Examining The Relationship Between Community College Engagement Practices And African American Male Intentions To Complete

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Date

2016

Department

Community College Leadership Program

Program

Doctor of Education

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This item is made available by Morgan State University for personal, educational, and research purposes in accordance with Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Other uses may require permission from the copyright owner.

Abstract

The community college graduation rates of African American males continue to be the lowest of all racial and ethnic groups (Wood & Turner, 2011). While most research on graduation rates has been conducted at the four-year university level, this study focuses on African American males at the community college level. This issue is examined through the theoretical lens of the Socio-Ecological Outcomes model (SEO) (Wood, Harris & White, 2015) which identifies the connections between community college students' backgrounds, societal factors, and the domains necessary for student success and the Student Engagement Theory as summarized by Kuh (2009). The SEO model and the Student Engagement Theory identify practices that lead to student success and encourage a dialogue regarding what institutional practices improve engagement for African American male community college students. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine what engagement practices, as measured by the SENSE benchmarks, (Early Connections, Engaged Learning, Academic and Social Support Network, High Expectations and Aspirations, Clear Academic Plan and Pathway, and Effective Track to College Readiness) undertaken by community colleges were most statistically significant predictors of African American males' intentions to complete college. Additionally, the study sought to determine if there was a significant relationship between full-time and less than full-time student status and African American male intention to complete. This study utilized data from 5206 African American male community college students who participated in the 2014 cohort of the Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE) administered by the Center for Community College Student Engagement (CCCSE) at the University of Texas. All of the SENSE benchmarks are significantly positively correlated with intention to complete. However, among the benchmarks only High Expectations, Engaged Learning, and Academic and Social Support Network were unique predictors and of these predictors the strongest predictor was Engaged Learning. The findings regarding full-time versus less than full-time student status and intention to complete among African American male community college students yielded no significant differences. The findings of this study can inform institutional policies and practices that can improve the engagement of African American males in community college ultimately leading to student success.