African American Family, Culture, and Racial Identity in College Choice
Background: College choice research shows African American students’ families, teachers, counselors, and peers influence their decision making. It also highlights the barriers these students may face due to lack of finances, social capital, information, and preparedness. Problem Statement: However, research often overlooks aspects of the African American college choice experience because African-rooted family and cultural characteristics that shape the process are not considered. The role of race and racism in the process has also been understudied. Purpose/Research Questions: This study explored how family, culture, and racial identity shape college choice for African Americans. The Afrocentric Paradigm was used to understand the role of family, community, and culture in students’ decision making. The Multidimensional Model of Racial Identity was used to consider how students’ perceptions of their racial identities shape their experiences through the process. Method: The study used a generic qualitative approach. Ten first-year students from two minority-serving institutions participated in the study. They self-identified as African American or Black, and some were 1.5- and second-generation immigrants. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and participant responses to the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (MIBI). The MIBI did not produce sufficient evidence for use in the study. Findings: Family, fictive kin, friends, and school staff played a role in participants’ college choice. Participants saw some individuals as influential and some as only supportive. Together, these individuals formed supportive communities that encouraged participants in going to college. Some participants also took agency in their decisions and, thus, saw themselves as their own influences. Four shared cultural characteristics—the centrality of community, a sense of the sacred and of religion, the value of education, and remembering those who have come before—motivated participants’ college choice decisions. Race and racism also informed their decisions, particularly their choice of institution. Conclusion: African American students’ influences, motivations, and decisions in college choice are shaped by family, culture, and racial identity. These factors must inform the work of scholars and practitioners so that the barriers these students face in the process can be addressed in ways that align with their values and lived experiences.
African American, college choice, culture, family, racial identity
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