Purpose
The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to identify the major personal, social and academic adjustment problems experienced by minority graduate students at two contrasting institutions and (2) to compare the identified major adjustment problems of such students. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is a predominantly white institution, and Virginia State College is a predominantly black institution. The minority students under study, therefore, are black in one case but white in the other.
Procedure
A questionnaire was developed through a review of the literature with emphasis placed on three studies: (1) Han (1975), (2) Sharma (1971), and (3) Stevens (1976). The inventory incorporated a le point Likert-type scale for respondents to indicate their opinion toward stated items labeled desirable/undesirable indicative of adjustment concerns. Descriptive statistics were used in analyzing the data. Frequency counts and percentages were calculated for each item on the questionnaire. A level of 50 percent or more was used to determine major problems depending on whether the item was labeled desirable/undesirable. A 25 to 9 percent level was used to identify items as concerns. Chi Square tests were used to compare the identified problems.
Population
This study was concerned with the full-time minority (i.e., black) graduate students enrolled at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, a traditionally white institution, and the full-time minority (i.e., caucasian) graduate students enrolled at Virginia State College, a traditionally black institution. Forty-eight respondents constituted the total target population. There were thirty-seven minority black graduate students from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and eleven minority caucasian graduate students from Virginia State College.
Summary of Findings
The major academic adjustment problems encountered by black graduate students while studying at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University were instruction not meeting the individual needs of students and the employment of irrelevant factors by some professors to make student evaluation. The major social problems reported were making personal friends with caucasian graduate students, being accepted by the social peer groups and inhibited participation in campus activities. The major academic adjustment problem encountered by the caucasian graduate students while studying at Virginia State College was instruction not meeting the needs of students. The major social problems were making personal friends with black graduate students, being accepted by the social peer groups and inhibited participation in campus activities. The major personal problems were apprehensions about enrolling at the institution and negative experiences encountered while attending the institution.
The comparisons made between the minority black graduate students and the minority caucasian graduate students yielded very similar results. The data revealed that the minority groups were similar in the adjustment problems encountered and the concerns identified. The largest percentage of major adjustment problems for both groups occurred in the Social area. The academic area contained the second highest area with major adjustment problems for the minority black graduate students, while the second highest area for the minority caucasian graduate students was the personal area.
Major Recommendation
College and university officials when considering the recruitment, restructuring or enhancing the environment of the minority graduate students should review the findings of this study as presented in Chapter IV. Specific recommendations with regard to the findings and conclusions are offered in Chapter V of this study. / Ed. D.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/37615 |
| Date | 13 April 2010 |
| Creators | Wylie, George |
| Contributors | Educational Administration |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation, Text |
| Format | ix, 164 leaves, BTD, application/pdf, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Relation | OCLC# 40341768, LD5655.V856_1978.W94.pdf |
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