{"id":{"repo_id":"wku-diss","oai_identifier":"oai:digitalcommons.wku.edu:theses-1956"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/wku-diss/oai:digitalcommons.wku.edu:theses-1956","repository":{"repo_id":"wku-diss","name":"Western Kentucky University","base_url":"https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Factors Influencing Career Choices of African Americans in Academia: A Study of Members of the Black Caucus of the Speech Communication Association","abstract":"The purpose of this thesis is to study the influence of social, economic, occupational, cultural, educational, and demographic factors among African American communication professionals on their career choices. A quantitative research design was chosen for this research. The 300-member Black Caucus of the Speech Communication Association was chosen as the survey population. Each member was mailed a 17-item questionnaire. Of the 141 members who responded, 83 were African American; their responses were used in all data analyses. The major findings of this study are the following: (1) interest in or knowledge of the communication field was a significantly more important influence than job security, prestige, financial benefits, or social interaction with peers; (2) two-parent households increase the likelihood of success in college thereby increasing the likelihood of African American students choosing college teaching as a career; (3) African American role models and mentors have a strong influence on African American students and their career choices.","abstract_html":"The purpose of this thesis is to study the influence of social, economic, occupational, cultural, educational, and demographic factors among African American communication professionals on their career choices. A quantitative research design was chosen for this research. The 300-member Black Caucus of the Speech Communication Association was chosen as the survey population. Each member was mailed a 17-item questionnaire. Of the 141 members who responded, 83 were African American; their responses were used in all data analyses. The major findings of this study are the following: (1) interest in or knowledge of the communication field was a significantly more important influence than job security, prestige, financial benefits, or social interaction with peers; (2) two-parent households increase the likelihood of success in college thereby increasing the likelihood of African American students choosing college teaching as a career; (3) African American role models and mentors have a strong influence on African American students and their career choices.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Thornton, Carrie"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Department of Communication","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1994,"date_issued":"1994-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"1994-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:07:54Z","subjects":["Communication","Race and Ethnicity"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/953","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Thornton, Carrie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Communication"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Communication","Race and Ethnicity"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/953"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this thesis is to study the influence of social, economic, occupational, cultural, educational, and demographic factors among African American communication professionals on their career choices. A quantitative research design was chosen for this research. The 300-member Black Caucus of the Speech Communication Association was chosen as the survey population. Each member was mailed a 17-item questionnaire. Of the 141 members who responded, 83 were African American; their responses were used in all data analyses. The major findings of this study are the following: (1) interest in or knowledge of the communication field was a significantly more important influence than job security, prestige, financial benefits, or social interaction with peers; (2) two-parent households increase the likelihood of success in college thereby increasing the likelihood of African American students choosing college teaching as a career; (3) African American role models and mentors have a strong influence on African American students and their career choices."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Factors Influencing Career Choices of African Americans in Academia: A Study of Members of the Black Caucus of the Speech Communication Association"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Thornton, Carrie"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this thesis is to study the influence of social, economic, occupational, cultural, educational, and demographic factors among African American communication professionals on their career choices. A quantitative research design was chosen for this research. The 300-member Black Caucus of the Speech Communication Association was chosen as the survey population. Each member was mailed a 17-item questionnaire. Of the 141 members who responded, 83 were African American; their responses were used in all data analyses. The major findings of this study are the following: (1) interest in or knowledge of the communication field was a significantly more important influence than job security, prestige, financial benefits, or social interaction with peers; (2) two-parent households increase the likelihood of success in college thereby increasing the likelihood of African American students choosing college teaching as a career; (3) African American role models and mentors have a strong influence on African American students and their career choices."],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/953"],"dc:subject":["Communication","Race and Ethnicity"],"dc:title":["Factors Influencing Career Choices of African Americans in Academia: A Study of Members of the Black Caucus of the Speech Communication Association"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Communication"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:07:54Z"}