Our College Degree: Familial Engagement in the Lives of Diverse Black Collegians

• In Event: 47.037 - The Family Goes to College: Understanding Family Engagement in College Choice and Access for Diverse Students

Abstract

Additionally, unlike K-12 research, scholarship on the mechanisms of family engagement during college is limited, especially for Black students (Herndon & Hirt, 2004). The purpose of this study is to examine the role of family in the educational success of diverse Black college students. Further, our study offers a more nuanced examination of how Black families influence academic achievement and college going by disaggregating Black college student data by ethnicity and nativity. The research questions are: What is the role of family in Black college students’ pursuit of and persistence in higher education? What are the diverse ways in which familial engagement emerges across nativity and ethnicity for diverse Black college students?

Authors

• Chrystal George Mwangi, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

• Barbara Thelamour, The College of Wooster

• Moya Malcom, University of Maryland - College Park