarize and analyze the data.

The results revealed that African-American students value an interactive and
somewhat animated exchange with their learning facilitator. This suggests a positive
relationship between student-faculty relationships and students’ decision to persist or to
depart. The data also revealed that those who have experienced positive student-faculty
relationships are likely to believe positively in their ability to achieve their academic
goals and are also likely to have little experience with prejudicial and discriminatory
faculty and staff behaviors.

This study proved inconclusive with regard to whether cultural factors inﬂuence
persistence. Nevertheless, this exploratory study brings to light the potential of a cultural

disconnect; therefore, the topics warrant further investigation.

DEDICATION

Dedicated to my family for their unconditional love and support throughout this
learning journey. My husband since 1976, Herman Green, Jr., my daughters, Qiana
Monet Green and Melissa Velvie Green and my mother, Shirley Ann Allen-Little truly
inspired me to begin this work and continually encouraged me to persevere: With all my

love, I dedicate this to you.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would ﬁrst like to acknowledge my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, whose grace
and mercy have made all things possible. It is through Him that I gained the conﬁdence
to pursue this degree, and it is through Him that I was able to persevere to its completion.

Second, I would like to acknowledge the blessings of love and encouragement
from family and friends. During this adventure, my husband, Herman, learned a few new
recipes, moved me into graduate housing during summer study retreats and even drove
me to class on some evenings when I was just too tired to go alone. My daughter, Qiana,
allowed me to occasionally sleep over when I was too tired to drive home aﬁer class and
offered encouraging words to console me when things were frustrating. My daughter,
Melissa, has always been there to listen and to make me laugh when she senses that I am
a little stressed. My extended family continually told me to “hang in there” and reminded
me that all things are possible through Christ. My friends have not only continually
encouraged me to keep going but also forgave my absence from activities during this
challenging time of study.

Third, I would like to acknowledge the blessing of institutional support from
Grand Rapids Community College and the Institutional Research Department. Donna
Kragt, Dean of Institutional Research and Planning, provided her tutorial services to help
me think through the most appropriate data analysis techniques, and Denyse Bening,
research technician, provided her insight about coding the key survey document and

inputting data into SPSS. Bruce Monison, research analyst, provided his assistance by

extracting the institutional data from the campus-wide information system. Without their
support, this study would not have been possible.

Fourth, I would like to acknowledge several very special individuals who have
blessed me with their support and encouragement:

0 Dr. Donald Boyer, my friend, mentor, colleague, retiring boss, and chief
cheerleader.

- Dr. Marilyn Amey, my professor, dissertation committee chair and vice-chief
cheerleader who always challenged me to think deeper.

0 Dr. Juan Olivarez, my new boss, role model and cheerleader.

0 Dr. Anne Mulder, my mentor and cheerleader.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the blessing of guidance from my
dissertation committee. I thank each of them for their individual contribution to my
intellectual expansion.

Dr. Marilyn Amey

Dr. Robbie Steward

Dr. John Dirkx

Dr. Kristen Renn

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix
CHAPTER 1 — BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE ....................................................... l
Shiﬁing Student Demographics ..................................................................................... 2
Attrition .......................................................................................................................... 3
Cultural Disconnect ....................................................................................................... 5
Study Purpose and Research Questions ......................................................................... 8
CHAPTER 2 -— LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction .................................................................................................................. 10
Changing Demography ................................................................................................ l l
African-American Achievement in Universities ................................................... 12
Campus Culture .......................................................................................................... l4
Post—secondary Alternative .................................................................................... 17
Community College Culture ........................... ' ....................................................... 1 8
Diminishing Self-Conﬁdence ................................................................................ 20
Attrition Rates ........................................................................................................ 20
Support Systems ..................................................................................................... 23
Manifestation of Culture .............................................................................................. 26
Church inﬂuence .................................................................................................... 28
Ethnic identiﬁcation ............................................................................................... 28
Biculturalism .......................................................................................................... 29
Extended families ................................................................................................... 30
Oral Tradition ......................................................................................................... 31
Representation ........................................................................................................ 32
Summary ...................................................................................................................... 33
CHAPTER 3 — METHODOLOGY
Research Questions ...................................................................................................... 35
Rationale for a Quantitative Design ............................................................................. 36
Setting .......................................................................................................................... 37
The Sample .................................................................................................................. 39
Measures ...................................................................................................................... 40
Instrumentation ............................................................................................................ 41
Pilot Study .................................................................................................................... 44
Survey Process and Population .................................................................................... 46
Human Subjects Protection ..................................................................................... 48
Procedure ................................................................................................................ 48
Inputting data .......................................................................................................... 48
Limitations of Study ............................................................................................... 49
CHAPTER 4 — RESULTS
Description of Participants ........................................................................................... 50

vii

Description of Variables and Analyses ........................................................................ 54

Analysis of Descriptive Data ...................... , ................................................................. 56
Research Question 1 ............................................................................................. 56
Analysis of Multivariate Data ...................................................................................... 62
Research Question 2 ............................................................................................. 62
Research Question 3 ............................................................................................. 64
Research Question 4 ............................................................................................. 69
CHAPTER 5 — CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................... 74
Participants and Process ............................................................................................... 76
Major Findings ............................................................................................................. 77
Research Question 1 ............................................................................................. 77
Research Question 2 ............................................................................................. 79
Research Question 3 ............................................................................................. 80
Research Question 4 ............................................................................................. 81
Implications for Community Colleges ......................................................................... 82
In the meantime ..................................................................................................... 86
Recommendations for Future Research ....................................................................... 87
Focus Group Interviews ........................................................................................ 87
Representative Sample .......................................................................................... 89
Isolation ................................................................................................................. 91
Perception of Ability ............................................................................................. 91
Acting White .......................................................................................................... 91
Closing Comment ........................................................................................................ 92
APPENDICES
Appendix A Original Survey Cover Letter/Consent Form to Returning Students ..... 93
Appendix B Original Survey Cover Letter/Consent Form to F orrner Students .......... 95
Appendix C Revised Cover Letter /Consent Forms to Current GRCC Students ....... 97
Appendix D Revised Cover Letter /Consent Forms to Former GRCC Students ........ 99
Appendix E Student Survey and Results (Combined Responses from ALL
Respondents) ......................................................................................... 101
Appendix F Returning Student Survey and Results ................................................. 106
Appendix G Non-Retuming Student Survey and Results ......................................... 111
Appendix H Reminder Notice Survey Enclosure ..................................................... 116
Appendix I Incentive Coupons ................................................................................. 117
Appendix J Postcard Reminder Notices ................................................................... 118
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 119
LIST OF TABLES

viii

Table 1 Percentage of Student Enrollment in Two-Year Institutions .............................. 21

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 2 Certiﬁcate And Degree Completion BL1994 For 1989-90 Entrants ................. 21
Table 3 Research Questions, Variablespand Items on Survey ........................................ 42
Table 4 Survey Colors Based on Sub-Groups ................................................................. 47
Table 5 Comparison of Resgndents to the Sample ........................................................ 51
Table 6 Respondent Marital Status .................................................................................. 52
Table 7 Number of Children Supported by Respondents .......................................... 53
Table 8 Respondent Total Household Income ................................................................. 53
Table 9 Respondent Academic Achievement .................................................................. 54
Table 10 Research Questions, Analysis and @ables ...................................................... 55
Table 11 Importance of church-related behaviors and oral traditions and

shared knowledge communication behaviors ..................................................... 57
Table 12 Importapce of the extended family as a support network ................................... 58
Table 13 Impact of ethnic identiﬁcation (heightened visibility) ....................................... 59
Table 14 Bi-culturalism as it relates to an enculturation process ...................................... 61
Table 15 How do students rate represengtion experiences? ............................................. 61
Table 16 Correlations of Learning Experience and Ability to Reach Goals ..................... 63
Table 17 Persistence Frequency 1% ................................................................................ 64
Table 18 ANOVA of Perception of Ability to Accomplish Academic Goals ................... 65
Table 19 Correlations of GPA, Percent of Credits Earned of Those

Attempted and Academic Standipg .................................................................... 66
Table 20 ANOVA ofﬂde Point Average ...................................................................... 67
Table 21 ANOVA of Percent of Credits Earned of Those Attempted ............................. 68

 

ix

Table 22 ANOVA of the Importance of Church-Related Behaviors in
Classroom Socialization ...................................................................................... 69

Table 23 ANOVA of the Importance of the Extended Family as a
Support Network ................................................................................................. 70

Table 24 ANOVA of the Importance of Oral Traditions and Shared

 

 

 

 

Knowledge Communications Behaviors ............................................................. 70
Table 25 ANOVA of the Impact of Ethnic Identiﬁcation (heightened visibility) ............. 71
Table 26 ANOVA of the Impact of Bi—culturalismpp it Relates to an

Enculturation Process ................................................................................................ 72
Table 27 ANOVA of the Impact of Representation/Smlpesperson Experiences ............. 72

 

CULTURAL FACTORS INFLUENCING THE PERSISTENCE OF
AF RICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS

Chapter 1 — Background and Rationale

The enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a set of laws barring
discrimination in a wide variety of public and private settings, forced open the doors of
predominantly White public institutions of higher education to individuals of color.
Shortly thereafter, the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act Amendment abolished
immigration preferences given to immigrants from Europe. “From 1965 to present
America has absorbed more immigrants and aliens than all the other developed countries
of the world” (Keller, 1999, p. 8). While the nation was struggling to adjust to major
shifts in both civil rights practices and population demographics, it was also shifting from
an industrial society to an information age society. Jobs requiring low skills were quickly
being replaced by jobs requiring skills and knowledge beyond high school. The results
were signiﬁcantly more open doors and recruitment initiatives to attract individuals who
were not previously encouraged toward post-secondary education.

Opened doors, new funding and recruitment efforts resulted in an increase in the
number of community colleges and increased enrollments of a more diverse college
student population. Although these efforts increased access, they have not resulted in
equal student success. The attrition rates for Aﬁican-American students exceed the
attrition rates of White students (Cohen & Brawer, 1996; Levin, 1993; Lorenzo &
Banach, 1992; Lorenzo & LeCroy, 1994; Martens, Lara, Cordova, & Harris, 1995).
Though there are many factors that contribute to this disparity, this study focused on the

cultural mismatch between faculty/staff and students, an institutional barrier receiving

little attention in previous research. Faculty and professional staff remain predominantly
White, middle class and culturally disconnected from their increasingly diverse students.
Post-secondary institutions, particularly community colleges, must ﬁrst acknowledge
cultural disconnection as an institutional barrier, followed by a commitment to prepare
their faculty and staff to work more effectively with all students—if they hope to
positively impact Aﬁican-American student persistence (i.e., perseverance to overcome

obstacles and to goal attainment).

Shifting Student Demographics

Increasingly, African-Americans and other people of color began seeking higher
education opportunities in the mid sixties. In 1976, students of color comprised 17% of
post-secondary enrollment (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2000). By 1999,
the percentage of post-secondary students of color had increased to 28% (National Center
for Education Statistics, 2001). Hispanic and Asian/Paciﬁc Islander students contributed
most of the growth, increasing from 5% in 1976 to 16.2% in 2001 while Aﬁican—
American student enrollment increased, from 9% in 1976 to 12.3% in 2001 (The
Chronicle of Higher Education, 2001;U.S. Department of Education, 2000). These
students are part of the “new” college student population, and they bring new and
different perspectives, cultures, values, behaviors, attitudes and challenges, most of
which dramatically impact the college learning environment. “These demographic shifts
have prompted a challenge to the largely unexamined practices of higher education”
(Turner, Garcia, Nora, & Rendon, 1996, p. xx). How do we effectively communicate

with each other? How do we cope with our differences? Why must we change practices

that have always worked? The community college is forced to grapple with these issues
more urgently then other institutions of higher education.

The community college mission inherently places it in a unique and challenging
position. Its mission emphasizes community access—access by all to a variety of higher
education options. Thus, the community colleges’ open door accepts a more diverse
student body than the four-year institution. “Cormnunity colleges have indeed opened
their doors to a broad range of populace, resulting in a student population that is more
heavily working-class, minority and female than that of the four-year institutions” (Shaw,
Valadez, & Rhoads, 1999, p. 2). From 1965 through 1999, enrollment at two-year
colleges grew from 1,172,952 to 5,592,699 (National Center for Education Statistics,
2001; US. Department of Education, 2000). The number of community colleges has
increased steadily from 8 in 1901, to 436 in 1930, to 678 in 1960, to 1,664 by 1997
(Cohen, 1996; The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2000). Cohen and Brawer (1996)
offer a number of reasons for the increased community college enrollment, including
geographic location, availability of ﬁnancial aid, increasing number of part-time students,
and maturation of baby boomers. Forecasters predict that community colleges will
sustain their enrollment due to increased university tuition costs, continuing demand for
post-secondary education less than a baccalaureate degree, open access and ﬂexible
scheduling (Cohen and Brawer, 1996). Increased college access and entry, however,

does not guarantee an increase in college degrees.

Attrition
Though African-Americans entering two-year institutions receive the largest

percent of certiﬁcates, data indicate that they are otherwise less successful than other

two-year college students. Aﬁican-American students receive fewer associate degrees,
and their premature departure rate is signiﬁcantly higher than their White counterparts
(US. Department of Education, 2000). It has become evident by conference topics and
the literature that admission to college does not necessarily mean access to a college
degree (Cohen & Brawer, 1996; Levin, 1993; Lorenzo & Banach, 1992; Lorenzo &
LeCroy, 1994; Martens, Lara, Cordova & Harris, 1995). Why are Aﬁican-Americans
leaving community colleges prior to achieving their goals? How might community
colleges respond? Cohen (1996) suggests all barriers to individual development should
be removed so all individuals are given the opportunity to rise to their greatest potential.
Rendon (1999) explains that a multiculturally inclusive community college begins
with the recognition that the college needs to reﬂect the students’ lives, experiences,
ways of knowing, and history. Within its quest to provide access should also be a
commitment to help students “build their stock of social and emotional capital, providing
validating environments, emphasizing intellectualism, and helping students to see
themselves as capable learners while creating a powerful image of their future” (p. 198).
Academic success in community colleges is often determined by possession of the
cultural capital with the greatest exchange value—academic cultural capital (Trujillo &
Diaz, 1999). “Cultural capital” is a commodity that is used in place of currency and
represents the required knowledge that is exchanged for academic returns or economic
and social gains (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1990). Individuals inherit linguistic and cultural
competencies by virtue of their family’s societal position. Dominant cultures award

certain value and status to language forms, modes of thinking and qualities of style.

Therefore, dominant cultural capital holds the most value and status in the educational
institution (Trujillo & Diaz, 1999).

Aﬁican-Americans have often not been in the position to acquire the cultural
capital necessary to make the exchange and are, therefore, left behind most of their
dominant culture classmates who are cultural capital afﬂuent. Faculty and staff appear to
be unable or unwilling to convert the cultural capital offered by the African-American
students to the dominant cultural capital held by most of the faculty, staff and non-
African-American students.

Cultural Disconnect

 

The student demographics are changing at a signiﬁcantly higher rate than that of
the faculty and staff, creating a growing sociocultural gap between teachers and students.
In Fall 1998, 85% of the full-time faculty and staff in public 2-year institutions were
White, non-Hispanic and only 6% were Black (National Center for Education Statistics,
2001). The majority of the faculty and staff share middle-class Eurocentric ideals (i.e.,
tendency to interpret the world in terms of western and especially European values,
attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and language). Their experiences are based on those of the
dominant (i.e., the group with the authority or ruling power) culture; therefore, they do
not ordinarily question the biases implicit in their culture or the effects that these biases
may have on students from a non-dominant culture. They also do not consider the
relationship between these biases, the early departure of Aﬁican-American students and
cultural discontinuity i.e., the mismatch between the cultures of the students and the
“Eurocentric” culture of the classroom (Allen and Boykin, 1992). They are either unable

or unwilling to reconcile their traditional instructional strategies with the needs of these

“new” students, whose culture plays a signiﬁcant role in the way they come to understand
the world.

According to Guy (1999), African-Americans (as a group) are socially, politically
and economically marginalized and are most affected by a cultural mismatch between the
learning environment and their own cultural history. Such a mismatch leads to
privileging some and subordinating others. “Difﬁculties in learning usually occur not
because students lack ability or do not make the effort but because they lack experience
with the type of task involved” (Brophy, 1998, p. 65). African-American students want
to learn and to advance their economic position in life. To accomplish this, they must
understand how to reconcile their experiences with those of the dominant culture.

Aﬁican-American students must often navigate amidst many culturally related
obstacles that are foreign to other students. For example, African-American students must
negotiate the pressures from society to assimilate into an academic environment
dominated by a Eurocentric culture. Assimilation pressures cause a disconnect between
the cultures of African-American community college students and the college culture.
Guy (1999) emphasizes that culture is the core of a group’s life and a group's identity. It
is so powerful that it shapes the essence of the individual and is, therefore, essential to
human social life.

The dominant culture dictates the instructional standards of the classroom (e.g.,
literature selection, shared examples, and recognized experiences); however, many
African-Americans bring different experiences that are often not valued. Further,
individuals come to know in different ways. Some learn by experiential association,

some by simply listening, some require authoritarian delivery, and others learn best by

practice. Sheared (1999) explains learning behaviors that are common to Aﬁ'ican-
Americans permeate their family structure, religious institutions, culture and community
life, and inﬂuence the way African-Americans come to know. Srnitherrnan (1977)
suggests that many Aﬁican-American are active communicators, active listeners and
active learners. They learn best through interaction with each other. She encourages
teachers to use the principles of “each one teach one” through small group interaction in
non-threatening learning environments. Understanding how individuals dialogue in their
homes and in their churches may help faculty by providing alternative methods of
dialogue in class (e.g., everybody talking at once, call and response) (Smitherrnan, 1977).

Construction of meaning for clear understanding takes time and interactive
discourse during learning activities. Such activities allow students to process the newly
acquired information by exploring its relationships to other already acquired knowledge
and past experiences (Brophy, 1998). Caring, supportive, empathetic teachers can assist
the students in these meaning making activities by giving clear explanations and by
helping students connect the new information to established frames of reference.
Unfortunately, "many teachers do not have frames of reference and points of view similar
to their ethnically and culturally different students because they live in different
existential worlds” (Gay, 1993, p.287).

Today's community college classroom is very likely to be composed of
individuals of wide ranging ages, levels of abilities, ethnic groups, cultural and
socioeconomic backgrounds (Murray, 1999). Prospective community college faculty
should have a breadth of preparation, including an understanding of the diverse student

population, adult leanring theory, multicultural communication and the community

college mission if they are to be effective in the classroom (Cohen & Brawer, 1996).
Unfortunately, however, few faculty/staff have such preparation. Until the 19608, there
were no higher education programs designed to prepare individuals for professions in
community college teaching. Though there are now graduate schools that offer related
programs, not enough individuals complete such programs to provide the pipeline with an
adequate supply of candidates trained to assist today's community college students in
persisting to goal attainment.

Culture exists in all aspects of our lives, establishes the parameters for social
interaction and provides a ﬁamework for deﬁning self in relation to others (Rhoads,
1999, p. 106). Institutions have not been pushed to make institutional changes that will
ensure an inclusive, multicultural environment. Instead, the campus culture often
threatens the social and psychological comfort of many African-American students,
resulting in self-doubt about academic ability. Such environment is, therefore, non-

conducive to their academic success.

Study Purpose and Research Questions

The purpose of this survey study was to discover how cultural factors inﬂuence
the academic persistence of African-American students in a large, urban, non-residential
community college. The analysis examined the community college learning environment
from the perspective of the Aﬁican-American student and, ultimately, its impact on their
decision to persist to goal attainment. I chose this study because I hoped that it might
directly impact future policy and program development at Grand Rapids Community
College (GRCC) and other community colleges across the nation. I also hoped that the

results might invoke emotional commitments and responses of faculty and staff.

To accomplish this, I explored the answers to the following four research
questions:

1. How do students rate the importance of cultural factors on their community college
learning experience?

2. Do community college learning experiences correlate with African-American
students' perception of their ability to accomplish their academic goals?

3. Is there a correlation between African-American community college students'
decisions to persist to goal attainment and their perception of their ability to
accomplish their academic goals?

4. Is there a correlation between cultural factors and persistence of full-time, degree-
seeking African-American students who were ﬁrst enrolled at GRCC during the Fall
2001 and Fall 2002 semesters?

Though a focus of this paper is the African-American culture, it is important to
clarify that I do not support the assumption that all Aﬁican-Americans possess identical
cultural attributes. There may be many commonalities among cultural groups, but there
are also many differences within cultural groups. “African-Americans are drawn from a
diverse range of cultures and countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and Central and South
America” (Rendon, Hope, & associates, 1996, p. 4). Each contributes diverse values,

norms, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and languages.

Chapter 2 —- Literature Review

Introduction

In my quest to discover factors inﬂuencing the academic persistence of Aﬁican-
American students in community colleges, I was surprised to discover very little written
about this sector of post-secondary education. Of what I found, most was not written by
community college faculty, whose primary responsibility is teaching, not research.
However, I found considerable research on students in universities, covering a large
variety of topics. This was helpful in shaping my research questions and in guiding my
literature search on community colleges. I began to question the relationship of culture to
student achievement as I read two research studies (Allen, Epp & Haniff, 1991; Wagener
& Nettles, 1998), both of which pointed to the importance of a positive campus
environment and a supportive, inclusive campus culture.

In the next section of this chapter, the phenomenon of the rapidly changing
student demographics is discussed. Successful approaches of Historically Black Colleges
and Universities (HBCUs) are also discussed. In the third section of this chapter, I
explore campus culture and its affect on how individuals perceive their ﬁt within the
campus community and resulting feelings about their ability to succeed in such an
environment. Attrition is suggested as an outcome of one's inability to perceive him or
herself ﬁtting in the college environment. In the fourth section, I explore retention
strategies. The ﬁfth section explores the African-American culture and how culture
manifests itself. My intent was to understand institutional barriers that contribute to the

struggles of African-American learners.

10

gigging Demography

The community college—though existing since the early twentieth century—has
only recently become a more popular topic of research (Boone, 1997; Levin, 1993;
Lorenzo & Banach, 1992; Lorenzo & LeCroy, 1994; Rendon & Mathews, 1989; Taylor
& Maas, 1995). In recent years, community colleges have been faced with the challenges
of changing student demographics, increasing enrollment, increasing number of
underprepared students, declining funding, and rising costs. Student demographics have
shifted from one of predominantly White and of European ancestry to one that is more
heterogeneous, with signiﬁcant proportions of Aﬁican-American, Hispanic, and Asian-
Arnerican students (Keller, 1999; Rendon & Mathews, 1989; Wilds & Wilson, 1998).
Higher attrition rates for Aﬁican-American students add yet another challenge with
which community colleges must grapple. Cohen and Brawer (1996) contribute faculty
challenges as they describe an environment where faculty are (a) not prepared for the
larger class sizes resulting from the increased enrollment, (b) not prepared for the large
number of underprepared students, (c) not trained to teach, and (d) burned out.

At the same time, accrediting agencies, taxpayers, policy makers, general public,
legislators, and business and industry all persist in their calls for accountability due to
ﬁscal constraints, the inﬂuence of accrediting standards, and state and federal mandates
(Gracie, 1998; Roueche, 1997; Sanchez, 1998). They demand evidence to demonstrate
that the students, the community and the economy all beneﬁt as a result of the community
college (Carvell, 1998; Hurley, 2002; Sanchez, 1998). In other words, community
colleges must document how well they are responding to mandates based on critical

success factors and institutional performance standards. They must assess students'

11

access to learning opportunities and student goal attainment. Some of the research
conducted on four-year institutions might serve as models for community colleges.

Aﬁican-American Achievement in Universities. Almost every aspect of four-year
colleges and universities has been probed and studied for decades. Much has been
documented about African-American students attending four-year colleges and
universities that have contributed helpful insights into several issues affecting the success
of these students. Stikes (1984) analyzed 16 case studies and discovered that many of the
Black students in his study did not possess the academic-achievernent-oriented skills,
interpersonal skills and individual assertiveness skills that he believed to be necessary for
success in college. He suggests that colleges must play an active role in helping students
develop the skills necessary for success. He further suggests that faculty and staff must
be willing to invest the time and energy necessary to learn about the Aﬁ'ican-American
culture in an effort to appreciate its richness as different, not deﬁcient.

Allen (1991) analyzed data from the National Study of Black College Students
(N SBCS), based at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor—data collected over three
years, 1981-1983, ﬁom 4000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional African-
American students enrolled in 16 public universities. This study is helpful in that it
compares the success, retention and persistence of African-American students at
historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to those at predominantly White
colleges and universities. The data indicate that a higher percentage of Aﬁican-
Americans attending HBCUs persist in their studies to complete their academic goals

than those who attend predominantly White colleges and universities. Wagener (1998)

12

provides evidence to support these ﬁndings and explains that HBCUs work hard to create
environments in which many more students can succeed academically.

Constituting only 3% of the more than 3,800 US institutions of higher education,

HBCUs enroll about 16% of the Black students in college. HBCUs produce

approximately 27% of all BAs and of all bachelor’s degrees in science and

engineering awarded to Aﬁ'ican Americans annually. Of the Aﬁican Americans
who earn doctorates, approximately 35% have their baccalaureate origins in

HBCUs. (Wagener, 1998, p. 1)

Although the focus of Wagener’s research is on four-year institutions, the ﬁndings
provide information about successful approaches used by HBCUs, such as early
intervention, mentoring and monitoring, faculty/role model advising, small group
discussions/support groups, and study groups, that are missing from non-HBCU
institutions (Allen, Epp et al., 1991). Wagener focuses on three successful HBCUs——
Hampton University, Xavier University and Spelman College. According to Wagener,
Hampton University engages faculty in student achievement through its highly successful
faculty development advisor program, resulting in a decrease of ﬁ'eshman on academic
probation from 20% in 1994-95 to 15% in 1996-97. Xavier University of Louisana, the
only Black Catholic college in the United States, graduates 45% of its student body; the
national average is 34% for Aﬁican-Americans. Xavier’s success can be attributed to its
highly committed faculty who each counsels and mentors 35 students in an effort to
pinpoint academic difﬁculties and intervene quickly (W agener, 1998). Spelman College
“awards the second highest number of baccalaureate degrees granted to African-

Americans in mathematics” (W agener, 1998, p. 8). Wagener goes on to report that 72%

13

of Spelman women graduate in six years; the national average for African-American
women is 37%. All three institutions share a commitment to strong support services, to
early intervention, to retention, to faculty/student engagement, and to high expectations
of both students and faculty.

At HBCUs, students are surrounded by a support group of other students and staff
who validate their presence and share similar experiences and struggles. HBCU’s large
number of African-American staff members represents role models who are living
testimonies of what is possible through perseverance. This helps students develop
images of their ideal selves, motivating them to be open-minded and active learners
(Brophy, 1998, p. 215). The faculty and staff are able to advise students using real and
meaningful examples ﬁ'om personal experience, allowing students to make important
connections through shared experiences. The supportive, caring HBCU campus culture
provides an environment which fosters success. Predominantly White institutions, which
strive to portray an inclusive, positive campus environment, might consider modeling

their support systems after those of the HBCUs.

Campus Culture

It is important to consider cultural differences and similarities because people
embody the culture, and our success in interacting with others relates in many ways to
cultural factors (Ricard, 1996). The culture of an institution is reﬂected in its deeply
embedded patterns of organizational behavior and the ideologies that its members hold
about the work of the institution. Institutional culture can be assessed through
observation of its organizational sagas, its heroic ﬁgures, and its rituals (Peterson &

Spencer, 2000, p. 171). Several variables in the college environment are impacted by

14'

culture “including the organization of the university, delivery systems for services,
administration, management and supervision, teaching methods, counseling approaches,
small-group interactions, interpersonal relations, students’ coping strategies, and
students’ leaming styles” (Stikes, 1984, p. 121).

Turner (1996) presents a series of essays and studies by scholars studying the
experiences of African-American students in higher education. All seem to converge on
the same conclusion: African-American students are not comfortable on college
campuses. Institutions of higher education across the country fail to provide welcoming
environments for students, faculty and staff of color. In order to attract African-
American students to campus, recruiting materials often paint rosy pictures of campus
life by including pictures of Aﬁican-American students. However, upon arrival to
campus, many African-American freshmen are disappointed to discover that there are
very few students or faculty of color and limited support. Daniels (1991) summarized it
best by offering an analogy. She explains that people of color feel as if they are guests
who must follow the rules of the homeowner and avoid certain rooms reserved for
family. Guests have no history within the family and no pictures on the walls.

A study by Nettles (1996) concludes that the better the ﬁt of the student in his or
her institution, the more likely it is that the individual will succeed academically. Fit was
measured by the students’ feelings about nondiscriminatory practices, availability and
attitudes of faculty, peer group relations, overall student satisfaction and problems
encountered that directly interfere with academic efforts. The data indicate that White

students ﬁt better in the college environment than do Aﬁican-American students.

15

F eagin (1995; 1996) examined the barriers faced by Aﬁican-American students at
predominantly White universities. African-Americans students must often cope with
racist jokes, stereotypic beliefs, subtle discrimination, negation of Black history, and
Eurocentric bias in courses and curricula. Many African-American students are not
prepared for the negative interactions in an often hostile environment or the numerous
hateful offenses resulting from bigotry and discrimination (Edney, 2002). The hostile
undercurrents of still predominantly White campuses add constant stress to the academic
lives of these students, causing many to stop short of their goal completion.

LaToya Carson was assaulted with the n-word and had glass bottles thrown at her

on Penn State University’s campus because she would not respond to the catcalls

of White students. At Auburn University in Alabama and the University of

Mississippi, White students sported blackface and simulated a KKK lynching and

a police shooting of a Black man picking cotton. At Stanford University, racist e-

mails were sent to 25,000 computer users. Racist notes were afﬁxed to dorm

room doors of Black students at Kalamazoo College in Michigan. An employee
at the University of Illinois at Chicago sent a poem with racial slurs to six faculty
members and several students. A fraternity and a sorority at Dartmouth College
in New Hampshire held a “ghetto party,” where White Greeks were encouraged to
dress as inner-city Blacks. At Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, four

White students were expelled after a Black mannequin with a noose around its

head was found hanging from a tree. (Edney, 2002)

These are examples of institutional barriers (i.e., barriers caused by the college

that may discourage participation) that force Aﬁican-American students to question their

16

academic ability and their institutional belongingness. Institutions often see these
occurrences as isolated incidents; however, these incidents are added to a lifetime of
accumulated experiences for Aﬁican-American students.

Many African-American students also discover that they are not prepared for the
level of required study, they are unfamiliar with higher education organizational systems
or they do not know how to navigate the system to achieve their academic goals. They
are quickly disillusioned with their decision to enroll because they mostly ﬁnd
themselves disadvantaged in navigating the dominant culture. “Though the painting of a
rosy picture may, in the short run, increase enrollments, it is very likely, in the long run,
to decrease retention by widening the gap between promise and delivery” (Tinto, 1993,
p.155).

Through a comprehensive assessment of the K-16 educational system, with a
speciﬁc focus on students of color, Rendon (1996) concludes that a transformation of
higher education is essential.

Traditional program planning, teaching, advising, and retention are based on

theories derived by research based on middle- and upper-class, predominantly

White, male student populations that have limited utility for students of color. It

cannot be assumed that a new student majority can become involved in and

socialized in a college environment that is vastly different from their

home/community realities. (p.465)

Post-secondary Alternative. For the years 1992 through 1997, the Aﬁican-
American student percentage of total enrollment was consistently greater at community

colleges than at four-year colleges and universities (Phillippe, 1999). This trend

l7

continues today. The community college has provided an alternate route to a post-
secondary education. Since their inception, community colleges have appealed to those
individuals who have not traditionally had access to a post-secondary education.
Community colleges’ lower tuition rates, open admission, convenient location, and
service orientation have resulted in their educating more than half of the nation’s
undergraduates. The low tuition rates are especially attractive to people with low
incomes. The open admission gives a second chance to many individuals who might
have had a previously less than successful academic experience. The location of
community colleges has been especially helpful to women with children who schedule
their classes around their spouses’ work schedule, their children’s school schedules, and
babysitting availability.

In urban areas, community college enrollments often reﬂect the proportion of
minorities in the local population (Phillippe, 1999). Community colleges are committed
to active involvement in the local community. This community presence and
approachability is attractive to family-centered cultures that like to keep family members
close to home. Many African-Americans see this as a way to continue their education
while at the same time retaining their family ties.

Community College Culture. A few researchers have chosen to examine the
community college culture in an attempt to understand how these institutions address the
broad challenges of diversity. Drawing from a large ethnographic case study that focused
on ﬁrst-year community college students of color, Laden (1999) describes efforts to
enhance the academic and support services in order to motivate students of color and

increase their commitment to transfer to four-year institutions. She concludes:

18

Culturally sensitive academic and support programs and activities designed to
provide a sense of belonging, to motivate and empower, and to make knowledge
meaningful and accessible to students of color remain crucial in community
colleges that enroll high numbers of these students (p. 190). It is only by
understanding the culture of the students that the process of organizational and
individual transformation can yield signiﬁcant outcomes for these students or the
community college as a whole. (p. 191)

Shaw (1999) examined the community college’s organizational culture and its
relationship to the student cultures, and found that "community college students
consistently describe their identities as multifaceted, multisourced, and multilayered" (p.
169) while their colleges are more likely to deﬁne students in much more narrow terms.
Narrow deﬁnitions "ignore or negate the lived experiences of students, and increase the
chance that these students will maintain neither the desire nor the ability to persist" (p.
169)

Rhoads (1999) examined how students’ experiences are shaped by the
organizational structures and practices. Cultural complexities are argued and progressive
practices are shared. “While community colleges preach diversity, they fail to provide
for it. Behind the gloss of the rhetoric of access and diversity is the reality of
monoculturalism that permeates the college culture of some, and perhaps too many, two-
year colleges” (Rendon, 1999, p. 198). It is clear that community colleges have many
issues and challenges due to their diverse constituents—community, government,

students, business & industry, transfer institutions—all with diverse expectations.

l9

DiminishingSelf-Conﬁdence. Over time and after a myriad of negative
classroom and campus experiences, many students begin to approach tasks and learning
experiences with low expectations of themselves. They begin to doubt their ability to
achieve based on the circumstances, on their under-preparedness and on the interactions
with their peers and the faculty and staff. Reeve (1998, p. 78) labels this state of mind
low self-efﬁcacy. When faced with difﬁcult conditions, doubt can interfere with
effective thinking, planning and decision-making causing much "anxiety, confusion,
arousal, tension, and distressing anticipation that spiral performance toward disaster”
(Reeve, 1998, p. 78). African-American students access post-secondary education
through the community college anticipating opportunity—a ticket to a higher standard of
living. Instead, they often encounter negative expectations, a hostile environment, and
unfamiliar cultural norms. Their conﬁdence wanes, and many retreat to the comfort and
safety of their “village”—never to return.

Attrition Rates. Community college enrollment of Aﬁican-Americans continues
to increase and attrition of African-American students in community colleges continues
to be disproportionate to that of White students. Fifty-three percent of African-American,
Hispanic and Native American undergraduates attend two-year college (Rhoads &
Valadez, 1996), and their experiences at those institutions often determine their academic
future. Every year approximately 42% of the Aﬁican-American students entering college
enroll in Associate of Arts degree (see Table 1). However, attrition is highest at these
institutions among non-White students. Of those Aﬁican-Americans entering 2-year
institutions during the 1989-90 academic year, 53.5% were no longer enrolled and had

failed to complete their goal of earning a degree or certiﬁcate by 1994 (see Table 2).

20

Though African-Americans entering two-year institutions receive the largest percent of
certiﬁcates, data indicate that they are otherwise less successful than other two-year

students.

Table 1

Percentage of Student Enrollment in Two-Year Institutionp

 

(Number in Thousands)
1988 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998

 

Total Afr-Amer Student

EnrollmentinHigherEd 1130 1393 1413 1449 1474 1506 1551 1585
Afr-Amer Enrollment in

2-yrInstitutions 473 602 599 615 621 636 655 657
Percentage OfAﬁ'Ame‘ 42% 43% 42% 42% 42% 42% 42% 41%
enrolled In 2-yr

 

Source: (Harvey, 2001)

Table 2

Percentage of Certiﬁcate and Degee Completed by 1994 for 1989-90 Entrants

 

No degree, No degree,
Certiﬁcate Associate Bachelor still enrolled not enrolled

 

White, non 13.1 19.6 6.4 12.2 48.8
Hispanic

Black, non I 7.8 14.1 3.2 11.3 53.5
Hispanic

Hispanic 15.3 16.4 6.6 20.5 41.3
Asian/Paciﬁc 15.0 16.7 5.9 23.0 39.3
Islander

 

Source: (U .S. Department of Education, 2000, p. 342)

Throughout the 908, the national college attrition rate for Aﬁican-American
students was 20 to 25% higher than that of White students. Society cannot afford to
continue discarding this valuable human resource. Through equitable education and

training, all able-minded individuals must be given the opportunity to improve their

21

standard of living and to prepare themselves to make a contribution to the well being of
our society. Tinto (1993) synthesized research on student attrition in higher education and
suggested that institutions must focus on the delivery of a quality, equitable education in
order to retain students and reduce attrition.

Tinto (1998) ﬁrrther suggests that the more integrated students are into the
institution and the more valued they are as members of the institution the more likely
they are to persist. They must feel positive about their interactions (i.e., the social
system) with their peers and with faculty. Since most community college students spend
most of their time in classrooms and laboratories (rather than in residence halls), that is
where their interactions are most likely to occur. Their experiences and involvement in
these settings (especially during the ﬁrst 10 weeks) are therefore more likely to have the
greatest impact on their persistence decisions. Informal interaction between faculty and
students and the frequency of that interaction is believed to greatly inﬂuence students’
persistence (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1980). Tinto (1998) summarizes his research in this
statement,

Clearly, the academic and social systems of colleges overlay both classroom and

college settings in such a way that experiences within and beyond the classroom

both impact upon student persistence. (p. 169)

Several authors discuss the issues surrounding the retention of African-American
students in higher education in general (Guy, 1999; Person & Christensen, 1996;
Roueche, 1993; Stewart, Russell & Wright, 1997), while Rendon (1989) has drawn
attention to the low retention rates of the community college’s disproportionate number

of minority students. Rhoads and Valadez (Allen, 1996) critically examine the roles of

22

community colleges and the challenges faced by multiculturalism, including the failure to
provide social mobility to all students. However, I believe that a greater emphasis must
be placed on speciﬁc cultural factors that relate to the persistence of Aﬁican-American
community college students. Culturally different students perform more poorly than their
counterparts whose approach to the world and to learning resonates with that of the
dominant culture (Chu-Richardson, 1989). How do these factors inﬂuence their
decisions to persist to degree or goal completion? As stated earlier, the greatest
percentage of Aﬁican-Americans who attend college, attend community colleges, but

they are not persisting at those institutions.

Support Systems

Although recruitment efforts appear to suggest that campuses value diverse
campus environments, little attention has been given to what is required to retain a
diverse student body. Some colleges have attempted through special events and support
activities to ensure that the college climate and educational setting are positive and
encouraging for these students. Several strategies have been initiated over the years,
including sponsorship of diversity days with a variety of ethnic speakers, Black Studies
course offerings, hiring of a small percentage of faculty and staff of color, racial ethnic
celebratory activities and establishment of support programs for African-American
students. These strategies all attempt a proactive facilitation of African-American
students’ academic deve10pment, retention and identity development. While these efforts
may be helpful, non-minority faculty and staff do not always support them. Some
individuals of privilege even oppose ethnic celebratory activities, arguing that such

activities promote separatism and contribute to the racial divide (Lords, 2002).

23

Retention strategies often put the responsibility of resolving attrition issues on the
students themselves, a few faculty of color, a particular college ofﬁce or a particular
group of individuals, and not the institution, which functions under the regime of the
dominant culture. This then frees the remaining faculty and staff of any responsibility or
accountability. Ultimately, individuals should be intrinsically motivated to participate, to
expand their perspectives, and to incorporate new ideas into the learning environment——
both inside and outside of the classroom—or the environment will not change. They
must assume the responsibility for motivating themselves to learn about their students if
they ever hope to establish connections with their students.

Often, Aﬁican-American students are the ﬁrst among their families and ﬁiends to
attend college. Unlike many ﬁrst generation dominant culture college students, who can
connect to professionals from their culture (both on and off campus), ﬁrst generation
Aﬁican-American college students often have no co-ethnic professionals (with common
background and experiences) to guide and support them in their academic pursuits. If the
family and friends do not understand the value of a college education, they may not be
able to offer the needed encouragement, especially the kind one can offer from the
perspective of having had the same experience (e.g., money, tutoring, baby-sitting,
encouragement, advice about academics, transportation, etc.). If family members and
friends have never attended college, they may not be able to provide the needed advice
about college and college survival (Tinto, 1993). Therefore, many Aﬁican-Americans
rely on the limited (if any) support systems established by the academic institutions.

However, can the institutions provide the appropriate support without an understanding

24

of the barriers (both cultural and institutional) without have had the same experiences and
without an appreciation for the individual struggles?

The families and friends of ﬁrst-generation college students often have limited
understanding of the value of post-secondary education. Some individuals are pressured
by family to forego college and begin “earning their keep” by working full-time
immediately after graduation from high school (Tinto, 1993). Seeking a college
education is believed by some as simply postponing for an extended period of time an
individual’s ability to “earn their own way.” Pursuing a college education is felt to be a
waste of time since many believe college-educated Aﬁican-Americans will not be hired
into the same position as an equally qualiﬁed White person. Individuals are sometime
reminded of the failures of previous family members and ﬁiends who have attempted
such a venture. The fear that the college-educated family member will be rejected by the
dominant culture society is a heavy burden of African-American families.

Boykin and Allen (1992) examine the impact of the incorporation of certain
cultural factors into the learning context on the performance of Black children. They
state:

Since pedagogy in the United States is founded upon mainstream ideals, the

traditional classroom lacks outlets and vehicles for expression of afro-cultural

behaviors. Such a constraint in learning and performance experiences reduces the
chances that many Black children have to exercise existing competencies, as well
as reduces the chances that the classroom will provide the contextual conditions
necessary to sustain and enhance the motivation of the student to engage in

required tasks. Moreover, the absence of afro-cultural factors within the

25

classroom lends the perception that the most salient aspects of these children’s

lives are neither valued nor relevant to the academic arena. (p. 590)
Though this argument is focused on children, its essence can be transferred to the older
students. Cultural discontinuity results in a disconnect between the teacher and the
students—students of any age (Allen & Boykin, 1992). However, the role of the teacher
is to assist the student in making connections. Perhaps teachers (and institutions) might
begin the enculturation process by learning about various cultural aspects of their
students. To gain a better understanding of their African-American students, learning
about the inﬂuence of the church, the burden of heightened visibility and stereotype
threat, the survival mechanism of biculturalisrn, the tradition of verbal performance, and
the pressure of representation might prove to be transforming experience for dominant

culture educators.

Manifestation of Culture

Though there are many factors that inﬂuence the persistence of Aﬁ'ican-American
undergraduate students (e.g., limited personal ﬁnances, inadequate college preparation,
poor time management), culture is one factor that has rarely been studied. In the Aﬁican-
American culture, the “community/village” forms an extended family that plays a major
role in the development of the individual, both academically and socially. The individual
learns the historical traditions, language, behaviors, beliefs, shared values, practices and
rituals—the omnipresent culture—of that “community/village” from time of birth and
continues learning throughout his/her lifetime. Cultural values, beliefs and practices are
at the core of their group life and identity and are powerful factors that share or inﬂuence

individual attitudes, beliefs and behaviors (Guy, 1999).

26

Shared knowledge, norms, shared behaviors, common beliefs and values, and a
common sense of origin unites individuals into cultural groups. These attributes manifest
themselves through a process of group programming (i.e., indoctrination/instruction) and
facilitate communication and behavior interpretation by individuals within a culture
(Hecht, Collier & Ribeau, 1993). The programming begins at birth and continues
throughout one’s lifetime. When African-American students enter the community
college classroom, they bring with them attributes from their cultural groups. However,
upon entry, they are usually expected to disassociate from their cultural attributes (i.e.,
check their luggage at the door) and conform to the accepted cultural behaviors of the
classroom. The cultural norms of the classroom are mostly determined by the
institutional culture.

I have chosen to examine six key factors that I consider most unique to the
Aﬁican-American culture and shared heritage. In my review of the literature (Darder,

1991; Foster, 1983, 1989; Peterson, 2000; Smitterman, 1977; Steele, 2000), these six
factors appear most often and seemed to me to have a common connection to the African-
American leaming experience. Through programming, these factors contribute to the
manifestation of culture and ingrained behaviors within the Aﬁican-American
community: church as it relates to socialization behaviors, ethnic identiﬁcation and the
impact of heightened visibility, bi-culturalism as it relates to an enculturation process,
extended family as a support network, oral traditions and shared knowledge
communication behaviors, and representation as it relates to being perceived as the

Spokesperson for an entire race of people.

27

Church inﬂuence. The church has played a critically important role in sustaining
the African-American family since the days of slavery. The church focuses its attention
on the family, faith, education, politics, civil rights and economic issues. It has provided
leadership for social change, helping its members and associates develop skills to survive
in a racially discriminatory society, and has served as a major social institution for people
who have been denied access to the mainstream of American life (Green, 1982; Olin,
1975). It makes a signiﬁcant contribution to the socialization of African-Americans.

The worship style and discourse in many African-American churches is one of
observable participation of the congregation. Hearty responses, laughter, and applause
can often be heard. Individuals will often loudly verbalize their agreement with the
minister’s words. This agreement provides instant feedback to the minister, who is
stimulated to continue. The exchange is very animated and interactive. Such behavior in
the dominant culture college classroom might be considered distracting or disrespectful.

Church services often include lengthy programs with roles for several individuals,
encouraging participation and cultivating leadership among its members. The church
services, unlike the college classroom, very often elicit emotional participation. Many
African-Americans spend much of their lives in this environment, resulting in ingrained
behaviors. The same discourse carries over into other social situations (i.e., the campus
and the classroom) but must often be contained because such behaviors do not conform to
what is considered appropriate classroom behavior.

Ethnic identiﬁcation. Though the skin tones of African-Americans come in an

array of colors, African-American ethnicity is usually fairly obvious to the eye. On a

predominately White college campus, the African-American students usually standout in

28

the crowd. Tatum (1997) talks about “heightened visibility.” She explains, “When Black
people are sitting together, White people notice. . ..” Q). 89). African-Americans are
noticed when they enter the room, and it is noticed when they are not present in a class in
which they are considered a member. As professionals or college students, African-
Americans are often the extreme minority (i.e., often only one or two Aﬁican-Americans
in classes with enrollments of 30 or more), and the opportunity to connect with peers of
color are few and far between, leaving them with feelings of isolation.
African-Americans and other people of color are often subject to stereotypic
assumptions. Steele (2000, p. 4) describes “stereotype threat” as “the threat of being
viewed through the lens of a negative stereotype, or the fear of doing something that
would inadvertently conﬁrm that stereotype.” These students are unable to shake the fear
of being viewed through the lens of negative stereotypes. This can lead to general
mistrust and constant apprehension. Ultimately, the internalization of these feelings can
decrease their motivation to succeed and ultimately affect grades, test scores, and
academic identity. Individuals, who are constantly placed in situations where they are
the extreme minority, are sometimes plagued by the concern of being stereotyped,
examined and critiqued according to dominant culture norms. This can be frustrating and

distracting. Over time, this can exhaust the spirit.

 

Biculturalism. The term “bicultural” connotes an enculturation process that is
distinct from that of dominant culture students. Bicultural students, throughout their
development, must contend with: (a) at least two cultural systems whose values are very
often in direct conﬂict; and (b) a set of sociopolitical and historical forces dissimilar to

those of the dominant culture students and the educational institutions that bicultural

29

students must attend (Darder, 1991). Guy (1999) sees biculturalism as a mechanism of
survival because individuals maintain their “home” culture while also becoming
competent in the mainstream culture. Bicultural students are forced to make connection
in the learning to experiences from the dominant culture perspective. This can be
extremely difﬁcult, and therefore frustrating for bicultural individuals who are not
thoroughly enculturated. Those who are academically and professionally successful must
work extremely hard to learn the behaviors, beliefs and values that are often very
different from their own.

Extended families. Aﬁican-Americans may likely construe family more broadly

 

than the traditional nuclear family and could include a parent's partner, grandparents,
siblings, and in-laws as well as others (beyond biological ties) they jointly consider ‘their
family’ by deﬁnitions of proximity, ﬁequency of contacts, and mutual obligation and
inﬂuence (Wilson, 1986). For many African-Americans, the deﬁnition of family has
always reﬂected diverse forms of familial organization and embeddedness in extended
family networks (Foster, 1983).

Aschenbrenner (1973), Frazier (1966), and Sudarkasa (1997) discuss in detail the
roles of the extended family, emphasizing consanguinity (i.e., the close relationship of
those with the same ancestry), in the development of the Aﬁican-American individual.
In the lives of African-Americans, extended families and the intergenerational presence
provides added support to adolescents and young adults. Dressler (1985) suggests that
the extended family network can buffer individuals against the negative life events

commonly experienced by African-American adults. This added support contributes to

30

their ability to cope with difﬁcult situations (i.e., discrimination, stereotype threats,
isolation, heightened visibility) encountered on a routine basis.

HBCUs work hard to create an extended family-type support system within the
campus environment. However, when African-Americans venture out ﬁom their
“village” into the community college setting, they essentially “cross the border” to step
onto foreign soil—leaving their support system behind—vulnerable, isolated and
exposed.

Oral tradition. “African-Americans come from a rich oral tradition. The ability of
a person to use active and copious verbal performance to achieve recognition within his
or her group is widespread in the African-American community, having its roots in
Aﬁican verbal art” (Anokye, 1997, p. 229). Many African-American speakers have
gained the public’s admiration by their skillful ability to manipulate language orally,
using the oral tradition to convey messages. Many well-known Aﬁican-American
speakers like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Jesse Jackson, Mohammed Ali, Barbara
Jordon, to name a few, each possess a linguistic style that might be described as sermonic
(Foster, 1989). This sermonic style lessens the social distance between the speaker and
the audience, emphasizes a shared knowledge and creates an identiﬁcation that is
indigenous to the African-American culture.

Aspects of Aﬁican-American oral tradition can be observed in storytelling by
African-American students. When telling stories (both written and oral), it may seem as
though they are meandering from the point, which may cause problems for Eurocentric
listeners who would prefer that the speaker get to the point. Though rarely observed in

the college classroom, stating and counterstating, acting and reacting, and seeking

31

feedback from the audience through call-and-response, where the audience responds

verbally when prompted by the speaker—conﬁrming the audience’s understanding—are

routinely observed in African-American communication.
In African-American communication style, we ﬁnd the following: overt
demonstration of sympathetic involvement through movement and sounds; a
prescribed method for how the performer acts and how the audience reacts; total
involvement of the participants; the tendency to personalize by incorporating
personal pronouns and references to self (African-American students tend to use
ﬁrst-person-singular pronouns more frequently than Anglo-American students to
focus attention on themselves); and use of active verbs coupled with adjectives
and adverbs with potential for intensiﬁcation. (Anokye, 1997, p. 229)

In order to give voice to all students, teachers must be willing to explore all students’

ways of knowing.

Representation. African-Americans often feel the pressure of representing a total

 

race of people. In Person’s (1990) investigation into whether Black student culture
existed on campus, students expressed that professors and students often turn to them for
an explanation of the Black experience. This is sometimes felt by some African-
Americans to be an opportunity to make a difference by superimposing a positive image
over an imagined negative image of Aﬁican—Americans. At other times this kind of
expectation——being considered the expert or spokesperson for an entire race of
individuale be a tremendous burden. Occasionally, the representation role is felt to
be one of tokenism rather than a valued voice. Over time such burdens can drain one’s

enthusiasm, motivation and commitment. These burdens might also intensify feelings of

32

isolation. Like in all cultures, there are a plethora of exceptions to what might be

considered the norm, and one person cannot represent all individuals within a culture.

Summary

Today 42% of Aﬁican—Americans deciding to seek a post-secondary education
select two-year institutions (Harvey, 2001). This is resulting in a shift in the community
college demographics from one of predominantly White and of European ancestry to one
that is more heterogeneous ( Keller, 1999; Rendon & Mathews, 1989; Wilds & Wilson,
1998). However, African-Americans enrolled in predominantly White institutions tend to
be less successful than other students and are less persistent to degree or goal completion.

A higher percentage of Aﬁican-Americans attending HBCUs persist in their
studies to complete their academic goals than those who attend predominantly White
colleges and universities. HBCU’s retention success might be attributed to such
strategies as early intervention, mentoring and monitoring, faculty/role model advising,
small group discussions/support groups, and study groups. Faculty and staff at
predominantly White institutions must be willing to invest the time and energy necessary
to learn about the African-American culture in an effort to appreciate its richness as
different, not deﬁcient. Rendon (1996) concluded that proactive efforts by college staff
to validate the students’ abilities or achievements (e. g., college staff reaching out and
encouraging students, nurturing and supportive faculty) contributed to student
achievement. They also concluded that certain out-of-class efforts (e.g., role models who
were family members or friends) were also inﬂuential for students of color.

Many African-American students are not comfortable on predominantly White

college campuses across the United States due to their less than welcoming environment.

33

The college environment often causes a tension between the discourse common within
the African-American community and that common within the dominant culture learning
environment. Aﬁican-Americans are often the extreme minority in college classrooms
and on college campuses with few opportunities to connect with their African-American
peers. To succeed academically and socially and to avoid alienation by White students
and marginalization by White faculty and staff, they must be ﬂuent in at least two cultural
systems. They are disconnected from their families or other extended family members
who usually provide the support needed to overcome the negative life events. This
environment contributes to their self-doubt and interferes with effective thinking,
planning and decision-making causing anxiety, conﬁrsion, tension, and distressing
anticipation that spirals their performance toward disaster.

The community college must begin by recognizing the need to reﬂect the lives,
experiences and ways of knowing of its student population and community. In this study,
I explored the connection between the marginalizing of the African-American culture and
the attrition rates of African-American community college students. In the next chapter, I
focus on the methodology used to address my research questions and the six key cultural

factors. I also explain the process used to analyze the data.

34

Chapter 3 — Methodology

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between cultural factors
and academic persistence of African-American students in a large, urban, non-residential
community college. In other words, I sought to determine the degree to which cultural
factors and learning experiences predict the persistence of African-American community

college students.

Research Questions

A review of the literature led me to the following four research questions:

1. How do students rate the importance of cultural factors on their community
college learning experience?

2. Do community college learning experiences correlate with Aﬁican-American
students' perception of their ability to accomplish their academic goals?

3. Is there a correlation between African-American community college students'
decisions to persist to goal attainment and their perception of their ability to accomplish
their academic goals?

4. Is there a correlation between cultural factors and persistence of full-time,
degree-seeking African-American students who were ﬁrst enrolled at GRCC during the
Fall 2001 and Fall 2002 semesters?

A quantitative research study was initiated in an effort to discover the answers to

these four questions.

35

Rationale for a Quantitative Desi ga

Previous research documents the attrition rates for African-American community
college students as being higher than attrition rates for their White peers (Allen, Epp &
Haniff, 1991; Carter & Wilson, 1994; Nora, 2000) and documents that Aﬁican-American
students enrolled at HBCUs are more likely to persist to goal attainment than those
enrolled in predominantly White institutions (PWIs) (Fries-Britt, 2002). However, there
is a scarcity of research focusing on the underlying realities of these contrasting attrition
rates. Previous studies used the quantitative paradigms to examine enrollment and
withdrawal patterns that demonstrated the contrasting attrition rates. Though such data
are useful in spotlighting a problem, they do little to illuminate the root causes.

This survey study attempted to focus on the root causes based on a theory that a
cultural disconnect exists between the students and the faculty and staff. This cultural
disconnect represents a barrier for the African-American students, negatively affecting
their ability to persist to goal achievement. Using a survey instrument helped to distance
me from the participants and encourage objectivity. It allowed me to collect data from a
somewhat large representative group of students in a way that allowed for maximum
exposure of experience, attitudes and perceptions. Conducting a survey by mail was an
economical way to reach a large number of individuals and to facilitate a rapid
turnaround in data collection. The quantity of data also allowed me to generalize my
ﬁndings to other community colleges that have characteristics similar to Grand Rapids
Community College, and it allowed me to promote ﬁndings that predict and explain the
relationship between culture and persistence for all African-American community college

students (Creswell, 1994).

36

As an Aﬁican-American researcher whose personal experience and concerns
brought me to this study, I am acutely aware of my own potential for bias. The
quantitative design of this study helped me to neutralize those biases as much as possible
and to resist the insertion of my own experience and understanding as a representation of
the voice of the participants.

Settin

I chose Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC), located in Grand Rapids,
Michigan, as a site for my study. GRCC is a comprehensive community college founded
in 1914. GRCC was the ﬁrst community college in Michigan, founded as Grand Rapids
Junior College by the Grand Rapids Board of Education, following a resolution passed by
the University of Michigan faculty. It became Grand Rapids Community College in
1991, after a countywide vote. The Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of
the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools has accredited the College
continuously since 1917.

The GRCC campus encompasses more than 25 acres in downtown Grand Rapids,
Michigan. The College offers instruction from off-site facilities in the metropolitan
Grand Rapids area and supports two Michigan Technical Education Centers (MTECsm),
one in Ottawa County and one in downtown Grand Rapids. These centers offer training
opportunities for occupations such as construction, manufacturing, and automotive
servicing. GRCC serves more than 400 local businesses annually with its job training
and retraining programs.

GRCC organizes instruction into two schools: the School of Arts and Sciences

and the School of Workforce Development to support a Fall, 2002, semester enrollment

37

of over 14,000 credit and over 5,000 non-credit students. GRCC awards seven associate
degrees: Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, Associate of Music, Associate of
Nursing, Associate of Applied Arts and Science, Associate of Business, and Associate of
General Studies. A multitude of certiﬁcates for completion of courses of study are also
offered, requiring less than 60 credit hours of course work.

GRCC's faculty is made up of nearly 240 full-time instructors and approximately
250 adjunct instructors. Many GRCC faculty members have been recognized regionally
and nationally for their expertise and innovative teaching styles.

GRCC was chosen for this study for several reasons:

0 I have been an employee at GRCC since 1982, the ﬁrst ﬁfteen years as a full-
time faculty member and the last six years as a dean in the Academic Affairs Unit. I am,
therefore, very familiar with the college’s systems of operation and evolving
organizational culture. My position also allows me easy access to the college data.

0 GRCC's Institutional Research and Planning Department agreed to assist me
with data collection and analysis because the ﬁndings will provide information for the
college's strategic planning.

0 The ﬁndings of this study will beneﬁt GRCC, the Grand Rapids community
and other community colleges with similar proﬁles.

0 The attrition rate of GRCC’s African-American students (i.e., 57.1% of
GRCC’s African-American degree-seeking freshman beginning in Fall 2002 did not
continue Fall 2003 as compared to 44.8% of their White counterparts) is representative of
that across the nation, and I have been curious about the reasons why the African-

American students’ attrition rates continue to be higher than that of White students.

38

o The GRCC is located in the second largest city in Michigan, is the largest
community college in West Michigan and is the oldest community college in the State of
Michigan.

0 The GRCC student population is representative of the population of the Kent

County community, GRCC's service area.

The Sample

The selection parameters for this study were:
0 Students who self-deﬁned their predominant ethnic background (PEB) to be
Aﬁican-American.
0 Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) identiﬁed as ﬁrst time college
enrollment.

0 First time enrolled in Fall 2001 and Fall 2002 semesters (Fall 2001 chosen to
increase the sample size).

0 Attending full-time (enrolled in 12 or more credit hours).

0 Indicating, at the point of admission, an intent to earn an associate degree.

The parameters were ﬂamed around students whose intent was to attend full-time
and earn an associate degree because I believe these students were less likely to be
employed full-time and to have a family to support; they would more likely be of
“traditional” age (i.e., 18 - 21 years old). Therefore, they would be less likely to drop out
or “stop out” (i.e., not enroll in successive semesters) and would have fewer family- and
work-related obstacles to hinder persistence. Based on these parameters a variety of

variables were examined more closely.

39

Measures

The predictor or independent variables were measures of:

1. Academic standing (e. g., college credits earned, credits attempted, semester
GPA)--these data were collected through the examination of institutional records

2. Personal status (e.g., gender, age, marital status, socio-economic status,
number of children)

3. Perception of faculty-student interaction

4. Experience with prejudice, racism, and discrimination

5. Perception of restricted opportunities

6. Perception of ability to accomplish academic goals (i.e., self-efﬁcacy)

7. Cultural factors (i.e., church as it relates to socialization behaviors, ethnic
identiﬁcation and the impact of heightened visibility, bi-culturalism as it relates to an
enculturation process, extended family as a support network, oral traditions and shared
knowledge communication behaviors, and representation as it relates to being perceived
as the spokesperson for an entire race of people)

The criterion or dependent variable was persistence (i.e., perseverance to
overcome obstacles and to complete successive semesters; Fall 2002 and Winter 2003
progression). I also sought to determine the degree to which learning experiences
predicted perception of ability to accomplish academic goals (self-efficacy). Therefore,

self-efﬁcacy was further analyzed as a criterion variable.

40

Instrumentation

 

The survey questions were designed to assess the experiences of African-
American ﬂeshmen enrolled at Grand Rapids Community College in order to determine
which experiences contribute to decisions to persist or to withdraw ﬂom the institution.
The self—designed survey instrument was modeled after existing instruments (Cabrera,
Nora, Terenzini, Pascarrella & Hagendom, 1999; Midgley, Arunkumar & Urdan, 1996;
Pascarella & Terenzini, 1980). All items were measured using Likert scales ranging ﬂom
1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) and 1 (have no experience) to 4 (very
important to).

The survey included researcher-designed questions related to cultural factors as
well as adaptations ﬂom Midgley et al’s (1996) measures related to self-esteem. Though
Midgley et a1 (1996) studied eighth-grade, middle school students in a small, Midwest
working class community, I used similar measures to test the correlation between self-
esteem and academic performance and persistence. Midgley et el’s (1996) study raises
the possibility that Aﬂican-American students are affected more negatively by an ego-
orientation than are European American students (p. 431). I explored the possibility of
whether adult Aﬂican-American college students who are preoccupied with how they are
perceived by others are likely to withdraw ﬂom the environment rather than face
rejection.

Cabrera’s (1999) instrument examined college students’ perceptions of prejudice
and discrimination. Cabrera studied Fall 1990 entering freshman class at a major public,
commuter predominantly White, doctoral-granting Midwestern institution. Cabrera

concluded perceptions of prejudice and discrimination negatively affect the minority

41

students' ability to adjust to college though do not have the overwhelming effect expected
on college persistence. They suggested that minority students have become so
accustomed to prejudice and discrimination that they have become hardened to related
pressures. However, in an earlier study, Fleming (Fleming, 1984) concluded Aﬁican-
American students' experiences and relationships with peers, faculty and staff at PWIs
impact persistence. I used adaptations of Cabrera's measures in this study.

Adaptations of Pascarella’s (1980) scale measuring Interactions with Faculty were
used. Pascarella and Terenzini conducted a longitudinal study at Syracuse University in
1976. They collected information ﬂom 1,457 incoming ﬂeshmen. The purpose of their
study was to examine the predictive validity of measures in accurately identifying
ﬂeshmen, who will subsequently persist or drop out voluntarily. They found the quality
of faculty-student interactions, both formal teaching and informal non-teaching,
signiﬁcantly impacts students' decisions to persist or withdraw ﬂom the college.

Table 3 demonstrates the relationship between the four research questions, the

criterion and predictor variables, and the survey questions.

 

 

 

Table 3
Research Questions, Variables, and Items on Survey
Research Variable Name Item on Survey
Question
Descriptive See Questions 1 through 20
Research Question How do students rate. . .
#1: How do . the importance of church-related
students rate the behaviors in the classroom
importance of Independent Variable socialization process?
cultural factors on #6: Cultural Factors o the impact of ethnic identiﬁcation
their community (heightened visibility)?
college learning . bi-culturalism as it relates to an
experience? enculturation process?

. the importance of the extended family

 

42

 

as a support network?

0 oral traditions and shared knowledge
communication behaviors?

. representation/ spokesperson
experiences?

. overall community college learning
experience?

 

Multivariate
Research Question
#2: Do
community college
learning
experiences
correlate with
African-American
students'
perception of their
ability to
accomplish their
academic goals?

Independent Variable

#3: Perception of
faculty-student
interaction

See Questions 34-38 (interaction with
faculty)

 

Independent Variable
#4: Experience with

prejudice, racism,
discrimination and

perception of restricted

opportunity

Dependent Variable #1:
Perception of ability to

accomplish academic

See Questions 25-29 (awareness of
restricted opportunity); 30-33 (prejudice
& discrimination)

See Questions 21-24 (self-esteem)

 

 

 

goals
Multivariate Independent Variable
ﬁfeirsrfﬁreguftzon :5 gigggggnagﬁgﬂitcy See Questions 21-24 (self-esteem)
correlation goals
between Aﬂican- Used institutional data to determine
American Dependent Variable #2: whether students persisted (i. e.,
community college Persistence completed Fall 2001 and Fall 2002
students' decisions semesters)
to persist to goal
attainment and
their perception of Independent Variable Used institutional data to establish
their ability to #1 : Academic Standing academic standing
accomplish their

academic goals?

 

43

 

See Questions 1 through 20
How do students rate...
. the importance of church-related

 

hithleth‘ri’lltgiestion behaviors in the classroom
#4. Is there a socialization process? . .
cofrelation o (“1:6 .rgrﬁpacctxpf efﬁgglgntrﬁcatron
er en vrsr r r
?:<::::r;::ltuml Independent Variable . bi-culturalism as it relates to an
persistence of full- #6: enculturation process?
time de ee- Cultural Factors 0 the importance of the extended family
seekin irﬂican- as a support network?
Ameritgzan students 0 oral traditions and shared knowledge
h 13 t communication behaviors?
w 0 were rs . representation/spokesperson
enrolled at GRCC experiences?
during the Fall . overall community college learning
2001 and Fall 2002 experience?
semesters? '
Dependent Variable #2: Used institutional data to determine
Persistence whether students persisted or not

 

Participants were encouraged to select the answers that best represented their

current feelings/beliefs. They were reminded that the information would be kept

conﬁdential and that individual responses would not be shared.

Institutional data were extracted during the Winter 2003 semester to determine

which students enrolled and completed both Fall 2002 and Winter 2003 semesters

(persisters) and which students did not (non-persisters). Institutional data were also used

to assess the student academic performance by comparing percent of credits earned to

percent of credits attempted, as well as their cumulative grade point average (GPA).

Pilot Study

On January 19, 2003, MSU University Committee on Research Involving Human

Subjects (UCRIHS) approved the cover letter/consent form and survey instrument (see

Appendices A and B). On February 21, 2003, I piloted the survey with a group of eight

GRCC Black Student Union members in an attempt to establish the face validity of the
survey and to reﬁne the questions, format and scales. During this session, I asked each
participant to read the cover letter and comment on its clarity and their understanding of
its purpose. They all commented that the letter was clear. I then asked that they carefully
read and complete the survey prior to any further explanation ﬂom me. This was my
attempt to best simulate the conditions under which the survey would be received in the
mail (i.e., no researcher present to further introduce the survey or to coach responses).
While the group completed the survey, one participant asked about the meaning of one
word “burden” (in question 20). I responded with a deﬁnition. There were no further
questions about the survey.

Based on my observation during this pilot session, respondents readily answered
all questions. The shortest time taken to complete the survey was six minutes; the longest
time taken was 13 minutes. I then asked them to comment on the clarity of the questions
and whether they would complete the survey if received in the mail. All participants
stated that the questions were clear and understandable. However, they all explained that
they would not complete the survey if received at home because they could see no
personal beneﬁt. They would, however, complete the survey if there were some type of
an award. This discovery led me to include a coupon-type incentive (see Appendix I)
with the survey mailings to encourage participation. A revised application to perform
research on humans subjects was submitted to UCRIHS. On February 19, 2003, approval
was granted for the changes in the survey instruments and revised cover letter/consent

forms (see Appendices C and D).

45

Before the pilot session ended and without prompting ﬂom me, participants began
to volunteer their stories—excerpts ﬂom their personal life as well as their college
experiences. They talked about the reasons that ﬂamed their decisions about where they
chose to sit in class. They talked about both negative and positive relationships with
faculty. They discussed their family support systems or the lack of such systems. They
shared experiences as student athletes. It appeared that they were hungry to share with
me. This dialogue continued for approximately 30 minutes until I again thanked them for
their participation and input. I was unfortunately unable to use audio recording
equipment to capture these stories. (See more on this experience in Chapter 5 under

Recommendations for Future Research.)

Survey Process and Population

Surveys were administered during the Winter 2003 semester. Surveys were
mailed to all Aﬂican-American students who were enrolled for the ﬁrst time in college at
GRCC during the Fall 2001 and Fall 2002 semesters and who were considered full-time,
degree-seeking students—a group of 399 individuals. In addition, institutional data were
used to examine student persistence behaviors over four semesters. More speciﬁcally,
Fall 2001 and Fall 2002 participants’ institutional records were examined to determine
whether they completed the Fall 2002 and Winter 2003 semesters.

During the Winter 2003 semester, all students in the sample were mailed a survey
with a cover letter (consent form) of explanation (see Appendix B and C) asking about
their experiences at GRCC. Though the context of the survey questions were the same,

two slightly different versions of the survey were mailed. Current students received the

46

“Returning Student Survey” (see Appendix D), which posed most questions in the
present tense. With this survey, I attempted to determine whether their learning
experiences inﬂuenced their decision to persist. Former students received the “Non-
Returning Student Survey” (see Appendix E), which posed most questions in past tense.
With this survey, I attempted to determine whether their community college learning
experiences inﬂuenced their departure decisions. Surveys were divided into four groups

(see Table 4) and color-coded for easier sorting upon return.

Table 4

Survey Colors Based on Sub-Groups

 

 

Fall 01 Fall 02
Returnrng Student Grey Yellow
Former Student Lavender Ivory

 

A single-stage sampling procedure (i.e., names of the individuals to be surveyed
were known by the researcher) was used by the GRCC Institutional Research and
Planning staff to extract subject names ﬂom the college's database based on the criteria
listed above (see page 40). Though this group is considered a GRCC population, it
represented a sample of all full-time, Aﬁican-American public, urban community college
students. This cross-sectional survey instrument (i.e., participants were surveyed at one
point in time) collected data ﬂom a sample of Aﬁican-American, community college
students during the Winter 2003 semester in an effort to describe the perceptions of all

Aﬂican-American community college students during that same period in time.

47

Human Subjects Protection. All steps were taken to insure conﬁdentially of
information. This report includes no identiﬁable information. All data collected
remained conﬁdential, and there was no risk to the participants electing to participate in
this study.

Procedure. In an effort to obtain a survey response rate as high as possible, I used
a three-phase procedure recommended by Creswell (1994). On March 28, 2003, I sent an
initial mailing to 399 students, including the cover letter/consent form, a survey, and a
brightly colored coupon-type incentive form (see Appendix I). That mailing resulted in
32 returned, completed surveys for an initial response rate of 8%. On April 11, 2003
(two weeks after initial mailing), the same cover letter/consent form, a brightly colored
reminder notice extending the return date (see Appendix H), a brightly colored coupon-
type incentive form and replacement survey were mailed, resulting in 22 more completed
survey returns bringing the response rate tol4%. On April 25, 2003 (four weeks after
initial mailing), a post card reminder (see Appendix J) was sent which extended the
return date one ﬁnal time, resulting in 12 more completed survey returns. In total, 33
surveys were returned as undeliverable, resulting in 366 validated addresses. This three—
phase procedure resulted in the return of a total of 66 completed surveys, or 18%.

lnputtingdata. The SPSS software program (SPSS Inc., 2001) was used to
organize and analyze the data. A coded key document was prepared prior to designing
the SPSS database in order to provide a guide to locating variables in the data ﬁle during
data entry and analysis. As each completed survey was received, data were added to the
SPSS database that also activated a record number. The record number was written on

each survey as a quality control measure.

48

The analysis presented in Chapter 4 examines the community college classroom
environment ﬂom the perspective of African-American students. It explores cultural
factors that impact the learning experiences of African-American community college
students, their self—efﬁcacy, and ultimately their decision to persist to complete

SUCCCSSIVC semesters.

Limitations of Study

The study was limited to a single institution; therefore, replication of this
investigation at other large, urban community colleges would be useful in further
substantiating these ﬁndings and determining the predictive validity of the measures.
However, performing a critical examination of a single institution at a time has value in
that it is more likely to examine the experiences of students who have been exposed to
the same campus environment; i.e., same faculty and staff and the same institutional
procedures and policies.

Though the response rate is considered average for this type of survey (i.e.,
lengthy instrument containing introspective and somewhat sensitive questions) and for
this population (i.e., very busy adult community college students), the data ﬂom the non-
persisters do not adequately represent their views and experiences (due to low response),
making it difﬁcult to generalize their experiences to all non-persisting Aﬂican-American
community college students. However, the nature of the issues revealed provides
important and useful insights for future research by other individuals who are concerned
about the attrition disparity between Aﬂican-American and White community college

students.

49

Chapter 4 - Results

The primary purpose of this study was to discover the relationship between
speciﬁc cultural factors and academic persistence of Aﬂican—American community
college students. The intent was to examine the community college learning environment
from the students’ perspectives in order to arrive at an understanding about how that
environment might inﬂuence the students’ decisions to persist to goal attainment. My
ultimate desire is for the study’s ﬁndings to provide new insights for community college
faculty and staff about the way Aﬂican-American students come to know, leading to new
strategies for learning facilitation.

In this chapter, demographic information about the sample population and
respondents is summarized and compared using descriptive analysis. Survey responses
provided data regarding participant perceptions about their learning experiences and how
those perceptions inﬂuenced their persistence decisions. Descriptive and multivariate

data are analyzed, and the results presented.

Description of Participants

Of the 399 surveys mailed (125 former students and 274 current students), 33
surveys were returned as undeliverable (21% former students and 2% current students),
resulting in 366 validated addresses. Of the 366 validated addresses, participants
returned a total of 66 completed surveys resulting in an 18% response rate. According to
Donna Kragt, GRCC Dean of Institutional Research (personal communication, June 3,
2003), an 18% response rate is considered average (or even good) for a multiple-page,

community college student survey containing introspective questions that might be

50

consider by some to be somewhat sensitive. GRCC routinely administers student surveys
to a similar population of students; therefore, Donna based her opinion on extensive
experience with such surveys. Two such surveys include: (a) the “Leaver Survey,”
which attempts to contact students who have left the college in an attempt to discover
their reasons for leaving, and (b) the “Student Satisfaction Survey,” which attempts to
determine how satisﬁed students are with GRCC services. Each of these two surveys
usually results in 18% to 21% response rates. GRCC is a commuter college with a highly
transient population. Most students work, have little time for non-mandatory college
activities, and feel no obligation to respond to surveys. Therefore, I believe that I
achieved a maximum possible response rate for this study.

Table 5 compares the survey respondents to the sample to reveal differences and
commonalities between the two groups.
Table 5

Comparison of Respondents to the Sample

 

 

 

 

 

. Percent of Percent of
Varrable Category Egg: Sample Res’pgtrsrgent Respondents
Male 236 59 28 43.1
Gender
Female 163 41 38 56.9
18-25 359 90 56 84.6
26-35 32 8 6 9.2
Age 36-45 4 l 4 4.6
46-55 4 1 O 0
Over 56 0 0 0 0
Year First Fall 01 188 47 24 36.9
Enrolled Fall 02 211 53 42 63.1
Current Returning 235 59 58 87.7
Eng‘t’gunsem Former 124 31 8 12.3

 

51

Though the male students represent 59% of the sample, 56.9% of the respondents
were female. According to Donna Kragt, females are more likely than males to respond
to surveys. A larger response rate would, therefore, likely produce the same disparity
between sample gender and respondent gender variables. Upon examination of age, 90%
of the sample would be considered traditional college age (i.e., between the ages of 18
and 25) while 85% of the respondents fell within that age group. Since 5% equates to
only 3.3 respondents, the difference would not signiﬁcantly alter the survey results.

Students who started in the Fall 2002 semester responded at a slightly higher rate
than those who started during the Fall 2001 semester. This was not unexpected due to the
large percentage of invalid addresses among the Fall 2001 enrollees and because they are
less connected to the college (i.e., higher percentage of former students) and, therefore,
less motivated to respond. For the same reason, current students responded at a slightly
higher rate than those represented in the sample. GRCC is a large, non-residential
college. Students tend to be very busy adults who not only have little time for non-
mandatory college activities but also tend to be somewhat transient. It is, therefore, my
belief that the results are the best possible representation of the population and response

bias is absent.

Table 6

Respondent Marital Sagas

 

 

 

Frequency Percent
0 = no response 1 1.5
l = single 61 92.4
2 = married 4 6.1
Total 66 100.0

 

52

According to Table 6, most respondents (92.4%) were single.
Table 7

Number of Children Supported by Respondents

 

 

 

Frequency Percent
0 = no response 1 1.5
1 = no children 42 63.6
2 = 1-2 children 16 24.2
3 = 3—4 children 5 7.6
4 = more than 5 children 2 3.0
Total 66 100.0

 

According to Table 7, when asked to identify the number of children supported by
their total household income, most (63.6%) of the respondents reported that they had no

children and 16 (24.2%) reported supporting 1-2 children.

Table 8

Respondent Total Household Income

 

 

 

Frequency Percent

0 = no response 2 3.0
1 = $10,000 or less 38 57.6
2=$10,100to $20,00 7 10.6
3 = $21,000 to $30,000 8 12.1
4 = $31,000 to $40,000 3 4.5
5 = $41,000 - $50,000 3 4.5
6 = $51,000 - $70,000 4 6.1
8 = over $90,000 1 1.5

Total 66 100.0

 

When asked their total household income before taxes in 2002, 57.6% (38) of the

respondents indicated that they were earning $10,000 or less.

53

Table 9

Respondent Academic Achievement

 

 

 

o .
Cumulative GPA 0 14) 13):]? 53;? ed
N Valid 61 61
Missing 5 5
Mean 2.11 71.21
Median 2.09 77.00
Mode .000 100
Std. Deviation .85 28.78
Skewness -.68 -.98
Std. Error of Skewness .30 .30
Range 3.83 100

 

Table 9 reveals a cumulative GPA (including Winter 2003 semester) mean score
of 2.11 (average course grade of “C”) and 71% mean score for the percent of credits
earned of those for which they attempted. This study was not concerned with the number
of credits attempted but was concerned instead with whether students completed the
credits they attempted. Further, though participant selection criteria were based on
students’ full-time enrollment during the Fall 2001 and Fall 2002 semesters, continued
full-time enrollment was not a concern. This study was instead concerned about how
successful students were in completing the courses in which they enrolled. Interestingly,
the most ﬂequently recorded percentage (i.e., mode) was 100% indicating that several

respondents completed all classes (credits) attempted.

Description of Variables and Analyses

To explore the importance of cultural factors to African-Americans in their
community college leaming environment (i.e., Research Question 1), the analysis was
primarily descriptive. The ﬁrst analysis section of this chapter focuses on making

descriptive assertions based on data distributions. The second analysis section focuses

54

more on explanatory observation using multivariate analysis. Prior to these analyses,

Table 10 provides more detail on the speciﬁc types of analyses used to answer each of the

research questions.

Table 10

Research Questions, Analysis and Variables

 

Research Question

Type of Analysis

Variables to be Used in
Analysis

 

How do students rate
the importance of
cultural factors on
their community
college learning
experience?

Descriptive statistics was

used to organize,

summarize, analyze data
and includes ﬂequencies,
percentages, mean, median,
mode, range, and standard

deviation

Predictors (independent)
Variable #6: Cultural Factors

 

Do community college
learning correlate with
Aﬁican-American
students' perception of
their ability to
accomplish their
academic goals?

Correlation (Person

product-moment) was used
to show the degree of the
relationship between the

variables.

. Predictor (independent)
Variable #3: Perception of
faculty-student interaction

0 Predictor (independent)
Variable #4: Perception of
prejudice, racism,
discrimination and restricted
Opportunity

0 Criterion (dependent) Variable
#1 : Perception of ability to
accomplish goals

 

Is there a correlation
between Aﬂican-
American community
college students'
decisions to persist to
goal attainment and
their perception of
their ability to
accomplish their
academic goals?

Descriptive statistics was

used to organize,

summarize, and analyze

ﬂequency data.
Analysis of variance

0 Predictor (independent)
Variable #5: Perception of
ability to accomplish goals

(ANOVA) was used to test . Criterion (dependent) Variable

for differences between the

outcomes.
Correlation (Person

product-moment) was used
to show the degree of the
relationship between the

variables.

#2: Persistence (collected ﬂom
Institutional data)

. Predictor (independent)
Variable #1 : Academic
standing

 

55

 

Is there a correlation
between cultural
factors and persistence

of full-time, degree- a Predictor (independent)

Analysis of variance

3152253332.... (ANOVA) was used to test . X33335? 033231) $533131.
for differences between the . . epe

who were ﬁrst outcomes #2. Persrstence (collected ﬂom

enrolled at GRCC ' Institutional data)

during the Fall 2001

and Fall 2002

semesters?

 

Analysis of Descriptive Data

Qaestion 1. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the importance of cultural
factors to the learning experiences of Aﬂican-American community college students.
The survey questions were grouped based on relatedness to form six sets of questions.
The following six tables identify the survey questions and the descriptive data by
response category. Each set is followed by a discussion of the data.

Table 11 presents student’s perceptions of worship style, worship discourse and
classroom discourse. Though interaction with the teacher using laughter and applause
was not important to 40.9% of the respondents, it was important or very important to
44% of the respondents. Such interaction was important or very important (72 %) in the
worship style. Further, the urge to interact with the teacher using movement and non-
verbal sounds was also very important or important (76 %). This suggests that students
value a more animated interaction and would appreciate a learning enviromnent that
allowed or encouraged such interaction. Oral traditions and shared knowledge
communication behaviors are very important for the respondents as demonstrated in their

responses to Q10 and Q1 1. Students want to be able to share their thoughts in class

56

Table 1 1

Importance of church-related behaviors and oral traditions and shared knowledge
communication behaviors

 

Frequency Percentages by Response Category
n = 66

 

Very Not No No
Important Important Important Experience Reply
Survey Questions: 4 3 2 1 0

 

Q1: In my place of

worship, individuals often

communicate with the 51.5 21.2 16.7 9.1 1.5
preacher/speaker using

laughter and applause.

 

Q2: In my GRCC class, I
am/was always
comfortable being the
only individual to interact
with the teacher using
laughter and applause.

18.2 25.8 40.9 15.2 --

 

Q3: I sometimes feel/ felt
an urge to let my
instructor know that I
understand by using body
movement and non-verbal
sounds (e.g., sounding “a-
num” and nodding my
head).

25.8 50.0 19.7 4.5 --

 

Q10: When I share(d) my
thoughts in class, I never
feel (felt) rushed to get to
the point but am (was)
able to share my complete
story.

Q11: I feel (felt)
comfortable sharing my
thoughts and experiences
in my GRCC classes.

27.3 53.0 9.1 9.1 1.5

30.0 43.9 18.2 7.6 --

 

57

without being rushed, and the data reveal that it is important or very important for them
to feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and experiences in their GRCC classes.

Table 12 reveals the importance of the extended family as a support network to
the respondents. Three questions received very high ratings. Family encouragement and
assistance were rated important or very important as was the help received ﬂom GRCC
staff members during class struggles (91%, 78.8%, and 68.2% consecutively). The other
three received a lower rating. Fifty-six percent reported it important or very important
for GRCC staff members to treat them like family when help is needed to overcome
struggles. While 47% of the respondents believed it important or very important that
grandparents play an important role in their academic lives, 50% believe this to be
unimportant. Less than half (45%) of the respondents believed it important or very
important to consider “family” as individuals beyond a blood connection or marriage.

Tables 13 examines the impact of ethnic identiﬁcation or heightened visibility and
ﬁnds 85% of the respondents strongly agree or agree that they are usually among only
one or two Aﬂican-Americans in their classes or labs. Yet 40% report they do not feel
isolated ﬂom other Aﬂican-American students. Curiously, however, a large percentage
(30% and 38%) reports they neither agree nor disagree to feeling isolated ﬂom other
Aﬂican-American students and to feeling that they are characterized by negative
stereotypes. These responses may indicate that the respondents did not understand the
questions or the terms isolation and stereotype. It could also indicate that the students

feel connected to the larger campus environment even while being part of the smaller

58

Table 12

Importance of the extended family as a support network

 

Frequency Percentages by Response Category
N=66
Very Not No No
Important Important Important Experience Reply 0
Survey Questions: 4 3 2 1

 

 

Q4: My "family" includes
individuals who are not

related to me by marriage
or blood.

28.8 16.7 25.8 25.8 3.0

 

Q5: At least one of my

grandparents plays

(played) an important 30.3 16.7 15.2 34.8 3.0
role in my success in

school.

 

Q6: My family
encouraged me to go to 75.8 15.2 7.6 1.5 --
college.

 

Q7: When I struggle in
my classes, my family 37.9 40.9 12.1 9.1 --
helps me succeed.

 

Q8: Individuals at GRCC

treat(ed) me like family. 18‘2 3 7'9 21-2 22-7 --

 

Q9: When I struggle(d) in
my classes, GRCC staff
members help(ed) me
overcome the struggle.

31.8 36.4 6.1 21.2 4.5

 

Table 13

Impact of ethnic identiﬁcation (heightened visibility)

 

Frequency Percentages by Response Category

 

n=66
Neither
Strongly Agee or Strongly No
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Disagree Response
Survey Questions: 5 4 3 2 1 0

 

59

 

Q12: In my GRCC
classes, I am (was)
usually among one or
two other Aﬂican-

Americans in the
room/lab.

45.5 39.4 6.1 4.5 3.0 1.5

 

Q13: In my GRCC

classes, I often feel

(felt) isolated ﬂom 4.5 22.7 30.3 19.7 21.2 1.5
other Aﬂican-

American students.

 

Q14: In my GRCC
classes, I often feel
(felt) that people
determine who I am
based on negative
stereotypes.

12.1 21.2 37.9 16.7 9.1 3.0

 

classroom/lab learning environment—a sub-set of the larger campus environment.
Another explanation could be that they have become accustomed to being the only
obvious minority in the classroom. Yet, another explanation might be that they have
learned to ignore behaviors associated with stereotype beliefs in order to focus on goal
accomplishment.

In order to achieve academic, social and professional success, Aﬂican-American
students must often function within an enculturation process that requires in-depth
knowledge of at least two cultural systems and a set of sociopolitical and historical
forces. When the survey inquired about a need to move between two cultures, the
respondents consistently disagreed with the statement as indicated in the next table.

Table 14 reveals that only 25.8% of the respondents agreed that they usually act
or speak differently then they would at home. Only 18% agreed that they must “act

White” to be successful at GRCC, and only 15% agreed or strongly agreed that they tire

60

Table 14

Bi-culturalism as it relates to an enculturation process

 

Frequency Percentages by Response Category

 

n = 66
Neither
Strongly Agee or Strongly No
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Disagree Response
Survey Questions: 5 4 3 2 1 0

 

Q15: In my GRCC

classes, I usually act

and speak differently 7.6 18.2 16.7 33.3 21.2 3.0
than I would in my

home community.

 

Q16: I feel that I have
to "act White" in my

 

GRCC classes to be 4'5 13'6 16-7 15-2 50.0 --
successful.

Q17: Sometimes I get

tired of switching

between "acting 9.1 6.1 18.2 16.7 48.5 1.5

White" in school and
being myself at home.

 

of switching between “acting White” in school and being themselves at home. This
might imply that they do not tire because they do not switch. It might also imply that
though they switch, they do not tire of it.

Table 15 summarizes students’ feelings about representing a total race of people
in the classroom setting. F orty-four percent of the respondents did not believe that they
were often expected in their classes to explain the Aﬂican-American experience.
However, when they were approached on this subject, 53% of the respondents saw it as
an opportunity to make a difference while 19.7% saw it as a tremendous burden.

Curiously, nearly one third of the respondents were consistently neutral on the subject.

61

Table 15

How do students rate representation experiences?

 

 

Frequency Percentages by Response Category

 

 

 

 

n = 66
Neither
Strongly Agee or Strongly No
Agree Agree Disagree Disagree Disagree Response

Survey Questions: 5 4 3 2 1 O
Q18: In my GRCC
classes, I am (was)
often expected to 9.1 13.6 33.3 25.8 18.2 --
explain the Aﬂican-
American experience.
Q19: 1 see explaining
the Aﬂican-American
experience as an 18.2 34.8 30.3 13.6 1.5 1.5
opportunity to make a
difference.
Q20: I see explaining
the Afr‘can'Amenca“ 4.5 15.2 36.4 27.3 16.7 --

experience as a
tremendous burden.

 

Analysis of Multivariate Data

 

In this section several variables (multivariates) were analyzed simultaneously to
test for correlations. Levels of signiﬁcance represent the probability of the measured
association being due only to sample error (Babbie, 1973, ). Results throughout this
chapter were considered statistically signiﬁcant at level .05. This means the chances of
obtaining the measured association as a result of sampling error was 5 out of 100
(Babbie, 1973).

Research Question 2. Do community college learning experiences correlate with
African-American students' perception of their ability to accomplish their academic

goals? Four variables were examined to answer this question: (a) perception of ability to

62

accomplish academic goals, (b) perception of prejudice and discrimination, (c) perception
of restricted opportunity, and (d) student-faculty interaction. The latter three variables
were considered measures of respondents’ learning experiences. The score for each of
these four factors was based on a set of related survey questions. Each set of related
survey questions was collapsed into one score for each respondent, and that number was
calculated by averaging their scaled responses.

Since all four variables were comprised of continuous data, Pearson product-
moment correlation was used to measure the relationship between them. However, Fink
(1998) cautions, “You can use correlations to identify relationships between variables,

but you cannot use them to establish causation” (p. 70).

Table 16

Correlations of Learning Exp_e_n_'ence and Ability to Reach Goals

 

Perception of Perception of Perception of Interactions
ability to reach Restricted Prejudice & with
Goals Opportunity Discriminatio Faculty

 

 

 

 

n
. Pearson
iiriqiegrtgnlfcim Correlation 1 .201 -.033 -.250
Goals Sig. (2-tailed) . . 105 .793 .043*
N 66 66 66 66
. Pearson
11:23:31 of Correlation .201 l -. 137 -.036
Op 'ty Sig. (2-tailed) .105 . .274 .774
”mm N 66 66 66 66
. Pearson
gzclecpitécemgpf Correlation -.033 -.137 l .707
Dislcﬁminaﬁon Sig. (2-tailed) .793 .274 . .000"
N 66 66 66 66
Pearson
Interactions with Correlation T250 T036 '707 1
Faculty Sig. (2-tailed) .043* .774 .000" .
N 66 66 66 66

 

* Correlation is signiﬁcant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

63

** Correlation is signiﬁcant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Table 16 reveals a signiﬁcant relationship between respondents’ perception of
their ability to achieve their academic goals and interactions with faculty (<.05).
Respondents were conﬁdent about their ability to achieve their academic goals, and this
belief correlated with their positive student-faculty interactions. The data also reveal a
signiﬁcant positive correlation (<.01) between interactions with faculty and perception of
prejudice and discrimination. Respondents did not believe they have experienced
prejudice and discrimination, and they also report positive interactions with faculty.
However, there appeared to be no signiﬁcant relationship between respondents’
perception of their ability to achieve their academic goals and their perceptions of
restricted opportunity, and prejudice and discrimination.

Research Question 3. Is there a correlation between Aﬁ'ican-American
community college students' decisions to persist to goal attainment and their perception
of their ability to accomplish their academic goals? Analysis of variance and Pearson

correlation coefﬁcients were used to answer this question.

Table 17

Persistence Freqpency Data

 

Completed both Fall ’02

 

 

 

and Winter ’03 semesters Frequency Percent Valid Percent
l = Yes 55 83.3 90.2
2 = No 6 9.1 9.8
Total 61 92.4 100.0
Missing 5 7.6
Total 66 100.0

 

64

According to Table 17, 83.3% (55) of the respondents had completed both the
Fall 2002 and Winter 2003 semesters, and 9.1% (6) had not. Five scores are missing
because respondent surveys were returned without identifying information (i.e., incentive
coupons) that could be used to determine persistence scores; therefore, persistence could
not be determined for these respondents. Survey tracking records indicated that all ﬁve
of these respondents returned yellow surveys forms, meaning that they ﬁrst enrolled
during the F all 2002 semester and reenrolled during the Winter 2003 semester.
However, Winter 2003 semester completion could not be determined; therefore, these

students’ information is not reﬂected in the persistence data.

Table 18

ANOVA of Perception of Ability to Accomplish Academic Gorﬁ

 

Dependent Variable: Persisted

 

 

(Completed Fall ’02 and Winter ’03 Sum of Mean
Semesters) Squares df Square F Sig.

Between (Combined) 1 .662 9 . 1 85 2.5 12 .018*
Groups

Linear Term Weighted .327 1 .327 4.446 .040*

Deviation 1.335 8 .167 2.271 .037*

Within Grows 3.748 51 .073
.Total 5.410 60

 

* Correlation is signiﬁcant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
** Correlation is signiﬁcant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Based on the hypothesis that no difference existed between persisters and non-
persisters, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was run to compare the two groups and
to test for difference in outcomes (Fink & Kosecoff, 1998). “ANOVA compares the
variation between each respondent and the respondent’s group mean (within groups) and

the variation between each group mean and the grand mean. The grand mean is the mean

65

of all the individual group means” (Fink & Kosecoff, 1998, p. 71). Table 18 reveals a
signiﬁcance of <05 (Sig.=.018), indicating that the output ﬂom persisters and non-
persisters as it relates to perception of ability was not the same. According to Fink and
Kosecoff (1998), “ANOVA cannot directly prove that there are differences among
groups. It can prove only that they are not the same” (p. 70). Linear term weighted
measure considered the unequal size of the two groups within the “persisted” variable
(83.3% persisted and 9.1% did not) and also produced a signiﬁcance level of <.05 (Sig.=
.040) which further substantiates that the responses between the groups were not the
same.

When I compared the means of the persister and non-persister groups,
respondents who completed both the Fall 2002 and Winter 2003 semesters (i.e.,
persisters) had a group mean of 4.304 (i.e., they agreed) for their scaled responses to their
perception of their ability to reach their academic goals. Respondents who did not persist
through both Fall 2002 and Winter 2003 semesters (i.e., non-persisters) had a group mean
of 3.791. Therefore, the data indicate that persisters felt more positively than non-
persisters about their ability to accomplish their academic goals. This suggests that
decisions to persist to goal attainment were inﬂuenced by respondents’ perception of their
ability to accomplish their academic goals.

The next three tables (Tables l9.- 21) are used to summarize ﬁndings related to
respondents’ academic standing. Respondent grade point average and percent of credits
earned of those attempted were used to determine academic standing. Pearson
correlation coefﬁcients were used to measure the relationship between the three variables,

including respondents’ perceptions about their ability to accomplish their academic goals.

66

Table 19

Correlations of GPA, Percent of Credits Earned of Those Attempted and Academic
Standing

 

Perception of
Cumulative % CR earned of ability to reach
GPA those Attempted Goals AVG

 

 

 

Pearson. 1 .709 .224
Cumulative GPA Correlatron
Srg. (2-ta11ed) . .000" .083
N 61 61 61
% Credits Earned Pearson. .709 1 .145
of Those Correlation
Attempted Srg. (2-ta11ed) .000" . .264
N 61 61 61
. Pearson
Perc tron of . .224 .14 1
AbilietI; to Reach Correlatron 5
Goals S1g. (2-ta11ed) .083 .264 .
N 61 61 66

 

** Correlation is signiﬁcant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Table 19 reveals a signiﬁcant positive correlation (<.05) between respondents’
cumulative GPA and the percent of credits earned of those attempted (.000). The higher
the respondent percent of credits earned, the higher their cumulative GPA. Though there
appears to be no signiﬁcant relationship between cumulative GPA and perception of
ability to accomplish academic goals (level of signiﬁcance = .083), there appears to be a
closer relationship between these two variables than between percent of credits earned
and perception of ability (level of signiﬁcance = .264). This might suggest that
perception of ability is somewhat correlated with the cumulative GPA.

Table 20 reveals a level of signiﬁcance of .763 for the combined group and a level
of signiﬁcance <.05 (.025) within the weighted groups when the unequal size of the

groups (i.e., 55 persisters and 6 non-persisters) was considered. This suggests that the

67

Table 20
ANOVA of Grade Point Average

 

Dependent Variable: Persisted

 

 

(Completed Fall ’02 and Winter ’03 Sum of Mean

Semesters) Squares df Square F Sig.
Between (Combined) 4.910 56 .088 .701 .763
Groups

Linear Term Weighted 1.528 1 1.528 12.227 .025*
Deviation 3 .3 81 55 .061 .492 .898

Within Groups .500 4 .125
Total 5.410 60

 

* Correlation is signiﬁcant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

persister and non-persister groups are not the same when the unequal group sizes are
considered. However, when the unequal size of the groups is not considered, the level of
signiﬁcance is >.05 (.763) suggesting that the group outcomes are not different.

When I compared the means of the persister variable groups, the persister group
had a group mean of 2.26 GPA while the non-persister group had a group mean of .74
GPA. Therefore, those who persisted were more likely to have a higher GPA than those
who did not.

Table 21 reveals a signiﬁcance of <05 (.000), indicating that the output ﬂom
persisters and non-persisters was not the same as it relates to percent of credits earned of
those attempted. Linear term weighted measure considered the unequal size of the two
groups within the “persisted” variable and also produced a signiﬁcance <.05 (.000),
ﬁrrther substantiating that the responses between the groups were not the same. When
the persister variable groups were compared, the persister group completed an average of
76.25% (mean) of the credits attempted while the non-persister group completed an

average of 25% (mean) of the credits attempted. Thus, there appears to be a correlation

68

Table 21

ANOVA of Percent of Credits Earned of Those Attempted

 

Dependent Variable: Persisted

 

 

(Completed Fall ’02 and Winter ’03 Sum of Mean
Semesters) Squares df Square F Sig.
Between (Combined) 3.960 23 .172 4.393 .000”
Groups
Linear Term Weighted 1.547 1 1.547 39.474 .000"
Deviation 2.413 22 .110 2.799 .003"
Within Groups 1.450 37 .039
Total 5.410 60

 

* Correlation is signiﬁcant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

** Correlation is signiﬁcant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

between decisions to persist to goal attainment and the percent of credits earned of those
attempted.

Research Question 4. Is there a correlation between cultural factors and
persistence of full-time, degree-seeking A ﬁ'ican-American students who were first
enrolled at GRCC during the Fall 2001 and Fall 2002 semesters? To answer this
question, it was necessary to examine whether the respondents who persisted differed
ﬂom those who did not in their views about the cultural factors. Analysis of variance
(AN OVA) tests were run to make this determination. In order to account for the unequal
sample sizes between the persister and the non-persister groups, the trends were also
computed as weighted.

Upon examination of Table 22, it became apparent that the level of signiﬁcance
(.730) was >05, indicating no signiﬁcant difference between the two groups. Therefore,

persisters and non-persisters are similar in their score values. This indicates that the

69

Table 22

ANOVA of the Importance of Church-Related Behaviors in Classroom Socialization

 

Dependent Variable: Persisted

 

 

(Completed Fall ’02 and Winter ’03 Sum of Mean
Semesters) Squares Df Square F Sig.
Between (Combined) .493 8 .062 .652 .730
Groups
Linear Term Weighted .106 1 .106 1.123 .294
Deviation .387 7 .055 .585 .765
Within Groups 4.917 52 .095
Total 5.410 60

 

decision to persist was not inﬂuenced by their beliefs about the importance of church-
related behaviors in classroom socialization activities.

Table 23 reveals a level of signiﬁcance of .258 which is >.05, indicating no
signiﬁcant difference between the two groups. Therefore, it appears that the score values
of persister and non-persister groups were similar and suggests that the decision to persist
to goal attainment was not inﬂuenced by the respondents’ extended family support

beliefs.

Table 23

ANOVA of the Importance of the Extended Family as a Support Network

 

Dependent Variable: Persisted
(Completed Fall ’02 and Winter ’03

 

 

Semesters) Sum of Mean .
Squares df Square F S1 g.
Between (Combined) 1.710 16 .107 1.271 .258
Groups
Linear Term Weighted .032 l .032 .385 .538
Deviation 1.677 15 .l 12 1.330 .226
Within Groups 3.700 44 .084
Total 5.410 60

 

70

For Table 24 results, analysis of variance was used to test the difference in
outcomes between persisters and non-persisters as it relates to shared knowledge
communications. A .915 level of signiﬁcance was calculated (>.05) indicating no
signiﬁcant difference between the two groups. This suggests that the decision to persist
to goal attainment was not inﬂuenced by beliefs about the importance of shared

knowledge communication experiences.

Table 24

ANOVA of the Importance of Oral Traditions and Shared Knowledge Communications
Behaviors

 

Dependent Variable: Persisted

 

(Completed Fall ’02 and Winter ’03 Sum of Mean
Semesters) Squares df Square F Sig.
Between (Combined) .195 6 .032 .336 .915
Groups

Linear Term Unweighted .096 1 .096 .995 .323
Weighted .068 1 .068 .699 .407
Deviation .127 5 .025 .264 .931
Within Groups 5.215 54 .097

 

Total 5.410 60

 

Ethnic identiﬁcation outcomes were examined in Table 25. A level of
signiﬁcance of <05 (Sig. = .035) was calculated between the combined persister groups
when the unequal size of the groups is not considered. This suggests that the oirtput ﬂom
persisters and non-persisters, as it relates to perceptions about ethnic identiﬁcation and
heightened visibility, was not the same. Persistence decisions were inﬂuenced by their
experiences with heightened visibility and ethnic identiﬁcation. However, when the
unequal size of the persister variable groups was considered, the level of signiﬁcance was

>05 (.536), suggesting the persister and non-persister groups are not different.

71

Table 25
ANOVA of the Impact of Ethnic Identiﬁcation (heightened visibility)

 

Dependent Variable: Persisted

 

 

(Completed Fall ’02 and Winter ’03 Sum of Mean

Semesters) Squares df Square F Sig.
Between (Combined) 1 .642 10 . 164 2. 178 .035
Groups

Linear Term Weighted .029 1 .029 .389 .536
Deviation 1.612 9 .179 2.377 .025*

Within Groups 3.768 50 .075
Total 5.410 60

 

* Correlation is signiﬁcant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
** Correlation is signiﬁcant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

When the means of the persister variable groups were compared, the persisters
had a group mean of 3.327 and the non-persisters had a group mean of 3.501. On the
Likert scale, a rating of 5 meant respondents strongly agreed that they felt a heightened
visibility in their classes, a rating of I meant respondents strongly disagreed that they felt
a heightened visibility, and a rating of 3 indicated they neither agreed nor disagreed. In
this survey, there appeared to be a tension among the respondents since their responses
were divided almost equally between strongly agree, strongly disagree and neutral
(neither agree or disagree).

Table 26 reveals a .449 level of signiﬁcance that is >05 and suggests no
difference between persisters and non-persisters in their responses about bi-culturalism as
it relates to an enculturation process. Therefore, there appears to be a relationship
between bi-culturalism behaviors and experiences and respondent persistence.

Table 27 examines the differences in persister and non—persister response to the

questions about representation. The level of signiﬁcance was .905, which is >.05. This

72

Table 26

ANOVA of the Impact of Bi-culturalism as it Relates to an Enculturation Process

 

Dependent Variable: Persisted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Completed Fall ’02 and Winter ’03 Sum of Mean
Semesters) Squares Df Square F Sig.
Between (Combined) 1 .003 1 1 .091 1 .013 .449
Groups
Linear Term Weighted .006 l .006 .068 .795
Deviation .997 10 .100 1.108 .375
Within Groups 4.407 49 .090
Total 5.410 60
Table 27
ANOVA of the Impact of Representation/Spokesperson Experiences
Dependent Variable: Persisted
(Completed Fall ’02 and Winter ’03 Sum of Mean
Semesters) Squares Df Square F Sig.
Between (Combined) .392 9 .044 .443 .905
Groups
Linear Term Weighted .014 l .014 .142 .708
Deviation .378 8 .047 .481 .864
Within Groups 5.017 51 .098
Total 5.410 60

 

indicates no difference in their responses. Therefore, it can be assumed that

representation/spokesperson experiences did not inﬂuence respondents’ decision to

persist.

The next chapter reviews these analyses and discusses major ﬁndings and their

implications for community colleges.

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Chapter 5 — Conclusions

Today forty-two percent of Aﬂican-Americans deciding to seek a post-secondary
education select two-year institutions. This has resulted in a shift in the community
college demographics ﬂom one of predominantly White and of European ancestry to one
that is more heterogeneous. However, Aﬂican-Americans enrolled in predominantly
White institutions tend to be less successful than other students and are less persistent to
degree or goal completion (US. Department of Education, 2000).

Aﬂican-American students appear to be uncomfortable with what is perceived as
a less than welcoming environment on predominantly White college campuses across the
United States (Turner, 1996). Aﬁican-Americans are often the extreme minority in
college classrooms and on college campuses with few opportunities to connect with their
African-American peers (Steele, 2000; Tatum, 1997). To succeed academically and
socially and to avoid alienation and marginalization, they are forced to be ﬂuent in two
cultural systems: (a) the cultural system of their home community, and (b) the cultural
system of the predominantly White college campus (Darder, 1991; Guy, 1999). The less
than welcoming environment contributes to their self-doubt and interferes with effective
thinking, planning and decision-making “causing anxiety, confusion, tension, and
distressing anticipation that spirals their performance toward disaster” (Reeve, 1998, p.
78).

In my review of the literature, six cultural factors emerged and seemed to me to
have a common connection to the Aﬂican-American learning experience. Through
programming, these factors contribute to the manifestation of culture and ingrained

behaviors within the Aﬂican-American community: church as it relates to socialization

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behaviors, oral traditions and shared knowledge communication behaviors, ethnic
identiﬁcation and the impact of heightened visibility, bi—culturalism as it relates to an
enculturation process, extended family as a support network, and representation as it
relates to being perceived as the spokesperson for an entire race of people.

Church, like the classroom, is a social environment. For Aﬁican-Americans, the
church has played a major role in helping them overcome insurmountable societal
challenges. The worship style and discourse are often seen as observable participation.
The African-American culture is rich with oral traditions and shared knowledge
communication behaviors. These norms transcend the church and the home to include
most other social venues, but must be kept away ﬂom in the classroom. African-
American families are more likely to construe family more broadly than what some might
consider the traditional nuclear family. This extended family often worships together,
sometimes lives together, usually shares the same ancestry and almost always provides a
level of support that contributes to their ability to cope with difﬁcult situations.

On a predominantly White campus, Aﬂican-American students usually standout
out in the crowd because they are an extreme minority, often leaving them feeling
somewhat isolated and vulnerable to stereotypic assumptions. To further exacerbate the
situation, Aﬂican-American students are often expected by professors and White students
to be spokespersons for an entire race of people. As a survival mechanism, they must
traverse between at least two cultural systems. This process is distinct ﬂorn that of
dominant culture students whose behaviors, beliefs and values are already ingrained in

the learning environment.

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This study sought to document an inﬂuential relationship between these cultural
factors, learning experiences and Aﬁican-American students’ persistence decisions.

Participants and process. The participants in this study were ﬁrst-time, full-time,
ﬁrst-year Aﬂican-American students enrolled in a large, urban, commuter,
comprehensive, community college. They were selected ﬂom those students ﬁrst
enrolled in either the Fall 2001 or Fall 2002 semesters. Students matching these
characteristics were extracted ﬂom the college’s campus-wide information system by the
Institutional Research department. A survey was mailed during the Winter 2003
semester to the total sample of 399 students. In an effort to increase the response rate, a
participation incentive was included and two follow-up reminders were sent in two—week
intervals. The survey took approximately 15 minutes to complete and students were
assured that their responses would remain conﬁdential. Sixty-six completed surveys
were returned and 33 surveys were returned as undeliverable. All efforts resulted in an
18% response rate, which is considered average for a multiple-page, community college
student survey containing introspective questions that might be considered by some to be
somewhat sensitive in nature. Most community college students work, have little time
for non-mandatory college activities and feel no obligation to respond to surveys.

The survey required 43 responses in total: 5 items collected demographic
information and 38 items focused on cultural and learning experiences. The participants’
academic information was extracted ﬂom the College’s institutional records. Eleven
survey items used a 4-point Likert scale (4=very important to l=no experience) to assess
the importance of three cultural factors: (a) church related behaviors, (b) oral traditions

and (0) support systems. Twenty-seven survey items used a 5-point Likert scale

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(5=strong agree to 1=strongly disagree) to assess students’ perceptions about speciﬁc
learning experiences.

Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefﬁcients, analysis of variance and
comparison of means and standard deviations were techniques used to organize,

summarize and analyze the data.

Major Findings
In this section of the chapter, the major ﬁndings for each of the four research
questions will be discussed.

Research Question 1. I used descriptive analyses to meet my ﬁrst research

 

objective of assessing the importance of cultural factors to the learning experiences of
Aﬂican-American community college students. I discovered that Aﬂican-American
students value a more interactive and somewhat animated exchange with the learning
facilitator, whether that individual is their worship leader or their classroom instructor.
Since responders are predominantly comprised of persisters (Table 17), who report
positive interactions with faculty (Table 16), this ﬁnding supports Tinto’s (1998)
persistence theory based on academic and social integration. He argues that students’
commitment to their academic goals is inﬂuenced by their interactions with the academic
and social setting (i.e., faculty, students and college staff) and the extent to which they
achieve a social integration. This discovery also supports Pascarella and Terenzini’s
(1980) conclusion that student-faculty relationships have great positive inﬂuence on
students’ persistence decisions. Three-quarters of the respondents reported feeling that
they belonged at GRCC. Therefore, it appears that the respondents in this study have to

some extent achieved a social integration into the GRCC learning environment.

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Curiously, despite the achievement of social integration, one-third of the
respondents appear to struggle with their feelings about and experiences with ethnic
identiﬁcation, bi-culturalism and representation (i.e., neither agree or disagree with
survey statements). Deeper probing would be helpful in surfacing some of the answers
related to this dichotomy.

Though the respondents indicated that they were usually among a very limited
number of ethnic peers in their classes, 40% of them reported that they do not feel
isolated ﬂom other Aﬁican-American students, and 30% could not agree or disagree
about feelings of isolation. This is of notable interest and suggests several possibilities:
(a) their outside classroom connections may have been sufﬁcient enough to substitute for
lacking in-class connections, (b) they have become accustomed to being an
underrepresented member of the learning setting and, therefore, do not feel isolated, (0)
they did not understand the meaning of the statement as it relates to their learning
experiences, or (d) the faculty have intentionally or unintentionally succeeded at creating
a learning environment in which all learners felt valued and included. This could also
explain the students’ disagreement about the need to act differently in class (i.e., acting
White) then the way they act at home.

The respondents disagreed that they needed to “act White” (i.e., distancing self
ﬂom ones’ own racial group, maintaining an air of superiority) to succeed in their GRCC
classes, and yet they do not tire of switching between “acting White” and being
themselves at home. This left me struggling to understand whether: (a) they understood
the statements, (b) they were avoiding answering the questions because “acting White”

does not tend to be a behavior for which an Aﬂican-American proudly boasts an

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association, (c) their learning experience has been one that allows them to be themselves
so eliminating a need to “switch”, ((1) they ignore the behavioral norms of the classroom,
or (e) they have assimilated and, therefore, cannot relate to the question. Perhaps this
helps to explain their consistent neutrality with questions of representation.

Clearly, more conversation is needed in order to probe deeper and more
introspectively and to ultimately capture voices and speciﬁc experiences that might lead
to less ambiguous answers.

Research Question 2. I used Pearson correlation coefﬁcient to meet my second

 

research objective of analyzing whether community college learning experiences
inﬂuence African-American students’ perception of their ability to accomplish their
academic goals. The data revealed a signiﬁcant positive correlation between the
respondents’ conﬁdence in their ability to achieve their academic goals and their positive
student-faculty interactions. There was also strong correlation between their positive
student-faculty interactions and the absence of experiences with prejudice and
discrimination (Table 16). The respondents (i.e., predominantly persisters) believe they
will achieve their academic goals, they feel good about their student-faculty interactions,
and they do not believe they have experienced prejudicial and discriminatory treatment.
These ﬁndings are consistent with Tinto’s (1993; 1998) theory of persistence and social
integration and indicates that respondents appear to be comfortable with the learning
environment at GRCC.

Caution, however, should be exercised in generalizing this ﬁnding to all Aﬂican-
American students since the respondents were primarily persisters. The views and

experiences of non-persisters are relatively unknown since this study was unable to

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collect a signiﬁcant number of their survey responses. The reasons for their departure
were the most difﬁcult to capture because they either could not be located or they were
unwilling to share in a survey their learning experiences and reasons for departure. Their
views and experiences may support or contradict the views of the persisters who appear
to have successfully integrated into the learning environment.

Another possibility to consider is that the persisters have become accustomed to
acts of prejudice and discrimination and were, therefore, more hardened to situations that
might have pushed the non-persisters away ﬂom the institution (Nora & Cabrera, 1996).

Research Question 3. To meet my third research objective of assessing whether

 

students’ decisions to persist to goal attainment were inﬂuenced by their perception of
their ability to accomplish their academic goals, I relied on analysis of variance and
Pearson correlation coefﬁcients to help surface the answers. The data revealed that
persisters felt more positive than non-persisters about their ability to accomplish their
academic goals. Therefore, it appears that persistence decisions are likely to be
inﬂuenced by perceptions of ability.

It is also worth noting that the respondents appear to be progressing successfully
toward goal achievement as evidenced by the data in Tables 9, 17 and 19. Table 9
reveals the most ﬂequently recorded percentage for credits earned of those attempted was
100% and the mean score was 71%. Table 17 reveals that 83.3% (55) of the respondents
are persisting. Table 19 reveals a signiﬁcant positive correlation between the percent of
credits earned of those attempted and GPA. This suggests the Aﬁican-American students
who are successfully completing each of the courses attempted and who earn GPAs of

2.0 and higher are more likely to persist. In other words, students who are experiencing

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success as they continually advance toward their goal are more likely to stay on task, i.e.,
persist.

Research Question 4. Based on the hypothesis that no difference existed between

 

persister and non-persister groups, I ran a series of analysis of variance tests to meet my
ﬁnal research objective of assessing whether cultural factors inﬂuence persistence among
Aﬂican-American community college students. I also examined mean differences for
each cultural factor in order to better explain the ﬁndings. For all but one of the six
factors, no signiﬁcant difference was revealed between the two groups in their views.
Therefore, the data suggest that beliefs about the importance of church-related behaviors,
oral traditions, and extended family support and experiences with bi-culturalism and
representation had no signiﬁcant inﬂuence on the respondents’ decisions to persist.
When group difference was examined as it related to the topic of ethnic
identiﬁcation/heightened visibility, the respondents were clearly divided in their views as
evidenced by responses that were nearly equally distributed between agree, disagree and
neutral.

The respondents may have had varying interpretations of the statements in the
survey and might have been unable to reconcile their experiences with what was being
suggested by the statements. Overall, I am unable to form strong conclusions regarding
whether cultural factors inﬂuence persistence due in part to the low non-persister
response in this sample and in part to the set of measures that were somewhat imprecise

in their determination of cultural disconnect.

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Implications for Community Colleges

According to the literature review (Dawson-Threat, 1997; Kobrak, 1992; Nora,
2000; Terenzini and Others, 1981; Tinto, 1998) and the ﬁndings of this study, Aﬂican-
American community college students prefer a supportive and highly interactive learning
environment. Achieving social integration through a welcoming and supportive campus
environment and through positive interpersonal interactions with faculty and other
students impacts students’ college experiences. Community college faculty and staff
must educate themselves about the importance of their interaction with students. This
includes the ﬂequency of their faculty-student informal (i.e., casual) contacts and the
quality of those interactions, both in and out of class.

The results of this study demonstrate that Aﬂican-American community college
students value a ﬂiendlier faculty-student exchange, and these relationships beneﬁt
students in two ways. First, faculty engagement with Aﬁican-American students helps
faculty become more comfortable with such relationships, and it provides opportunities
for faculty to learn about the Aﬁican-American culture. This in turns helps the faculty do
a better job of helping the Aﬂican-American students to make connections between their
experiences and the current learning topic. Second, it helps the Aﬁican-American
students become more relaxed with dominant culture faculty, allowing them to learn
more about the culture of academia. This may allow the students to become more
comfortable being themselves and create less of a perceived need to “act White” in order
to be successful. Such relationships help Aﬂican-American students to integrate into the

academic and social environment and to increase their likelihood of persisting.

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Community colleges that proclaim a commitment to diversity might consider the
development of policies that result in: (a) an increase and retention of Aﬂican-American
students and (b) culturally sensitive hiring practices that not only increase Aﬂican-
American faculty and professional staff members but also result in hiring dominant
culture faculty and staff who are committed to reducing the attrition disparity between
Aﬂican-American and White community college students. Such policies require routine
monitoring to determine whether diversity goals are being met and whether the resulting
actions are having a positive impact on student achievement and retention.

Related institutional practices would include the development of student advising
programs that are particularly attentive to the unique learning needs of Aﬁican-American
students—needs that if satisﬁed might positively impact the disparity in attrition rates.
Advising programs should closely monitor students’ academic progress and social
integration. Advisors should strongly encourage students to believe in themselves and
their ability to achieve (i.e., helping them to build their academic conﬁdence). They
should encourage students to persevere to course completion and to use tutors and other
resources that promote the achievement of higher GPAs.

Culturally sensitive advisors should advise students not only about appropriate
courses in which to enroll but also about faculty whose attitudes and pedagogical
strategies have proven to be sensitive to the needs of Aﬂican-American students and who
have demonstrated a concern for the engagement of ALL students. These are faculty
who most likely concern themselves with faculty-student relationship building and who
encourage success among their students. Aﬂican-American faculty and staff, through

their own achievement, serve as examples of what is possible. They serve as mentors and

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role models, helping Aﬂican-American students imagine themselves as professionals.
Such Visioning and encouragement strengthens their beliefs in their own ability to
achieve.

Supportive niches (Sotello Viemes Turner, 1994) are needed to allow African-
American students to connect to academic and social support groups. Such support
groups promote unity, help to reduce feelings of isolation and provide opportunities for
underrepresented groups to identify and to build supportive relationships with others who
share common experiences, allowing them to share struggles and strategies in order to
overcome and to adapt to a dominant culture learning environment. Support groups
might include: (a) mentors with shared language, history, and experiences who have the
ability to guide Aﬁican-American students based on experience with same types of
learning environments, (b) peers who can share knowledge about learning experiences
and who can offer advice on how to form connections with faculty and staff, (c) small
group dialogue sessions to share successful integration strategies, and ((1) building
learning communities which encourage student interaction with other students and
promote social integration (Cabrera, Nora, Terenzini, Pascarrlla & Hagedom, 1999;
Tinto, 1993).

Enrollment and demographic shifts will continue resulting in a growing
population of Aﬁican-American community college students (Gay, 1993; Harris &
Kayes, 1995; Keller, 1999; Rendon & Mathews, 1989). Therefore, faculty and
professional staff must prepare themselves if institutions hope to impact the attrition rates
(Miller, 1995). Since most community college faculty have not received pre-service

teacher education training and more speciﬁcally training about pedagogical strategies that

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respond to diverse students’ learning needs (Braxton, Milem & Sullivan, 2000),
professional development and in-service activities might include cultural awareness work
sessions, collaborative teaching practices, and cultural diversity seminars. One topic that
could be included in faculty in-service training is avoidance of negative classroom
climate and insensitive teaching practices that make students uncomfortable and “can
undermine motivation and unnerve already academically bruised students” (Jacobson,
2000, p. 51). Expecting students to represent their racial group, having low expectations
about their academic performance and being inaccessible to students are examples of
behaviors to be avoided by faculty. Jacobson (2000) offers the following example as a
situation to be avoided.

Teachers’ statements that are intended to endear them to some students may

devalue and alienate others. For examples, telling a few White, female students

that they are “keepers” in the presences of students of Hispanic and Aﬂican-

American heritage ignores the possible inference that being excluded ﬂom the

“keeper” category, the minority and male students present may be considered

“disposables.” (p. 51)

Post-secondary teacher pre-service or in-service training might also include topics
that focus on:

0 Strategies that encourage highly interactive student-faculty discourse and that
encourage all students to participate (e.g., incorporating, without marginalizing, students’
lived experiences into the learning experience).

0 Strategies that allow students to interact in ways that feel comfortable to them

(e.g., somewhat animated and emotional; using call-and-response techniques)

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0 Helping faculty and support staff understand the Aﬁican-American culture so
faculty are more comfortable encouraging out-of-class relationships.

0 Helping faculty and support staff understand and appreciate the historical,
cultural, socioeconomic, and environmental factors that contribute to the African-
American students’ condition.

Community colleges must continue to examine themselves by assessing the
campus environment and climate. Student satisfaction survey studies should be
conducted annually, and the results should be aggregated by ethnicity in an effort to
understand the Aﬂican-American student experience. Focus group interviews might also
be conducted to help unearth more deeply rooted reasons for persistence decisions.

In the Meantime. Until the system changes to accommodate the cultural factors

 

that complement presence of the African-American students, it will be important for
these students to continue reliance on the tenacity and fortitude that allowed them to get
thus far. They will need to form connections with other Aﬂican-American students who
can provide support and peer mentoring. They will need to build relationships with
Aﬂican-American professionals who can serve as mentors, guides and advisors, helping
them to navigate the dominant culture system. Seeking to build relationships with non-
Aﬁican-American faculty and staff can also prove beneﬁcial if these individuals have
demonstrated a caring attitude through supportive behavior and positive feedback and
encouragement. Sitting together in the cafeteria (Tatum, 1997), sharing experiences and

strategies helps them cope with the daily challenges of predominantly White campuses.

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Recommendationa for Future Research

Though the literature suggests a cultural disconnect (Allen & Boykin, 1992;
Darder, 1991; F eagin, Vera & Imani, 1996; Szelenyi, 2001), this research study of a
single community college was inconclusive in its attempt to associate a cultural
disconnect with student persistence decisions. Therefore, the ﬁndings are inconsistent
with my expectations upon going into the study. Nevertheless, this exploratory study
brings to light the potential of a cultural disconnect; therefore, the topic warrants further
investigation. A great deal remains to be learned about the complicated relationship
dynamics between cultural disconnect, faculty-student relationships, and Aﬂican-
American community college student persistence decisions. This study ignites several
ideas about further research possibilities.

Focus Group Interviews. I piloted the survey with a group eight GRCC Black
Student Union members, and that experience inﬂuenced my thinking about the value of
focus group research. Without any prompting ﬂom me, the pilot study group of eight
participants began to talk at the conclusion of the survey instrument review. It quickly
became clear to me that they were anxious to share their stories. Individuals who share
my interest in this topic might consider conducting focus group interviews in order to
discover and to better understand the perspectives and experiences of Aﬂican-American
community college students. This type of qualitative inquiry allows questions to emerge
as the discussion progresses and as clariﬁcation is needed, by either the participants or
the researcher. One such area of inquiry warranting deeper probing is the tension
between social integration and ethnic identiﬁcation, bi-culturalism, and representation.

Why did respondents overwhelmingly report experiencing positive interactions with

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faculty, yet appear to struggle with their survey responses about ethnic identiﬁcation, bi-
culturalism, and representation (i.e., approximately one-third neither agreed or
disagreed)? What does this imply about the larger campus environment?

Focus group interviews allow the researcher to focus on participants’ lived
experiences and their deep personal interpretations of the meanings of those experiences.
Because the participants’ realities are unknown, variables and categories emerge ﬂom the
informants’ stories, not ﬂom the researcher. Inforrnants’ ﬂames of reference and
interpretations can be captured through face-to-face interaction, which include non-verbal
queues (Glesne, 1998). A small group of individuals with common characteristics often
provide support to each other and encourage discussion and deeper sharing. In addition,
“people often need to listen to others’ opinions and understandings in order to form their
own” (Marshall & Rossman, 1999, p.114).

During the pilot study, participants did not hesitate to share stories about their
relationships with family, the relationships with faculty and other GRCC staff, their
learning experiences at GRCC and in high school, and their ﬁnancial situations. With
little or no encouragement ﬂom me, they discussed where they chose to sit in class and
why. They discussed faculty-student discourse. They talked about their future. This
discussion continued for about 30 minutes.

For this type of conversation to ensue, I believe my ethnicity provided some level
of comfort to the participants. As an Aﬂican-American researcher who approached these
participants in a non-threatening way, the students may have assumed that a shared
culture ensures shared experiences, creating an immediate bond and granting the

researcher credibility. Ultimately, conducting focus group interviews to explore the

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complex issue of how cultural factors inﬂuence persistence decisions would allow the
researcher to probe more deeply into participants’ experiences and their interpretations of
those experiences. Furthermore, deeper probing through subsequent research would allow
for the validation of the ﬁndings as cultural factors rather than classroom organizational
factors. This might be accomplished by studying non-African-American community
college students who are similar in proﬁle to the subjects of this study.

Representative sample. Though there is no way to predict, a larger sample size
might have provided stronger trend data. Therefore, future researchers might consider
collecting data ﬂom several large, urban community colleges in order to increase the
sample size. Caution, however, must be exercised in the interpretation of such data since
the participants’ learning environments (i.e., faculty and staff, institutional procedures
and policies) will differ. Therefore, the survey instrument and/or interview questions
must be selected carefully so as to avoid collecting data that is beyond comparison.

Though difﬁcult to ﬁnd them (due to changed phone numbers and addresses), it is
imperative that the voices of those who have not persisted be collected to determine
whether their views and experiences support or contradict the views of those who have
persisted. It would be a research faux pas to assume that the two groups, persisters and
non-persisters, share the same experiences and attitudes. Reasons for departure decisions
must be explored. Quigley (1997) has investigated adult behaviors as it relates to adult
basic education (ABE) and suggests that ABE dropout must be studied independent of
the persisters because their experiences may be so different. He suggests that their
thinking must be examined at the “formative stages when they begin to consider quitting

and at different points after they leave” (p. 166). If educators could better understand

89

persisters’ decision points in the program, they might be better able to plan and
implement intervention measures. Once non-persisters are located, probing must be deep
enough to get below the socially acceptable responses. Though there is no way to
guarantee the elimination of socially acceptable responses, focus group interviews could
help to facilitate deeper probing since participants’ shared stories often result in more
profound sharing and less superﬁcial answers.

Quigley (1997) proposes a theory of resistance suggesting that adults reﬂect on
nightmarish past schooling learning experiences that have resulted in low trust of the
educational system. His research identiﬁed insensitive teachers (e. g., life style an views
that do no acknowledge others’ different life styles, views and experiences), school
system injustices/cultural biases (e.g., omissions in the curricula) and boredom as the
overarching reasons for dropout decisions. These negative memories overshadow their
goals of continued education and results in a resistance of experiences that might lead to
a repeat of past learning experiences.

Finally, Quigley (1997) offers yet another possibility. “History and resistance
theory tell us that not all who are called to conform to a set of normative values or are
expected to buy into the views and beliefs of a dominant culture or religion actually do
what they are expected to do” (p. 196). If the classroom culture is seen as symbolic of
that of the dominant (i.e., controlling) culture, they may choose to resist (whether
subconsciously or consciously) a ‘ruling authority’ that conﬂicts with their own cultural
values, behaviors and experiences.

The complex factors behind non-persisters’ departure decisions must be

examined. Though Quigley’s research (1992) focuses on ABE participants and non-

90

participants, his study might be used to guide similar research in community colleges and
to explore the root of community college non-persisters’ departure decisions. It is
important to more accurately and less speculatively capture the reasons for students’
departure decisions if institutions are to develop policies and practices for the purpose of
improving learning experiences and inﬂuencing persistence.

Isolation. Since this study surfaced a tension related to the issue of isolation,
further study of this issue is warranted. Do Aﬁican-American students feel isolated in
their classes ﬂom other Aﬁican-American students? If so, how does this impact their
learning experiences? If not, why, especially since there are usually only one or two
Aﬂican-American students in each class? How do Aﬂican-American students cope with
this issue? Does it directly or indirectly impact their persistence decisions?

Perception of ability. Another topic surfaced in this study and worth further
exploration is Aﬂican-American community college students’ perception of their ability
to achieve their academic goals. What and who inﬂuences this perception?

Actipg White. Fordham and Ogbu (1986) gathered ethnographic data ﬂom a

 

Washington, DC. high school to show how the fear of being accused of “acting White”
by their Aﬁican-American peers can result in social and psychological conditions that
can lead to underachievement in Aﬂican-American students. When I approached this
subject in my study, “acting White” proved to be much more complex than expected and
therefore much harder to fully explain. Further exploration of the topic of “acting White”
would be helpful in determining how individuals interpret this phrase, whether they have

had speciﬁc experiences, and whether they feel this behavior relates at all to their

community college learning experiences. Since this is an extremely complex issue, I

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believe focus group interviews would be the most effective probing method to further

explore this topic.

Closing Comment

Aﬂican-American community college students tend to have higher attrition rates
than their White counterparts at PWIs. However, a higher percentage of Aﬂican-
American HBCU students persist to goal completion. Predominantly White community
colleges might study strategies used by HBCUs to encourage retention.

1 also learned the importance of faculty-student interaction in promoting
students’ conﬁdence in their ability to achieve their academic goals and in their perceived
absence of prejudice and discrimination experiences. College faculty and staff must
proactively reach out and encourage Aﬁican-American students, provide roles models for
students, nurture students and create a welcoming learning environment if community
colleges are truly ready for the highly diverse collection of today’s community college
students.

Finally, I believe it worth reiterating that the focus of this study was Aﬂican-
American culture. However, I do not support the assumption that all Aﬂican-Americans
possess identical cultural attributes. Though there may be commonalities among cultural
groups, there are also many differences within cultural groups. Within group diversity
exists and may contribute diverse values, norms, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and

languages, further complicating the learning experience.

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APPENDIX A

Original Survey Cover Letter/Consent Form to Returning Students

February 1, 2003
Dear GRCC Student:

Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) is committed to providing an environment
that enables ALL students to accomplish their academic goals. Therefore, it is important
to understand students' experiences so improvements can be made within the learning
environment.

Today almost half of all Aﬂican-Americans who choose to enter college select
community colleges, rather than universities. However, Aﬁican-Americans enrolled in
predominantly White institutions tend to be less successful than other students and are
less likely to earn a degree or to reach their academic goals. As the Associate Provost
and Dean of the School of Workforce Development at GRCC and a Michigan State
University doctoral candidate, I am attempting to determine the reasons as well as any
unique learning needs of African-American students. To do this, I am examining the
relationship between cultural factors and students' decisions to return (or not return) each
semester until reaching academic goals. I am focusing my attention on African-
American students at GRCC, a large, urban, non-residential community college. This
study, entitled: Cultural Factors Influencing the Persistence of African-American
Community College Students will focus on the root causes based on a theory that a
cultural disconnect exists between the students and the faculty and staff.

You have received the enclosed questionnaire because you are currently attending
GRCC, and because we would like to know about your experiences. It is estimated that it
will take you approximately 20 minutes to answer the questions, and you indicate your
voluntary agreement to participate by completing and returning this questionnaire. 1 hope
that you will volunteer your time to assist me in this project. You are not asked to
identify yourself in the survey so your privacy will be protected to the maximum extent
allowable to law. Once completed, please use the enclosed, postage-paid envelope to
return the survey within 10 days.

If you have any questions about this study, please contact:

a Velvie Green, Responsible Project Investigator and Associate Provost/Dean, GRCC
School of Workforce Development, 143 Bostwick NE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503,
(616) 234-4224, fax (616) 234-3781, email — vgreen@grcc.edu;

. Marilyn Amey, PhD, MSU Professor and Dissertation Committee Chair, 426
Erickson Hall, E. Lansing, MI, 48824-1034, (517) 432-1056, email —
amey@msu.edu; or

93

0 Donna Kragt, GRCC Dean of Institutional Research, 143 Bostwick NE, Grand
Rapids, MI, 49503, (616)234-4044, email — dkragt@grcc.edu

If you have questions regarding your rights as a study participant, or are dissatisﬁed at
any time or with any aspect of this study, you may contact—anonymously, if you wish—
Ashir Kumar, M.D., Chair of MSU's University Committee on Research Involving
Human Subjects (UCRIHS), (517) 355-2180, fax (517)432-4503, email —
ucrihs@msu.edu, or regular mail: 202 Olds Hall, E. Lansing, MI 48824.

Thank you for your contribution to a positive learning environment for ALL students
attending Grand Rapids Community College.

Sincerely,
Velvie Green
Associate Provost & Dean

School of Workforce Development
MSU Doctoral Candidate

94

APPENDIX B

Original Cover Letter/Consent Form to Non-Returning Students

February 1, 2003
Dear GRCC Student:

Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) is committed to providing an environment
that enables ALL students to accomplish their academic goals. Therefore, it is important
to understand students' experiences so improvements can be made within the learning
environment.

Today almost half of all Aﬂican-Americans who choose to enter college select
community colleges, rather than universities. However, Aﬁican-Americans enrolled in
predominantly White institutions tend to be less successful than other students and are
less likely to earn a degree or to reach their academic goals. As the Associate Provost
and Dean of the School of Workforce Development at GRCC and a Michigan State
University doctoral candidate, I am attempting to determine the reasons as well as any
unique learning needs of Aﬁican-American students. To do this, I am examining the
relationship between cultural factors and students' decisions to return (or not return) each
semester until reaching academic goals. I am focusing my attention on Aﬂican-
American students at GRCC, a large, urban, non-residential community college. This
study, entitled: Cultural Factors Inﬂuencing the Persistence of Aﬁican-American
Community College Students will focus on the root causes based on a theory that a
cultural disconnect exists between the students and the faculty and staff.

You have received the enclosed questionnaire because you are recently attended GRCC,
and because we would like to know about your experiences. It is estimated that it will
take you approximately 20 minutes to answer the questions, and you indicate your
voluntary agreement to participate by completing and retunring this questionnaire. 1 hope
that you will volunteer your time to assist me in this project. You are not asked to
identify yourself in the survey so your privacy will be protected to the maximum extent
allowable to law. Once completed, please use the enclosed, postage-paid envelope to
return the survey within 10 days.

 

If you have any questions about this study, please contact:

0 Velvie Green, Responsible Project Investigator and Associate Provost/Dean, GRCC
School of Workforce Development, 143 Bostwick NE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503,
(616) 234-4224, fax (616)234-3781, email — vgreen@grcc.edu;

. Marilyn Amey, PhD, MSU Professor and Dissertation Committee Chair, 426
Erickson Hall, E. Lansing, MI, 48824-1034, (517) 432-1056, email —
amey@msu.edu; or

. Donna Kragt, GRCC Dean of Institutional Research, 143 Bostwick NE, Grand
Rapids, MI, 49503, (616) 234-4044, email — dkragt@grcc.edu

95

If you have questions regarding your rights as a study participant, or are dissatisﬁed at
any time or with any aspect of this study, you may contact—anonymously, if you wish—
Ashir Kumar, M.D., Chair of MSU's University Committee on Research Involving
Human Subjects (UCRIHS), (517) 355-2180, fax (517)432-4503, email —
ucrihs@msu.edu, or regular mail: 202 Olds Hall, E. Lansing, MI 48824.

Thank you for your contribution to a positive learning environment for ALL students
attending Grand Rapids Community College.

Sincerely,
Velvie Green
Associate Provost & Dean

School of Workforce Development
MSU Doctoral Candidate

96

APPENDIX C

REVISED Cover Letter /Consent Form to Current GRCC Students
March 28, 2003
Dear GRCC Student:

Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) is committed to providing an environment
that enables ALL students to accomplish their academic goals. Therefore, it is important
to understand students' experiences so improvements can be made within the learning
environment.

Today almost half of all Aﬂican-Americans who choose to enter college select
community colleges, rather than universities. However, Aﬂican-Americans enrolled in
predominantly White institutions tend to be less successful than other students and are
less likely to earn a degree or to reach their academic goals. As the Associate Provost
and Dean of the School of Workforce Development at GRCC and a Michigan State
University doctoral candidate, I am attempting to determine the reasons as well as any
unique learning needs of Aﬁican-American students. To do this, I am examining the
relationship between cultural factors and students' decisions to return (or not return) each
semester until reaching academic goals. I am focusing my attention on Aﬁican-
American students at GRCC, a large, urban, non-residential community college. This
study, entitled: Cultural Factors Influencing the Persistence of Aﬁican-American
Community College Students will focus on the root causes based on a theory that a
cultural disconnect exists between the students and the faculty and staff.

You have received the enclosed questionnaire because you are currently attending

GRCC, and because we would like to know about your experiences. It is estimated that it
will take you no longer than 15 minutes to answer the questions, and you indicate your
voluntary agreement to participate by completing and returning this questionnaire. I hope
that you will volunteer your time to assist me in this project. You are not asked to
identify yourself in the survey so your privacy will be protected to the maximum extent
allowable to law. Once completed, please use the enclosed, postage-paid envelope to
return the survey by April 7, 2003. Also enclosed is an orange coupon. If completed
and returned with your survey within 10 days, you will be entered into a drawing.

If you have any questions about this study, please contact:

. Velvie Green, Responsible Project Investigator and Associate Provost/Dean, GRCC
School of Workforce Development, 143 Bostwick NE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503,
(616) 234-4224, fax (616) 234-3781, email — vgreen@grcc.edu;

0 Marilyn Amey, PhD, MSU Professor and Dissertation Committee Chair, 426
Erickson Hall, E. Lansing, MI, 48824-1034, (517) 432-1056, email —
amey@msu.edu; or

97

0 Donna Kragt, GRCC Dean of Institutional Research, 143 Bostwick NE, Grand
Rapids, MI, 49503, (616) 234-4044, email — dkragt@grcc.edu

If you have questions regarding your rights as a study participant, or are dissatisﬁed at
any time or with any aspect of this study, you may contact—anonymously, if you wish—
Ashir Kumar, M.D., Chair of MSU's University Committee on Research Involving
Human Subjects (UCRIHS), (517) 355-2180, fax (517)432-4503, email -—
ucrihs@msu.edu, or regular mail: 202 Olds Hall, E. Lansing, MI 48824.

Thank you for your contribution to a positive learning environment for ALL students
attending Grand Rapids Community College.

Sincerely,
Velvie Green
Associate Provost & Dean

School of Workforce Development
MSU Doctoral Candidate

98

APPENDIX D

REVISED Cover Letter/Consent Form to Former GRCC Students
March 28, 2003
Dear F orrner GRCC Student:

Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) is committed to providing an environment
that enables ALL students to accomplish their academic goals. Therefore, it is important
to understand students' experiences so improvements can be made within the learning
environment.

Today almost half of all Aﬂican-Americans who choose to enter college select
community colleges, rather than universities. However, Aﬂican-Americans enrolled in
predominantly White institutions tend to be less successful than other students and are
less likely to cam a degree or to reach their academic goals. As the Associate Provost
and Dean of the School of Workforce Development at GRCC and a Michigan State
University doctoral candidate, I am attempting to determine the reasons as well as any
unique leanring needs of Aﬁican-American students. To do this, I am examining the
relationship between cultural factors and students' decisions to return (or not return) each
semester until reaching academic goals. I am focusing my attention on African-
American students at GRCC, a large, urban, non-residential community college. This
study, entitled: Cultural Factors Inﬂuencing the Persistence of African-American
Community College Students will focus on the root causes based on a theory that a
cultural disconnect exists between the students and the faculty and staff.

You have received the enclosed questionnaire because you are recently attended GRCC,
and because we would like to know about your experiences. It is estimated that it will
take you no more than 15 minutes to answer the questions, and you indicate your
voluntary agreement to participate by completing and returning this questionnaire. I hope
that you will volunteer your time to assist me in this project. You are not asked to
identify yourself in the survey so your privacy will be protected to the maximum extent
allowable to law. Once completed, please use the enclosed, postage-paid envelope to
return the survey by April 7, 2003. Also enclosed is an orange coupon. If completed
and returned with your survey within 10 days, you will be entered into a drawing.

If you have any questions about this study, please contact:

. Velvie Green, Responsible Project Investigator and Associate Provost/Dean, GRCC
School of Workforce Development, 143 Bostwick NE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503,
(616) 234-4224, fax (616) 234-3781, email — vgreen@grcc.edu;

. Marilyn Amey, PhD, MSU Professor and Dissertation Committee Chair, 426
Erickson Hall, E. Lansing, MI, 48824—1034, (517) 432-1056, email —
amey@msu.edu; or

99

0 Donna Kragt, GRCC Dean of Institutional Research, 143 Bostwick NE, Grand
Rapids, MI, 49503, (616) 234-4044, email — dkragt@grcc.edu

If you have questions regarding your rights as a study participant, or are dissatisﬁed at
any time or with any aspect of this study, you may contact—anonymously, if you wish—
Ashir Kumar, M.D., Chair of MSU's University Committee on Research Involving
Human Subjects (UCRIHS), (517) 355-2180, fax (517)432-4503, email -
ucrihs@msu.edu, or regular mail: 202 Olds Hall, E. Lansing, MI 48824.

Thank you for your contribution to a positive learning environment for ALL students
attending Grand Rapids Community College.

Sincerely,
Velvie Green
Associate Provost & Dean

School of Workforce Development
MSU Doctoral Candidate

100

APPENDIX E

STUDENT SURVEY RESULTS
(Combined Responses ﬂom ALL Respondents)

n=66

PART 1: Demographic Information—Please answer questions a - e by placing a check
mark X in the box that best applies to you.

a. What was your age on your last birthday?

18-25 84.6%

26-35 9.2%
36-45 4.6%
46-55 0
Over 56 0

b. What is your gender?

Male 43.1%

Female 56.9%

c. What is your current marital status?

Single 92.3%
Married 6.2%
Divorced 0
Widowed 0

No Response 1.5%

d. How many children are currently supported by your total household income?
None 64.6%

1-2 24.6%

3-4 6.2%

more than 5 3.1%

No Response 1.5%

e. What was your total household income before taxes in 2002?
$10,000 or less 58.5%
$10,100 to $20,000 10.8%
$21,000 to $30,000 10.8%

$31,000 to $40,000 4.6%
$41,000 to $50,000 4.6%
$51,000 to $70,000 6.2%
$71,000 to $90,000 0
Over $90,000 1.5%
No Resppnse 3.1%

 

101

 

PART 2: Read each statement carefully. Then place an X in the column (ﬂom 1 to 4) to
the right of each question that best represents your response based on your experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

s e g
at i '6 s g e
at > o. o. z a «I 0
g D.
2 s s .E. _ x
g SURVEY QUESTIONS °
5 3
C7 :1
4 3 2 1 g g.
é)
In my place of worship, individuals often
communicate with the preacher/speaker using 50.8% 21.5% 16.9% 9.2% 1.5%
1 laughter or applause.
In my GRCC class, I am always comfortable
2being the only individual to interact with the 18.5% 26.2% 40% 15.4%
teacher using laughter or applause.
sometimes feel an urge to let my instructor
ow that I understand by usrng body 26.2% 50.8% 18.5% 4.6%
overnent and non-verbal sounds (e.g.,
ounding "a-hum" and nodding my head).
Y "fanny" in°1udes,indi"id“als Who are L“ 29.2% 16.9% 24.6% 26.2% 3.1%
elated to me by marrrage or blood.
t least one of my grandparents plays
layed) an important role in my success in 30.8% 16.9% 13.8% 35.4% 3.1 %
5 chool.
vent to u 0
r: c c O o
c 1:
BE g ‘5 ‘E o .3
g 3. 3. z 8 5 a
a.
g g g 5 x
,, SURVEY QUESTIONS °
8
’5' 0 °
5 E
769° 15.4"/ 6.2°/ 1.57
6|My family encouraged me to go to college. /0 o o 0
When I struggle in my classes, my family 38.5% 41.5% 10.8% 9.2%
7helps me succeed.
18.5% 38.5% 20% 23.1%

00

 

Individuals at GRCC treat me like family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

102

 

 

When I struggle in my classes, GRCC staff
9imembers help me overcome the struggle.

32.3%

36.9%

6.2%

20%

4.6%

 

When I share my thoughts in class, I never
feel rushed to get the to point but am able to
“Share my complete story.

 

27.7%

52.3%

9.2%

9.2%

1.5%

 

feel comfortable sharing my thoughts and
11 xperiences in my GRCC classes.

 

 

30.8%

 

44.6%

 

16.9%

 

7.7%

 

 

 

 

ART 3: Read each statement carefully. Then place an X in the column (ﬂom 1 to 5) to
the right of each question that best represents your experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

n
18ilexplain the Aﬂican-American experience.

 

 

 

 

" o o o
a a, o 382 2 Se
1.: “ 2 g ° to g g 3’
5 SURVEY QUESTIONS g 2 2 o a .9 .2 g .2
g m z<o a mo
:1
O“ 5 4 3 2 1
In my GRCC classes, I am usually among one
or two other African-Americans in the 46.2% 40% 4.6% 4.6% 3.1%
12room/lab.
1;le GRCC 013558510116“ feel “01““ 4.6% 23.1% 30.8% 18.5% 21.5%
13 cm other Aﬂrcan-Amerrcan students.
11 my GRCC classes, I often feel that people
eterrnine who I am based on negative 12.3% 20% 38.5% 16.9% 9.2%
l tereotypes.
En my GRCC classes, I usually act and speak
ifferently than I would in my home 7.7% 18.5% 16.9% 32.3% 21.5%
1500mmunity.
feel that 1 have ‘0 "8“ White" in my GRCC 4.6% 13.3% 16.9% 13.8% 50.8%
1 lasses to be successful.
Sometimes I get tired of switching between
"acting White" in school and being myself at 9.2% 6.2% 18.5% 15.4% 49.2%
l7home.
h
T; o o 3 E E E ‘3 E
41: c 2 2 5 o D C O
E SURVEY QUESTIONS 9 2’ 2’ '2': 93 3 3 9- 3
a a 225 a as
Q
5 5 4 3 2 1
my GRCC Classes-1am 0&8" “Peat” 1° 9.2% 12.3% 33.6% 26.2% 13.5%

 

 

 

103

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

see explaining the Aﬁican-American
xperience as an opportunity to make a 18.5% 35.4% 29.2% 13.8% 1.5%
1 ifference.
see explaining the “I'm-Amman 4.6% 15.4% 35.4% 27.7% 16.9%
2 xperience as a tremendous burden.
21 ugrglgefpel good about my accomplishments 60% 36.9% 1. 5% 1.5%
, 36.9% 36.9% 15.4% 6.2% 4.6%
22 rarely see myself as a farlure.
usually feel equally as intelligent as most 47 7% 33 8% 12 3% 6 2%
23 ther students in my classes. ' ' ° '
am conﬁdent that 1 will accomplish my 52 30 400/ 4 60 3 10/
2 cademic goals at GRCC. ' /o o ' /° ' 0
2515332: 3:12:23“ is even/0““ key ‘0 a 44.6% 23.1 % 21.5% 9.2% 1.5%
26tittiellege education is everyone's key to a better 36.9% 24.6% 26.2% 9.2% 3.1%
The way for people of my race get ahead in 52 3o 29 2° 10 8° 3 1o 3 1¢y
27life is for them to get a good education. ' A ' /° ° A) ' lo ' 0
Getting a good education in college 292% 20% 26.2% 18.5% 6.2%
28 guarantees that you'll get a good job.
29m: graduation ﬂom college is important to 75.4% 24.6%
4.6°/ 16.9‘7 38.5° 207 20°/
3011 have encountered racism at GRCC. o 0 /o o o
I have been singled out in class and treated 4.6% 154% 12.3% 38.5% 29.2%
31 differently than other students.
At GRCC, it has NOT been easy for me to
32meet and make ﬂiends with students of ethnic 6.2% 13.8% 24.6% 27.7% 26.2%
backgrounds different ﬂom my own.
have observed discriminatory words,
33 ehaviors or gestures directed at Aﬂican- 4.6% 15.4% 26.2% 30.8% 23.1%
erican students at GRCC.
y non-classroom interactions with faculty
3 ave had a negative inﬂuence on my personal 6.2% 10.8% 26.2% 27.7% 29.2%
growth, values, and attitudes.
>. ,_ '- or >. 0
=11: a g g o 3 2 E a 2
=1 5 h " 55 ° re 8’ g g
.g SURVEY QUESTIONS 5 2 2 a 96’, .2 .2 :3 .2
g m z<o a mo
:1
O 5 4 3 2 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

104

 

 

 

ost faculty members with whom I have had
ntact are n_ot willing to spend time with me

 

 

 

. . . . 3.1% 9.2% 23.1 % 30.8% 33.8%
utsrde of class to drscuss Issues of Interest
(1 importance to me.
am NOT satisﬁed with the opportunities to
eet and interact informally with faculty and 10.8% 9.2% 27.7% 32.3% 20%
3 taff members.
ID’IOSI faculty members With whom I have had 6.20/0 46% 246% 354% 292%
37 contact are generally po_t interested in me.
3.1% 6.2% 13.8% 33.8% 1.5%

38

 

I do not feel as though I belong at GRCC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

105

 

APPENDIX F

RETURNING STUDENT SURVEY AND RESULTS
(11 = 58)

PART 1: Demographic Information—Please answer questions a - e by placing a check
mark X in the box that best applies to you.

a. What was your age on your last birthday?
18-25 82.5%

26-35 10.5%

36-45 5.3%

46-55 0

Over 56 0

b. What is your gender?

Male 45.6%

Female 54.4%

c. What is your current marital status?

Single 91.2%
Married 4%
Divorced 0
Widowed 0

No Response 1.8%

d. How many children are currently supported by your total household income?
None 68.4%

1-2 22.8%

3-4 3.5%

more than 5 3.5%

No Response 1.8%

e. What was your total household income before taxes in 2002?
$10,000 or less 59.6%
$10,100 to $20,000 10.5%
$21,000 to $30,000 10.5%
$31,000 to $40,000 5.3%
$41,000 to $50,000 3.5%
$51,000 to $70,000 5.3%
$71,000 to $90,000 0
Over $90,000 1.8%
No Response 3.5%

 

PART 2: Read each statement carefully. Then place an X in the column (ﬂom 1 to 4) to
the right of each question that best represents your response based on your experience.

 

106

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a re a o 8
3’ re «I H re C 5
o E 3 ° 6 g '3
*t > o. o. z a N 0
= e e E E St
a - — - —
g SURVEY QUESTIONS °
:1 3
O1 1:
4 3 2 1 g 8.
3
In my place of worship, individuals often
communicate with the preacher/speaker 50.9% 22.8% 14.0% 10.5% 1.8%
1 Using laughter or applause.
In my GRCC class, I am always
comfortable being the only individual to o o o o
interact with the teacher using laughter or 19'3 /° 28'1 /° 40'4 A) 12'3 /°
applause.
I sometimes feel an urge to let my
instructor know that I understand by using
3body movement and non-verbal sounds 28.1% 47.4% 21.1% 3.5%
(e.g., sounding "a-hum" and nodding my
head).
Y "family" 1““wa indiﬁduals Who are 28.1 % 14.0% 24.6% 29.8% 3.5%
ot related to me by marnage or blood.
t least one of my grandparents plays
layed) an important role in my success in 29.8% 15.8% 14.0% 36.8% 3.5%
5 chool.
u a va- 0
c c c 0 0
b E E *5 1‘3; 5 5
O O O z 0 > t
> o. o. o. «I 3.
.§ .§ E f x
,t SURVEY QUESTIONS °
5
t O O
O m
772° 140° 7.0°/ 1.8°
6IMy family encouraged me to go to college. /0 A) 0 /0
When I struggle in my classes, my family 36.8% 40. 4% 12.3% 10.5%
7helps me succeed.
193° 386° 21.1° 21.1°
81ndividuals at GRCC treat me like family. A) /° /° /0
When I struggle in my classes, GRCC staff 29.8% 38.6% 7.0% 19.3% 5.3%

 

members help me overcome the struggle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

107

 

 

e1 rushed to get the to point but am able
0 share my complete story.

en I share my thoughts in class, I never
e
1

26.3%

50.9%

10.5%

10.5%

1.8%

 

feel comfortable sharing my thoughts and
11 xperiences in my GRCC classes.

 

 

29.8%

 

45.6%

15.8%

 

 

8.8%

 

 

 

ART 3: Read each statement careﬁrlly. Then place an X in the column (ﬂom 1 to 5) to
the right of each question that best represents your experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

,_ “ o o
4 iv“: 3 ° 3 a is
= SURVEY QUESTIONS 2 5’ 5’ a E 8 ° 8
v, m < a a a) a
3
O’ 5 4 3 2 1
n my GRCC classes, I am usually among
no or two other Aﬂican-Americans in the 49.1% 38.6% 3.5% 3.5% 3.5%
l com/lab.
n my GRCC classes, I often feel isolated 53% 21.1% 29.8% 21_1% 21_1%
13 cm other Aﬁrcan-Amerrcan students.
11 my GRCC classes, I often feel that
eople determine who I am based on 12.3% 21 .1% 42.1% 12.3% 8.8%
l egative stereotypes.
n my GRCC classes, I usually act and
peak differently than I would in my home 8.8% 19.3% 17.5% 31.6% 19.3%
15 ommunity.
feel that I have to "act White" in my 5 36 14 00 19 31y 15 80/ 45 6V
1 RCC classes to be successful. ' /° ' /° ' 0 ° 0 ' 0
Sometimes I get tired of switching between
"acting White" in school and being myself 10.5% 7.0% 21.1% 14.0% 45.6%
l7at home.
L
a . . 'a 2 f a E
at C e 2 5 a O c D
5 SURVEY QUESTIONS .9. 3 2 I: 2 i3 .9. 3
g to z 2b 5 m E
Q
5 5 4 3 2 1
n my GRCC classes, 1 am often expected
0 explain the Aﬂican-American 10.581 14.0% 35.1% 22.8% 17.5%
18 xperience.
see explaining the Aﬁican-American
xperience as an opportunity to make a 19.3% 36.8% 28.1 % 12.3% 1.8%
1 ifference.

 

108

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

136° explaining the African'Ame’ican 5.3% 17.5% 33.3% 28.1% 15.8%
20experience as a tremendous burden.
I usually feel good about my 61 4o 36 8° 1 8°
21accomplishments and myself. ' /° ° /° ' A
386° 333° 158° 70° 53°
22] rarely see myself as a failure. /0 /° /° /° /o
I usually feel equally as intelligent as most 491% 31.6% 12.3% 7.0%
23 other students in my classes.
I am conﬁdent that I will accomplish my 57 90 35 1o 5 3o 1 8°
24pcademic goals at GRCC. ° /° ' /° ' /° ° /°
25 3:5: 15:13:;ng is everyone's key to a 45.6% 21.1% 24.5% 8.8%
2:34:81: 5mm“ is everyme's key 1° *1 38.6% 24.6% 26.3% 8.8% 1.8%
The way for people of my race get ahead in 50 90 31 6o 10 5o 1 8° 3 5o
27'life is for them to get a good education. ' /° ' /° ' /° ° /° ' /0
Getting a good education in college 29.8% 21.1% 26.3% 17.5% 5.3%
28 guarantees that you'll get a good job.
2 9E1]: graduation from college is important to 78.9% 211%
5:5" 175° 386° 19.3° 19.3°
301 have encountered racism at GRCC. A /° /° /o lo
31(11iggnﬁf3hjgglgdefguigezfs and treated 5.3% 17.5% 12.3% 36.8% 23.1%
At GRCC, it has NOT been easy for me to
32meet and make friends with students Of 5.3% 15.8% 26.3% 24.6% 26.3%
ethnic backgrounds different from my own.
I have observed discriminatory words,
33 behaviors or gestures directed at Afn'can- 3.5% 15.8% 29.8% 26.3% 24.6%
American students at GRCC.
y non-classroom interactions with faculty
3 ave had a negative inﬂuence on my 5.3% 12.3% 28.1% 24.6% 29.8%
ersonal growth, values, and attitudes.
=u: "'3 ° ° 3 g E 7: g
r: I: 2 2 g O 3: I: g:
.g SURVEY QUESTIONS g 2 2 o 2 __ ,9 g ,9
g m z 2:: a m a
:1
O 5 4 3 2 1
ost faculty members with whom I have
ad contact are mt willing to spend time o o o o o
ith me outside of class to discuss issues of 3'5 /o 10.5 /o 228 /° 26'3 /° 36'8 /°
'nterest and importance to me.

 

 

109

 

 

am NOT satisﬁed with the opportunities

 

 

 

0 meet and interact informally with faculty 10.5% 10.5% 29.8% 28.1% 21.1%
3 (1 staff members.
IMost faculty members with whom I have
had contact are generally n_ot interested in 5.3% 5.3% 26.3% 31.6% 31.6%
37me.
3.5% 5.3% 15.6% 31 .6% 42.1%

38

 

I do not feel as though I belong at GRCC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

110

 

APPENDIX G

NON-RETURNING STUDENT SURVEY AND RESULTS
(n = 3)

PART 1: Demographic Information—Please answer questions a - e by placing a check
mark X in the box that best applies to you.
a. What was your age on your last birthday?
18-25 100%
26-35 0
36—45 0
46-55 0
Over 56 0
b. What is your gender?
Male 25%
Female 75%
c. What is your current marital status?
Single 100%
Married 0
Divorced 0
Widowed 0
d. How many children are currently supported by your total household income?
None 37.5%
1-2 37.5%
3-4 25%
more than 5 0
e. What was your total household income before taxes in 2002?
$10,000 or less 50%
$10,100 to $20,000 12.5%
$21,000 to $30,000 12.5%
$31,000 to $40,000
$41,000 to $50,000 12.5%
$51,000 to $70,000 12.5%
$71,000 to $90,000
Over $90,000

PART 2: Read each statement careﬁIlly. Then place an X in the column (from 1 to 4) to
the right of each question that best represents our response based on your experience.

 

SURVEY QUESTIONS g

Question #
I have no
expeﬁence

 

 

 

Very
Important to
Me
Important to
Me
Not
Important 0

 

 

 

 

 

 

lll

 

 

In my place of worship, individuals Often
communicate with the preacher/speaker 50% 12.5% 37.5%
1 using laughter or applause.

 

In my GRCC class, I was always

comfortable being the only individual to o o o o
interact with the teacher using laughter or 12'5 /° 12'5 A) 37'5 /° 37'5 /°
Iapplause.

 

I sometimes felt an urge to let my
instructor know that I understood by using
body movement and non-verbal sounds 12.5% 75% 12.5%
(e.g., sounding "a-hum" and nodding my
head).

b)

 

 

 

y "family" includes individuals who are 37 5o 37 5° 2 o
ot related to me by marriage or blood, . /o . /o 5 /o

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At least one of my grandparents played an 37.5% 25% 12.5% 25%
Simportant role in my success in school.
E E E O 2
c
:u: E‘ g ‘2 "5 g o g a
5 SURVEY UESTIONS g ° ° 2 ° 5 a
2: Q 2 2 ‘e‘ = x
8 - — — - 0
:s
O 4 3 2 1
y family encouraged me to go to 75% 25%
ollege.
When I struggled in my classes, my family 0 0°
7helped me succeed. 50 A 5 A)
Individuals at GRCC treated me like 12 5% 37 5% 12 5% 37 5%
8fami1y. ' ' ' '
When I struggled in my classes, GRCC
9!:taff members helped me overcome the 50% 25% 25%
truggle.

 

When I shared my thoughts in class, I
never felt rushed to get the to point but 37.5% 62.5%
lOwas able to Share my complete story.

 

I felt comfortable sharing my thoughts in 37 5o 37 5° 25°
llmy GRCC classes. ' /° - /° /°

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ART 3: Read each statement carefully. Then place an X in the column (from 1 to 5) to
he right Of each question that best represents your experience.

112

 

Question #

SURVEY QUESTIONS

Strongly
Agree

Agree

Neither

 

Disa ree

Strongly
Disagree

 

UI

ch

«I Agree nor

N Disagree

A

 

In my GRCC classes, I was usually among
one or two other African-Americans in the
room/lab.

N
01
o\°

50%

12.5%

12.5%

 

In my GRCC classes, I often felt isolated
from other African-American students.

37.5%

37.5%

25%

 

l4negative stereotypes.

In my GRCC classes, I often felt that
people determined who I am based on

12.5%

12.5%

12.5%

50%

12.5%

 

In my GRCC classes, I usually acted and

 

15

poke differently than I did in my home
mmunity.

12.5%

12.5%

37.5%

37.5%

 

feel that I had to "act White" in my
RCC classes to be successful.

12.5%

87.5%

 

17being myself at home.

Sometimes I got tired of switching
between "acting White" in school and

25%

N
on
o\°

 

Question #

SURVEY QUESTIONS

Strongly
Agree

Agree

 

Neither
Disa ree

Strongly
Disagree

 

U!

h

09 Agree nor

N Disagree

A

 

l 8experience.

In my GRCC classes, I was often expected
to explain the African-American

25%

50%

N
on
o\°

 

l 9difference.

I saw explaining the African-American
experience as an opportunity to make a

 

12.5%

25%

37.5%

25%

 

2£xperience as a tremendous burden.

saw explaining the African-American

50%

25%

25%

 

21

usually felt good about my
accomplishments and myself.

50%

35.5%

12.5%

 

221 rarely saw myself as a failure.

25%

62.5%

12.5%

 

 

23

I usually felt equally as intelligent as most

 

 

other students in my classes.

37.5%

50%

12.5%

 

 

 

 

 

 

113

 

was conﬁdent that I would accomplish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12.5°/ 75°/ 12.5°/
2 1 academic goals at GRCC. o o o
25mg: 5:12:22“ is everyone's key 1° 3 37.53 37.5% 12.5% 12.5%
26.:3tileeglefzducation is everyone's key to a 25% 25% 25% 12.5% 12.5%
The way for people of my race get ahead 62 5y 12 50/ 12 50/ 12 50/
27in life is for them to get a good education. ' o ' o ' o ' 0
Getting a good education in college 25% 12.5% 25% 25% 12.5%
28guarantees that you'll get a good job.
2 oyringeraduation ﬁ'om college is important 50% 50%
3010:???“de racism while attending 12.5% 375% 25% 25%
I was singled out in class and treated 12 50 500/ 37 50/
31 differently than other students. ' A) o ' 0
At GRCC, it was NOT easy for me to
meet and make ﬁiends with students of o o o o
32ethnic backgrounds different from my 12'5 /° 12'5 /° 50 /° 25 A
own.
I observed discriminatory words,
33 behaviors or gestures directed at African- 12.5% 12.5% 62.5% 12.5%
American students at GRCC.
{My non-classroom interactions with
34faculty had a negative inﬂuence on my 12.5% 12.5% 50% 25%
ersonal growth, values, and attitudes.
5
>1 9 O o >. 0
.. a: a E = 2 a '2'»:
S o 5 3a ’3 3 a a o a
1: SURVEY QUESTIONS 3 < < 0 a g .2 3 .9
3 (I) Z < D D (D D
:1
d 5 4 3 2 1
'Most faculty members with whom I have
35had contact were n_ot w1111ngto spend tune 25% 62. 5% 125%
With me outSIde of class to discuss Issues
of interest and importance to me.
I was NOT satisﬁed with the opportunities
to meet and interact informally with 12.5% 12.5% 62.5% 12.5%
36facu1ty and staff members.
ost faculty members with whom I have
ad contact were generally no; interested 12.5% 12.5% 62.5% 12.5%

37

'n me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

114

 

 

 

38

I did not feel as though I belonged at

 

GRCC.

 

 

12.5%

 

 

50%

 

37.5%

 

115

 

APPENDIX H

REMINDER NOTICE SURVEY ENCLOSURE

 

   

or R EIN DER

.. . ., 43%an

 

It’s not too late to respond to the survey that was mailed to you on March 28‘". Just in
case you misplaced the previous survey, I am enclosing a second copy. Please take 15
minutes to tell me about your learning experience at GRCC. I would very much like to
hear ﬁ'om you. If you respond by April 21 and include the orange coupon, you will still
be eligible for the drawing. Thank you for Sharing!

PS If you have already returned your survey, it is probably on its way to me. Please
ignore this letter and accept my apology for cluttering your mailbox.

116

APPENDIX I

INCENTIVE COUPONS

This incentive coupon was included in the survey mailings sent to former students.

 

 

RETURN THIS CARD WITH YOUR COMPLETED SURVEY TO ENTER THE
DRAWING FOR ONE OF THREE (3) ITEMS:

$50 WOODLAND MALL GIFT CERTIFICATE
$25 MOVIE THEATER GIFT CERTIFCATE
$10 BLOCKBUSTER GIFT CERTIFICATE

 

 

 

Preferred Theater in GR: Studio 28 Celebration! Star
(28“ St) (E. Beltline) (Alpine)

NAME: PHONE NUMBER:

MAILING ADDRESS:

CITY: STATE: Michigan ZIPCODE:

 

 

Survey must be received within 10 days to be eligible for the drawinL

 

This incentive coupon was included in the survey mailings sent to returning students:

 

 

RETURN THIS CARD WITH YOUR COMPLETED SURVEY TO ENTER THE
DRAWING FOR ONE OF THREE (3) ITEMS:

$50 GRCC BOOKSTORE GIFT CERTIFICATE
FREE GRCC SWEATSHIRT
$10 CAFETERIA GIFT CERTIFICATE

 

 

 

 

Sweatshirt Size: small medimn large extra large
NAME: PHONE NUMBER:

MAILING ADDRESS:

CITY: STATE: Michigan ZIPCODE:

 

 

Survey must be received within 10 days to be eligible for the drawing.

 

117

 

APPENDIX .1

POSTCARD REMINDER NOTICES

These postcard reminders were mailed to student four weeks after the initial survey
mailings and extended the survey return date one ﬁnal time.

 

 

Dear GRCC Student:

It’s still not too late to respond to the survey that I mailed to you on April 11'". Please take only
15 minutes to tell me about your learning experiences at GRCC. If you respond by May 9th and
include the orange coupon, you will have this ﬁnal chance to be included in the drawing.

If you have misplaced your survey and wish to respond, please call 234-3744 for a replacement
survey. If you have already returned your survey, please ignore this postcard and accept my
apology for cluttering your mailbox.

I am looking forward to hearing from you. THANK YOU!

 

 

 

Dear Former GRCC Student:

It’s still not too late to respond tO the survey that I mailed to you on April 11‘". Please take only
15 minutes to tell me about your learning experiences at GRCC. If you respond by May 9th and
include the orange coupon, you will have this ﬁnal chance tO be included in the drawing.

If you have misplaced your survey and wish to respond, please call 234-3744 for a replacement
survey. If you have already returned your survey, please ignore this postcard and accept my
apology for cluttering your mailbox.

I am looking forward tO hearing from you. THANK YOU!

 

118

 

 

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125

 

 

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