<p> This quantitative survey questionnaires study compared the teacher-student interactions (TSI) and academic achievement of African-American and African immigrant undergraduate males. The academic achievement gap between different population groups provided the impetus for the study. While African Americans have been described as under-achievers in the literature, their African immigrant counterparts have at times been dubbed a model minority. However, studies on differences in TSI between the two groups are scant. Students’ perceptions of TSI were assessed using two existing instruments, the <i>Experience with Faculty Scale and Student-Professor Interaction Scale.</i> Grade Point Average (GPA) was used as proxy for academic achievement. Traditional (ages 18-24) undergraduate Black male students at an Upper-Midwestern university constituted the population for the study. With a sample size of sixty (n1=30, n2=30), hypothesis testing was done using Chi-Square, the Fisher Exact test with Freeman-Halton extension, and Ordered Logistic Regression. Although the study did not show statistically significant differences in TSI as well as academic achievement between the two groups, it revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in how often students discussed their career plans and academic ambitions with faculty. Moreover, contrary to prior literature; African immigrants in this study did not significantly outperform African Americans on self-reported GPA—casting doubt on the depiction of African immigrants as a monolithic group and a hyper successful model minority. Two incidental and yet important findings also emerged from the study. First, among students reporting having positive TSI, African immigrants were twice as likely as African Americans to describe it as very strong. Second, only one-fourth of the participants hailed from non-college-educated households. The meaning of the findings and implications for higher education are discussed. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10267844 |
| Date | 16 May 2017 |
| Creators | Hussein, Hassen |
| Publisher | Saint Mary's University of Minnesota |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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