Black Male Students in Higher Education Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: The COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Male Students of Color in Higher Education

Abstract

There are innumerable challenges that contribute to the plight of Black males matriculating in postsecondary education, thus challenging and compromising their academic success and retention in higher education, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scholars have found that barriers such as lack of faculty engagement, encounters of racism and stereotypes, social isolation, low academic achievement, and lack of college readiness impact Black males’ matriculation across all institutional types (Brooms, 2017; Emetu, 2019; Harper et al., 2018; Palmer et al., 2014). Additionally, institutional factors, including environment, policies, and practices—such as financial resources, engagement, and (lack of) connections—negatively impact Black men in the community college (Wood, 2012; Wood & Newman, 2017) and four-year institutions, particularly those that are historically/predominantly white (Robertson & Chaney, 2017), contribute to Black male attrition.



Beyond this, Black males’ economic leverage is different than their white counterparts, as the wealth gap is astronomically disproportionate, presenting different educational realities for Black males navigating postsecondary education. The additional risks Black students face when taking on student debt are exacerbated by other disparities in the higher education system, including predatory for-profit colleges that engage in race-based targeting (Mishory et al., 2019; Southern & Davis, 2021). Research has also shown that many African American males are often first-generation college students whose parents may not have college-going knowledge as compared to those parents who are college graduates (Owens et al., 2010). The under-representation of low-income students at selective colleges likely exacerbates both educational and income inequality (Dynarski et al., 2021).



Given the challenges and overall experiences of Black boys and men across the educational spectrum, as noted briefly above, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their education in a number of ways. Generally, as has been reported in news media outlets and other discussions, enrollment in higher education has decreased over the past year for all students overall. In particular, Black enrollment declined at each type of undergraduate institution during the summer of 2020 compared to a year earlier; the drops were largest at institutions that cater to low-income students (Barshay, 2020) and Black student enrollment fell by nearly 9.0% (Miller, 2020; National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 2021).



These decreases in enrollment, especially when combined with financial challenges that many higher education institutions have experienced during and throughout the pandemic, can have an adverse effect on Black male students’ collegiate experiences. Most fundamentally, many of these challenges have been exacerbated given the shifts and adjustments in teaching, educational/campus activities, and programming and events. While these challenges are numerous, ranging from personal to communal, we focus on five interrelated factors that exacerbate Black boys’ and men’s educational experiences. Specifically, we note their personal and familial responsibilities, multiple realities (e.g., community, education), navigating online instruction and schooling, opportunities to engage with education differently, and their health and wellness. In outlining and discussing how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has impacted this student population very specifically, we also provide recommendations grounded in research and practice for how institutions can best support them moving forward.

Authors

• Derrick R. Brooms, University of Tennessee

• Marquis Alexander Lester, Texas A&M University