African American Males Navigating Their Way to College: A Socio-Ecological Resiliency Model

Background and Purpose:  The primary aim of this qualitative study was to learn from the experiences that male, African-American young adults have had with environmental resources that enhanced their social ecologies and increased likelihood of college enrollment. African-American males represent five percent of the total four-year college population. Despite the evolution of race relations in the United States, African-American males experience discipline disparities in secondary education due to zero-tolerance policies, reduced access to culturally competent school staff, and deleterious effects of school-to-prison pipeline, all of which reduce college enrollment. The specific research question was: What are the socio-ecological processes that helped African-American males from single mother families (SMF) navigate their way to post-secondary education?

Method: A qualitative, grounded theory investigation was completed in order to uncover essential resources in participants’ social ecologies that contributed to pre-college socialization. Purposive snowball sampling was utilized and individual interviews were conducted. Interviews were analyzed in the qualitative analysis program Dedoose in order to draw out data and generate a substantive socio-ecological theory explaining the developmental processes of resilience for African-American young adult males ages 18-26 from SMF (N=22), enrolled in a four-year, post-secondary educational institution. A central phenomenon was generated by utilizing the crucial components of grounded theory methodology (theoretical sensitivity, constant comparative analysis, theoretical sampling, and saturation.)

Participants were males ranging in age from 18 to 26 years old (N=22) and all but one attended college in Arkansas. Six were graduate students, 16 were undergraduates, and 19 reported use of scholarships to pay for tuition. All participants reported residing in single mother families of origin, and 15 resided with their mother and other extended family members (aunts/uncles, grandparents, and fictive kin). 

Results: Environmental influences that allow for pre-college readiness and eventual enrollment at a four-year college include family, peers, community programs, school, and societal expectations, all of which contribute to the overall socio-ecological resiliency process. The core category that emerged from the data was family support, as initial establishment of non-negotiable family expectations that participants attend college greatly influences peer group selection, combats negative societal expectations regarding academic success, facilitates participation in community programs that increase college readiness, and increases the likelihood that teachers recognize students’ abilities, provide additional academic support, and recruit them for school programs that expedites college preparedness.

Conclusions and Implications: Family members are essential in promoting resiliency and academic attainment in African-American males. Familial expectations determine whether or not students are able to take advantage of other resources in their environment. In order to increase college enrollment of African-American youth, school and community leaders must shift from deficit-based patterns of thinking that blames students and family structure for perceived shortcomings and instead acknowledge systems that keep them from advancement. School staff must build relationships with African-American students and their families and begin a collaborative effort to aid in their navigational process to college. Additional research is needed to explore the relationship between teacher perceptions of African-American students and the likelihood of assistance with navigating to college.