Persistence of African American college students: Social support and university climate

• Main Author: Peart-Forbes, Sarah G. A
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-2004
• Subjects: Academic guidance counseling; African American Studies; African Americans; Black studies; Clinical psychology; Higher education; Psychotherapy; School counseling
• ISBN: 0496842617; 9780496842612

There is a great disparity in the rates at which African American College students and their White counterparts attain bachelor's degrees. This observation is starkly apparent at predominantly White institutions. In spite of the fact that there are favorable rates of enrollment of African Americans into these postsecondary institutions, the goal of attaining their degrees is still largely elusive. This indicates that African Americans face unique challenges in their pursuit of college degrees, particularly as this goal is pursued at predominantly White institutions. This study focused on assessing the influence of the non-cognitive factors, social support and university climate, on the persistence of African American college students at a public university. The perception of social support was measured by the Perceived Social Support Inventory-Family and Friends (Procidano & Heller, 1983) and the Mentoring Scale (Gloria, 1993). University climate was assessed using the University Environment Scale (Gloria & Robinson Kurpius, 1996), the Cultural Congruity Scale (Gloria & Robinson Kurpius, 1996), and the College Environmental Stress Index-Modified (Muñoz, 1986). The Persistence/Voluntary Dropout Decision Scale (Pascarella & Terenzini, 1980) was used in an attempt to predict academic persistence. These instruments and a demographic survey were compiled into a questionnaire, which was then successfully administered to 123 African American College students at a large rural Northeastern State university. The results indicated that social support and university climate did not influence the persistence of these participants. The racial composition of the high school attended by participants was found to be the only demographic variable assessed with a significant impact on actual persistence. In light of the review of the literature and anecdotal information, this result is, at best, inconclusive. Moderating factors such as financial and academic difficulties may play a role in occluding the influence of these non-cognitive factors on persistence decisions. Further investigation of the role these non-cognitive factors play in the persistence of African American College students is encouraged. Specific recommendations are made to improve the experience of these students as they pursue college degrees at predominantly White institutions.