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This is to certify that the
dissertation entitled

FACTORS INFLUENCING AFRICAN AMERICAN
STUDENTS’ DECISION TO ATTEND GRADUATE OR
PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL

presented by

Aisha Denise Smith

has been accepted towards fulﬁllment
of the requirements for the

PhD. degree in Psychology

 

 

    

Major Profess r’s S'gnature
// 05/,

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MSU is an Afﬁrmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution

 

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LIBRARY
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Universﬂy

 

 

 

PLACE IN RETURN Box to remove this checkout from your record.
To AVOID FINES return on or before date due.
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DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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FACTORS INFLUENCING AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS’ DECISION TO
ATTEND GRADUATE OR PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL.

By

Aisha Denise Smith

A DISSERTATION

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

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Psychology

2005

ABSTRACT

FACTORS INFLUENCING AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS’ DECISION TO
ATTEND GRADUATE OR PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL

By

Aisha Denise Smith
Attending graduate or professional school is becoming more of the norm in today’s
society. Although more African American students are attending and graduating
from undergraduate institutions, the number of these students attending graduate or
professional school, still lags behind the majority. The literature indicates that
African American students have higher educational and professional aspirations than
White students. However, these aspirations do not translate into action. The
following study examined the role that institution type, several socialization agents,
and students’ attitude play in the decision to attend graduate or professional. Data
was collected from two separate institutions. One institution was a Predominately
White Institution (PWI) located in the Midwest. The other institution is a Historically
Black College/University (HBCU) located in the South. Using a hybrid study design
of both quantitative and qualitative data, a total of 128 students (PWI n = 52; HBCU
n = 76) were surveyed. In addition, to the quantitative data, 12 students (6 from each
location) were interviewed. This study was exploratory in scope and design. Data
was analyzed using logistic regression and thematic coding. Based on the results of
the data it is concluded that the most inﬂuential factor involved in assisting African
American students make the decision to continue their education past undergraduate
is the students’ own educational and occupational expectations. These expectations

are developed with the assistance of the students’ family during the formative years.

To my Granny, thank you for paving the road to success. To my Mommy and
Daddy thank you for carrying me down that road when I was too weary to make the steps

myself.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you Jesus, for speaking this journey into my life. Thank you for all of the
blessings that you have blessed me with. I am not worthy. I continue to give you all the
praise and the glory. I know without you known of this could have been possible.

I have had so many wonderful pe0ple in my life to assist me with this
accomplishment. My graduate career has truly been a labor of love from many family
members and friends. I have been fortunate to have many angels in my corner since day
one back when I was an undergraduate student at Tennessee State University. To my
Mommy, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! ! I! This degree is as much mine as it is
yours. How many moms would take off work to help their child complete graduate
school and fellowship applications? You have been right there during all the tears, stress,
and moments of frustration. Thank you for giving me your strength, during the times
when I was running on empty. To my Daddy, thank you for your many words of
encouragement and wisdom. If it had not been for you I would have dropped out of this
race before I crossed the ﬁnish line. To my Twin Brother, thank you for providing
laughter during the stressful times when I could not ﬁnd humor. To my Granny and
Aunties (Faye, J an, and Norma) thank you ladies for showing me how to be a Queen.

During my graduate career I was lucky to have one of the best advisors that
Michigan State has to offer, Dr. William Davidson. Bill, thank you for always allowing
me to do the work that I love and am passionate about. You have been my biggest
champion during this process. Thank you for providing me with the guidance and advice

needed to successful matriculate thru graduate school. Thank you to my dissertation

iv

committee Dr.’s Dunbar, June, and Harrell. Thank you all for allowing me to follow my

vision and conduct the research that would make my heart smile.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I .......................................................................................................................... 1
Statement of the Problem .......................................................................................... 1
Conceptual Framework ..................................................................... 6
Study Rationale ................................................................................. 7
Purpose of Study ............................................................................... 10
CHAPTER II ............................................................................................................ 11
Review of the Related Literature .............................................................................. 11
The Ecological Perspective ............................................................... 11
Factors in the Macrosystem .............................................................. 13
Review of Access in Higher Education for African
Americans ............................................................................. 13
Barriers to Graduate or Professional School Entrance .......... 16
Factors in the Microsystem ............................................................... 18
Institutional Setting ............................................................... 18
Peer Inﬂuence ....................................................................... 22
Family Factors. ..................................................................... 25
Student and Mentoring Relationships ................................... 27
Summary... .................................................................................... 28
Research Questions... .................................................................................... 29
Methods 31
Study Criteria 31
Quantitative Sample .............................................................. 31
Qualitative Sample“ 32
Institutional Setting ........................................................................... 32
The Historically Black College (HBCU) .............................. 32
The Predominantly White Institution (PWI) ......................... 33
Quantitative Recruitment .................................................................. 34
Recruitment at the Historically Black University ................. 34
Recruitment at the Predominantly White Institution ............ 35
Qualitative Recruitment .................................................................... 38
Demographic Characteristics or the Research Participants
............................................................................................... 39
Quantitative Sample .......................................................................... 39
Sample by Institution Type ............................................................... 42
The Historically Black College ............................................. 42
The Predominantly White Institution .................................... 45
Qualitative Sample. ........................................................................... 48
Quantitative Measurements .............................................................. 48

vi

Demographics ....................................................................... 48

Attitudes ................................................................................ 48
Family involvement .............................................................. 52
Peer Attitudes and Influence ................................................. 54
Mentor Inﬂuence ................................................................... 56
Perceived Academic Ability ................................................. 59
Behavior ................................................................................ 59
Qualitative Measures ........................................................................ 60

Results 61
Examining the Proposed Research Questions ................................... 61
Research Question 1 ............................................................. 61
Research Question 2 ............................................................. 62
Research Question 3 ............................................................. 64
Research Question 4 ............................................................. 65
Research Question 5 ............................................................. 65
Research Question 6 ................................................ 67
Summarizing Themes in the Qualitative Data ...................... 68
Family Involvement. . . . . . . .. ...................................... 68

Peer Attitude/Inﬂuence. . . . . . . .. ................................. 71

Mentor Inﬂuence/Involvement ................................. 72

Perceived Academic Ability ..................................... 73

Emerging Patterns in the Qualitative Data ............................ 74
Community Obligation ............................................. 74

Attitudes Towards Education .................................... 75

Discussion............................. 77
Discussion of the Results. . . . ................................................................................. 78
Implications for Future Practice and Research ......................................................... 86
Limitations and Future Studies ................................................................................. 88
Conclusion.................... ..................................................................................... 91

Appendix A: Email Sent to Campus Organizations ............................................................ 102
Appendix B: Email Sent to Organization Advisors ............................................................. 103
Appendix C: Qualitative Recruitment Form ........................................................................ 104
Appendix D: Final Scale Used. . . . . . . .. ................................................................................. 105
Appendix E: Qualitative Interview Protocol... . .. ... ............................................................ 113

vii

Table 1:

Table 2:

Table 3:

Table 4:

Table 5:

Table 6:

Table 7:

Table 8:

Table 9

Table 10:

Table l 1:

Table 12:

Table 13:

Table 14:

Table 15:

Table 16:

Table 17:

Table 18:

Table 19:

Table 20:

Table 21:

LIST OF TABLES

Current Educational Trends for African Americans ..................................... 2

Educational Attainment of Population 25 Years and Over ........................... 2

Number of Students at the HBCU Fitting the Research Criteria ............... 33
Number of Students at the PWI Fitting the Research Criteria .................. 33
Number of Students Obtained by Research Strategy ............................ 35
Predominantly White University’s Campus Organizations Contacted ........ 36
Campus Organizations Contacted Using the Snowball Effect ..................... 37
Activities During the African American Celebratory Week .................... 37
Number of Participants Obtained by Each Recruitment Strategy ................ 38
Demographic Information ............................................................................. 40
Demographic Information for Students at the HBCU .................................. 43
Demographic Information forStudents at the PWI ...................................... 46
Psychometric Properties of the Abstract Attitudes Scale ............................. 50
Psychometric Properties of the Concrete Attitudes Scale ............................. 51
Psychometric Properties of the Family Involvement Scale .......................... 53
Psychometric Properties of the Peer Attitudes and Inﬂuence Scale ............. 55
Psychometric Properties of the Mentor Inﬂuence Scale ............................... 57
Psychometric Properties of the Perceived Academic Ability Scale. ............ 59
Psychometric Properties of the Actual Behavior Scale. ............................... 60
Independent Sample T-Tests of Attendance and Institutional Setting .......... 62

Summary of Logistic Regression Analysis for Socialization Agents
(N=128). ........................................................................................................ 64

viii

Table 22:

Table 23:

Table 24:

Table 25:

Summarizing the Results of Attendance and Attitudes in an ANOVA. . .. 64

Summarizing the Results of Attendance and Academic Ability in an
ANOVA ............................................................................... 65

Summary of Logistic Regression Analysis-All Factors Included (N=128).. 66

Codes Used to Categorize Data. ................................................................... 68

ix

CHAPTER I
Statement of the Problem

A half-century ago, youth of America were instructed by their elders that to make
it in the world, they must stay in high school and earn a diploma. A generation ago high
school graduates were told, “To get a good job, you need a college education.” Now the
conventional wisdom is that to be successful in life, students should attend graduate or
professional school. Progressively more African American students are heeding the call
to advance their education. African American enrollment in graduate or professional
school has increased each year since 1984. A recent report from the National Center for
Educational Statistics (N CES) reported that graduate school enrollment for Aﬁ'ican
American’s had increased 101.2 percent since 1976 (NCES, 2003). Today there are more
than 158,000 African American students enrolled in graduate schools across the nation
(N CES, 2003b). In addition, to the 158,000 African Americans enrolled in graduate
programs, in 2000 there were 24,000 African Americans enrolled in professional schools.
However rewarding these numbers are they are still well short of the percentage of the
young African American adult population that would be eligible for graduate or
professional school attendance (See Table 2). Even with these additions, African
American enrollments at the undergraduate level and at every level of graduate and

professional education lag behind that of Whites (Harvey, 2002) (See Table 1 & 2).

Table 1

Current Educational Trends for African Americans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Degree Level White, Black,
non-Hispanic non-Hispanic
Associate Dgee 408,508 60,181
Bachelor’s Degree 928,013 107,891
Master’s Degree 317,999 35,625
Doctor’s Degree 27,492 2,220
Professional Degree 59,601 5,552
Table 2
Educational Attainment of Population 25 Years and Over
Total ...................................................... 182, 211, 639
Characteristic Population 25 Some College Bachelor’s Advanced
and over or More degree of more degree
White, non- 143,085,659 54.1% 26.1% 9.5%
Hispanic
Black, non- 19, 858,095 42.5% 14.3% 4.8%
Hispanic

 

 

 

 

 

Countless, studies have been conducted examining the college achievement of
African American students (Cole & Barber, 2003; Mickelson, 1990; Nettles & Pema,
1997; Steele, 1992; 1998). There is a large pool of research detailing the interaction and
implications of numerous variables that inﬂuence African American retention and
graduation in higher education. There are also numerous studies, pertaining to African
American students retention and attrition in graduate or professional schools (Maton &
Hrabowski, 2004). However, pertaining to graduate and professional school education,
existing research is primarily of the descriptive variety-such as enrollment trends,
graduation rates, or group differences. A study by Blackwell (1987) is a deﬁnitive

example of this type of research. Blackwell examined each of the above areas

 

(enrollment trends, graduation rates, and group differences) for both graduate and
professional schools. Although the information presented is quite informative with
respect to changes in enrollment patterns and graduation rates, it is only speculative in
identifying factors, which lead to successful educational outcomes.

There is widespread agreement among researchers that when socioeconomic
factors are held constant, Aﬁican Americans tend to have higher graduate or professional
school aspirations than other groups (Hearn, 1991; St. John, 1991). Given these realities,
researchers and policymakers must begin to ask several questions: Why do not more
Aﬁican Americans choose to participate in graduate or professional school? What are
the missing links between their aspirations to participate and their actual participation in
higher education? How can policies be implemented to better address how African
Americans can turn their aspirations into reality and to integrate more targeted, workable
programs/models? In order to answer these aforementioned questions several exploratory
steps must ﬁrst be taken. A study examining the factors affecting the decision to attend
graduate or professional school for African American students is one of many steps
needed.

Using the terms African American + Graduate Education, an exhaustive search of
the literature using the search engines ERIC and PsycINFO was performed. This search
rendered two studies, which previously examined African Americans and graduate
education (Birkett & Kiel, 1995; Gray, 1978). The study conducted by Birkett and Kiel
(1995) examined the attitudes towards graduate school of African American accounting
students. The study included 141 Aﬁican American junior and senior accounting

students attending an HBCU. The results of this study indicated that the strongest

predictor of graduate school attendance was the respondents’ own professional and
personal goals.

The study conducted by Gray (1978) examined the factors that inﬂuence
attendance to graduate or professional school among African American and White
undergraduate students at the University of Iowa. The results of this study demonstrated
that African American students were more determined to go to graduate school than
White students. Additionally, this study revealed that African American students worried
about (1) tuition being too expensive, and (2) graduate school lowering the standard of
living.

These two studies laid the foundation for examining factors related to graduate or
professional school attendance for African American students, however each study has
various limitations. The study conducted by Gray was conducted more than 25 years
ago. Many of the obstacles related to graduate or professional school education that
African Americans faced may no longer be a reality. For example, the primary concern
for African American students was tuition being too expensive. Today, there are many
fellowships, grants, and loans that students can apply for in order to decrease the
expensive cost of graduate or professional school. Another limitation of this study was
that results were generalized across racial groups, thus assuming that the factors
measured affected all racial groups the same. The study conducted by Birkett and Kiel
(1995) also had various limitations. One limitation is the study sample only included
accounting students attending an HBCU therefore generalizing the results to African

Americans at PWIs or in different majors may prove to be difﬁcult without assuming

group homogeneity. Additionally, factors were measured by only using one or two items,
no scale validation or alpha levels were reported for any items used.

The lack of studies examining graduate or professional school entry indicates that
scholars have paid little attention to the decision to go to graduate or professional school
for persons of color. Social scientists are more likely to report that signiﬁcant numbers of
African American youth continue to experience difﬁculty in completing high school
(Finn, 1989; Nettles & Pema, 1997; Slaughter, 1974; US. Bureau of the Census, 2003),
cam lower grades and attain less education than their White peers (Firm, 1989; NCES,
2003, Nettles & Pema, 1997), and are more likely to drop out of school at all educational
levels (NCES, 2003b). In particular, social scientists have been remiss in studying the
positive educational decisions of African American students as a whole (Davis, 2000).

As a result, there has been limited literature focusing on understanding how African
American students come to the decision to obtain a graduate or professional school
degree.

Factors related to seeking attendance to graduate or professional school will be
examined. Recognizing that education does not occur in a vacuum several factors cited
in the literature as important to educational processes will be examined. Speciﬁcally, this
study will examine the characteristics of the individual student (personal); the immediate
(family, school, peers, and professors) and broader (sociohistorical) environment; and
how these three major components shape the student’s behaviors and choices toward
advanced education. In this framework, African American students are investigated
within the contexts of their own cultural backgrounds and that of the society in which

they live. All factors being examined have been cited in the literature as being important

factors when examining African American student achievement at the post-secondary
leveL
Conceptual Framework

The criticism of most psychological theories and models of behavior is that they
emphasize individual behavior change process and pay little attention to sociocultural and
physical environmental inﬂuence on behavior. To overcome this limitation an
exploratory study broadly using the ecological framework (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) will be
conducted. The ecological framework is being utilized broadly to provide the rationale
for examining the speciﬁc factors outlined within the study. Speciﬁcally, the role that
environment has on the individual and the socialization agents (family, peers, and
mentors) responsible for students’ decision to attend graduate or professional school will
be examined. An ecological framework is important to this study because according to
this theory, development is the result of the interaction between the person and the
environment (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). This organizing model can be used to understand
the problems encountered in adapting to different environments. In the ecological model,
the macrosystem is the all-encompassing environment exerting direct and, at times,
indirect inﬂuence on all the other systems. This environment includes “cultural, social,
political, legal, economic, religious, and educational values” (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) of a
nation. The macrosystem is most easily described as the sociopolitical climate of the
nation. The individual social relationships in which the student is involved are called
microsystems. These include the relationships between the student and their family

members, in-and-out of school friends, professors etc.

Study Rationale

Programs designed to motivate and support disadvantaged African American
undergraduate students have been in place since the late 1960’s. These programs were
ﬁrst implemented after President Kennedy signed Executive Order 10925. This order
used afﬁrmative action for the ﬁrst time by instructing federal contractors to take
“afﬁrmative action to ensure that applicants are treated equally without regard to race,
color, religion, sex, or national origin.” Afﬁrmative action was based on the premise that
there had been over three hundred years of discrimination based on gender and race in
this country (Pullen, 2000). Thus, afﬁrmative action was implemented to help
“qualiﬁed” people of color advance at the same rate as their White counterparts. In
addition, afﬁrmative action programs were to help ensure “equity” and “equality” in the
workplace and education speciﬁcally. The educational training programs developed
following this act were a form of afﬁrmative action; these programs were designed and
implemented to ensure that high achieving students of color received equal skills and
training needed to matriculate in graduate or professional school.

Currently, there are two primary educational training programs at the
undergraduate level for underrepresented graduate school populations: McNair/SROP
and Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC). Each year, these two programs each
separately receive several million dollars in federal aid to continue with programming
(US. Department of Education, Ofﬁce of Postsecondary Education, 2002). The
McNair/SROP Program is a federally funded program (Department of Education),
which awards grants to institutions of higher education for projects designed to prepare

participants for doctoral studies through involvement in research and other scholarly

activities. The MARC Program is a federally funded program (National Institute of
Health). The MARC Program was created by the National Institute of General Medical
Sciences (N IGMS) to increase the number of biomedical and behavioral scientists from
minority groups. A key objective of the MARC Program is the encouragement of
minority students in the pursuit of graduate training leading to a Ph.D. In addition to
these major federal initiatives, there have been smaller state and federally funded
programs implemented at various institutions. For example, the Minority Research
Initiative (MRI) at The Ohio State University. This is a NIH-funded program aimed at
preparing students of color for life science careers.

Given the signiﬁcant amount of state and federal resources directed at increasing
African American students entre’e to and graduation from institutions of higher
education over the past 50 years, one would believe that the number and percentage of
African American students graduating from post-secondary institutions and entering
into graduate or professional schools should show signiﬁcant signs of improvement.
Current national data on the academic success of African American students do not
show this to be true (NCES, 2003). Studies need to be conducted to examine why this
is the case.

The lagging educational numbers of students or color, continue to plague their
future economic standing. Higher education has a great inﬂuence on the economic well
being of the nation and its citizens (Freeman, 1998). Often, the level of education
determines the nature of social stratiﬁcation in society and where on the social ladder a
family may be. Furthermore, usually a student’s performance and educational success

will signiﬁcantly impact the job opportunities available to the student (Tinto, 1993).

Research has established there is a signiﬁcant relationship between income
earnings and educational attainment. For instance, the average income of college
graduates is signiﬁcantly higher than the income of non-college graduates. A recent
report, “Current Population Survey, Educational Attainment in the United States,” shows
that more education means more take-home pay and reduced chances of unemployment.
Earnings go up progressively with each additional year of school completed (N CES,
2003b; US. Bureau of the Census, 2003).

The low graduate or professional school rate of African American students is one
that requires immediate attention. Without African American students actively seeking to
obtain higher education degrees, the African American community will continue to lag
behind that of the mainstream culture (Barton, 2004). One continuing and major
challenge is the under-representation of African Americans among leading professionals
in various sectors of society, including health care, university professors, and research
scientists (e.g., Barton, 2004; Cole & Barber, 2003; Wilson, 2000). The under-
representation within critical leadership groups is not only socially unjust but is
detrimental to society’s long-term vitality. Increasingly, the pathway to enhanced
representation in most leadership areas is through education, including graduate or
professional school (Maton & Hrabowski, 2004). To alleviate this under-representation,
the culture of the racial group in question needs to be examined in detail. Each culture is
different therefore solutions to problems encountered by a speciﬁc population cannot be
examined by measuring other populations. Culturally speciﬁc studies need to be

conducted to understand the exact factors inﬂuencing that culture’s behaviors. This is

clearly the case for the proposed study. The unique factors attributed to African American
students decision to obtain a graduate or professional school degree will be examined.
Purpose of Study

Various educational studies indicate that attending graduate or professional school
(at one time an educational pattern pursued by only a small percentage of college
graduates) has become more and more commonplace (Harvey, 2002). Graduate and
professional schools provide students with opportunities to satisfy the nation’s expanding
need for highly educated people in all areas. Unfortunately many capable students do not
take advantage of these opportunities and few studies have been conducted to understand
the lack of graduate or professional school attendance. The purpose of this research
study is to explore the factors related to African American undergraduates students’
decision to apply to graduate or professional school. Two separate types of institutions
will be examined. The rationale for this is that the culture at each institution is different.
As a result, the factors inﬂuencing African American students’ decision to attend
graduate or professional school may differ depending on the institutional type. Since this
is a ﬁrst investigation, the researcher is attempting to understand if the factors differ by
setting, rather than assuming that all factors will affect all African American students the

831116.

10

Chapter II
Review of the Related Literature

The basic design of this study, as described in the previous chapter, is to identify
the different factors that inﬂuence African American students’ decision to obtain a
graduate or professional school degree. This chapter is a survey of the literature
important to this research. The study of undergraduate experiences is not the primary
purpose of the proposed study, however, several of these studies will be utilized. The
researcher is hypothesizing that the same factors, relevant to success in undergraduate are
the same factors that will prove inﬂuential when deciding to attend graduate or
professional school.

For purposes of organization, the literature related to this study will be divided
into several parts. First, the ecological perspective will be brieﬂy explained. For the
purpose of this study primary focus will be placed on the micro and macro system as
deﬁned by the ecological model. While discussing each system, the factors being
measured will be discussed.

The Ecological Perspective

A focus on the individual, isolated and independent, is deeply embedded in our
culture and values. In contrast, an ecological model emphasizes the interconnections of
events and the bi-directionality of effects between organism and environment
(Bronfenbrenner, 1979). An ecological perspective views human development from a
person-in-environment context, emphasizing the principle that all growth and
development take place within the context of relationships. The ecological model, the

major proponent of which is Bronfenbrenner (1979), seeks to explain individual

11

knowledge, development, and competencies in terms of the guidance, support, and
structure provided by society and to explain social change over time in terms of the
cumulative effect of individual choices (Berger & Milan, 2000). In essence, the
ecological perspective studies the coercive power of the environment over human
behavior. It studies both environments and the people who are part of the environment,
but greater emphasis is placed on extra-individual variables. Using this theory, a student
must be studied in the context of the educational environment and the educational
environment must be understood within the context of the larger society.

For the purpose of this study, primary focus will be placed on students’
development as it interacts with the variables involved in the microsystem and the
macrosystem. Understanding the students’ microsystem is important to include within the
formal deﬁnition of the developing person’s immediate environment because of the
developmentally relevant characteristics of the persons present and participating in that
environment (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Placing attention on the macrosystem is important
to development, because this is where the students’ ideals, values, and beliefs are shaped
by the larger society. The macrosystem may be thought of as the societal blueprint for a
particular culture (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Since the linkages and interaction between the
various factors is beyond the scope of this study, it is not relevant to include the
exosystem and mesosystem within the ecological model. Even though the macro and
micro systems are being discussed, it is to be understood that the theory is only being
broadly utilized. The primary purpose of the ecological model is to provide a rationale

for the factors being examined.

12

Factors in the Macrosystem

The macrosystem is the overarching characteristics of a particular society. To
fully understand how an ecological ideology speciﬁcally as it relates to the macrosystem
is appropriate for this study, the history of the educational process for African Americans
in this country will be discussed. The history of education in the United States can
directly inﬂuence students’ values pertaining to education and their perceived ability to
succeed in academia.

Review of A ccess in Higher Education for Aﬁican Americans. Due to
discrimination and other detrimental factors, African American participation in higher
education in the United States was limited during the early history of postsecondary
education (Babaoye, 2000). The gates to institutions of higher learning were closed to
Aﬁican Americans until major events in the United States secured admission for all
Americans at all levels of the educational arena (Babaoye, 2000).

One of the signiﬁcant events attributed with assisting in securing educational
opportunities for all Americans was the passage of the Morrill Act of 1862 and 1890.
The Morrill Act is considered a catalyst in the shaping of the landscape of American
higher education from sectarian tendencies of the past to an egalitarian educational
system (Allen, 1992). Due to social and economic changes in America, the Morrill Act
gave citizens from farming, mechanics, and racially different backgrounds the
opportunity to participate in higher education. The Morrill Act played a major role in this
regard for many reasons and was instrumental in the establishment of HBCUs. This act

secured state support for higher education, provided land for their operation, changed the

13

American college system, and promoted the establishment of different kinds of
institutions, such as vocational schools (Allen, 1992; Nettles, Thoeny, & Gosman, 1986).

Even though the Morrill Act was passed, educational equality did not follow. In
order for African Americans to receive a public education like their White counterparts,
two separate state systems were set up, one Black and one White (Babaoye, 2000). As a
result of a two-tier system for race, the Supreme Court ruled on the Plessy vs. Ferguson
(1896) case. The court determined that Blacks and Whites should have their own
facilities; separate but equal. The results of this court decision inﬂuenced enrollments for
the next 30-40 years for institutions of higher education (Thomas & Hill, 1987). The
next major turning point for Black colleges and universities occurred following the
landmark desegregation case, Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education (1954).

This case focusing speciﬁcally on elementary and secondary education held that
segregation by its very nature caused ﬁscal inequities between schools servicing African
American and White students. The case ordered that states desegregate their schools.
Before the Brown decision was enacted, only 2.2% of African Americans and other
people of color over 25 years of age had graduated from college (Willie, Grady, & Hope,
1985). This case was followed by additional decisions applying speciﬁcally to higher
education. Later, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited spending of federal funds on
segregated schools and colleges. The Civil Rights act forced secondary and post-
secondary institutions to implement the Supreme Court’s decision (which resulted in
White hostility towards African American students on campus). The Higher Education
Act of 1965, which provided ﬁnancial aid to individual students who otherwise could not

afford post-secondary education, followed this court decision.

14

As a result, the 19605 and 19705 were periods in which America experienced the
largest student enrollment increase in its history (Babaoye, 2000). The open admissions
policy adopted by most institutions of higher learning in order to make educational
opportunity available to every American is the major contributor of the college
enrollment boost. Over 80 percent of American colleges and universities implemented
this governmental policy or used some form of special admissions to recruit Aﬁican
American students. By granting African Americans access to higher education, “the
United States hoped to gradually dismantle the remnants of its past history, so that
African Americans, could have the opportunity of climbing the social ladder as well as
raising their standard of living, reaching their potential, living the American dream, and
partaking of their piece of the pie” (Babaoye, 2000). The hopes of obtaining the
American dream has been realized by several persons of color, unfortunately, these
numbers still do not represent the demographic makeup of society.

Today, forty years after the Civil Rights Movement, both the mood of the country
on racial issues and the state of higher education have transformed. The national moral
response to African American demands for equality has been replaced with ambivalence
and the persistent problems associated with downturns in the nation’s economy. Higher
education generally has moved from a period of boundless expansion and Optimism to
one of retrenchment and ﬁnancial constraint. Under the rubric of “no preferences” critics
of affirmative action have used lawsuits, ballot initiatives, and other means to halt or
halter the use of race as a criterion when evaluating candidates for education or
employment (Babaoye, 2000). This has been reﬂected in a dilution in higher education’s

commitments to Aﬁican Americans and other persons of color. The participation of

15

African American students in higher education ﬂuctuates from year to year.
Additionally, African American faculty and administrators have remained a minute
proportion of the tenured and senior staff in predominantly White colleges and
universities.

The historical development of education within the United States may be directly
responsible for the image (both positive and negative) that many persons of color have
about education. The image that individuals have may directly affect their attitudes and
their decisions to participate in the educational process. For example, if individuals
believe that the system is racist and that no amount of education will change their ability
to succeed in this country, they will be weary about continuing their education.

Barriers to Graduate or Professional School Entrance. The problem of access to
graduate and professional schools for students of color has received less attention in the
literature than has the problem of access to undergraduate institutions. Much of what has
been studied is similar to that found in the undergraduate literature. Many authors have
identiﬁed educational barriers as a major obstacle with which college graduates must
contend upon applying to graduate or professional school (Pruitt & Isaac, 1985).
Standardized test performance, grades and other formal and informal measures of
achievement are usually the ﬁrst variables considered by graduate institutions. Initially,
too high a proportion of students of color attend elementary and secondary schools that
fail to provide them with the adequate educational background necessary to enter any
undergraduate institution (Bayton, Roberts & Williams, 1970). Many of those who do
manage to utilize their skills and talents to successfully enter college subsequently fall

behind academically due to being under prepared.

16

Another major area of focus involves the issue of recruitment (Thomas, 1986). In
their study of graduate schools, Boxley and Wagner (2001) found, in general, that
recruiting procedures were sparse and uncoordinated. Also, in some instances, there are
discriminatory subtleties that exist within the recruitment policies and procedures of
many graduate institutions. Many qualiﬁed students of color are overlooked, because
recruitment strategies fail to target their institution (Boxley & Wagner, 2001). This is
particularly a problem for students attending HBCUs. The perceived educational quality
of these institutions is considered to be below par by some graduate schools, as a result
graduate schools chose not to target these institutions as recruitment sites. Also with
regards to recruitment, some graduate schools fail to provide students of color at PWIs
with useful information about the educational possibilities available to them. Another
crucial component, letters of recommendation, can hamper the student of color during the
admissions process. If the student attended a PWI they may not have had much
opportunity to form contacts with professors who could provide a quality
recommendation for the student.

Barriers to admittance could have an impact on how Aﬁican American students
shape their attitudes about graduate or professional school. Once these attitudes are
formed, they could directly impact students’ decisions to attend graduate or professional
school. If students feel that they cannot gain entrance into a graduate or professional
school they may not apply. Research studies indicate that African American students
have higher educational aspirations than other ethnic groups (Ponec, 1997). Yet these
aspirations do not translate into actual attendance. The reason for this might be that

African American students think they cannot succeed in the current educational system.

17

Although students desire to continue their education, they may feel that continued
education is not possible. Negative stereotypes of African Americans may become
internalized and affect how students perceive themselves and their academic ability.
Thus, negatively skewing their attitudes towards education.

Factors within the Microsystem

A microsystem is a pattern of activities, roles, and interpersonal relations
experienced by the developing person in a given face-to—face setting with particular
physical and material features (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The norms, values, and
assumptions of the larger culture, within the macrosystem level, affect the microsystem
level in a number of ways. For example, stereotypes of African Americans may
negatively affect students’ career development regarding how others view them and the
expectations they have for them. For the purpose of this study speciﬁc attention will be
placed on the institutional setting, family inﬂuences, peers’ attitudes toward education,
and faculty (mentoring) relationships and the role that each factor plays in African
American students educational success and development.

Institutional Setting. The historical development of educational processes for
African Americans within the United States and the current state of the higher
educational system directly affect the university in which students are housed.
Researchers would be remiss if they overlooked the detrimental roles that these
institutions play in students’ development. To further illustrate this point, the next
section will focus on institutional settings and climate. The role that the institutional

setting plays in affecting student development will be discussed.

18

Relevant to the success of African American college students is the environmental
hypothesis factor. “The increasing numbers of African American students matriculating
make it imperative that more be learned about institutional factors and conditions that
seem to foster their learning and personal development” (DeSousa & Kuh, 1996, p. 257).
Several researchers have documented the relevance of university environment to
students’ achievement (Bennett, 1984; Fleming, 1984; Nettles, 1991; Allen, 1992): type
of institution, racial diversity and institutional size are among these factors.

Studies examining institutional environment indicate that African American
students often feel isolated and alienated in predominantly White institutions (PWls) and
do not feel included in the college environment (Nettles, 1991; Allen, 1992;). As a result
of these feelings, African American students may experience difficulties matriculating
successfully. These ﬁndings suggest that African American students need support,
inclusion and acceptance in order to ﬁt in the mainstream college environment. African
American students can excel in an environment, which promotes inclusion and
acceptance, thus promoting an atmosphere of acceptance. For example, of the number of
African Americans who earned their doctorates, about 35 percent attended an HBCU at
the baccalaureate level (Nettles & Pema, 1997). Moreover, among the 5,284 Aﬁican
Americans who received their doctoral degrees between 1991 and 1995, twenty-one
percent, or 1,122, received their undergraduate degrees at 15 HBCUs. Additionally, a
study conducted by Freeman (1998) cited, African American students show stronger
intellectual conﬁdence and a greater feeling of success and satisfaction with academic life
compared to their counterparts attending PWIs. Studies also indicate that students who

attend HBCUs have better relationships with faculty and mentors (Harvey, 2002),

19

achieve higher academic marks than African American students at PWIs, and are more
likely to attend graduate school (Harvey, 2002).

Further, adding to the importance of institutional setting is a study conducted by
Fleming (1997). Fleming (1997) found that in White institutions, “from a theoretical
point of view, African American students experienced feelings of disconnectedness and
that a process of alienation could be observed” (p. 66). These students did not report that
they experienced academic and social integration or feelings of belonging. These
students were perplexed because they were admitted with good academic credentials and
did not expect to experience feelings of an outsider. These negative experiences thwarted
academic development because the environment was not inviting.

Researchers Bohr, Pascarella, Nora, and Terenzini (1995) summarized the
position on environment in relation to African American students at historically Black
institutions by suggesting that the supportive environment has made it possible to create a
social-psychological climate that not only fosters satisfaction, a sense of community, and
adjustment to college, but has also increased the likelihood of persistence and degree
completion. The ﬁndings further revealed that the supportive campus environment of
historically Black institutions did not come at the expense of intellectual rigor (p.82).
These authors also concluded that cognitive effects of college race composition were
general rather than conditional. This means that they were not signiﬁcantly inﬂuenced by
a student’s individual characteristics, such as gender, pre-college aptitude test, academic
motivation, age, and socio-economic origins.

Students of color are faced with many barriers in their quest of obtaining

academic success and social acceptance in their pursuit of attaining a college degree at

20

PWI’s. Problems associated with matriculation are inclusive of “blatant and subtle
barriers” related to discriminatory practices (Heath, 1992). Barriers to obtaining a
college education are inclusive of but not limited too: a) alienation, b) isolation, c)
racism, (1) discrimination and e) intimidation. In essence, college should represent a ‘rites
of passage’ for those who chose to attend. The college experience should offer to every
student continuing development of personal, social, maturational and collective
endeavors. However, for those students who feel they are not wanted, the college
environment can have a devastating impact on African American and other students of
color (Bohr et a1., 1995).

Given the ﬁndings of these studies, what are the consequences, then, when
Aﬁican American students face racism, isolation, alienation, and lack of emotional
support at PWIs? African American students who face these barriers at PWIs invest
more energy into social engagement, rather than academic activities according to
DeSousa and Kuh (1996). As a result, their academic achievement suffers and these
students are less likely to persist. Acts of discrimination and campus racism, no matter
how subtle, can cause enduring harm to the psyche, inclusive to evoking a decrease in
self-esteem, underdeveloped personal identities and retarded cognitive and affective
development, thereby shaking conﬁdence and leading to feelings associated with a sense
of isolation and alienation, depression, dissonance and even at times the discontinuance
of education (DeSousa & Kuh, 1996).

Based on the inclusive ﬁndings of many research studies it is concluded that

African Americans attending HBCUs have richer learning environments and experiences

21

than those at PWIs. Thus demonstrating the importance of understanding the ecology of
these institutions as it relates to the academic achievement of students.

Peer inﬂuence. Within the general social support literature, meaningful ties to
one’s peer group are thought to promote child competence, psychological well-being and
the ability to cope with life stress (Diclemente, 1993). Additionally, the impact of peer
inﬂuence on academic achievement is well documented, and has been associated with
adolescents’ motivation on subsequent academic achievement in numerous studies
(Bemdt & Keefe, 1995; Epstein, 1983; Kinderrnann, 1993; Steinberg, Dornbush &
Brown, 1992). It has been found that students who have many ﬁiends, strong
relationships with peers and open communication with their peer group enjoy high
degrees of academic success (Bemdt, Laychak & Park, 1992). Belonging can also
inﬂuence the value adolescents place on academic work. Students who believe their
friends view school success as important are more likely to have a positive attitude in
terms of their schoolwork and view education as being important (Bemdt, Laychak &
Park, 1992).

Despite ﬁndings that have linked peer inﬂuence to both positive and negative
outcomes across several domains (Brown, 1986; Clasen & Brown, 1985), researchers
have continued to examine solely the negative effect of peer inﬂuence. Limited attention
has been placed on the positive aspects of peer inﬂuence, speciﬁcally when investigating
African American adolescents (Taylor, 2000). For example, several researchers have
contended that African American students’ resistance to the ideal that education is a
viable resource for upward mobility contributes signiﬁcantly to the gap in academic

achievement (Fordham & Ogbu, 1986; Ogbu, 1991). Fordham and Ogbu (1986) found

22

that the African American students they studied equated doing well in school with
“acting White.” As a result of this hypothesize, Steinburg, Dombush and Brown (1992)
argue that African American students receive less support for achievement from their
peers of the same ethnic background, and do not fare as well in school as White students.

Researchers argue that this resistance to academic excellence manifests itself in
active discouragement of academic achievement, such that those who dare to do well
suffer socially as a consequence to their academic success (Ford, 1991; 1993). Ford
(1993) found that the high achieving (as measured by achievement tests) African
American students investigated, oﬁen underachieved to avoid teasing and ostracism by
their fellow classmates. Therefore, in order to gain acceptance from their classmates,
these over achieving students did not perform to their potential, and expressed less
interest in their schoolwork and school related activities.

Although this convincing research may begin to explain the reasons in which
some students do not do Well in school, this work fails to account for some of the
contextual factors within the school that may moderate or mediate oppositional attitudes
toward school (Taylor, 2000). For instance, the culture of the school, that is, the school’s
system or organization can prove to be either a motivating or discouraging force in
academic achievement (Eccles & Midgley, 1984), depending on whether or not it is a
culture of inclusiveness or separation. Moreover, the availability of peers who endorse
achievement-related behaviors may serve as a buffer from negative attitudes, and a
school culture that is not conducive to the motivation of their students (Taylor, 2000).

Fordham and Ogbu ( 1986) generalized the students’ attitudes and values in one

school to all Aﬁican American children. In so doing, they failed to acknowledge the

23

diversity in attitudes and values that exist among African American students. Therefore
assuming that all African American students are the same. Senior and Anderson (1993)
conducted a study which refuted the hypothesize proposed by Fordham and Ogbu (1986).
Senior and Anderson (1993) found that students in the urban, predominantly Aﬁican
American high schools they studied respected the “smart but popular” students the most,
which demonstrates that some African American students do respect academic success
and the students who do well in school.

The existing research on peer inﬂuence as it relates to the academic achievement
of African Americans has provided a reasonable, but incomplete picture of the role of the
peer group. Although, there is evidence to support both positive and negative
interactions among adolescents and their peers, in general, researchers have chosen to
focus on the negative aspects of peer interaction when investigating African Americans
(Taylor, 2000). Just as a link has been established between negative peer inﬂuence and
academic outcomes for African American students (Bemdt, Laychak, & Park, 1990;
Bemdt & Keefe, 1995), a similar link may be established between positive peer inﬂuence
and academic outcomes (Epstein, 1983). This connection has been made between
positive peer inﬂuence and academic outcomes for White students. When examining the
ways in which peers can impact the academic achievement of African American students,
“it is important to investigate the impact of positively oriented peer inﬂuences as related
to academic achievement” (Taylor, 2000). One way to think about this issue is to
examine the effects of peer support on adolescents’ academic outcomes when students’

peers exhibit positive attitudes about education.

24

Family factors. The research on the relationship between parenting practices and
family processes to student achievement is vast and has grown explosively in the past
few decades (Brookhart, 1998; Caldas & Bankston, 1997; Guay & Vallerand, 1997;
Peng & Lee, 1993; Reay & Ball, 1998; West, Noden, & Edge, 1998). It is widely
assumed that the family is of critical importance in fostering achievement motivation
and overall academic success from close and supportive families that provide strong
direction in terms of education (Peng & Lee, 1993). The relationship between family
variables and academic achievement has been recently studied from two different
perspectives: (a) the relationship between achievement and sociofamily factors (i.e.
parents’ expectations about children’s achievement and future work, educational habits,
economic and cultural characteristics, etc.) and (b) the relationship among achievement,
learning processes, and how the family is involved in these learning processes (i.e.,
speciﬁc ways in which parents’ behavior inﬂuences children’s self-regulation, learning
processes, and academic achievement) (Gonzalez-Pienda, Nunez, Gonzalez-Pumariega,
Alvarez, Roces, & Garcia, 2002).

Two kinds of research can be distinguished regarding parental involvement in
children’s education (Gonzalez- Pienda, et.al., 2002). First, some researchers strive to
demonstrate how parental behaviors affect children’s motivation, self-concept,
concentration, effort, attitude and other characteristics. These researchers presuppose
that parental variables will signiﬁcantly affect their children’s subsequent learning and
achievement, once the children become aware of how they use their cognitive processes

and strategies. Second, some researchers explore how parents become involved, either

25

favoring or hindering the learning process via their inﬂuence in self-regulation behaviors
(Gonzalez- Pienda, et.al., 2002).

Most studies pertaining to parental involvement relate to the role that parents play
at the secondary level. However, a study conducted by Baird (1973) indicates the
importance of this involvement to postsecondary education. Baird reported that
compared to other students college seniors who did not plan to continue to advanced
study were less often encouraged to go on by their parents. The students who planned to
attend graduate school reported considerably more encouragement, and students who
planned to study law or medicine reported even more encouragement.

In addition to what research indicates about the inﬂuences on all students, the
ways in which African American families impart values concerning higher education
differ from other ethnic groups (Ford, 1993). Historically, education has been a preferred
method of social improvement of the poor (Billingsley, 1968), too many of whom are
disproportionately African American. Believing in the old adage that “knowledge is
power”, African Americans have struggled for generations to provide educational
opportunities for their children. Enix (1988) reported that perhaps most of today’s
Aﬁican American professionals come from families where their parents’ educational
achievement were modest. Yet, African American parents generally expect their children
to take advantage of opportunities that they were denied and to surpass them in achieving
the comforts of life (Hines & Boyd-Franklin, 1982).

Additionally, in cases where members of the immediate family (mother or father)
are not in a position to inﬂuence the decision process, the role of the extended family in

inﬂuencing African American students’ choices to participant in higher education is

26

particularly noteworthy. In a study by Levine and Nidiffer (1996), the students who
participated listed “other family member” as the person most inﬂuential in their decision
0 participate in higher education.

Student and mentoring relationships. Whereas mentoring has long been
associated with the apprentice model of graduate education, it is increasingly looked to
today as a retention and enrichment strategy for undergraduate education (Rowe, 1989).
Growing literature attests to the importance of mentors in undergraduate education (e. g.
Hughes, 1988; Moses, 1989; Rowe, 1989). Satisfaction experienced by African American
college students in their academic environment is partly related to their experience with
their professors’ instructional techniques and faculty commitment to personal and
academic development (Astin, 1993).

Whereas, direct support for the hypothesis that mentoring promotes academic
success is largely missing, several related areas of study provide indirect support. A large
body of literature indicates that contact with faculty is linked to academic success.
Student and faculty relationships, in general, are conducive to motivating students toward
academic achievement based on satisfaction with the environment, quality of instruction,
personal contacts with instructors and commitment of the faculty (Astin, 1993).

Faculty-student interaction is important to Aﬁican American students for several
reasons. For some African American students, the maintenance of their interest levels
toward achievement does not just rely on the students themselves but also on the
professors who show interest in their academic development and personal excellence
(Fleming, 1997). Additionally, Wilson (2000) stated that emphasis should be placed on

the academic and social interaction between African American students and their

27

teachers; this is crucial for social learning within the school environment. Madhere
(1991) similarly stated that in order for a discernible improvement in the scholastic
achievement among African Americans to develop there must be a redirection of the
relationship between teachers and learners that ensures an interactive mode, thus
sustaining a positive self-concept. Although this may be the case for any college student,
it is relevant for explaining factors that inﬂuence the academic achievement of some
African American students. Sedlacek (1997) reviewed other studies in which faculty
accessibility and support was proven to be a powerful inﬂuence. This study discovered
that faculty contact outside of class was determined to be a signiﬁcant predictor of grade
point average (GPA) for African American students, especially for African American
undergraduates at predominantly White colleges. Sedlacek reviewed studies which stated
that the lack of a variety of viewpoints and perspectives relevant to Aﬁican American
students and the absence of powerful African American role models had direct effects on
the loneliness and isolation felt by this group, as well as their learning, development, and
identiﬁcation with the institution.

The relationship between mentoring and academic success raises additional
questions and concerns when the research focus is on the attendance of students of color
at predominantly White institutions. Because the leadership and faculty of these colleges
and universities are traditionally White and male, students of color may have less access
to informal networks and other sources of social support.

Summary
In summary, the researcher provided literature on the factors utilized by African

American students to regulate their motivation for academic achievement. The factors

28

examined related directly to the environment in which students participate. There are a
myriad of factors relating to the success of undergraduate students as well as the barriers
that exist for students of color in graduate or professional school. Speciﬁc attention was
given to the factors that the researcher believed would directly assist African American
students in their decision to attend graduate or professional school.
Research Questions

In this study factors related to applying for graduate or professional school for
African American students were examined. The ecological model was used broadly to
provide the rationale for the variables measured. This study was exploratory and
descriptive in scope and design. For the purpose of this study all questions and items
included in the study measurements focused on intentions to attend graduate or
professional school rather than actually completing a graduate or professional school
program.

The researcher wanted to understand the students’ decision to attend graduate or
professional school and how it is inﬂuenced by several factors as deﬁned by the
ecological model.

The primary questions guiding this research were:
1. What is the role that environment (institution type) plays in African American
students’ decision to apply to graduate or professional?
2. What is the role of major socialization agents-family, mentors, peers-in
contributing to Aﬁican American students’ decision to apply to graduate or

professional school.

29

Do African American students’ attitudes toward education affect their
decision to apply to graduate or professional school?

Do African American students’ perceptions of their academic ability affect
their decision to apply to graduate or professional school?

What is the role of all of these factors (socialization agents, attitude toward
education, and perceived academic ability) in the decision of African
American students to attend graduate or professional school?

How do African American students’ construe the decision to attend graduate

or professional school?

30

Chapter III
Methods

Few studies have focused exclusively on Aﬁican American students and
inﬂuential factors assisting in their decision to attend graduate or professional school. As
a result of the lack of empirical studies regarding this topic this research is still in the
infancy stage. To help begin to alleviate this gap in the research, a study using a mixed
method having both qualitative and quantitative analyses was designed; short interviews
were conducted with selected study participants. Anthropological methods have been
cited as well suited for investigating college students because these methods provide “an
insider’s perspective on what is happening in the group’s natural setting” (Stage, 1992,
p.17).

The quantitative and qualitative data were collected concurrently. The concurrent
transforrnative strategy was utilized to report the data. This approach is guided by the
researcher’s use of a speciﬁc theoretical perspective (Creswell, 2003); in the case of this
study the ecological framework. Using the concurrent transfonnative model data are
collected at the same time during one data collection phase. The integration of these
different data can occur in either the analysis or interpretation phase. With the current
study data integration occurred in the interpretation/discussion phase. Reporting data in
this method will aid in gaining perspective of an understudied research area. (Creswell,
2003)

Study Criteria
Quantitative Sample. Grade point average is a pertinent factor pertaining to

graduate or professional school attendance (Poock, 2000); therefore, only African

31

American students with a GPA. of 2.75 were included in the study sample. Using a
convenience sample of 128 students (N = 128) at two separate institutions of higher
learning, a hybrid method involving both qualitative and quantitative methodologies was
utilized to thoroughly explore the factors involved in African American students decision
to attend graduate or professional school.

Qualitative Sample. Interviews were conducted at two separate settings: an
HBCU and a PWI. Criteria for selection was based on whether or not the student had
applied to graduate or professional school, therefore, hypothesizing that they are actively
seeking enrollment in a graduate or professional school program in the near future. Six
students who were planning to attend graduate or professional school were selected (three
from each location), as well as six students who displayed no intentions on attending
graduate or professional school (are not planning on continuing their education).
Institutional Setting

The Historically Black College (HBC U). The HBCU used in this study was
founded in 1912 as a land grant institution. Total enrollment at this institution had
reached 9,100 students as of Fall 2004. The 2004 enrollment included 8,852
undergraduate students and 1,844 graduate students. The HBCU is a major,
comprehensive urban land-grant institution offering 43 bachelor’s degrees and 26
master’s degrees. Doctoral degrees are offered in six areas: biological sciences,
psychology, public administration, curriculum and instruction, administration and
supervision, and computer information systems engineering. Of the 8,852 undergraduate
students attending the sampled HBCU, 606 ﬁt the study criteria identiﬁed by the

researcher.

32

Table 3

Number of Students at the HBC U Fitting the Research Criteria

 

 

Students Number
Enrolled

Aﬁican American Enrollment 6928
African American Seniors 2720
African American Seniors with 275+ GPA 606

 

The Predominately White Institution (P WI). The PWI in this sample has been
advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research, and
outreach for 150 years. The PWI was founded in 1855 as the nation’s ﬁrst land grant
institution. Located in the Midwest, the university served as the prototype for 69 land
grant institutions to be established under the Morrill Act of 1862. THE PWI offers more
than 200 programs of study offered by 14 degree-granting colleges and an afﬁliated law
college. In fall 2004, the PWI had an enrollment of 44,836 total: 35,408 undergraduate
and 9,428 graduate and professional. Of the total enrollment at the PWI, 173 students ﬁt

the study criteria identiﬁed by the researcher.

Table 4

Number of Students at the PWI Fitting the Research Criteria

 

 

Students Number
Enrolled

Total African American Enrollment 3,332
African American Seniors 751
African American Seniors with 275+ GPA 330

 

33

Quantitative Recruitment

In order to obtain the required sample several recruitment strategies were
implemented. Recruitment at each university was tailored to meet the speciﬁc research
requirements established by the institution; as well as the different racial/ethnic make-up
of each university.

Recruitment at the Historically Black University. Subjects at the HBCU were
recruited through various channels; psychology research board, Honor’s Program, upper
level biology, and upper level psychology courses. In order to complete data collection
on this campus, the researcher spent a week on the university’s campus. Prior to arriving
in the city, IRB approval had been obtained from the university. Additionally, the
researcher had established contact with the Dean of Education, as well as, various
professors on campus to ensure that their classrooms could be used as a participant
recruitment site.

First, recruiting students from the psychology department research board. The
researcher submitted a description of the study to the psychology department. The
psychology department posted the study description as well as the time and location that
interested students could complete the survey. The study information was posted on the
research board located in the psychology department. The research board is the location
where all research studies are posted for interested students. The study description,
criteria for participation, and the time and location where the survey was to be
administered were provided. All study participants that participate via the research board
were eligible to receive extra credit for their participation.

Next, with regards to the Honor’s Program. The researcher placed a ﬂyer in the

Honor’s Program ofﬁce. The ﬂyer described the study and the date, time, and location

34

that interested participants could complete the survey. In addition, the researcher visited
Honor’s Colloquium classes. Interested subjects that the researcher contacted via the
classes had the opportunity to complete the survey aﬁer class, or they could complete the
survey at the designated date and time.

Finally, with regards to subjects recruited via upper level psychology and biology
courses. The researcher visited various classes and provided a brief description of the
study. Interested students could sign up to complete the survey at the designated date and

time or they could complete the survey after class.

Table 5

Number of Students Obtained by Research Strategy

 

Recruitment Strategy N
Psychology research board 0

University Honor’s Program 22
Classroom Presentations 54

 

Recruitment at the Predominantly White Institution. Due to the racial
composition of the university, the primary researcher used various student organizations
to capture the sample population. The primary researcher contacted the president of
various organizations on campus that service a large African American undergraduate
population. The university’s, Department of Student Life was utilized to generate a
student organization contact list (Table 6). The primary researcher sent an email to

various organization presidents describing the nature of the study and seeking permission

35

to attend a meeting (Appendix A). A total of eight student organizations were
contacted; four responded to the primary researchers email (a response rate of 50%).

Table 6

Predominantly White University ’s Campus Organizations Contacted

 

 

Student Organization Contact Made
Black Poets Society Yes
National Association of Black Accountants No
National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers Yes
National Society of Black Engineers Yes
Panhellinic Council No
Professional African American Network No
W.E.B. Dubois Society Yes
Women of Color Task Force No

 

In addition to contacting student organizations, the primary researcher used
the snowball effect to identify additional campus organizations. The primary
researcher contacted the Director of the McNair/SROP Program. The Director put the
primary researcher in contact with several campus organization advisors (table 7).
The primary researcher then sent an email to the organization’s advisor describing the
study and asking for permission to attend a meeting (See Appendix B). All advisors
contacted responded (100% response rate). A date and time was then provided for the

primary researcher to attend a meeting and make an oral presentation.

36

Table 7

Campus Organizations Contacted Using the Snowball Effect

 

 

Student Organization Contact Made
Charles Drew Society Yes
Black Student Alliance Yes
African American Mentoring Program Yes
Lane Scholars Yes

 

The ﬁnal recruitment strategy employed by the researcher was attending
graduation activities during the African American Celebratory Week. The primary
researcher was invited to attend graduation activities by the President of the National
Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers; who was also serving as the
chair of the Celebratory Week (table 8). The primary researcher used her discretion in
deciding which activities to attend.

Table 8

Activities During the Aﬁ'ican American Celebratory Week

 

 

Activity Attended
Maggie’s Sports Grill No

The Real World (What any graduate needs to know) Yes
Movie Night Yes
Kicking it at BW’s No

Pool Party No

37

In all the various recruitment strategies employed by the primary researcher
resulted in a sample size of 52 research participants (n = 52) (see table 9).
Table 9

Number of Participants Obtained by Each Recruitment Strategy

 

 

Recruitment Strategy N
Black Poets Society 0
National Organization of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers 7
National Society of Black Engineers 7
Professional African American Network 0
W.E.B. Dubois Society 6
Charles Drew Society 7
Black Student Alliance 8
African American Mentoring Program 2
Lane Scholars 0
McNair/SROP 4
The Real World (What any graduate needs to know) 7
Movie Night 4

 

Qualitative Recruitment

Qualitative study participants were recruited via their study survey. At the end of
the survey completed by students a page describing the qualitative portion of the study
was included (See Appendix C). Students were asked if they were interested in

participating; if they were interested they were to complete the information, tear the page

38

from the actual survey and hand it in separately to the primary researcher. All students
surveyed agreed to participate in the follow-up interview. Students for the follow-up
interview were randomly selected.
Demographic Characteristics of the Research Participants

Several demographic characteristics differentiate the present sample from other
research samples that have focused on African Americans and graduate or professional
school attendance. First, the present sample consisted of only African American seniors.
Prior studies have not been student classiﬁcation speciﬁc in their samples, and have
combined students with differing classiﬁcations as one sample (Taylor, 2000). Second,
the study focused solely on students with a competitive grade point average. Previous
studies have not utilized subject grade point average as a study criterion (Taylor, 2000).
The study consisted of two groups of participants; quantitative participants and

qualitative participants.

Quantitative Sample

Table 10 contains demographic information pertaining to the 128 students in this
study. Students in the study ranged in age from 21-41, with the mean age being 22 (SD =
2.65). Additionally, the majority of the sample was female, 70%. The majority of the
participants were single (96%). In regard to family, a large percentage of the participants
were from middle class families (45%). In addition, a large percentage of the

participants’ parents were married (39%).

39

Table 10

Demographic Information

 

 

Characteristics N %
Gender
Male 39 31
Female 89 69
Age
20 2 2
21 40 31
22 49 38
23 23 18
24 7 6
28 2 2
29 1 1
32 1 1
33 2 2
41 1 1
Current Marital Status
Never Married 123 96
Married 5 4
Major
Psychology 38 30
Industrial Technology 1 1
Education 3 2
Business 5 4
Rehabilitation/Allied Health 3 2
Biology/Chemistry/Math/Physics l 9 l 5
Other 59 46
Parent’s Marital Status
Never Married 30 23
Married 50 39
Divorced 41 32
Widowed 7 6

 

40

Table 10 (continued)

 

 

Characteristics N %
Father’s Education
Grade School or Less 4 3
Some High School 8 6
Completed High School 31 24
Some College 32 25
Completed College 22 17
Graduate or professional School 20 16
Don’t Know 11 9
Mother’s Education
Grade School or Less 2 2
Some High School 3 2
Completed High School 22 17
Some College 43 34
Completed College 31 24
Graduate or professional School 26 20
Don’t Know 1 1
Economic Situation of Family Growing Up
We Had Barely Enough to Get by 9 7
We Had Enough to Get by, But No More 38 30
We Were Solidly Middle-Class 57 45
We Had Plenty of “Extras” 18 14
We Had Plenty of “Luxuries” 6 5

 

41

Sample by Institution Type

The Historically Black University. There were a total of 103 students recruited
from this university. Of these 27 surveys were not utilized because they were either
incomplete or the student did not meet the study criteria. The total sample from this
university was 76 (n = 76). Students from this university ranged in age from 20-41, with
the mean age being 23 (SD = 3.31). Additionally, the majority of the sample was female
(11 = 57; 75%). The highest level of educational attainment achieved by the sample
population parents was some college; father (29%) and mother (43%). A large percentage
of the sample indicated that they were solidly middle class while growing up (47%). A
large percentage of the sample indicated their parent’s were married (40%); while the
majority of the sample indicated they were currently single (never married) (92%), with

no kids (85%).

42

Table 11

Demographic Information for Students at The HBC U

 

Characteristics N %
Gender
Male 19 25
Female 57 75
Age
20 2 2
21 20 26
22 31 41
23 10 13
24 6 8
28 2 3
29 1 1
32 l l
33 2 3
41 1 1
Current Marital Status
Never Married 70 93
Married 6 7
Major
Psychology 33 43
Industrial Technology 3 4
Education 1 1
Business 1 1
Rehabilitation/Allied Health 13 17
Biology/Chemistry/Math/Physics 24 32
Other 1 1
Parent’s Marital Status
Never Married 18 24
Married 30 40
Divorced 24 32
Widowed 4 4

 

43

Table 1 1 (continued)

 

 

Characteristics N %
Father’s Education
Grade School or Less 3 4
Some High School 4 65
Completed High School 19 25
Some College 22 23
Completed College 13 17
Graduate or professional School 7 9
Don’t Know 1 1
Mother’s Education
Grade School or Less 2 3
Some High School 1 1
Completed High School 13 17
Some College 33 43
Completed College 15 20
Graduate or professional School 11 15
Don’t Know 1 1
Economic Situation of Family Growing Up
We Had Barely Enough to Get by 4 5
We Had Enough to Get by, But No More 23 30
We Were Solidly Middle-Class 36 47
We Had Plenty of “Extras” 8 11
We Had Plenty of “Luxuries” 5 7
Don’t Know 0 0

 

44

The Predominantly White Institution. There were a total of 52 students recruited
from this university (N = 52). Students from this university ranged in age from 21-44,
with the mean age being 22 (SD = .85). Additionally, the majority of the sample was
female (n = 32; 62%). The highest level of educational attainment achieved by the
sample population parent’s was completion of graduate or professional school; father’s
(25%) and mother’s (29%). The largest percentage of the sample indicated that they were
solidly middle class while growing up (37%). A large percentage of the sample indicated
their parent’s were married (35%); while the majority of the sample indicated they were

currently single (never married) (98%), with no kids (94%).

45

Table 12

Demogryhic Information for Students at the PWI

 

Characteristics N %
Gender
Male 20 39
Female 32 61
Age
21 20 39
22 18 35
23 13 25
24 1 2
Current Marital Status
Never Married 52 100
Major
Psychology 38 30
Industrial Technology 1 1
Education 3 2
Business 5 4
Rehabilitation/Allied Health 3 2
Biology/Chemistry/Math/Physics 1 9 1 5
Other 59 46
Parent’s Marital Status
Never Married 12 23
Married 18 35
Divorced 17 32
Widowed 5 10
Father’s Education
Grade School or Less 1 2
Some High School 4 8
Completed High School 12 23
Some College 10 19
Completed College 9 17
Graduate or professional School 2 4
Don’t Know 1 2

 

46

Table 12 (continued)

 

 

Characteristics N %

Mother’s Education
Some High School 3 2
Completed High School 22 17
Some College 43 34
Completed College 31 24
Graduate or professional School 26 20
Don’t Know 1 1

Economic Situation of Family Growing Up
We Had Barely Enough to Get by 5 10
We Had Enough to Get by, But No More 15 29
We Were Solidly Middle-Class 19 37
We Had Plenty of “Extras” 8 15
We Had Plenty of “Luxuries” 3 6
Don’t Know 2 4

 

47

Qualitative Sample

A total of 12 interviews (N = 12) were conducted. The total sample contained
seven males (n = 7) and ﬁve females (11 = 5). Ages of participants ranged from 21-24 (M
= 23). For the total sample students’ majors were: psychology (11 = 3), education (n = 4),
political science (11 = 2), biology/chemistry (n = 2), and agriculture (n = 1).

Historically Black College Sample. A total of 6 interviews (11 = 6) were
conducted at the HBCU. This sample consisted of four males (n = 4) and two females
(11 = 2). Ages or participants ranged from 21-24 (M = 23). Within the sample students’
majors were: psychology (n =2), education (11 = 2), political science (n =1) and
agriculture (11 = 1).

Predominantly White Institution Sample. A total of 6 interviews (n = 6) were
conducted at the HBCU. This sample consisted of three males (11 = 3) and three females
(n = 3). Ages or participants ranged from 21-23 (M = 23). Within the sample students’
majors were: psychology (n =1), education (11 = 2), political science (n =1) and
biology/chemistry (n = 2).

Quantitative Measurements

Demographics. The survey contained twelve demographic items. These items
were used to obtain the makeup of study participants. Items such as gender, age, marital
status, family’s socio-economic status and major were assessed for each study participant
(See Appendix D for scale used).

Attitudes. Abstract and concrete attitudes about education were measured using a
scale developed by Mickelson (1990). According to Mickelson, concrete attitudes about

education reﬂect students’ assessment of the role schooling in their own material reality

48

in which education may or may not bring opportunity. Abstract attitudes assess how they
view education as a whole. The scale is a 5-point likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5
= strongly agree). For the original scale the alphas for each scale were: abstract scale or =
.67 and the concrete scale or = .71.

The psychometric properties for these two subscales were different regarding the
current study; speciﬁcally, regarding the concrete scale. The concrete scale had a or =

.39; the abstract scale had a or = .67.

49

Table 13

Psychometric Properties of the Abstract Attitudes Subscale

 

 

Scale Items Item Item Corrected Item -
Means SD Total Correlations
1. Education is a key to success in the 4.27 .99 .44
future.
2. If everyone in America gets a good 2.52 1.02 .32

education, we can end poverty.

3. Achievement and effort in school 4.06 .76 .53
lead to job success later on.

4. The way for poor people to become 3.30 .89 .26
middle class is for them to get a
good education.

5. School success is not necessarily 2.45 .98 .26
a clear path to better life. ®

6. Getting a good education is a 4.19 .68 .42
practical road to success for a
young Black man/woman like me.

7. Young Black women/men like me 4.11 .58 .37
have a chance of making it if we do
well in school.

8. Education really pays off in the 4.07 .68 .41
future for young Black men/women
like me.

N = 128 Alpha = .67 Scale Mean = 28.97 Scale SD = 3.68

 

50

Table 14

Psychometric Properties of the Concrete Attitudes Subscale

 

 

Scale Items Item Item Corrected Item -
Means SD Total Correlations
1. Based on their experiences, my 3.03 1.14 .07

parents say people like us are not
always paid or promoted according
to our education.

2. All I need to learn for my future is 1.96 1.1 1 .21
to read, write, and make change.

3. Although my parents tell me to get a 3.63 1.06 .17
good education in order to get a good
job, they face barriers to job success.

4. When our teachers give us homework, 2.23 1.03 .25
my friends never think of doing it.

5. Studying in school rarely pays off 1.94 .94 .33
later with good jobs.

N = 128 Alpha = .39 Scale Mean = 12.81 Scale SD = 2.87

 

Because of the low Cronbach Alpha of the concrete subscale, the items in this
subscale were dropped from any further analysis. When measuring students’ attitudes

towards education, only the abstract subscale was utilized. '

 

' These items were retained and correlated as singlets with the outcome variable. There were no
correlations between these ﬁve items and the outcome of planning to attend graduate or professional
school.

51

Family involvement. The Perceived Parental Behavior Inventory (Mboya, 1993)
was designed to measure three dimensions of students’ perceptions of the behaviors of
their parents. The measure examines factors within the family that provide support,
encouragement, and stimulation for the development of the desirable educational
outcomes. The multidimensional instrument has 23 items which reﬂect three dimensions,
(a) the respondents’ perceptions of parental support, interest and encouragement, (b) the
respondents’ perceptions of parental expectations, and (c) respondents’ perceived
participation by parents. For the purposes of this study only the dimensions of family
support and parental expectation will be included. The participation dimension was not
applicable to this population. The original dimensions had a coefficient or = .84 and .78
respectively. All the statements are worded positively using a 5-point scale in Likert
format, anchored by “I agree very much” and “I disagree very much”.

Of the 23 items included on the original scale, 12 of these items were used for this
study. The items within the family support and parental expectation subscale were

combined to obtain one total sum score.

52

Table 15

Psychometric Properties of the Family Involvement Scale

 

 

Scale Items Item Item Corrected Item -
Means SD Total Correlations

1. My family praises me for trying even if 4.39 .92 .62
I do not succeed.

2. My family supports me in the things I do. 4.64 .50 .77

3. My family cares about my education. 4.69 .59 .79

4. My family encourages me to use my ideas. 4.56 .73 .81

5. My family encourages me to try my own 4.59 .67 .75
ideas and be responsible for my actions.

6. My family makes me feel conﬁdent in 4.43 .84 .76
my schoolwork.

7. My family is concerned about my future. 4.66 .62 .54

8. My family is satisﬁed with my academic 4.48 .77 .58
achievement.

9. My family wants me to work hard at 4.64 .59 .84
school.

10. My family thinks that it is important 4.49 .77 .64
for me to continue my education.

11. When I graduate from undergraduate 4.33 .90 .56
school, my family would want me to
continue my education.

12. My family encourages me to do well in 4.67 .56 .80
school.

N = 128 Alpha = .92 Scale Mean = 54.58 Scale SD = 6.36

 

53

Peer Attitudes and Inﬂuence. The Peer Assessment scale (Purcell, Gable, and
Caillard, 1994) was used to measure behavioral characteristics associated with high
ability peers. The measure consists of 20 items on a 5-point Likert type scale, anchored
by “not at all” and “a lot”. The scale had a or = .87. Twelve of 20 items will be used in
this study. Items were dropped that were not applicable to the research questions.
Additionally, some items were altered for contextual purposes.

The items utilized in this study had a or = .88.

54

Table 16

Psychometric Properties of the Peer Attitudes and Influence Scale

 

 

Scale Items Item Item Corrected Item -
Means SD Total Correlations

1. Most of my close friends want to discuss 2.90 1.10 .43
topics in class that few students understand.

2. Most of my close ﬁiends carry more courses 2.91 1.12 .52
than other students.

3. Most of my close friends usually get good 3.55 .97 .68
grades, even when others do poorly.

4. Most of my close ﬁiends feel conﬁdent 4.00 .83 .59
they can achieve what they set out to do.

5. Most of my close ﬁiends seek out professors 3.42 1.06 .62
to talk with about ideas.

6. Most of my close ﬁiends are involved with 3.20 1.16 .49
many school activities.

7. Most of my close friends spend time and 3.68 .97 .66
effort on homework and assignments.

8. Most of my close friends are going to 3.64 1.04 .69
graduate or professional school after
graduation.

9. Most of my close friends think education 4.17 .85 .67
is important.

10. Most of my close friends participate in 3.37 1.11 .63

programs that will prepare them for
graduate or professional school.

11. Most of my close friends have discussed 4.12 .94 .62
their future educational plans with me.

12. Most of my close friends think that I 4.10 .93 .45
should continue my education.

N = 128 Alpha = .88 Scale Mean = 43.05 Scale SD = 8.01

 

55

Mentor Inﬂuence. Mentor inﬂuence and involvement will be measured using a
scale developed by Dreher and Ash (1990). The scale developed by Dreher and Ash
(1990) is a 19- item scale assessing both psychosocial (e. g., “conveyed feelings of respect
for you as an individual”) and instrumental (e. g. “helped you improve your writing
skills”) functions of a primary advisor. The scale was created to measure business school
graduates’ mentoring experiences. The original scale had a coefﬁcient or = .95. Fourteen
of the original items were retained; the ﬁve omitted items were irrelevant to
undergraduate students. The scale is rated on a 5-point Likert scale.

The items utilized in this study had a or = .95. Table 17 contains the psychometric

properties and internal consistencies of the Mentor Inﬂuence Scale.

56

Table 17

Psychometric Properties of the Mentor Influence Scale

 

 

Scale Items Item Item Corrected Item -
Means SD Total Correlations

1. Gone out of his/her way to promote your 3.72 1.20 .80
academic interests.

2. Conveyed feelings of respect for you as an 4.02 1.03 .94
individual.

3. Conveyed empathy for the concerns and 3.91 1.07 .79
feelings you have discussed with him/her.

4. Encouraged you to talk openly about anxiety 3.56 1.20 .76
and fears that detract from your work.

5. Shared personal experiences as an alternative 3.77 1.12 .80
perspective to your problems.

6. Shared history of his/her career with you. 3.84 1.09 .80

7. Encouraged you to prepare for graduate or 3.95 1.14 .75
professional school.

8. Served as a role model. 3.91 1.10 .78

9. Helped you ﬁnish assignments/tasks 3.42 1.25 .72
or meet deadlines that would have been
otherwise difﬁcult to complete.

10. Helped improve your writing skills. 3.37 1.24 .64

1 1. Helped you with a presentation. 3.41 1.23 .71

12. Given you challenging assignments that 3.71 1.20 .64
present opportunities to learn new skills.

13. Have provided guidance in making 3.80 1.04 .72
graduate or professional school plans.

14. Would be disappointed if you do not 3.13 1.25 .55
attend graduate or professional school.

15. Have assisted you in preparing your graduate 2.93 1.23 .52

57

or professional school application.

N = 128 Alpha = .95 Scale Mean = 54.45 Scale SD = 13.20

 

58

Perceived Academic Ability. The Pearlin Mastery Scale (Pearlin & Schooler,
1978), a widely used measure is employed to measure perceived academic ability. The
scale contains 7 items that assess the extent to which the individual feels conﬁdent in
their ability to control their life. In order to be applicable to this certain some content
changes were made, but the scale’s context remained the same. The scale is a 5-point
likert ranging ﬁ'om strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). The original scale had a

Cronbach’s alpha of .78.

 

 

Table 18

Psychometric Properties of the Perceived Academic Ability Scale

Scale Items Item Item Corrected Item -
Means SD Total Correlations

1. If I try hard, I will get into graduate or 4.42 .64 .57

professional school.

2. I think I can do the level of work required 4.48 .61 .60
of me in graduate or professional school.

3. I think I would be able to accept the failure 2.80 1.29 .47
of not getting into a graduate or professional

school program as long as I have tried my
best. ®

4. I will continue to try to get into graduate 3.95 .93 .49
or professional school year after year by
reapplying, retaking test, and making more
contacts with different schools.

5. I believe I will get into graduate or 4.42 .69 .70
professional school.

6. Having the same hard work effort I 4.16 .89 .41
displayed in undergraduate will help me
be successful in graduate or professional
school.

N = 128 Alpha = .67 Mean = 24.24 SD = 3.24

 

59

Behavior. Actual behavior was measured by using 5 items (e. g. “I have sent quite
a few applications to various graduate or professional schools programs”). The scale has
been adapted from a previous measure (Ingram, Cope, Harju, & Wuensch, 2000). The

scale is a S-point likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree).

 

 

Table 19
Psychometric Properties of the Actual Behavior Scale
Scale Items Item Item Corrected Item -
Means SD Total Correlations

1. I have sent quite a few applications 2.70 1.37 .70

/resumes to graduate or professional -

schools.

2. I have already been accepted into a 2.21 1.21 .76

graduate or professional school program.
3. I have completed the application process. 2.59 1.48 .83
4. I am currently waiting to hear from 2.27 1.33 .63

graduate or professional schools that I

applied.
5. I have already made my decision about 2.73 1.41 .43

what graduate or professional school I am
attending next year.

N = 128 Alpha = .85 Mean = 12.49 SD = 5.39

 

Qualitative Measures

Using a structured interview protocol, the researcher, facilitated discussions
among participants centering on factors that inﬂuenced their decision to attend (or not to
attend) graduate or professional school. The interview protocol was developed based on
the themes guiding the research questions in the study (See Appendix E). The individual
interviews lasted between 20-30 minutes. The interview protocol was the same for all

individuals interviewed. Changes were made only where syntax was inappropriate.

60

CHAPTER IV
Results
Examining the Proposed Research Questions

Broadly using the micro and macro systems of the ecological framework, this
study attempted to answer the following ﬁve research questions: 1) What is the role that
environment (institution type) plays on the decision to apply to graduate or professional
school by Aﬁican American students? 2) What is the role of major socialization agents-
farnily, mentors, peers-in contributing to African American students decision to apply to
graduate or professional school. 3) Do African American students’ attitudes towards
education affect their decision to apply to graduate or professional school? 4) Do African
American students’ perceptions of their academic ability affect their decision to apply to
graduate or professional school? 5) What is the role of all of these factors-socialization
agents, attitudes toward education, and academic ability- in the decision of African
American students to attend graduate or professional school? and 6) How do African
American students construe the decision to attend graduate or professional school? In
order to answer these questions, frequency distributions, several regression analyses
(logistic), and thematic coding of qualitative data was conducted. To check for normal
distribution of the data, frequencies, means, and standard deviations for all demographic
and survey data were performed.
Research Question 1

The ﬁrst research question examined the role that environment (institution type)
plays in Aﬁican American students decision to apply to graduate or professional school

by African American students. In order to examine this research question a frequency

61

distribution was conducted to determine the number of Aﬁican American students
attending the number students attending the HBCU versus the number of African
American students attending the PWI planning to attend graduate or professional school.
The frequency distribution indicated that the majority of the HBCU students
included in the sample had plans to attend graduate or professional school in the fall (n =
63; 83%); the same is true for the majority of the PWI students included in the sample (n
= 35; 67%). To determine if there was a difference in the role that institution type plays
on the decision to attend graduate or professional school an independent-sample t test
was conducted with students planning to attend graduate or professional school. The
results for students planning to attend graduate or professional school during the next
academic year were signiﬁcant t (126) = 2.06, p < .05, w2 = .02. Students from the HBCU
(M = .83, SD = .38) on average had greater plans of attending graduate or professional
school than those students attending the PWI (M = .67, SD = .47) (Table 20).
Table 20

Independent Sample T- Tests of A ttendance and Institutional Setting

 

 

Institution Yes No Mean
PWI 35 l 7 .67
HBCU 63 l 3 .83

 

Research Questions 2
The next research question examined what is the role of major socialization
agents-family, mentors, and peers-in contributing to the decision of African American

students to apply to graduate or professional school? To answer this question logistic

62

2 was conducted to determine if

regression analysis was conducted. Logistic regression
any of these socialization agents bear any weight in the decisions of African American
students to attend graduate or professional school, and if so, which was the most
signiﬁcant variable. The Backward: LR 3 model for logistic regression was utilized; using
this method the equation is built with all variables and then removes them one by one if
they do not contribute to the logistic regression. In all this regression included three
blocks. The ﬁrst block included mentor, friend, and family. The ﬁrst block indicated that
peer/friend inﬂuence (W = .83; OR = 1.34) and family involvement (W = 3.38; OR =
2.03) are more signiﬁcant in inﬂuencing African American students decision to attend
graduate or professional school. Block two indicated that family involvement (W = 3.36;
OR = 1.98) is more signiﬁcant than peer/friend inﬂuence in inﬂuencing African
American students’ decision to attend or professional school. The ﬁnal block (block 3)
indicated that when considered separately, family involvement (W = 3.72; OR = 2.05) is
the most signiﬁcant socialization agent in inﬂuencing Aﬁican American students
decision to attend graduate or professional school attendance (see Table 21). The ﬁnal

block (family variable) can predict students’ plans to attend graduate or professional

school 70% of the time (the cut value is .50).

2 . . . . . .
Before the logistic regressron was conducted correlation analysrs was conducted on all of the covarrates
used in the study. None of the variables were highly correlated; therefore, multicollinearity is not an issue.

63

Table 21

Summary of Logistic Regression Analysis for Socialization Agents [N = 128)

 

 

 

Variable Odds Ratio SE Wald Statistic
Step 1
Mentor .93 .25 .08
Friend 1.34 .32 .83
Family 2.03 .39 3.38
Step 2
Friend 1.32 .32 .76
Family 1.98 .37 3.36
Step 3
Family 2.05 .37 3.72*
Note: p < .05

Research Question 3

The next research question examined whether African American students’
attitudes toward education affect their decision to apply to graduate or professional
school? To answer this question a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was
conducted. The ANOVA was signiﬁcant, F (1, 126) = 4.27, p < .05, w’ = .02. A
signiﬁcant difference exists on how students planning to attend graduate or professional
school view education as compared to those students with no plans to attend graduate or
professional school.
Table 22

Summarizing the Results of A ttendance and Attitudes in an ANO VA Source Table

 

 

Source SS df MS F
Between Groups .668 1 .668 4.269
Within Groups 19.726 126 .157

Total 20.394 127

 

64

Research Question 4

The next research question examined whether African American students’
perceptions of their academic ability affect their decision to apply to graduate or
professional school. To answer this question a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)
was conducted. The ANOVA was signiﬁcant, F (1, 126) = 17.74, p < .05, wz = .10. A
signiﬁcant difference exists on how students planning to attend graduate or professional
school view their academic ability as compared to those students with no plans to attend
graduate or professional school (Table 23).
Table 23

Summarizing the Results of A ttendance and Academic ability in an ANO VA Source Table

 

 

Source SS df MS F
Between Groups 4.132 1 4.132 17.742
Within Groups 29.345 126 .233

Total 33.477 127

 

Research Question 5

The next research question examined what contribution all of these factors-
socialization agents, attitudes toward education, and academic ability- in the decision of
Aﬁican American students’ to attend graduate or professional school. To answer this
question a logistic regression analysis was conducted.

Logistic regression was conducted to determine which of these factors bear any
weight in the decisions of Aﬁican American students to attend graduate or professional
school, and if so, which are the most signiﬁcant variable. In all this regression included

ﬁve blocks. The ﬁrst block included attitudes about education, perceived academic

65

ability, mentor involvement, peer/friend inﬂuence and family involvement. Block one
indicated that peer/friend involvement was the most insigniﬁcant variable (W = .10; OR
= 1.13) therefore this variable was dropped. In block two, family involvement had the
lowest weight (W = .11; OR = 1.16); consequently, this variable was dropped. Block
three indicated that mentor involvement was the most insigniﬁcant variable (W = .17; OR
= .89). Block four indicated that attitudes toward education (W = .92; OR 1.74), was less
signiﬁcant than the student’s perceived academic ability (W = 11.11; OR = 5.64). The
ﬁnal block (block 5) indicated that the student’s perceived academic ability (W = 13.24;
OR= 6.21) is the most signiﬁcant factor inﬂuencing Aﬁican American students decision
to attend graduate or professional school attendance (see Table 24). The ﬁnal block

(perceived academic ability) can predict a student’s plans to attend graduate school 78%

 

 

of the time.
Table 24
Summary of Logistic Regression A nalysis- All Factors Included [N = 128)
Variable Odds Ratio SE Wald Statistic
Step 1
Attitude 1 .71 .60 .79
start8 5.3 .55 9.2
Mentor .85 .30 .27
Friend 1.13 .39 .10
Family 1.15 .45 .10
Step 2
Attitude 1 .79 .59 .99
Self 5.32 .55 9.35
Mentor .87 .30 .23
Family 1.16 .45 .11
Step 3
Attitude 1 .81 .58 1 .04
Self 5.64 .52 11.11

 

3 The variable labeled Self is the Perceived Academic Ability variable included in the study.

66

Mentor .89 .29 .17

 

Step 4

Attitude 1 .74 .57 .92

Self 5.45 .51 11.10
Step 5

Self 6.12 .50 1324*"
Note: p < .001

Research Question 6

The ﬁnal research question examined how African American students’ construe
the decision to attend graduate or professional school. This question was answered by
conducting structured interviews with research participants. The interview guide
included questions based on certain themes the primary researcher was interested in
exploring: family involvement with student’s education, peer attitude/inﬂuence about
education, mentor inﬂuence/involvement in student’s educational processes, and
perceived academic ability of the student. The explored themes were developed using the
ecology theory guiding the study. After the interviews were transcribed, the primary
researcher examined and coded the data using the preset themes/categories (socialization
agents, attitudes toward education, and perceived academic ability) (Glaser, 1992) (Table
25). In order to ensure accuracy of the coding, after the primary researcher coded the
data, a separate researcher (trained in qualitative research methods) coded the data
separately. The pertinent themes that emerged from the dataset were then discussed. In
addition, to exploring the data for pertinent themes, the data were examined for relevant

patterns across the dataset (Miles & Huberrnan, 1994).

67

Table 25

Codes Used to Categorize Data

Category Sub-Category

Family Involvement/Inﬂuence Family educated
Assisted with homework
Assisted with applications
Emphasis on education

Peer Attitude/Inﬂuence Education is important
Helped with schoolwork
Going to graduate or professional
school
+/- view of education
Friends supportive

Mentor Inﬂuence/Involvement Talked about continuing education
Application assistance
Letter of Reference

Perceived Academic Ability + view of graduate/professional
school
Graduate or professional school is
hard
Faith in ability

Attitude Towards Education +/- view of education
Love for education
Education as important/unimportant

 

Summarizing Themes in the Qualitative Data

Family Involvement. The theme of family involvement is made up of various
factors. Primarily this theme entails the emphasis that the family placed on education,
whether or not education was important in the home and if there was an expectation for
the student to excel academically. Also, this theme was concerned with assessing
whether the family had an inﬂuence (i.e. offered support, expressed the importance of a

graduate education) in the student’s decision to attend (or not to attend) graduate or

68

professional school and if this support impacted the student’s educational aspirations and
decisions.

Data indicated that emphasis on education in the household during the formative
years is important even if the student does not plan on continuing their education past
their undergraduate degree. Parents appeared determined to help their children succeed
academically. This desire was manifested in high expectations and a constant
engagement in various facets of the student’s education. This included an overarching
emphasis on the importance of education, a steady focus on high levels of performance,
engagement with teachers and school activities, and providing assistance with homework.
Two quotes the ﬁrst from a student with plans to attend graduate school for education in
the Fall and the second from a student with no plans to continue their education, illustrate
several of these themes:

One student planning to attend graduate school for education in the Fall stated:

“ ...I was actually brought up if I didn’t do what I needed to do in the classroom I

was not going to be able to plan in the field, 1 love sports so my parents used that

as a leverage to you know keep me doing good in school... ”

Another student with no immediate plans to continue their education also
expressed education as an important factor during their early childhood development.
This student stated:

“Like my mom, she really, really focused on good grades. And she made sure we

did our work; there was no such thing as not doing your work, not going to

school. When I was younger I always used to never miss school... ”

Even though both sets of students said education was important during the

formative years, those students with plans to continue past college stated that their

69

parents’/families emphasized the importance of a graduate education and would be
disappointed if they did not continue. One student with plans to attend law school stated:

“Both of parents emphasized that I should be getting good grades and go further

than college. They had/have high expectations for me and they say that, my father

told me he ’s smart and my mom is smart, so I should be smart. ”

The opposite is true for those students with no plans to continue their education.
The majority of students with no plans to continue their education indicated that their
family supported this decision and felt it was time they joined the workforce. For
example one student not continuing their education stated:

“My mom thought I should go to work right away, anyway. ”

The majority of students planning to continue their education stated their
parents’/family had an impact on their educational aspirations. These students credited
their parents’lfamily as being inﬂuential factors in instilling the desire to want to achieve.
A quote from a student with plans to attend graduate school in education illustrates this
point:

“The pressure my parents placed on me, well I wouldn ’t call it pressure, I was

exposed to education at an early age and it just helped me to set high goals for

myself It helped me to want more and to realize this is what you need to be able
to live certain lifestyles. ”

For those students planning to continue their education, family support towards
educational endeavors exists even if the family does not have a clear understanding of
exactly what those educational aspirations are. For those students in the sample going
into the research ﬁeld they indicated that at times, their family was a little confused about
what they were doing, but none the less they provided their support. These students

viewed their family as providing nurturance, support, guidance, and understanding. One

student with plans to attend graduate school for education stated:

70

“oh well lots of them probably don 't even know what I was going to graduate
school, or don ’t really know what graduate school is. It ’s basically like its not
law or medical school; those are heard of So I told them about it and discussed
what I want to do, so they are like “oh. that’s great

Peer Attitude/Inﬂuence. The theme of peer attitude/inﬂuence examined the role
that peers contribute in the educational aspirations of Aﬁican American students. This
theme examined if having peers with similar attitudes towards education and educational
aspirations was signiﬁcant when making the decision to attend graduate or professional
school.

Regarding educational attitudes, all students indicated their peers’ view education
as important, regardless of whether their friends have plans to continue their education.
One student with plans to attend graduate school for counseling psychology stated:

“A ll of my friends are here and are studying to graduate. It ’s not like anybody is

slacking. I might have studied a bit harder and I have plans to go a bit further

than somebody else, but that’s not say that they don 't care about their education
though. ”

Another student with no plans on continuing their education, had this to say about

their peers’ educational attitude:

“I ’d say they think education is very important. Everybody around me was intent
on getting their degree. To a certain aspect a lot of them were into it. ”

Even though the majority of the sample indicated their peers’ view education as
important, only those students continuing their education have peers who are also going
on to graduate or professional school.

According to those students with plans to continue their education, having peers
with similar educational aspirations serves as helpful motivation regarding schoolwork

and the application process. One student with plans to attend law school stated:

71

“Well it ’s a lot easier to study when you have people around you that are
studying. For instance, my‘bestﬁiend in addition to going to parities and hanging
out and doing other stuff that young people do, we go to the library together. And
I think the measure of how good your friends are in undergrad is if you all go to

the library together

Even though those students with plans to continue their education emphasized the
importance of having peers to offer motivational support regarding schoolwork, they
indicated that their peers did not have an impact regarding their educational aspirations.
One student with plans to go to graduate school for agriculture stated:

“Yourﬁiends don ’t matter if you have set in your mind that you ’re gonna do

something and you know that ’s what you are gonna do. You don’t need anyone to

tell you do it you are gonna do it yourself and I personally even if I didn ’t have
the friends that were there to push me and tell me you know what I ’m saying or
we all weren ’t close knit to know we were going on to graduate school I know
myself I know that I want better so in order to get better I would have to go
further with my education, so that’s what I proceeded to do. ”

Mentor Inﬂuence/Involvement. The theme mentor inﬂuence/involvement
examined whether having an active mentor involved in the students’ life assisted with the
students’ educational aspirations. It appears that having a mentor is important regarding
having someone to discuss plans with, after the decision to continue their education has
already been made. In essence, it appears that a mentor provides assistance, but is not an
inﬂuential factor. For example, the majority of students indicated that having someone to
discuss plans and write recommendations made the process easier. One student with

plans to attend law school stated:

“My mentors were very helpﬁtl. I had a lot of people I consulted in regards to my
law school application process. Specifically with my personal statement, because
I was having them read it. They also wrote my letters of recommendation. ”

Not all students planning to continue their education had mentors to discuss plans.

However, the comments by these students mirrored those of the students with mentors.

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Like their counterparts, these students indicated that having a mentor would have been
useful to discuss plans and assist with the application process. One student with plans to
attend graduate school in psychology stated:

“I would say I had some good teachers, but not a mentor. I would say it ’s really

hard to gain sort of a relationship with professors or faculty members because it ’s

such a large class and it 's really, that direct interaction is not there. It was kind

of hard when I was applying for grad school and I had to come up with letters of
recommendation. It would have been nice if I was asking someone I had worked
with a long time, rather than someone I just got a good grade from. So it ’s kind of
hard in that kind of relationship. ”

Perceived Academic Ability. This theme examined whether African American
students’ perception of their academic ability affected their decision to continue their
education. Those students with plans to continue their education demonstrated faith in
their ability to excel academically in graduate or professional school. These students felt
they have the work ethics and skills needed to matriculate successfully in their chosen
ﬁeld of study. For example one student with plans to attend graduate school in education

stated:

“I went thru life, and hard living I have learned discipline, and time management
and that is very essential in higher education. ”

Because of their strong work ethic, those students with plans to attend graduate or
professional school did not feel that race will play in role in the treatment they receive at
their perspective institutions. These students believe that the higher level of educational
specialization offered in graduate or professional school will offer them the opportunity
to be judged by their work and not by their race. These students feel that because they
have been accepted into the graduate or professional school of their choice, they have
already proven themselves as more than just another Black face. A quote from a student

with plans to go to graduate school for education illustrates this point:

73

“I know for myself and other Aﬁican Americans about aﬂirmative action, and not

being able to achieve or do as good as other students. But I believe in grad school

it will not be really important. It ’s not really a topic of discussion as far as things

come up. Your performance will speak for you. "

Even those students with no plans to continue their education feel that they have
the ability to do well in graduate or professional school. For example, when asked how
they thought they would do if they were going to continue their education, one student

with no plans to continue their education stated:

“I would push myself I would make sure I would do o.k I’m really not going to
fear anything. I can do anything I put my mind to. "

Emerging Patterns in the Qualitative Data

After the data had been grouped into the various themes, the data were examined
for emerging patterns. Initially, the primary researcher assumed that patterns in the data
would manifest based on the institution the student attended and the student’s gender.
However, no patterns emerged based on institutional setting or gender. The patterns that
emerged were based on whether or not the student had plans to continue their education.
All students interviewed indicated that they were pleased with the resources offered and
the education they received at their home institution. Additionally, students indicated
they felt like a part of the community at their institution. Even though patterns did not
emerge based on institutional setting, there were two main patterns that emerged from the
data: community obligation and educational attitudes. Each of these patterns will be
discussed in the following sections.

Community Obligation. The next pattern that emerged was the sense of
obligation to the Aﬁican American community expressed by those students going to

graduate or professional school. Those students with plans to attend graduate or

74

professional school expressed their desire to use their degree not only to better
themselves, but also to advance their community. One student with plans to attend

graduate school in agriculture stated:

“Okay you look at education and you look at Black people we are already set at a
low standard, so when it comes to educational value you know a lot of us just
meant to finish high school, so that is all we do, they ﬁnish high school. That ’s
good but I feel that by showing that I can do more than ﬁnish high school it ’3
showing the other race; you know what I am saying? That okay, well they can do
more than just ﬁnish high school or run fast or catch a ball or jump high you
know. It proves that we can do more than that. In a short time span we have come
a long way, but we still have a long way to go, but I feel by this generation doing
what we ’re doing now you know, umm, it sets the standard for the upcoming
generation to not just finish college but to ﬁnish college and to go on to finish
grad school obtain that Ph. D. So to me being an African American and my going
to grad school go hand in hand. ”

Attitudes Towards Education. All students represented (to a certain extent) view
education as an important vehicle for helping them reach their life goals. Even though all
students interviewed feel education is important, there were different attitudes towards
education and how school can help with future advancement. The students with plans to
attend graduate or professional school immediately expressed a love for education. One
student with plans to attend medical school stated:

“I have always loved school, like throughout so it never bothered me studying and
stuﬂ like that. "

Additionally, these students see education as a means to help them better their status in
life as well as their personal development. One student with plans to attend graduate
school stated:
“Initially I thought I wanted to go to medical school, but I had a revelation that
the best walk for me and my community, my community would be better served if I
went into education. With all the new things happening like the No Child Left
Behind initiative and affirmative action, and stuﬁ’ like that. I think, um, a big big

problem is that younger people are not being exposed to college and stuff like
that. If we want a better future outcome for our youth, than education is key. ”

75

On the other-hand, those students with no plans to attend graduate or professional
school indicated they are tired of school and in need of a break. One student stated:

“I have been in school forever honestly, I need a break, I know I ’m not ready to
go straight to grad school. ”

Additionally, students with no plans to attend graduate or professional school feel
education is important (indicated by their completed undergraduate school) but they
differ on how much education they feel is needed. For example, one student with no
plans to attend graduate or professional school stated:

“I view graduate school as overrated. I felt that if you have a strong work ethic

and other essential qualities about yourself that you don ’t necessarily need a

master’s degree to move yourself up in the corporate world, or in whatever field
you decide to go into. ”

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Chapter V
Discussion

Many researchers have done a disservice to African American students by failing
to investigate the inﬂuences that limit the negative consequences on academic
achievement (Foster, 1997; vein Rutter, 1979). Recent research has indicated that
determined students can succeed academically regardless of minority status, coming from
single-parent families, and low socioeconomic status (Huang & Waxman, 1996). Rather
than concentrate on deﬁcient models and Aﬁican Americans’ who are doomed to failure
in the United States’ educational system, the positive factors that lead to success such as
parental nurturing, mentoring relationships, strong peer relations, educational attitudes,
and perceived academic ability should be examined. To aid in this effort, this research
study examined the factors that inﬂuenced academically achieving Aﬁican American
students’ decisions to continue their education past the undergraduate degree. Aﬁican
American students who are excelling academically may provide the most valuable
insights toward improving the education of other Aﬁican American students who have
not fared so well in educational systems that have served them poorly.

This chapter summarizes the results of the study and discusses the ﬁndings as
they relate to the research questions. Since the study design used mixed methods, where
appropriate, the discussion of the research questions will integrate the ﬁndings from both
the quantitative and qualitative items. Next, the results of this study are explored in
relationship to prior research. This is followed by a discussion of the implications of the
ﬁndings for future professional practice and research. Limitations to the study are also

identiﬁed. Finally, the chapter concludes with a discussion of why increasing the

77

attendance of African American students in graduate and professional programs is
important.
Discussion of the Results

Broadly using the ecological theory, this study was guided by several research
questions. The ﬁrst question examined the role that environment (institution type) plays
on the decision to apply to graduate or professional school by African American students.
In order to answer this question both quantitative and qualitative methods were
employed. The results of the quantitative and qualitative analyses did not converge
completely. The frequency distribution indicated that the majority of HBCU students and
PWI students included in the sample had plans to attend graduate or professional school
in the fall. Additionally, students from the HBCU had on average greater plans of
attending graduate or professional school than those students attending the PWI. These
ﬁndings are in line with previous research indicating that Aﬁican American students
attending historically Black colleges are more likely to act on educational aspirations
(Allen, 1992; Heath, 1992). However, the qualitative data presented information
different than what was expected. When examining the qualitative data there were no
themes or patterns that across institutional settings. Students from both institutions
expressed being happy with the education received at their chosen institution. Overall,
students indicated they felt their institution had enough resources available for African
American students. In addition, students across institutional settings felt they were
included as an intricate part of the student body. For the students attending the PWI, they

did not feel that their race/culture excluded them. Additionally, none of the students

78

interviewed indicated that their institution had an impact on their decision to continue
their education.

These results counter what is typically reported regarding graduate education and
African American students. Typically, studies of African American students’
experiences at HBCUs and PWIs suggest that many have negative experiences at PWIs
and that they suffer lower achievement (Allen, 1992; Cole & Barber, 2003; Nettles,
1988; Treisman, 1992). In contrast, other studies suggest that African American students
who attend HBCUs experience higher intellectual gains and have a more favorable
psychosocial adjustment and a more positive self-image (Allen, 1992). Fleming (1982,
1984) and Allen (1992) found that Aﬁican American students attending HBCUs received
more academic and social support services than their peers attending PWIs. Allen (1987)
contrasted services and beneﬁts of HBCUs and PWIs, ﬁnding that Black students
attending HBCUs attain cultural connectedness, have a greater sense of well-being, and
were provided additional and more diverse academic and program options.

There are several implications based from these results. The data indicated that
there is a signiﬁcant difference in the number of students from the HBCU versus those
from the PWI with plans to continue their education, however, students do not perceive a
difference in the type of education and support they receive based on institution type.
Even though there is a signiﬁcant difference in graduate or professional school
attendance based on institutional setting (HBCU vs. PWI) the institutional setting itself
may not be why the difference in educational aspirations exists. The decision to attend
graduate or professional school may be inﬂuenced by other factors. Research ﬁndings

indicate that there is typically a different type of student that chooses to attend an HBCU

79

(Freeman & Thomas, 2002). Typically, students who attend HBCUs have a connection
with an individual who has attended an HBCU (family, teacher, or ﬁiend) and come from
educated families where education is strongly emphasized (Freeman & Thomas, 2002).
This suggests that students attending an HBCU may have a higher disposition for
continuing their education prior to starting undergraduate school.

As a result of these ﬁndings caution should be applied when assuming that PWIs
provide inferior environments for students’ educational achievement. Students attending
HBCUs, just like students attending PWIs have to be studied by the type of HBCU they
select (Allen, 1992). There are differences in the selectivity of the colleges and the
students attending different types of HBCUs (i.e. private and public) (Freeman, 1998).
Therefore, caution should be used in making general statements about the background
characteristics of all students attending different types of institutions; additional factors
should be examined before researchers draw conclusions based solely on institutional
setting.

The next research question examined the role of major socialization agents——
family, mentors, and peers—in contributing to the decision of African American students
to apply to graduate or professional school. In this instance, results of the qualitative and
quantitative analyses did agree. However, they presented somewhat unexpected ﬁndings.
Much of the research on African American families and achievement paints a picture of
under-achievement as a function of socio-demographic variables (Ford, 1993). A large
percentage of the students sampled were from middle class families, where a large
percentage of their parents had only completed some college. Based on previous

research, these demographic variables themselves would be enough to indicate that the

80

family involvement/inﬂuence factor would not be as signiﬁcant as other factors. For
example, the literature cites that parental social class is predictive of children’s outcomes
(Kohn, 1969) and home environments engendered by more educated and occupationally
skilled parents are more supportive and encouraging of their child (Mau, 1995; Parcel &
Menaghan, 1994). Additionally, studies have indicated that, past adolescence, peers are
the most inﬂuential source in African American students’ lives (Seyﬁied & Chung,
2002). According, to Ogbu (1988), the inﬂuential role of peers is the primary reason that
the majority of African American students underachieve. Ogbu (1988) contended that
African American students’ peers consider achieving as “acting White”; as a result,
students who could possibly be high achieving reject education. However, despite the
fact that a large percentage of the samples’ parents had only completed some college and
that studies indicate that peer inﬂuence is the most signiﬁcant beyond adolescence, the
results of the data indicated that family inﬂuence/involvement is the most signiﬁcant
socialization agent regarding African American students’ decision to attend graduate or
professional school.

The results of this study indicated that for those students planning to continue
their education peer support and mentor involvement are important for discussing future
plans, but that family is the socialization agent responsible for the students’ desire to
want to achieve and continue with their education. Additionally, the students in the study
with plans to continue their education indicated that education past the undergraduate
degree was emphasized within the home, whereas those students with no plans of
continuing their education indicated that the importance of a college education was

emphasized within the home, but education beyond college was not emphasized.

81

As these ﬁndings suggest, African American students are deﬁnitely achievement
oriented and at the center of the Aﬁican American student’s quest for educational
advancement is the Aﬁican American family. Generally, African American parents
strive to teach their children to compete with dominant cultures and to help them ﬁnd
ways to advance themselves in the face of difficult barriers (Freeman, 1999). The strong
emphasis that has been placed on the role of SES, educational level, income, family
composition, and other demographic variables in the achievement of African American
students must now be placed in combination with family achievement orientation,
thereby giving greater emphasis to the latter variable (Freeman & Thomas, 2002). Based
on these results, it appears in understanding African American students educational
participation, one would need to understand the ways in which their families impart
values concerning continued education past college.

The next research question examined whether African American students’ attitude
toward education affects their decision to apply to graduate or professional school. There
was a signiﬁcant difference in the way students planning to attend graduate or
professional school viewed education. Those students with plans to attend graduate or
professional school viewed continued schooling as a vehicle for success and upward
mobility. These students displayed a positive attitude and overall love towards the
educational process. On the other hand, those students not planning to continue their
education indicated they are tired of school and in need of a break. Additionally, students
not planning to continue their education were skeptical as to how important they feel a
graduate education is. These students indicated that a college education was ﬁne, but

anything beyond, was typically unnecessary (they could receive any additional training

82

from their jobs). These ﬁndings are consistent with previous research (Mickelson, 1990;
Heath, 1992; Poock, 2000). If students do not recognize the importance of education in
their life, they are less likely to work towards achieving higher educational goals
(Mickelson, 1990).

Next, this study examined whether Aﬁican American students perception of their
academic ability was related to their decision to apply to graduate or professional school.
There was a signiﬁcant difference in how those students planning to attend graduate or
professional school perceives their academic ability. For those students planning to
continue their education, they felt they had the study skills, motivation and desire
necessary to be successful in graduate or professional school. On the other hand, those
students with no plans to continue their education felt they would do well, but they
indicated they sometimes procrastinated or lacked the focus or motivation needed to
complete tasks. Lack of motivation and focus was further emphasized in these students’
future plans. None of the students not continuing their education had plans beyond
graduation; they had not even begun job searching.

These results are in line with previous research (Blash & Unger, 1995; Ellison,
1993; Mizell, 1999; Pearlin, Lieberman, & Menaghan, 1981) that indicated that a
students’ sense of control over their education (self efﬁcacy) has positive implications for
educational attainment. There is a robust link between the amounts of education a
student desires and the amount of education actually attained (Hanson, 1994). High
educational attainment, in turn, provides entree to opportunity and a greater sense of
control over one’s environment (Broman, 1995).

The next research question examined what contribution all of these factors—

83

socialization agents, attitudes toward education, and perceived academic ability— play in
African Americans students’ decision to attend graduate or professional school. The
results of the quantitative and qualitative data converged. The results indicated that when
taken together the most signiﬁcant predictor of a students’ decision to continue their
education is the students’ perceived academic ability. These results are in line with
previous work in this area indicating that perceived academic ability is related to
academic expectations, performance and aspirations (Jackson, 2002). High academic
ability beliefs help to determine a person’s choice of behaviors, activities, effort, quality
of performance and persistence when confronted with obstacles (Lent, Brown, Gore,
1997). In this regard, it is practical that a student, who has a high degree of belief in their
academic ability, would also strive to continue their education by entering graduate or
professional school.

The ﬁnal research question examined how African American students construed
the decision to attend graduate or professional school. Only qualitative analyses were
used to answer this question. Students’ with plans to continue their education indicated
their commitment to themselves (faith in their academic ability) was the primary
motivational force behind their achievement. Additionally, these students indicated that
their commitment to their community (African American community) was a motivational
factor. These students indicated that their families were responsible for laying the initial
foundation of valuing education. Students indicated that they used this foundation to
shape their educational goals. Additionally, these students indicated that while they were
growing up, the importance of education beyond college was emphasized within the

home.

84

An unexpected theme which emerged was the fact that students with plans to
continue their education did not perceive race to be an impeding factor (regardless of
institutional setting). This fact could possibly correlate directly with the students’ high
perception of their academic ability. High efﬁcacious students view the educational
experience more as a challenge than a threat (Chemers, Hu, & Garcia, 2001). Higher
levels of efﬁcacy help students deal with stressful situations, which help them adjust to
educational challenges. Fordham (1996) describes the high-achieving students as tending
to “minimize the impact of race and gender-related obstacles” (p. 329). Additionally,
Fordham stated, “high-achieving students. . .believe that if they are able to demonstrate
that African American students can perform in ways that are comparable to those of their
White counterparts, they will. . .obtain the same opportunities and rewards as their White
cohorts” (p. 328). According to Fordham (1996) the high-achieving African American
student seems to believe that the United States is a meritocracy and that they will not let
themselves be constrained by society. Additionally, Fordham states, that high-achieving
students have begun to think of themselves as future members of the elite and have the
conviction that they may become members of the successful middle class in the future.
As indicated by students faith in their academic ability, perhaps a reason why some
African American college attendees have high aspirations is because of this sense of
optimism about the future and a strong belief that society and the educational system will
reward them for their hard work, thus in turn not only will they beneﬁt but their

community will beneﬁt as well.

85

_ Implications for future practice and research

To date their have been few studies examining the educational processes of
Aﬁican American students past college (Birkett & Kiel, 1995; Gray, 1978). To help
compensate for this gap in the literature, broadly using the ecological framework, an
exploratory study examining a myriad of factors was conducted. The current study sought
not only to identify inﬂuential factors, but also to understand how students make their
educational decisions. Based on the results of this study the perceived academic ability
of the student is the primary reason students’ seek to continue their education past an
undergraduate education. Additionally, the results of this study indicate that the micro
system most responsible for these students’ perceived academic ability is the family;
students continuing their education, indicate that their family is responsible for instilling
in them the importance of continuing their education past college. Based on these facts it
is assumed that the decision to attend graduate or professional school is decided before
the student enters college. Students enter the university with rather well deﬁned self-
perceptions of their academic preparation, personal and social needs and career
aspirations. These perceptions represent the total experiences the student has had, both
positive and negative, and are the basis for the students’ future experiences both positive
and negative (Rowser, 1997).

Once in college these high achieving students seek training programs, mentors,
peers class-work, etc., to assist in making their dream a reality. Interactions with faculty
and staff on campus help students maneuver through the institutional bureaucracy and aid
students’ goal development. Designing programs and interactions with faculty so that

African American students have access to information about their educational options is

86

important for students when planning or considering a graduate education. Particular
kinds of programs that would serve this purpose are undergraduate research training
programs where students are able to receive academic credit and research experience
working with faculty members. Students who work closely with faculty are in better
positions to receive advice from faculty members for pursuing advanced degrees. Also,
the organization/development of structured peer study groups can assist students
academically by pairing them with students who have similar goals and interests. The
federal government provides funding for many such programs geared at providing
students of color training for graduate and professional school (i.e. MARC and
McNair/SROP). However, recent federal budget cuts have started to decrease the
presence of many of these programs on university and college campuses nationwide.
Based on the results of this study, it is indicated that these programs are needed to
provide resources such as mentors and research training for those students with high
educational aspirations. The rigorous research training and mentoring offered by these
programs can serve as a resource for students planning to continue their education,
thereby helping them work towards achieving their educational goals.

Additionally, the results of this study indicated that new types of graduate study
preparation programs should be implemented. These programs should be geared towards
students during pre-college years. This programming implication is based on two ﬁndings
within this study. As stated earlier, the decision to seek a graduate education may be
determined prior to entering college. As a result, once in college many students may
develop a desire to seek a graduate education, but they may lack an understanding of how

to make this desire a reality. If students receive information about graduate studies prior

87

to college they may be more equipped to make decisions regarding their future.
Additionally, it is indicated that the family unit is the most important micro-system
(socialization agent) regarding students’ educational attainment. For example, those
students planning to continue their education past college, indicated that their was a
strong push by their family to do so, on the other-hand for those students with no plans to
continue past undergraduate, indicated that there was no pressure by family members for
them to continue. Unfortunately, within many African American families, there are few
if any family members who have sought education post-college; therefore, in some
instances family members may not readily understand what a graduate or professional
school education entails. Based on these realities, federal funding should be geared
towards establishing programs that will educate pre-college students and their families
regarding the importance of a graduate or professional school education, thus in turn
families can inﬂuence students’ to continue their education past undergraduate school. If
Aﬁican American families understand that a graduate education is becoming a necessity
for upward mobility they may inﬂuence their children to strive towards this goal.
Limitations and future studies

Few studies have examined the factors, which inﬂuence Aﬁican American
students’ decision to attend graduate or professional school. As a result this study was
exploratory in both scope and design. Based on the exploratory design of the study there
are several limitations that future studies can build upon.

There are many studies regarding the high aspirations of African American
students, yet there are no studies that examine how to turn these aspirations into reality

(Allen, 1992; Deskins, 1994; Heath, 1992). Additionally, no studies have examined if

88

these aspirations are ever attained. Within the current study there were a large number of
students indicating they had plans to continue their education, however, no evidence is
provided regarding if these plans came to fruition. A future study should collect follow-
up information from students examining the actual behavior of entering and completing a
graduate or professional school education. This data could be used to analyze the similar
characteristics of those students who turn their aspirations into reality.

Another limitation is the study population. All the student data collected at the
PWI came from student organizations developed to service the African American student
body. Therefore, all the study data from the PWI came from students who were involved
within the student population. This factor could inﬂuence why students from the PWI felt
included and involved at their institution. A future study should involve a more diverse
sample at the PWI. The sample should reach students, in the dorm, classrooms etc. in
order to obtain a sample of students who may not be actively involved in student
organizations, thus providing a more representative sample.

Even though the current study utilized institutions that were alike in many
instances; public institution, majority of the students were in-state, and the schools had
similar ACT scores for student admission, the institution size and geographical location
of the schools can not be ignored. The current study used a convenience sample of
institutions, and sample sizes were uneven- with the sample of African American
students from the HBCU being larger than the student sample from the PWI. A future
study could use separate institutions that are similar in study body, but also on

demographic makeup and geographical location.

89

Additionally, new studies need to be done examining institutional setting, the
current study indicates that differences may not be as signiﬁcant as previous research has
entailed. Previous research indicates that the institutional settings (environment) are
signiﬁcant contributors to educational attainment, self esteem, aspirations, and identity
for Aﬁican American students (Allen, 1992; Astin, 1977; Astin & Cross, 1981;
Pascerella & Terenzini, 1991). These studies were typically conducted prior to the year
2000. Based on the ﬁndings of this study, environment is important, but not the way that
it has been measured. Institutional setting is less signiﬁcant than initially anticipated and
family support (environment) is more instrumental for college students than expected.
Today 80% of Aﬁican American students enrolled in a college or university attend a
PWI. New studies need to be conducted examining the new melting pot that exists on
today’s colleges and universities (Freeman, 1998). These studies should also take into
account the family environment, not solely regarding SES and educational levels of
parents, but these studies should take a more holistic approach and seek to understand the
support and educational advice that African Americans of all income brackets give to
their children.

Another limitation within the study is that family socioeconomic status is self-
reported by the students based on their recall of their childhood. There is no information
provided to prove the socioeconomic class of students. A future study should include
parents and students so that this data may be more accurately reﬂected.

The ﬁnal limitation of this study involves the indicator of family
involvement/inﬂuence. This study does not provide information about what family

member (family members) the student is referring to when they discuss the role their

90

family has had in their decision to continue their education. Literature reports to the
signiﬁcant role that mothers play in their children’s academic success. A future study
should have the student identify what family member (family members) they are referring
to when they talk about family support. This will allow researchers to determine if there
are different levels of support and inﬂuence based on family members.
Conclusion

There have been numerous studies regarding the educational processes of African
American students in college. Most of this research has provided a deﬁcit model
regarding the outcomes of African Americans. For example, many traditional models
(Blau & Duncan, 1967; Bluestone, 1970; Moynihan, 1965) explain “negative adult
outcomes for African Americans as vestiges of chronic poverty and economic deprivation
in childhood and adolescence” (Mizell, 1999). However, emphasis on a single factor
may lead to erroneous conclusions by excluding other avenues of explanation (Mizell,
1999). To this end, the current research incorporated multiple variables to explore the
factors associated with the decision to seek a graduate or professional school education
for African American students. Unlike previous studies (Birkett & Kiel, 1995; Gray,
1978), which have examined the factors related to graduate or professional attendance,
the current study sought not only to identify signiﬁcant factors, but also to understand the
process by which educational decisions are made. Based on the results of this study, the
student’s own educational (perceived academic ability) and occupational desires are the
most signiﬁcant factor regarding their desire to continue their education past
undergraduate school. Students’ faith in their ability does not appear to be hampered by

the larger environment (macrosystem). Given that this study was conducted at the

91

individual level and only sampled from two settings, caution must be exercised in
generalizing this ﬁnding. Additionally, the family agent is regarded as the most
inﬂuential socialization agent (microsystem) in assisting students with their educational
decisions. The results of this study suggested that the decision to attend graduate or
professional school is made prior to entering undergraduate school. Once in college,
students with plans to continue their education seek out opportunities, resources, and
individuals (i.e. mentors, peers) to assist them in achieving their goals.

The primary reason why closing the educational gap is particularly important is
because educators and economists are in agreement on the importance of increasing
African American participation in graduate education (Freeman, 1999). Considering that
approximately one-third of the students in the United States are people of color and since
speciﬁc populations in society (particularly people of color) tend to earn fewer advanced
degrees, they are continually ﬁnancially disadvantaged (Freeman, 1999). More
speciﬁcally, Sims (1995) discusses the direct relationship between African American
participation in education and African American participation in the economy. By
studying higher education from the perspectives of African Americans, along with their
own insights gained from personal values and experiences, decision makers will have a
better chance of developing policies and programs that will lead to the success of both

graduate education and African Americans in society.

92

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101

Appendix A

Email Sent to Campus Organizations

(Insert President of the Organization’s Name Here):

Currently, I am working towards ﬁnishing my doctorate degree in the area of Community
Psychology. I am emailing you to request the assistance of the (Insert Organization
Name) as I work towards ﬁnishing my research. I am conducting a study examining the
factors inﬂuencing African American students decision to attend graduate or professional
school. To conduct this study I am searching for Aﬁican American seniors to complete a
brief survey. I am emailing you to see if your organization can assist me in this effort. If
possible, can I attend one of your meetings to announce my study and recruit research
participants? Additionally, do you know of any other organizations on campus that
service the African American community? Thank you in advance for your assistance. I
look forward to speaking with you soon.

Thank you,

Aisha Smith, M.A.
Doctoral Candidate
Ecological-Community Psychology

102

Appendix B
Email Sent to Organization Advisors
(Advisor Name Inserted Here):

My name is Aisha Smith. Currently, I am completing my doctoral degree in Ecological-
Community Psychology. For my dissertation I am examining the factors that inﬂuence
African American students decision to attend graduate or professional school. Recently, I
defended my proposal and now I am recruiting research subjects. I am looking for
African American seniors with a GPA. of 2.75 or higher. Considering that you work
speciﬁcally with underrepresented students, I thought you might be able to assist me in
my research efforts. Any assistance you can provide would be beneﬁcial. Thank you in
advance for your assistance. I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Sincerely,

Aisha Smith, M.A.
Doctoral Candidate
Ecological-Community Psychology

103

Appendix C

Qualitative Recruitment Form

Finally, we would like to know if we could have permission to possibly contact you at a
later date to participate in a short interview. The interview would further investigate the
factors related to graduate or professional school attendance for African American
students.

The interview is estimated to take 45 minutes. If we could contact you later please
provide your name and contact information. By providing your information it is not
absolute that you will be contacted. Interview subjects will be randomly selected from all
students who provide permission to contact them.

If you are not interested in being interviewed, simply hand your survey in to the
investigator.

By providing your information you are giving us permission to contact you at a later date.

 

Print Name

 

Phone Number

 

Email Address

Do you plan on attending graduate or professional school during the next academic
school year?

Yes No

Please tear this form from your survey and hand it in separately to the investigator.

Thank you for your participation!

104

Appendix D

Final Scale Used

 

 

Demographic
1. _What is your present age?
2. _Gender
3. __ Cumulative G.P.A.
__ Major G.P.A.
4. What is your mother’s occupation?
5. What is your father’s occupation?
6. myﬁmom) and/or dad have a graduate or professional degree (master’s, doctorate,
, etc.

A. Mom only - yes B. Dad only — yes C. Mom and Dad — yes D. Neither

7. What is your parent’s marital status?
A. Never Married
B. Married
C. Divorced
D. Widowed

8. What is your current marital status?
A. Never Married
B. Married
C. Divorced
D. Widowed

9. Major:

Psychology

Industrial Technology

Education

Business

Rehabilitation Studies or Allied Health Sciences
Social Work

Nursing

Biology/Chemistry/Math/Physics

Other

TFQF’F’POF’?

 

105

10. Within the next year do you plan on attending?
A. Graduate School
a. Master’s Program
b. Joint M.A.lPhD. Program
c. Other
B. Professional School
a. Medical School
b. Law School
c. Pharmacy School
d. Other
C. Neither

 

 

11. Do you have any kids?
A. Yes
B. No

106

Appendix D (Continued)

You have been asked to participant in a study to examine the attitudes, perceptions, and
inﬂuences of Aﬁican American’s and graduate/professional school attendance.

First we would like to know how YOU view education and your attitude towards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

education.
Strongly Disagree Don’t Know Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree
1 2 3 4 5

1. Based on their experiences, my parents say people like 1 3 4 5
us are not always paid or promoted according to our
education.

2. All I need to learn for my future is to read, write, and 1 3 4 5
make change.

3. Although my parents tell me to get a good education in 1 3 4 5
order to get a good job, they face barriers to job success.

4. When our professors give us homework, my friends 1 3 4 5
never think of dong it.

5. Studying in school rarely pays off later with good jobs 1 3 4 5

6. Education is the key to success in the future. 1 3 4 5

7. If everyone in America gets a good education, we can 1 3 4 5
end poverty.

8. Achievement and effort in school lead to job success 1 3 4 5
later on.

9. The way for poor people to become middle class is for 1 3 4 5
them to get a good education.
10. School success is not necessarily a clear path to a better 1 3 4 5
life.
11. Getting a good education is a practical road to success 1 3 4 5
for a young Aﬁican American man/woman like me.
12. Young African American men/women like me have a 1 3 4 5
chance of making it if we do well in school.
13. Education really pays off in the future for young 1 3 4 5
Aﬁican American men/women like me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

107

 

 

Appendix D (Continued)

Next we would like to ask questions about how you view your educational abilities.

Speciﬁcally, how well you think you can do in academia.

 

Strongly Disagree Don’t Know
Disagree
1 2 3

 

 

 

Agree

4

 

Strongly Agree

5

 

 

1. If] try hard, I will get into graduate or professional
school.

3 4 5

 

2. I think I can do the level of work required of me in
graduate or professional school.

 

3. I think I would be able to accept the, failure of not getting
into a graduate or professional school program as long as l
have tried meest.

 

4. I will continue to try to get into graduate or professional
school year after year by reapplying, retaking test, and
making more contacts with different schools and different
professors.

 

5. I believe I will get into graduate or professional school.

N

 

 

6. Having the same hard work effort I displayed in
undergraduate school will help me be successful in graduate
omrofessional school.

 

 

 

##-

 

 

 

108

 

Appendix D (Continued)

In the following section, we would like to know if you had a mentor/faculty
member/professor that actively helped you with the decision to attend (or not attend)

graduate or professional school.

Considering the mentor/faculty member/professor most inﬂuential in your educational

decisions please answer the following questions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strongly Disagree Don’t Know Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree
1 2 3 4 5

1. Gone out of his/her way to promote your academic 1 2 3 4 5
interests.

2. Conveyed feelings of respect for you as an individual. 1 2 3 4 5

3. Conveyed empathy for the concerns and feelings you 1 2 3 4 5
have discussed with him/her.

4. Encouraged you to talk openly about anxiety and fears I 2 3 4 5
that detract from your work.

5. Shared personal experiences as an alternative 1 2 3 4 5
perspective to your problems.

6. Shared history of his/her career with you. 1 2 3 4 5

7. Encouraged you to prepare for graduate or professional 1 2 3 4 5
school.

8. Served as a role model. 1 2 3 4 5

9. Helped you ﬁnish assignments/tasks or meet deadlines l 2 3 4 5
that would have been otherwise difﬁcult to complete.
10. Helped you improve your writing skills. 1 2 3 4 5
11. Helped you with a presentation (either within your 1 2 3 4 5
department, or at a conference).
12. Given you challenging assignments that present 1 2 3 4 5
opportunities to learn new skills.
13. Have provided guidance in making graduate or 1 2 3 4 5
professional school plans.
14. Would be disappointed if you do not attend graduate or 1 2 3 4 5
professional school.
15. Have assisted you in preparing your graduate or 1 2 3 4 5
professional school application.

 

 

 

 

 

 

109

 

 

Appendix D (Continued)

In the following section we would like to ask you a few questions regarding your close
friends. Thinking about whom you consider your close friends, how do you think they

view education?

Please answer the following questions in regards to your CLOSE FRIENDS:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strongly Disagree Don’t Know Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree
1 2 3 4 S

1. Most of my close ﬁiends want to discuss topics in class 1 3 4 5
that few students understand.

2. Most of my close ﬁiends carry more courses than other 1 3 4 5
students.

3. Most of my close ﬁiends usually get good grades, even 1 3 4 5
when others do poorly.

4. Most of my close ﬁiends feel conﬁdent they can 1 3 4 5
achieve what they set out to do.

5. Most of my close friends seek out professors to talk 1 3 4 5
with about ideas.

6. Most of my close friends are involved with many 1 3 4 5
school activities.

7. Most of my close friends spend time and effort on 1 3 4 5
homework and assignments.

8. Most of my close friends are going to graduate or 1 3 4 5
professional school after graduation.

9. Most of my close friends think education is important. 1 3 4 5
10. Most of my close friends participate in programs that 1 3 4 5
will prepare them for graduate or professional school.

11. Most of my close friends have discussed their future 1 3 4 5
educational plans with me.

12. Most of my close friends think that I should continue 1 3 4 5
my education.

 

 

 

 

 

 

110

 

 

Appendix D (Continued)

In the following section we would like to know about how your family views education

and your educational aspirations.

Thinking about your FAMILY, how have they supported and inﬂuenced your education.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strongly Disagree Don’t Know Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree
1 2 3 4 5
1. My family praises me for trying even if I do not 1 2 3 4 5
succeed.
2. My family supgrrts me in the things I do. 1 2 3 4 5
3. My family cares about my education. 1 2 3 4 5
4. My family encourages me to use my ideas. 1 2 3 4 5
5. My family encourages me to try my own ideas and be 1 2 3 4 5
responsible for my actions.
6. My family makes me feel conﬁdent in my schoolwork. 1 2 3 4 5
7. My family is concerned about my ﬁrture. 1 2 3 4 5
8. My family is satisﬁed with my academic achievement. 1 2 3 4 5
9. My family wants me to work hard at school. 1 2 3 4 5
10. My family thinks that it is important for me to continue 1 2 3 4 5
my education.
11. When I graduate from undergraduate school, my family 1 2 3 4 5
would want me to continue my education.
12. My family encourages me to do well in school. 1 2 3 4 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

lll

 

 

Appendix D (continued)

In this ﬁnal section, we are interested in knowing what (if any) steps you have taken

towards entering graduate or professional school.

Please answer the following questions regarding your own actions towards continuing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

your education.
Strongly Disagree Don’t Know Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree
1 2 3 4 5
1. I have sent quite a few applications/resumes to graduate 1 3 4 5
or professional schools.
2. I have already been accepted into a graduate or 1 3 4 5
professional school program.
3. I have completed the application process. 1 3 4 5
4. I am currently waiting to hear from graduate or 1 3 4 5
professional schools that I have applied.
5. I have already made my decision about what graduate 1 3 4 5
or professional school I am attendinErext year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

112

 

 

Appendix E
Qualitative Interview Protocol
Group that is going to graduate or professional school

1. Why do you want to go to graduate/professional school?
Example: Your major requires it?

2. Growing up how important was education in your household?
Probe: Did your parents help you with your homework?

a. Was your family supportive in your decision to attend graduate or
professional school? If so, how were they supportive?
Ex. They helped pay for application fees.

3. Regarding your close friends, how important is education?

a. Do any of your close friends have similar career and educational
aspirations?
i. Please explain.

b. Were your close friends supportive of your decision?

Probe: Do you study together?
Probe: Do you help each other try to reach your set career and
educational goals?

4. What do you expect from graduate or professional school?

a. Are there any speciﬁc barriers or challenges that you anticipate as an
African American going to graduate or professional school?

b. How do you think you will do in graduate or professional school?

c. What is it about you that you think would have you be successful in
graduate or professional school

5. Do you feel that your institution adequately prepared you to successfully matriculate
in a graduate/professional school program?
Probe: Were there resources available on campus to help you learn more
about graduate/professional school? Example: Graduate school fair

a. What could your institution have done differently?

b. Do you think if you went to a different school you would have been better
prepared? How so?
Ex. Do you wish there could have been additional stats courses etc.

113

c. Within your institution did you have a mentor/ faculty member that helped
you with the decision to attend graduate or professional school?
a. If yes, was this individual African American?
b. If no, do you think having this support would have been helpful?

Group that is not going to graduate or professional school

1. What are you doing next year since you are not going to graduate or professional?
Ex. Are you planning on getting a job?

2. Why aren’t you going to graduate or professional school?
Ex. Chosen ﬁeld doesn’t require it.

3. Growing up how important was education in your household?
Probe: Did your parents help you with your homework?

b. Was your family supportive in your decision not to attend graduate or
professional school? If so, how were they supportive?
Probe: Did your family expect you get a job following college?

4. Regarding your close ﬁiends, how important is education?
a. Do any of your close ﬁiends have similar career and educational
aspirations?

i. Please explain.

b. Were your close friends supportive of your decision?
Probe: Do you study together?
Probe: Do you help each other try to reach your set career and
educational goals?

5. How do you view graduate or professional school?

d. Are there any speciﬁc barriers or challenges that you think that African
American students going to graduate or professional school would
encounter?

e. If you were going to graduate or professional school, how do you think
you would do in graduate or professional school?

6. If you were going to graduate/professional school do you feel that your institution
adequately prepared you to successfully matriculate in a graduate/professional school
program?
Probe: Were there resources available on campus to help you learn more
about graduate/professional school? Example: Graduate school fair

d. What could your institution have done differently?

114

e. Do you think if you went to a different school you would have been better
prepared? How so?
Ex. Do you wish there could have been additional stats courses etc.
f. Within your institution did you have a mentor/ faculty member that helped
you make decisions about your career?
a. If yes, was this individual Aﬁican American?
b. If no, do you think having this support would have been helpful?

115

   

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