Higher Education and African Americans

Paper Summary:

The paper attempts to determine the predictors that reveal attrition rates among African-American college students or aspiring college students. The paper provides a literature review and devises a variance analysis of different groups to argue that attitudes which value or devalue a post-secondary education are tied to racial affiliation. The paper therefore shows how, ultimately, these predictors are chief explanatory factors for why students fail to apply to school or drop out long before they have achieved final success.

Outline:
Abstract
Introduction
The research/empirical literature
Methodology
Methodological limitations

From the Paper:

"The following paper will argue that African Americans fail to access (and to achieve success in) higher education because of underlying factors that can easily serve as reliable predictors of troubles to come. For instance, racial quotas or affirmative action policies in America have distracted attention away from school failures and from ecological problems (de-emphasis upon higher education, de-emphasis upon scholastic achievement) that keep African-Americans out of school or from finding the levels of achievement they deserve. Additionally, students will fail to attend university if they sense that the reward simply is not there in the end or if they feel that they will be the victims of racial stereotyping (in short, it may be extrapolated from the literature that academic persistence is directly impacted by what people believe they will experience when attending an institution). Lastly, one other key predictor is the extent to which parents value higher education and the educational attainment they themselves possess."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Arnold, Karen D. & Renn, Kristen A. (2003). Reconceptualizing research on college student peer pressure culture. Journal of Higher Education, 74(3): 261+. Retrieved May 18, 2007 from Gale Group database.
• Cabrera, Alberto F., & Amaury, Nora. (1996). The role of perceptions of prejudice and discrimination on the adjustment of minority students to college. Journal of Higher Education, 67(2): 119+. Retrieved May 18, 2007 from Gale Group database.
• Desjardins, Stephen L., Ahlburg, Dennis A., & McCall, Brian P. (2006). An integrated model of application, admission enrollment, and financial Aid. Journal of Higher Education, 77(3): 381+. Retrieved May 18, 2007 from Gale Group database.
• Dorsey, Marlene S. & Jackson, Anita P. (1995). Afro-American students' perceptions of factors affecting academic performance at a predominantly white school. Western Journal of Black Studies, 19(3): 189-195.
• Garcia, Nancy, & Fleming, Jacqueline. (1998). Are standardized tests fair to African Americans? Journal of Higher Education, 69(5): 471+. Retrieved May 18, 2007 from Gale Group database.

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