First Choice or Respect? Reasons Why Black Students Chose Their Historically Black College or University

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Black Activism and Student Engagement at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Abstract

The purposes of this paper are to (a) identify reasons why students chose to attend a public, four-year HBCU in the southern United States; (b) to understand if students who chose the HBCU as their first choice differ in their respect for the institution compared to their counterparts; and (c) to make recommendations for similar HBCUs to become first choice institutions among students seeking postsecondary education using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory. A survey of 36 Black students at an HBCU revealed that students who did not choose their HBCU as their first-choice institution had higher respect for their institution compared to first-choice students. Additionally, students chose their HBCU because of academic programs, the environment, and the HBCU status.

Authors

• Rashunda L. Stitt Richardson, Winston-Salem State University

• Bryanna Williams

• Emair Russell