“It Was Really Tough”—Exploring the Feelings of Isolation and Cultural Dissonance With Black American Males at a Predominantly White Institution

Abstract

Black American males and low socioeconomic status students face a gauntlet of obstacles when pursuing their college degrees. These young men do not earn degrees at the same rate as their peers. As campus engagement, recreation, and leisure play pivotal roles in students’ experiences, investigating their influence relative to social integration might facilitate a better understanding of the issues they face. This study explored how Black American male undergraduates from low socioeconomic status backgrounds perceived the roles that campus engagement, recreation, and leisure played in their social integration. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model of human development guided the qualitative approach to this study. Seventeen participants were interviewed, and interwoven themes related to feelings of isolation and cultural dissonance emerged. Theorizing about the complex roles leisure plays, in some cases, creating isolation and cultural dissonance and, in others, helping students navigate the challenges of college are presented.

Beyond the Bridge

“…internships, student organizations, study abroad; Strayhorn, 2011). However, some studies have found that the community built and the social interactions that transpire during bridge programs provide students with an unrealistic understanding of what the college environment will be like post-program (Patterson, 2018). This is especially true for students of color at predominantly White institutions (Patterson, 2018).…”

“…However, some studies have found that the community built and the social interactions that transpire during bridge programs provide students with an unrealistic understanding of what the college environment will be like post-program (Patterson, 2018). This is especially true for students of color at predominantly White institutions (Patterson, 2018). In a study of Black American males at a predominantly White institution, Patterson (2018) found that those who were involved in an educational opportunity program in the summer before their fall semester struggled in the fall because they did not feel connected to the broader campus community.…”

“…This is especially true for students of color at predominantly White institutions (Patterson, 2018). In a study of Black American males at a predominantly White institution, Patterson (2018) found that those who were involved in an educational opportunity program in the summer before their fall semester struggled in the fall because they did not feel connected to the broader campus community. Participants were familiar with the physical aspects of campus but the social community was quite different from what they had experienced over the summer.…”

Helping Students FIG-ure It Out: A Large-Scale Study of Freshmen Interest Groups and Student Success

“…Second, students of color use peer-to-peer networks among freshmen to improve their academic performance and navigate college life. Peer networks are essential in improving underrepresented racial minority students campus engagement, recreation, and leisure, which play important roles in their social integration (Farmer-Hinton, 2008;Patterson, 2018;Zirkel, 2004). We thus hypothesized that FIGs, which are intentionally designed to build mentoring relationships and learning social and academic learning support, may be particularly beneficial for underrepresented racial minority students.…”

The Factors Influencing Retention of Online Adult Learners: A Case Study of a Private Institution

“…In addition, they did not account for other factors that affect student retention, such as racial identity (Patterson, Preuss, Bennett, Renner, & Wanstreet 2 2021;Rodriguez & Mallinckrodt, 2021;Strayhorn, 2013;and Toven-Lindsey et al, 2015), age (Ahn & Davis, 2020), gender (Kelly et al, 2021;and Patterson, 2021), first-generation status (Radunzel, 2021;Manyanga et al, 2017;and Donaldson et al, 2016), time to degree (Yue & Fu, 2017), math or English remediation (Boatman, 2021), transfer credits (Boston et al, 2011), or financial issues (Ellis, 2017;Manyanga et al, 2017;and Braxton et al, 2007).…”