Construction for Societal Success: A Critical Examination of Paternalism at a Mid-Atlantic Historically Black University (Poster 2)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Thursday 9:50 a.m.
  In Poster Session: Higher Education Policy Analysis

Abstract

Historically, higher education institutions assumed responsibility over the safety and development of students under the “in loco parentis” doctrine. Although there was a decline of paternalism in higher education after the landmark ruling of Dixon v. Alabama in 1961, Historically Black Colleges and Universities “maintained stringent codes of conduct” (Njoku et al., 2017, 785) to develop, protect, empower a marginalized demographic of students through modes of social construction. This presentation will present findings from a critical case study on a mid-Atlantic HBCU using critical method document analysis to evaluate how paternalistic beliefs, values, and attitudes of institutional actors are communicated to students through policies published in student handbooks overtime, and how this enhances or diminishes student agency.

Author

• Chelsia Ivee Douglas, University of Delaware