COX, RAMONA D., Ed.D. Evolution of the Soul: The Transformative Connection between Cultural Consciousness, Spirituality, and Self-Empowerment for African American Community College Adult Learners. (2009) Directed by Dr. Camille Wilson Cooper and Dr. Leila Villaverde. 199 pp. This study examines the educational experiences of African American adult learners who have described their journey through higher education as transformative; particularly, learners who have attended or are attending community college. This study looks at how transformation helps move minority learners towards academic achievement and personal empowerment. The research attempted to answer the following three questions: 1) How do adult African American learners who are attending or have attended community college define their transformation within the context of transformative learning?, 2) What are the sociocultural, spiritual, and empowerment dimensions of transformative learning for this population?, and 3) What factors within this transformative experience contributed to what African American adult learners define as personal growth and achievement/success? As part of this phenomenological narrative study, data was collected primarily through one-on-one, semi-structured interviews with five, adult, African American learners, including three females and two males. Each participant described experiencing: a life change through a major event or crisis, an increase in cultural consciousness, an increase in spiritual evolution, and a stronger sense of purpose in life due to their community college learning. A conceptual framework that incorporates transformative learning, critical race and spirituality theories was used to analyze the learners’ narratives. Data show that participants developed an overwhelming sense of empowerment while going through their educational journey that helped them develop into academically, socially, and emotionally prepared individuals ready to face an unjust society. This study suggests that understanding the journey of African American adult learners can help educational leaders improve the transfer, retention, and graduation rates of this student population. These learners’ journeys can also help educators and researchers better appreciate the social, spiritual, and cultural dimensions of transformative learning at the community college level. EVOLUTION OF THE SOUL: THE TRANSFORMATIVE CONNECTION BETWEEN CULTURAL CONSCIOUSNESS, SPIRITUALITY, AND SELF-EMPOWERMENT FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE ADULT LEARNERS By Ramona D. Cox A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education Greensboro 2009 Approved by ___________________________________ Committee Co-chair ___________________________________ Committee Co-chair APPROVAL PAGE This dissertation has been approved by the following committee of the Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro Committee Co-Chair__________________________________ Committee Co-Chair__________________________________ Committee Members__________________________________ __________________________________ _________________________________ Date of Acceptance by Committee _________________________________ Date of Final Oral Examination ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my advisor and dissertation co-chair, Dr. Camille Wilson Cooper, for her genuine kindness, toughness, guidance, and support that lead me through this project. She demonstrates what it means to be a thoughtful and caring researcher. I also want to thank my second co-chair, Dr. Leila Villaverde, for her beautiful spirit and for taking me under her wing ever since the day I stepped on to UNC-Greensboro’s campus. Lastly, I want to thank Dr. Ceola Ross Baber – “Queen” Baber, as I will always see her, and Dr. Rick Reitzug, for being a part of something that means more to me than I can express. You are all incredible souls. To my mother, Janice Cox, and my sisters, Bonita Dennis and Nicole Haley, for their support and, most of all, understanding during these last several years. I especially want to thank Nicole for lending her paralegal skills and for sharing moments of this experience with me. To my close friends and family—thank you all for being by my side. This has been a long journey for me; you all believed that I could get here. I especially want to thank Claire Hunter, my former boss and friend, who showed me the importance of our work as community college educators. iii To Dr. Eileen Parsons, Dr. Latish Reed, Dr. Linda Tillman, and Dr. Nick Cabot, for their mentorship and support. Thank you all for taking little and big moments out of your day to offer feedback, cheer me on, and tell me “truths” that I needed to hear during times when I felt like walking away from this journey. Each of you, in your own way, really helped move me forward in this process. Most importantly, I want to thank the five participants in this study who offered to share their experiences and allowed me to enter this private space in their lives. They are all true warriors and examples of what is possible. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................. vii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem .......................................................................5 Research Questions ................................................................................9 Overview of the Literature ...................................................................10 Overview of the Conceptual Framework .............................................11 Research Assumptions .........................................................................13 Research Design ...................................................................................16 Overview of the Results and Implications ...........................................17 Significance of the Study .....................................................................19 Organization of the Study ....................................................................21 II. LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ................23 Literature Review – Part 1: Adult Learners, Higher Education and Transformation ...................................................................................23 Profile of the Adult Learner .....................................................25 African Americans and Educational Attainment .....................28 History of the Community College and Students of Color ......35 Importance of the Community College....................................37 Community Colleges: Education Gateway or Gatekeeper ......43 Community College Institutions – What is Possible ...............46 Conceptual Framework – Part 2 ..........................................................47 Transformative Learning Theory and its Cultural and Spiritual Dimensions ................................................................47 Adult Transformative Learning Theory ...................................48 Intersection of the Conceptual Framework ..............................55 Criticisms of Transformative Learning Theory .......................57 Critical Race Theory ................................................................58 Intersecting Themes and Critical Race Theory ........................61 Spiritual Theories .....................................................................64 Intersecting Themes and Spirituality .......................................66 The Power of the Community College Institution ...................69 v III. METHODOLOGY ..........................................................................................71 Phenomenology Narrative Design .......................................................71 Restorying Narratives ..........................................................................74 Designing a Culturally Sensitive Study ...............................................77 Data Collection and Analysis...............................................................78 The Community College Context ........................................................82 Sampling ..............................................................................................83 Participants’ Profiles ............................................................................84 Role of the Researcher .........................................................................86 What We Learn from African American Adult Learners ....................90 IV. FINDINGS FROM INDIVIDUAL NARRATIVES .......................................91 Participants’ Stories .............................................................................92 Importance of African American Adult Learners’ Stories ................141 V. ANALYSIS OF TRANSFORMATION ........................................................143 Lessons about Participants’ Community College Experiences .........144 Insight into the Participants’ Overall Transformation .......................147 Sociocultural Dimensions of the Learners’ Transformation ..............157 Summary of Participants’ Transformative Learning .........................173 VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................175 Importance of African American Adult Learners