Fifty percent of all students who enroll in college depart before earning their degree; this proportion is even higher among minorities during the first year of college (Tinto, 2006). Minorities have typically had fewer opportunities to gain a college education. Once enrolled in college, minorities have generally found it more difficult to succeed academically and graduate (Strayhorn, 2011). There is one group among the collective of minorities that are even further behind the rest, African American males. African American males are one of the most underrepresented populations of students on college campuses around the nation (Feagin, Vera, & Imani, 1996). Relatively few Black men enroll in four-year colleges and universities (Cuyject, 2006); in fact, of the approximate 15 million undergraduate students in the United States, less than 5% are Black men (NCES, 2009). In response to the trends and challenges faced by Black men, the federal government, as well as higher education institutions, have invested considerable resources in the development and implementation of programs and services that are designed to provide the necessary academic and social support researchers have found to be integral to the success of students in college (Astin, 1993; Swail, Redd & Perna, 2003 and Tinto, 1993). One of the federal governments responses to this issue is the development of numerous pre-college programs. The aim of this study was to determine whether pre-college programs (i.e., Upward Bound, Talent Search & G.E.A.R. UP) are effective in realizing their goals for African American men, particularly as it relates to their college retention rates. Using the National Center for Education Statistics Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002) guided by Tintos Student Attrition model, the researcher sought to determine: To what extent does participating in a pre-college program influence the first-year retention rates of African American males in college, controlling for differences in, background traits, academic preparedness and parental level of education? The findings from this study suggest that out of three federally funded pre-college programs Upward Bound, Talent Search and G.E.A.R. UP, only the Talent Search program has any impact on the retention rate of African American males in college.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-03142012-121519 |
| Date | 15 March 2012 |
| Creators | Baker III, James DJ |
| Contributors | Mitchell, Roland, Cheek, Earl, Freeman, Craig, Bourke, Brian, Johnson, Geraldine |
| Publisher | LSU |
| Source Sets | Louisiana State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-03142012-121519/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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