Low Academic Outcomes of Black Men in Community College: Is Mentorship One Solution?

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Mentoring Approaches to Enhance Undergraduate Education

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to identify factors that facilitate success among Black men who attend community college. The study emphasized using the men’s own words to provide evidence. Data included an informal interview, responses to a brief survey with open-ended questions, and an informal conversation with two other Black male students. The data revealed that despite the many challenges this population faces, in and outside of school, three factors: self-efficacy, motivation, and support combine and interact to equal success for many of these men. Implications suggest that evidence-based interventions that include these factors have the potential to have a positive effect on the educational outcomes of Black men that attend community colleges.

Author

• Richard Dwight Bridges, San Francisco State University