AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF Janette Howard, for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION, presented on APRIL 9, 2014 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: HOW DOES RACIAL IDENTITY EFFECT AFRICAN AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS ABILITY TO ASSIMILATE In A PREDOMINANTLY WHITE COLLEGE CAMPUSES AND ITS IMPACT ON RETENTION: A MIXED METHOD STUDY MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. John McIntyre, Examination Committee Chair The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to determine how racial identity of African American college students can impact their ability to assimilate on predominately White college campuses to the point of hindering their retention. This study was a sequential explanatory mixed method study. Phase one of the study was a quantitative survey consisting of 25 questions that was completed by N=125 African American students attending a Predominately White University in the Mid-West. Phase two of the study was a convenience sample of thirteen African American students living on and off campus. The following research questions were addressed to explore the research topic. (1) How does racial identity impact African American college students' ability to assimilate at a predominately White university with a high enrollment of African American college students? (2) How do African American college students perceive their college/university's commitment to them? (3) How do African American college students perceive their racial identity impacting their lives? The findings of the study showed that the complexities of racism and stereotypical perceptions made the process of assimilating into the college environment holistic, including social, academic, internal and external variables that impacted their ability to assimilate and form relationships needed to have a well-rounded college experience. However, many of the students interviewed felt some of the stereotypical perceptions are sometimes perpetuated by the actions of their Black peers. During a few of the interviews, students (N=7) described their dismay with the behavior that some of their peers exhibited. The participants that were interviewed felt that the students' success should be a shared responsibility. It should be up to the students to be accountable; one participant stated "too often people want to blame others for things that happen to them." Furthermore, he explained that he takes full responsibility for the 2.0 grade point he had at the end of the last semester, but he is now looking at a 3.2 for this semester. Many of the students expressed that they did feel the faculty and staff ratio could be more representative of the African American population. The students also felt the administration could do more to bring the students together as a whole, the students of color and the White students. The consensus of the interviews was that Black people as a whole, in the eyes of the boarder society, are not respected nor looked at as assets. Many of the students interviewed felt that if the Black students and the White students had more opportunities to engage outside of the classroom, they may see Blacks beyond the stereotypical perceptions.

Purpose: This article explores the expressed thoughts and feelings of 24 research participants who processed and articulated their lived experiences. They each attended the same private, religious, historically, and predominantly White institution and participated in a three-credit course that covered the history of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and '60s, which culminated in an experience in Georgia and Alabama (Civil Rights experience). Methods: In this phenomenological study, the research participants all participated in a semi-structured interview with the same bank of questions. The questions were designed to examine their lived experiences, within the context of participating in the Civil Rights experience and attending the private, religious, historically and predominantly White institution. A phenomenological narrative inquiry employed a specific content analysis approach in conjunction with a constant comparative method to conduct open, axial, and selective coding. Findings: Research participants discussed their reactions to and perceptions of experiences with racial differences, and researchers identified themes that provided perspective on the broader category of racial differences: white spaces, assimilation, stereotypes, microaggressions, and racism. Implications: High-impact programming, such as the Civil Rights experience, may encourage the implementation of measures to foster institutional cultural humility, such as initiating important dialogue and accountability measures between the institution and the students. Racial Battle Fatigue can help both students and institutional personnel identify and interpret racialized experiences. A high-impact "critical experience" may also provide students with the knowledge, experiences, and vocabulary to reckon with racial realities and process their private, religious, predominantly white institution experience.

This phenomenological study examined the experiences of Black teachers in predominately White P-12 schools, and focused on examining the external and internal challenges that Black teachers face who work in predominately White schools. Voices are sometimes ignored or muted in a society dominated by the majority White culture. This study will allow readers to experience the narratives of Black educators who work in these environments. The educators selected for this study were purposefully chosen from predominately White school districts. The researcher interviewed each subject in a semi-structured interview environment to gather data. Results of interviews lead to the emergence of five major themes, which were mentorship, professionalism, exclusion/isolation, cultural differences, relationship building. These findings led to the identification of eleven recommendations for practice and seven recommendations for future research.

The alarming numbers of Latino/a students graduating from four year institutions continues to be low and while access has improved there still lies an issue in that the number of students graduating has not increased (Otero, Rivas & Rivera, 2007; Watkins, Labarrie & Appio 2010; Jones, Castellanos & Cole 2002) Latina/o undergraduate students are positioned in relation to the White dominant student population at Predominately White Institutions (PWIs), which, in many ways silences their voices and thus maintains an educational space of Whiteness. The purpose of this study is to understand and highlight the experiences of Latina/os, particularly the ways in which they navigate through PWIs. Testimonio, a narrative of marginalization, has been recognized as a way to collect qualitative data from students. Through this genre and a Critical Race Theory and Latina/o Critical Race Theory framework, the author examines and shares student experiences to do what? (Delgado & Stefancic, 2012; Peréz Huber & Cueva, 2012). Testimonio is used as a methodology to co-conduct a research process that engages the researcher, and 10 students as the participants to share educational experiences. Students positioned themselves as distant from the university and understood educational spaces of Whiteness to be spaces of financial access and white student serving. As such, Latina/o students navigate the spaces through community support and avoiding unwelcoming spaces throughout the larger institution.

A narrative analysis of the lived experiences of seven undergraduate African American females at Predominately White Institutions (PWIs) is presented in this study. The purpose of the study was to explore the ways the seven women constructed their identity and self-concept in the context of their PWI environment. Other key purposes of the study included strategies in which the women successfully negotiated their PWI environments and the influence of the intersection of race, gender, and class on the collegiate and life experiences of these African American undergraduate females. The framework which was conceptualized from previous literature portrayed the historical context of the African American woman’s struggle for educational access as both Black and female, her life on campus, tools for success, and the identity development of African American women. Critical Race and Black Feminist theoretical frameworks, were the foundation for the study. Through these theoretical lenses, the study looked closely at the academic, social, and cultural climate on PWI campuses and the impact of these factors on the identity development and self-concept of the women in this study. The research methodology of narrative analysis was used and resulted in the emergence of three key findings in this study. The findings indicate that African American undergraduate females at PWIs engage in negotiating worlds, managing subjectivities, and redefining selves as they make meaning and walk out their individual lived experiences as students on Predominately White campuses.

Qualitative research is scant on success factors of professional identity development for female African American counselor educators, specifically those who graduated from CACREP-accredited counselor education and supervision programs at predominately White institutions (PWIs). The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the lived experiences of female African American counselor educators who attended a CACREP-accredited counselor education and supervision program at a (PWI). This study focused on the phenomenon of success factors of professional identity development to doctoral degree completion. This study examined the lived experiences of 10 female African American counselor educators to gain a better understanding of how their experiences at CACREP-accredited counselor educations and supervision programs at a (PWI) impacted success of professional identity development to doctoral degree completion. It used a qualitative, phenomenological methodology grounded in Intersectionality theory, Black Feminist thought, and Critical Race theory as frameworks. There were three research questions to guide the study in the participants? perceptions of professional identity development and the impact of success factors of professional identity development on doctoral degree completion. This study conducted semi-structured interviews with ten female African American counselor educators who completed doctoral degrees in (PWIs) in the United States. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Moustakas (1994) Modification of Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen data analysis. The goals of this study was to: a) review and present literature on female African American in the academy; b) increase knowledge on professional identity among female African American counselor educators who attended a CACREP -accredited counselor education and supervision program at (PWIs) in the United States; and c) explore ways to increase professional identity development to support female African American doctoral students to complete their doctoral degree and move into counselor education positions. Ten African American females who graduated from CACREP-accredited counselor education and supervision programs were interviewed. There were six themes: Convenience of the Location, Importance of support from Dissertation chair, Representation of African American women with PhDs in the community, I was needed and access, Being a Black woman in that space and Voice, Faith-based community and I prayed. Recommendations and directions for future research are discussed.

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