Examining African American Academic Persistence Through Identity Maps

• In Event: 32.083 - Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: 32.083-14 - Critical Examinations of Academic Persistence and Outcomes Among Students of Color

Abstract

African Americans lack equal access to education and other quality of life markers. Further, the voices of success are often muted by the majoritarian narrative of African American student failure. This research focuses on African American student success and examines the specific socio-cultural characteristics and processes that shape the ways in which African American students develop their own counter-narratives to persist and gain access to higher education. Student-drawn identity maps are highlighted as an effective research method to understand the factors that influence the development of counter-narratives.

Author

• Stacey Freeman, Boston University