African-American College Students: A Qualitative Study of Selected Factors Affecting Dropout A dissertation submitted by Wendell B. O’Neal, Jr. to Benedictine University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Higher Education and Organizational Change This dissertation has been accepted for the faculty of Benedictine University ____________________________ Quincy Martin, III, Ed.D.____ ___________ Dissertation Committee Director Date ____________________________ Sunil Chand, Ph.D._________ ___________ Dissertation Committee Chair Date ____________________________ Tamara Korenman, Ph.D.____ ___________ Dissertation Committee Reader Date ____________________________ Sunil Chand, Ph.D. _________ __________ Program Director, Faculty Date ____________________________ Eileen Kolich, Ph.D. _________ __________ Faculty Date ____________________________ Ethel Ragland, Ed.D., M.N.,R.N. _________ Acting Dean, College of Education and Health Services Date Wendell B. O’Neal, Jr., 2012 All rights reserved. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To my dissertation committee, my sincere thanks for sharing your knowledge and being instrumental in my success. To my Dissertation Director, Dr. Quincy Martin III, thank you for your invaluable guidance, patience, and support. Words truly cannot express my gratitude. This finished product would not be what it is without your meticulous eye. To my Dissertation Chair, Dr. Chand, thank you for the wealth of knowledge you have shared and your initial guidance in filtering my research objectives. You are an asset to this doctorate program and the world of higher education. To my Dissertation Reader, Dr. Tamara Korenman, thank you for your motivating critiques of my work and your mechanical knowledge of the dissertation process. Thank you to my three children, Corde, Cameron, and Cydney for the motivation they provide on a daily basis for me to get up every morning and continue pushing to be the best human being I can. To my stepson Thurman, continue to push to achieve your goals; the sky is the limit. Thank you to my wife, Venus, for your motivation through the tough times of this journey. Thank you for supporting me on the good days and the bad. I love each one of you. Mom, Dad, and Felicia, we know you did not believe your son and brother would be working on his doctorate degree. Mom, my thoughts and thanks are impossible to put into a sentence and your support is immeasurable. Dad, you always told me you were my best friend and it took me to become an adult to realize it was iii always true. Felicia, you have been a supportive sister my entire life. I love the three of you so much. iv DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my guiding light, Almighty God. Philippians 4:13 states, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The journey traveled to the completion of this dissertation could have only been endured with prayer and worship. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................. ix LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... x ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. xi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 12 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 12 Background of the Study .................................................................................................... 13 Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................... 15 Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................... 20 Research Questions ............................................................................................................. 21 Significance of the Study .................................................................................................... 21 Definition of Terms............................................................................................................. 22 Organization of Study ......................................................................................................... 23 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................... 25 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 25 Historical Overview of Community Colleges ..................................................................... 26 African-American Enrollment Trends ................................................................................ 28 Theoretical Models of Student Retention ........................................................................... 30 Astin’s Theory of Involvement ....................................................................................... 30 Tinto’s Theory of Departure ........................................................................................... 31 Bean’s Explanatory Model of Student Retention ........................................................... 32 Pascarella’s General Model for Assessing Change ......................................................... 34 Retention Barriers ............................................................................................................... 34 Social and Academic Sense of Belonging ...................................................................... 35 Financial Concerns .......................................................................................................... 36 Institutional Commitment and Support ........................................................................... 38 Underprepared Students .................................................................................................. 39 Retention Strategies ............................................................................................................ 41 Learning Communities .................................................................................................... 41 Intrusive Advising ........................................................................................................... 43 Effective Instruction ........................................................................................................ 44 African-American Student Retention Literature ................................................................. 45 vi Sense of Belonging for African-American Students ....................................................... 46 Financial Concerns of African-American Students ........................................................ 47 Faculty and Institutional Support of African-American Students ................................... 47 Academic Preparation of African-American Students .................................................... 48 Conceptual Framework ....................................................................................................... 49 Summary ............................................................................................................................. 50 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................ 53 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 53 Research Design ................................................................................................................. 53 Rationale for Methodology ................................................................................................. 54 A Phenomenological Study ................................................................................................. 54 Biases .................................................................................................................................. 55 Ethical Issues ...................................................................................................................... 56 Site Selection ...................................................................................................................... 57 Participant Selection ........................................................................................................... 57 Data Collection ................................................................................................................... 58 Interviews ............................................................................................................................ 59 Data Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 60 Trustworthiness ................................................................................................................... 61 Delimitations and Limitations ............................................................................................. 62 Summary ............................................................................................................................. 62 CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS .............................................................................................