ERIC Number: ED656354
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 174
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3828-1492-6
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
An Equity-Minded Approach to Improving Black Male Student Persistence at Four Corners Community College: Reframing the Issues
Rebecca G. Childs
ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Western Carolina University
Most Black males envision community colleges as a gateway to higher education and upward mobility. Unfortunately, success metrics from across the United States reveal that community colleges fail to facilitate equitable outcomes for these students. A combination of factors creates campus climates that are not conducive to Black male student sense of belonging and persistence. Efforts to address this problem of practice often include mentoring initiatives and other student-focused programming. Less attention is given to mitigating the systemic root causes that create the conditions that perpetuate low Black male student persistence rates. In this disquisition, I examine the implementation of an Equity Scorecard initiative at a regional community college. The initiative was designed to improve educator equity-mindedness and service delivery, which impact Black male student sense of belonging and persistence. Using the Improvement Science framework, I incorporated two Plan-Study-Do-Act (PDSA) cycles and utilized practical measures to evaluate how structured practitioner reflection impacted staff member equity-mindedness and service delivery. By reframing the issue of Black male student persistence as a matter of institutional responsibility, the findings of this study have important practice and policy implications that can support equity work in institutions of higher education. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Community College Students, Blacks, Males, African American Students, Academic Persistence, Equal Education, Program Implementation, Group Membership, Interpersonal Relationship, Attitudes, College Faculty, Teacher Attitudes
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
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