PERCEPTIONS OF CLIMATE AND STUDENT-FACULTY INTERACTIONS AMONGST AFRICAN AMERICAN PERSISTERS IN A BUSINESS PROGRAM AT A PREDOMINANTLY-WHITE INSTITUTION By Monica E. Allen A dissertation submitted to the faculty of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Education Leadership Charlotte 2017 Approved by: ______________________________ Dr. Sandra L. Dika ______________________________ Dr. Lisa R. Merriweather ______________________________ Dr. Bettie Ray Butler ______________________________ Dr. Brett Q. Tempest ii ©2017 Monica E. Allen ALL RIGHTS RESERVED iii ABSTRACT MONICA E. ALLEN. Perceptions of Climate and Student-Faculty Interactions Amongst African American Persisters in a Business Program at a Predominantly-White Institution. (Under the direction of DR. SANDRA L. DIKA) While representation of African American students in freshmen enrollment has improved, degree attainment of African Americans and other minority groups continue to lag behind the White and Asian American populations. Compounding the issue of lower attainment is the issue of degree major. African American students are highly concentrated in lower-paying college majors and are underrepresented in high-paying majors, including business. With the scarcity of research on African American students in a business discipline, there remains the necessity of understanding the academic success and persistence issues they encounter. Gaining a better understanding of African American students’ experiences and perceptions is vitally important for institutional agents and scholars. Using a phenomenological research method, the researcher listened to the stories of ten African American students in the business school at Southeastern University (SEU), while focusing on their experiences and perceptions of the interactions they have with business faculty members. In addition, the researcher aimed to identify how these interactions impact academic success and persistence to graduation amongst this sample population. The themes that emerged included (a) A Racially Charged Climate; (b) Business Faculty Can Be Accessible, But Not Approachable; and (c) As An African American Business Student…Where Do I Belong? The study results indicated that student interactions with faculty were viewed as essential to supporting the African American business students’ academic success and persistence. iv DEDICATION This work is dedicated to the memory of my loving parents, Thomas and Medessa Moore. The love and support that they provided me, throughout my life, has been vital to my success. Wish they were here to enjoy this with me. However, I know that they are looking down from heaven, with a big smile on their faces! v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this work could not have been accomplished without the dedication and support of various individuals in my life. First, I want to give thanks to God for the opportunity to continue to better myself so that I can go out into the world and make a difference. I could not have made it without the strength that He provided during times of struggle. I am so grateful for the blessings that He has bestowed on me throughout this journey. I would also like to extend my thanks to my family for their unending support and encouragement. My sisters, Dr. Elaine Eatman and Dr. Gloria Williams, you have always been my role models. Your success, in reaching this milestone, helped me to believe in my own abilities to do the same. Thank you for your love and support. My children, Joseph, his wife Jezmarie, and Marcus Allen, I cannot come up with the words to express how your pushing me through every step of this journey has been a total blessing to me. You continued to celebrate each accomplishment throughout my program. Most importantly, you were there during my lowest points, and helped me remember God’s promise of success. Your love and belief in me is what kept me going despite the hills and valleys!! My support team, what can I say to let you know how valuable you have been to me! Dr. Kelly Cowart, Dr. Regina McClinton, Dr. Terri Tillman, Kim Hegner, Mia Kimmons, Tina Watson, and Maria Cronin, you have all been there to make sure that I continue to push through towards my goals. I thank you for providing the guidance that helped to make this journey possible. Although sometimes you had to talk me “off the ledge,” I made it because you were my rocks! vi I would also like to thank the department of Education Leadership, the professors and Dr. Claudia Flowers (department chair) for instilling, in me, knowledge that I can now take with me as I go forward in my career. To my colleagues, Kiran, Nhu, Neda, and Maria, I am so grateful that we have gone on this journey together. I value your friendships and hope to continue to stay in touch. I extend my deepest appreciation to my committee members, Dr. Sandra Dika (committee chair), Dr. Lisa Merriweather, Dr. Bettie Rae Butler, and Dr. Brett Tempest for your willingness to serve on my committee. Your dedication to my success, knowledgeable feedback, and advice, has been what has helped me get to this point. Dr. Sandra Dika, you have been my rock, throughout my program. I especially would like to thank you for everything you have done for me. You have been an angel that God has placed in my life! Finally, I would like to thank the study participants for taking the time out of their busy schedules to help make this study possible. May you all continue to succeed in your academic journey and career pursuits. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF FIGURES iix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of the Problem 12 Purpose of the Study 14 Significance of the Study 15 Theoretical Framework 17 Key Terms and Definitions 17 Summary 18 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 20 Theoretical Frameworks 32 Gaps in Theories and Literature 48 Summary 52 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 54 Institutional Setting 57 Data Collection and Analysis 58 Student Participants 62 Summary 68 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS 70 Cross-Cutting Themes 70 A Racially Charged Climate 71 Business Faculty Can Be Available, But Not Approachable 81 As An African American Student…Where Do I Belong? 93 Summary 105 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION 106 Discussion of the Findings 108 viii Through A Critical Race Theory Lens 121 Implications 125 Conclusion 130 REFERENCES 134 APPENDIX A: RECRUITMENT EMAILS 152 APPENDIX B: PARTICIPANT DEMOGRAPHIC ONLINE SURVEY 154 APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW PROTOCOL 157 APPENDIX D: SURVEY CONSENT FORM 158 APPENDIX E: INTERVIEW CONSENT FORM 160 APPENDIX F: LIST OF THEMES AND SUBTHEMES 162 ix LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1: Distribution of US population and freshman enrollment by race/ 2 ethnicity TABLE 2: Education distribution of total jobs within business industry, 2020 12 TABLE 3: Studies of student success and student-faculty interaction included in 31 literature review TABLE 4: 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 SEU’s College of Business undergraduate 58 students by race and major TABLE 5: Participant Demographics 63 x LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1: Tinto’s Theoretical Model of Institution Departure 37 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Access to and successful completion of college continue to be defining factors in the growing economic divide in America (Carnevale, Jayasundera, & Gulish, 2016). Carnevale and colleagues (2016) from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (GUCEW) describe the shift in the U.S economy from being driven by high school-educated workers to one in which the majority of jobs require postsecondary education or training. Of the 11.6 million jobs that were created since 2010, after the economic recession of the late 2000s, 73% were obtained by workers with a Bachelor’s degree or higher. Thus, the attainment of a college degree is a vital requirement for participation in the current labor market and the achievement of economic mobility. Economic mobility is elusive for some Americans, especially those from historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups. African Americans make up 13% (42,632,530) of the U.S. population, with 24% of this group below poverty level (U.S. Census Bureau, 2016). A recent report from the Pew Research Center (2016) revealed persistent and significant gaps in employment and wages. While the unemployment rate of all racial groups has declined since 2010, the unemployment of African Americans has remained at least twice as high as that of Whites (10.3% vs. 4.5% in 2015). Further, 2015 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics determined that African Americans earned seventy-five percent (75%) of median hourly earnings of Whites among full- and part- time workers in the U.S. The report concluded that the wage gaps can be attributed to the fact that there are lower numbers of African Americans who are college educated. While there are several factors that contribute to the disproportionate unemployment and poverty levels among African Americans, two of the most important 2 are: (a) lower attainment of college degree, and (b) the majors in which they are concentrated (Carnevale, Fasules, Porter, & Landis-Santos, 2016). National data indeed shows improvement in the college enrollment rates of African Americans since the mid- 1990s. According to the 2013 GUCEW report by Carnevale and Strohl (2013), African American freshman enrollment in 2009 had increased by 73% since 1995. Specifically, college enrollment data (Table 1) for 1995 demonstrated that White students were overrepresented by five (5) percentage points, while African Americans were underrepresented by two (2) percentage points. In 2009, Whites remained overrepresented despite a decline by three (3) percentage points, and African American representation improved by three (3) percentage points. In 2009, the White freshman enrollment share was 63% and the African American share was 16%. Table 1: Distribution of U.S. Population and Freshman Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity (percentage) 1995 2009 Population Population aged 18-24 Enrollment aged 18-24 Enrollment (%) (%) Difference (%) (%) Difference White 68 73 5 62 63 2 AA 14 12 -2 15 16 1 Hispanic 13 9 -5 18 13 -5 Asian 4 5 2 4 6 2 Nat Am 1 1 0 1 1 0 Source: Carnavale & Strohl (2013).