Understanding the association between experiential factors of success and navigating formal academic support systems for Black male students at a large Southeastern PWI

Over the last half century, Black students at predominantly White institutions have reported lower levels of academic achievement and degree completion than their non-Black peers. This disparity is particularly wide for Black males, who, despite increased engagement with campus formal support services like faculty, academic advisors, and tutors, still report lower levels of academic achievement. This study examined the relationship between Black male students’ experiences on a predominantly White campus and their decisions to seek help from formal campus resources. Additionally, this study sought to understand the relationship between Black male students’ campus experiences and their attitudes and perceptions regarding the use of campus formal support services. The current quantitative study used a nonexperimental, descriptive and correlational design to establish associative relationships between students’ campus experiences and their decisions to use campus resources, as well as their attitudes and perceptions. A unique 60-item survey was used to capture data with which a structural equation model was generated to identify relationships between the independent and dependent variables. The study was guided by the cultural-ecological framework, which suggests that students’ navigation of formal campus support resources is influenced by their encounters with and perceptions of both overt and covert racism on campus.
Results showed that Black male students are likely to use faculty members and computer labs more than any other resource, but that they are more likely than their White male peers to rely on transactional resources rather than holistic ones. Additionally, environmental experiences for Black male students significantly impacted their decisions to use campus resources to address issues with the campus environment, social alienation, and personal circumstance. Environmental experiences were also significantly associated with Black male students’ perception of campus resources playing a role in students’ system integration and maintaining healthy social networks while their psychosocial experiences significantly impacted their perception of campus resources playing a role in improving students’ motivation and disposition towards school. Finally, as Black male students encounter more social barriers to success, they are less likely to cite campus formal support resources as useful. Implications from this study include a continuing need to examine the complex relationship between students’ decisions to use formal campus support resources and the environment in which they choose to do so. Future studies should make use of SEM as a method for understanding how latent variables impact Black male students’ decisions to seek help on a predominantly White campus; variables which may be key for understanding barriers to success for Black males at PWIs. Additionally, future studies should utilize theoretical frameworks that account for individuals as reflexive to their environment, being structured by but also acting as agents within a complex and implicitly hostile system.