(Re)defining the Narrative

Abstract

Using Harper's anti-deficit achievement framework as a theoretical guide, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate the academic and social experiences of four nontraditional, high-achieving, Black male undergraduates attending one historically Black university. Findings show that the participants were intrinsically motivated to succeed in college to make a better future for themselves and their families. Support from their peers, family, and children also played a role in their success. Last, the university cultivated a campus environment that affirmed the participants' identities as Black males and nontraditional students. These findings present a counternarrative to deficit-oriented research about Black males generally and nontraditional Black male collegians specifically. Keywords nontraditional high-achieving Black males, historically Black college and universityWhy are Black men not succeeding in education? This simple question often frames scholarly conversations about the academic trajectory of Black males. Moreover, this type of question captures what Valencia (1997) described as a deficit thinking approach that "holds that poor schooling performance is rooted in students' alleged cognitive and motivational deficits, while institutional structures and inequitable schooling

The Counter-Deficit Lens in Educational Research: Interrogating Conceptions of Structural Oppression

“…Students persist through challenges and overcome the inadequacies of urban schools (Lawton-Sticklor, 2018). Numerous counter-deficit researchers have illuminated marginalized students who leverage cultural strengths to achieve in college (Cooper, 2016; Cooper et al, 2016; Cooper, 2018; Duncheon, 2018; Goings, 2016; Heng, 2018; Kim & Hargrove, 2013; Means et al, 2019; Pérez, 2017). Many marginalized students aspire to study abroad in their time at university (Perkins, 2020).…”

Race Without Gender? Trends and Limitations in the Higher Education Scholarship Regarding Men of Color

“…First, we return to the major contradiction in the scholarship, that race and racism are given explanatory power and dynamic analysis, yet gender, masculinities, patriarchy, and sexism are not. Again, there has been an unintended outcome of the focus on antideficit approaches to the underrepresentation and underperformance of men of color in higher education (e.g., Arámbula Turner, 2019a, 2019b; Goings, 2016; Harper, 2015; Pérez, 2017). That consequence is the lack of critical attention to the counterproductive and frequently harmful (self and other harm) ways that young men of color are socialized into manhood (Abalos, 2002; Connell, 2005; hooks, 2004a; McGuire et al, 2014).…”

Exploring the Success and Failure of Small Business in Beckley, West Virginia

“…First, the field notes will be labeled as using a short phrase from each question enabling the development of categories and an analysis of their connection to the success of failure of small businesses in Beckley. The importance of this practice is based on its ability to group participant responses into common themes and to defer thoughts having a better comprehension of the viewpoint of the participants (Goings, 2016). Second, the participant data will be analytically coded.…”