Having Their Lives Narrowed Down? The State of Black Women’s College Success

Abstract

Contradictory trends emerge relative to Black women's college success: They have doubled their enrollment rates in thirty years but their graduation rates remain behind those of White and Asian women. This integrative, interdisciplinary review of both student-and institutional-level factors explores the role of individual characteristics and backgrounds, relationships, and institutional support structures relative to Black women's success in college. The findings reveal that African American women's lives may be narrowed down in research that includes them through (a) an emphasis on individual factors in college success instead of institutional (within college campuses) or larger sociostructural issues (race, class, or gender inequities in the larger society), (b) a lack of analysis of withingroup difference among Black women, and (c) framing the notion of success as persistence or completion of a student's degree program instead of self-identified or unique notions of success such as collective uplift, wellbeing, or satisfaction.

Student Veterans and the Transition to Higher Education: Integrating Existing Literatures

“…Social support from peers and participation in student activities and organizations have been shown to be strong predictors of academic success among African American students (Guiffrida, 2003;Harper & Quaye, 2007;Winkle-Wagner, 2015). Hurtado, Carter, and Spuler (1996) found that peer support was predictive of college outcomes for Latino/a students.…”

A Rhetorical Analysis of Beyoncé’s “Freedom”: An Examination of Black College Women’s Experiences at Predominately White Institutions

“…While Black women possess a range of experience within the system of higher education, institutions have built support systems within this community to help Black women thrive. An intentional effort on the part of institutions to make space and understand the role and impact of Black women in higher education is necessary for retention (Hannon, Woodside, Pollard, & Roman, 2016;Patton & McClure, 2009;Porter & Dean, 2015;Winkle-Wagner, 2015). In their qualitative study Porter and Dean (2015) employed a phenomenological approach to identify factors that influence the identity development and meaning making of four Black undergraduate women at a PWI.…”

“…This is indicative of Black women continually resisting oppressive structures of higher education. The symbolism of resistance in the "Freedom" performance is reflected in the literature on Black collegiate women's experiences, which emphasizes the determinism and motivation pulled from within during challenging times throughout the educational journey (Everett, 2015;Patton & McClure, 2009;Winkle-Wagner, 2015). In an effort to combat negative racial stereotypes some Black women have exhibited "prove-them-wrong-syndrome" which is "a response of determination and dedication to a task or goal that African American students use to overcome adversity and combat stereotypes" (Shavers & Moore, 2014, p. 26).…”

“…In an effort to combat negative racial stereotypes some Black women have exhibited "prove-them-wrong-syndrome" which is "a response of determination and dedication to a task or goal that African American students use to overcome adversity and combat stereotypes" (Shavers & Moore, 2014, p. 26). Further, Black women have resisted oppressive structures in higher education by cultivating their own standpoints and spaces in the academy irrespective of dominant ideologies of community, mentorship, and success (Grant, 2012;Greyerbiehl & Mitchell, 2014;Winkle-Wagner, 2008, 2015.…”

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“…These meta-analyses typically report effect sizes (signified by d ), which refer to the difference between the ITS condition and a control condition, calibrated in standard deviation units. The reported meta-analyses show positive effect sizes that vary from d = 0.05 (Dynarsky et al 2007; Steenbergen-Hu and Cooper 2014) to d = 1.08 (Dodds and Fletcher 2004), but most hover between d = 0.40 and d = 0.80 (Kulik and Fletcher 2015; Ma et al 2014; Steenbergen-Hu and Cooper 2013; VanLehn 2011). A reasonable meta-meta estimate from all of these meta-analyses is d = 0.60.…”