Term of Award

Fall 2018

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)

Document Type and Release Option

Dissertation (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development

Committee Chair

Daniel Calhoun

Committee Member 1

Juliann McBrayer

Committee Member 2

Pamela Wells

Abstract

African American males have a more meaningful college experience when they are mentored with people with whom they can culturally relate (Brown, 2013; Moore & Tolliver, 2010). Although studies indicate African American males who had same race mentors display higher self-efficacy (Stefon, 2011), improved graduation rates (U.S. Department of Education, 2017), and a more positive college experience (Chen, Ingram & Davis, 2014), additional research in this area is needed.

Using a phenomenological approach, this qualitative study sought to determine the impact having a same race mentor had on the collegiate experiences of five African American males who successfully graduated from colleges in Georgia. Data collected through semi-structured interviews addressed the overarching research question: What are the perceptions of African American male college students regarding the impact of same race mentor relationships on their college experience? and the two sub-questions related to this study: 1) To what extent did having a same race mentor affect the African American male college students’ persistence in college?; 2) To what extent did having a same race mentor affect the African American male college students’ self-efficacy regarding feeling as though they belong in the higher education environment? The participants shared that same race mentor relationships improved their college experience through providing intentional guidance and support.

OCLC Number

1085541981

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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