10/04/2024
Today, I received the published of my dissertation: Redefining “Success”: The Study of Black Males’ Perception of success in Higher Education.
Abstract: Diversity has become an important characteristic of higher education; however, in manyhigher education institutions, the admission, enrollment, and support of a diverse studentpopulation remain a challenge, especially concerning the admission, retention, and graduation of Black males (Lee & Keys, 2013; Lynch, 2014; Nelms, 2010; Palmer et al., 2014). Due to the widening graduation gap that exists between Black males and other majority races and concerns that they are disappearing from college and university campuses across the country, tesearcher Michael Washington (2013) questioned whether Black male college graduates are becoming an endangered species. Washington expressed his concern that Black males are endangered in higher education. Despite Increased efforts to promote educational opportunities for Black males in higher education, many researchers argued that, although institutions are making good efforts to improve the outcomes of Black males, their strategies are, in the best cases, outdated and, in the worst cases, counterproductive (Harper, 2014; Palmer et al., 2013). A plethora of research reinforced the hypothesis that Black males are very severely
disadvantaged and lack the ability to perform well, and thereby, are incapable of college
success (Davis, 1994; Palmer & Maramba, 2011). Using a phenomenological approach, this research aimed to understand the factors that influenced black males’ success in college and identify common themes that emerged from their experiences. The findings revealed several key things that contributed to black males’ success  in college, including familiar empowerment, the praxis of endurance, the ethos of adaptability, the ecology of Hope and the persona of excellence. These themes highlight the importance of family support, self-advocacy, mind shifts, community networks, and a presentation of oneself in achieving success in college, and provides triumphant stories of how Black males’  cultural capacities put things within their control to help them deal with those things that were out of their control. This research and findings manifested into a conceptual framework developed from the research called “ The Ecology of Success Model”  and provides valuable insights for higher education institutions to improve support and retention rates for Black male students.
