Rooted in the Soil: The Social Experiences of Black Graduate Students at a Southern Research University

A Phenomenological Investigation of African American Counselor Education Students' Challenging Experiences

“…Scholarship from other academic disciplines and programs concerning African American students' doctoral program experiences offers some insight, particularly related to obstacles students encounter while enrolled in doctoral programs. Difficulty associated with combining personal culture with program culture or cultural integration (Chavous, Rivas, Green, & Helaire, 2002;Protivnak & Foss, 2009;Rendon, Jalomo, & Nora, 2000) and feeling a sense of academic and social isolation from the rest of the university body (Daniel, 2007;Johnson-Bailey, Valentine, Cervero, & Bowles, 2009;Protivnak & Foss, 2009;Shealey, 2009) are two salient themes in the literature on African American students at PWIs.…”

“…Particularly, when the numbers of African American students enrolled in the program are considerably small, faculty, as well as students, may find such a discussion alienating to African American students and it may be counterproductive. In such instances, it may be more appropriate to set aside a time during the student orientation to discuss a diverse array of organizations students can join and include race-based on-campus (e.g., Black Greek student organizations, Black graduate student organizations) and off-campus (e.g., churches) organizations that African American students have been traditionally known to rely on for support (Johnson-Bailey et al, 2009;View & Frederick, 2011).…”

A Critical Race Case Analysis of Black Undergraduate Student Success at an Urban University

“…Since the publication of Ladson-Billings and Tate (1995), Critical Race Theory (CRT) has proven useful in examining various phenomena in higher education such as recurrent racial inequities in postsecondary policy making (e.g., Harper, Patton, & Wooden, 2009; Solórzano, Villalpando, & Oseguera, 2005; Taylor, 1999; Yosso, Parker, Solórzano, & Lynn, 2004), the racialized experiences of minoritized 1 students and faculty (e.g., Harper, 2009a; Harper et al, 2011; Jayakumar, Howard, Allen, & Han, 2009; Johnson-Bailey, Valentine, Cervero, & Bowles, 2009; McGee & Stovall, 2015; Patton, 2006; Patton & Catching, 2009; Smith, Yosso, & Solórzano, 2006; Solórzano, 1998; Solórzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000; Yosso, Smith, Ceja, & Solórzano, 2009), and the racialization of student development theories and topics related to college student success (e.g., Harper, 2012; Patton, Harper, & Harris, 2015; Patton, McEwen, Rendón, & Howard-Hamilton, 2007). The burgeoning use of CRT in education research over the past 20 years has resulted in deeper, more sophisticated understandings of these and other problems associated with race and racism in postsecondary contexts.…”

Adult Developmental Experiences of African American Doctoral Student Mothers: Illuminating Generativity Processes

“…Research centering on African American female students in higher education indicates that this particular population experiences multiple layers of discrimination, such as racism and sexism, throughout their education (Hermann et al, ; Haskins et al, ). This affects not only their academic experiences, but also their personal development, which is influenced by the discrimination they receive within society (Johnson‐Bailey, Valentine, Cervero, & Bowles, ). Viewing the mothering and career adult development experiences of African American doctoral student mothers through a contextual/sociocultural lens considers the role that social inequities such as race and gender have on adult development (Kjellström & Stålne, ).…”