Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
4-2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Department
Organizational Leadership
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Bryan Patterson
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Simone Elias
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Linda Wilson-Jones
Abstract
This qualitative narrative study examined the authentic lived experiences of eight Black male participants who successfully completed their college undergraduate degree at a private college in the southeast United States. The participants were recruited via LinkedIn, a professional social media, networking site. It explored family, K-12, co-curricular, and community factors that contributed to the academic success of the participants throughout their educational journey. This study drew upon Harper’s (2012) antideficit theory framing the study from the lens of the positive aspects of their academic experiences rather than focusing on the negative aspects of Black men that graduate college at the lowest rate of any subpopulation. This positive lens structured the one main research question, how did they describe their educational experience as a Black man. This question was followed by a series of open ended, semistructured questions to allow the participants to share their authentic stories. The interviews were conducted via Zoom allowing participants to confidentially share their authentic lived experiences. The eight participants disclosed significant influences leading to three categories or themes: Influential, Systemic, and Personal Investment. These themes emerged from their stories through analysis of the data highlighting the intrinsic and extrinsic support. Recommended actions provided to assist K-12 and college-level administrators in designing strategies for preparing and supporting Black men on their pathway to successful college completion.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Jones, Tara M., "Authentic Narratives of Successful Pathways to Undergraduate Completion for Black Men" (2023). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 568.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/568