Aspects Of The Student Engagement Of African American Men In Community College

Abstract

High attrition rates of African American college students' is a continuing concern of higher education administrators. This is particularly true of African American men attending community college. African American men consistently experience low levels of scholastic achievement as a result of entering college underprepared, with academic deficits that require institutional support (Cuyjet, 2006). Without programs designed to promote their success and retention, graduation rates of African American men will remain lower than those of their college peers. Student engagement, as promoted by The Center for Student Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin, has become a national catalyst for the establishment of programs geared toward enhancing the retention and academic achievement of all community college students. Using secondary data extracted from the 2010 Cohort of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement, this quantitative study explored differences in the active and collaborative learning, student effort, and student-faculty interaction facets of student engagement among African American male community college students. The current study examined African American male college persistence from an anti-deficit perspective (Harper, 2012). T-test analysis was used to explore the impact of family background, students' experiences, and social integration as measured by the education levels of parents, use of college services, and the support of family and friends on student engagement. Findings suggest parents' college education level had no significant bearing on student engagement for the studied population. Student use of academic advising, career counseling, tutoring services, computer labs, and their participation in student organizations were found to promote student engagement. Additionally, study results determined that having the support of friends and family was a contributing factor in the student engagement of African American men attending community college.