Mentoring african american students at pwi

The Florida State University DigiNole Commons Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 10-10-2007 Mentoring African American Students at a Predominantly White Institution: Its Relationship to Academic Performance, Persistence, and Retention Sundra D. Kincey Florida State University Follow this and additional works at: http://diginole.edu/etd Recommended Citation Kincey, Sundra D., "Mentoring African American Students at a Predominantly White Institution: Its Relationship to Academic Performance, Persistence, and Retention" (2007). Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations. This Dissertation - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the The Graduate School at DigiNole Commons.

It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigiNole Commons. For more information, please contact lib-ir@fsu. THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION MENTORING AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS AT A PREDOMINANTLY WHITE INSTITUTION: ITS RELATIONSHIP TO ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE, PERSISTENCE, AND RETENTION BY: SUNDRA D. KINCEY A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded Fall Semester, 2007 The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Sundra D.

Kincey defended on October 10, 2007. _______________________________ Joseph Beckham Professor Directing Dissertation _______________________________ Barbara Edwards Outside Committee Member _______________________________ Jon Dalton Committee Member _______________________________ Robert Schwartz Committee member Approved: _________________________________________________ Gary Crow, Chair, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are so many individuals whom I would like to thank for the support and prayers extended during the course of completing my dissertation. First, I must give thanks to God Almighty for the strength, dedication, and courage that helped me to persevere.

Without his grace, I could not have completed this dissertation. Second, I want to thank my major professor, Dr. Beckham, for the time that he devoted to this process and the guidance that he provided from the beginning to the end. He was always timely, consistent, encouraging, and fair.

I also thank each member of my committee for the support they provided in guiding my study and making it feasible and rich at the same time. A special thanks goes to all of my family, especially my son Kyle for being there and giving me the encouraging words to uplift my spirits in a special way that only a small child could do. In his eyes, he knew Mommy was going to graduate and one day achieve great success. I am also grateful to my sister, Kimberly, for the love and inspiration that she gave throughout, my brother for the loving words that he provided, and my nephews for the smiles they always gave.

My friends and mentors were essential in this milestone in my life. Theresa continued to pray and encourage me as we both worked tirelessly to complete assignments and coursework. Adria and Allison were always there providing words of comfort and motivation. Regina, Ken, and Rhonda always sent up a prayer and encouraged me to remain strong and steadfast in my goals.

Finally, I thank my father Walter E. Kincey and mother Dollie Mae Kincey for the foundation they provided and instilling in me the value of an education. I dedicate this dissertation to my dad in honor of his memory. His support, strength, wisdom, and prayers made it all the more possible to accomplish this dream.

For everyone who played a part in the successful completion of my dissertation, I am humbly thankful. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables. vi CHAPTER ONE. 1 Statement of the Problem.

2 Purpose of the Study. 4 Significance of the Study. 6 Limitations of the Study. 8 Organization of the Study.

10 African Americans in Higher Education. 10 Faculty-Student Relationships. 21 Race and Faculty-Student Interaction. 24 Mentoring on Student Retention.

74 Limitations of the Study. 112 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1 - Participant Demographics. 48 Table 2 – Classification Status. 48 Table 3 - Enrollment Status.

49 Table 5 - Marital Status. 49 Table 6 - Class Load. 49 Table 7 - Alpha Score of Cumulative GPA. 49 Table 8 - Student Housing.

49 Table 9 - Student Majors. 50 Table 10 - Admission Type. 51 Table 11 - Advanced Study. 51 Table 12 - Parent Education Level.

51 Table 13 - Student Employment. 51 Table 14 - Effect of Employment on Academic Performance. 52 Table 15 - College Expenses - Self. 52 Table 16 - College Expenses - Parents.

52 Table 17 - Colleges Expenses - Spouse. 53 Table 18 - College Expenses - Employer. 53 Table 19 - College Expenses - Financial Aid. 54 Table 21 – Categories of Persistence for Participants.

68 Table 23 - Background and Enrollment Characteristics. 75 Table 24 - Results of GPA Comparisons. 77 Table 25 - Gender of Mentored Students. 78 Table 26 - Age of Mentored Students.

78 Table 27 - Hours Spent with Mentor. 78 Table 28 - Race of Mentor and Academic Performance. 79 Table 29 - Race Attribute. 79 Table 30 - Gender of Mentor.

79 Table 31 - Employment on Academic Performance. 81 Table 32 - Employment on Academic Performance 2. 81 v ABSTRACT This research study explored the experiences of African American seniors attending a predominantly White institution in the southeastern United States to determine if a relationship existed between mentoring and academic performance. The primary focus of the research was on whether mentoring enhanced or impacted the success of African American students on a predominantly White campus.

Tinto’s Model of Retention was used as a framework to provide further understanding of the role of mentoring and persistence for African American college students. The following questions guided the inquiry: (1) What factors contributed to the persistence of African American students enrolled at a predominantly White institution, (2) What are the mentoring experiences of African American undergraduate students enrolled at a predominantly White institution, and (3) What is the relationship between mentoring and academic performance as measured by reported GPA? Six major categories emerged from the data on factors related to persistence: (1) isolation, (2) faculty-student interaction, (3) family relationships, (4) student involvement, (5) peer interaction, and (6) degree attainment. The research revealed that students perceived mentoring to be beneficial in their growth and that race of the mentor was a contributing factor in the development of the relationship. It was determined that students who received mentoring had a higher grade point average compared to students who did not.

Implications of this research can be used in future studies to explore how students choose to utilize available services and seek mentors for support as well as for practitioners in designing programs to ensure success of minority students. vi CHAPTER ONE Increasing the effectiveness of postsecondary education by understanding and improving the factors that predict academic success and retention of African American students remains an important issue in our society. Mentoring has been identified by several researchers as a positive factor in the retention and completion rates for students attending postsecondary institutions (Blackwell, 1989; Faison, 1996; Lee, 1999). Faison (1996) says that successful mentoring experiences are based on participants sharing common goals, perceptions and worldviews.

However, Davis (1994) believes that many African American students at predominantly White institutions (PWI) of higher education see their relationships with faculty members and peers as negative. He states that these students tend to avoid interaction with faculty outside of the classroom. They also rarely attend campus events sponsored by African American organizations and are generally not socially active on campus. In their isolation, they perceive the university to be less supportive of their interests (Davis, 1994).

On the other hand, Davis (1994) reports that those students that seem to be doing well academically appear to have more interaction with the faculty; and they also have more positive experiences on campus. Therefore, these students find their institutions to be generally supportive of their educational endeavors. Consequently, they seem to make a greater effort to interact with their professors. In turn, the professors seem to respond more openly and actively to students with whom they have had informal contact outside of class (Davis, 1994); thus creating a more positive relationship for the faculty member and student which could possibly lead to greater retention of the students.

According to Faison (1996), many African American students report the need to develop a strong tie with an African American faculty member. The students perceive that African American faculty understand their unique needs and are often culturally and socially different from their White faculty counterparts. The similarities found between the African American student and African American mentor may serve as a foundation for developing effective communication and trust so that the relationship can be sustained over time (Faison, 1996). Lee (1999) states that race helps to facilitate this bond between the mentor and mentee.

However, same-race matches for mentors and mentees may pose a problem at predominantly White institutions where there is a paucity of African American faculty to mentor African American students. Therefore, finding a mentor may be difficult for African American students 1 when they are looking for role models who possess the skills and qualities they desire, as well as someone they can interact with on a personal level when seeking guidance. It may be difficult for African American students because they may subconsciously or consciously seek and choose relationships with individuals who have characteristics similar to them. This study explored the mentoring experiences of African American undergraduate students attending a predominantly White institution in the southeastern United States to determine if a relationship existed between mentoring and academic performance.

Factors that contributed to persistence for African American undergraduate seniors were examined. The focus of the research was on whether participation in a mentoring relationship enhanced the success of African American students on a predominantly White campus. Statement of the Problem Although colleges and universities have been racially integrated for decades, there continues to be a disparity between the graduation rates of African American students and White students. African American students who attend predominantly White institutions are faced with a challenging task.

They are expected to enter many colleges and universities that were once closed to African Americans fifty years ago and expected to matriculate and be prepared to enter graduate schools or embark upon careers in the world of work. These expectations create unique challenges for African American students (Ellis, 1997; Williams, 1999; Furr, 2002). In the past, the examination of the success of African American students in higher education has relied on two types of comparisons – comparison of African American students in predominantly White institutions with African American students in historically Black institutions, or a comparison of African American students with White students at a predominantly White institution (Furr, 2002). Fleming (1984) found that each of these approaches provided valuable information concerning factors related to retention.

African American students have reported that the environment of predominantly White institutions can be more alienating than the environment at historically Black institutions (Loo & Rolinson, 1986; Steward, Jackson, & Jackson, 1990; Suen, 1983). Patterns of intellectual development were also consistently more positive for African American students at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) than for African American students at PWIs (Fleming, 1984). Therefore, while student retention is an important issue in general, retention of underrepresented populations is a concern needing further examination. Because retention 2 patterns and factors differ among subpopulations of students, it is important to examine the factors associated with the retention of each group in order to develop effective intervention strategies.

For example in Furr’s 2002 study, she examined the factors associated with the retention of African American students at a predominantly White university. Results from the study showed that 97% of African American students were retained after one semester compared with 92% of White students.