Mentoring Experiences of Undergraduate Black Males: A Case Study of Their Journeys, Access, and Participation

The present qualitative case study documents the mentoring relationships and collegiate experiences of eight undergraduate Black males as well as their self-reported participation and access to mentoring. The main research question guiding the study was: What are the mentoring relationships and collegiate experiences of eight undergraduate Black males as well as their self-reported participation and access to mentoring? The supporting questions included: (1) What does mentoring look like for undergraduate Black males? (2) What are their perceptions of mentoring relationships? (3) How do these mentoring relationships impact their collegiate experience? Data collection sources for this study were: individual interviews, artifacts identified by the participants, a focus group session, and field notes. Narrative analysis served as the method for data analysis as data were collected through stories and accounts of the individual and collective experiences of the study participants. To this end, this dissertation provides two chapters for study findings, chapter four and chapter five. Chapter four provides detailed insight into the personal background of the eight Black male undergraduate participants, what mentoring looks like for them, and their perceptions of mentoring relationships. Chapter five documents the participant’s access to various forms of capital and the experiential learning product of their participation in mentoring programs offered by the university. Study findings are presented in light of Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning theory and forms of capital as described in the work of Bourdieu (1986) and Yosso (2005) and consist of cultural capital, social capital, and navigational capital. Finally, the last chapter presents highlights of participants’ perceptions about mentoring, a suggested best practices model, tensions and challenges related to the study, implications for practice, and ideas future research.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Adult, Professional, and Community Education

Grantor

Texas State University

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• White, Anthony L.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Larrotta, Clarena

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Oliver, John A.
• Ross-Gordon, Jovita M.
• Stewart, Paul B.

• mentoring
• undergraduate Black males
• experiential learning
• forms of capital

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10877/4701

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digital.library.txst.edu:10877/4701