BLACK MALE COLLEGIANS’ PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENT SUCCESS AT HISTORICALLY WHITE INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

This study explored how Black male collegians define success during their college enrollment. Over the last 20 years, a robust amount of literature has been devoted to the topic of Black male students in higher education, most of it advancing a “deficit narrative” – that is, focusing on the “deficits” that cause Black males to “fail” in higher education (Harper, 2014). However, a relatively small amount of literature addresses how Black males’ experiences are related to conceptions of collegiate success. Definitions of “success” vary by institution, but regardless of definition, most institutions neglect to include Black male collegians in defining, creating, or collaborating in the development of collegiate conceptions of success. This study investigated the ways in which Black males conceive student success. Their ideas have the potential to nuance institutional assumptions and/or expand institutional frames of student success. This study uses “counter-storytelling,” a methodology outlined by critical race theory (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002), to disrupt the dominant “deficit” discourse and provide a voice of agency for Black male collegians when defining student success. By understanding Black males’ conceptions of success, institutions can (re-) evaluate strategies that contribute to the overall success of Black male collegians and potentially all college students.