Understanding High-Achieving African American Students: A Quantitative Study at Grand Valley State University
Location
Hager-Lubbers Exhibition Hall
Description
PURPOSE: Many obstacles often stand in the way of collegiate success for students who identify as African American (Mauk & Jones, 2006). The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics of high-achieving African American students. SUBJECTS: A census population of 353 undergraduate students identifying as African American were invited to voluntarily participate in this study. These students possessed sophomore or higher status and maintained a GPA of 3.0 or greater at the time of survey distribution. 101 students completed the survey resulting in a response rate of 28.6%. METHODS: The survey instrument was developed by the researcher with assistance from the Statistical Consulting Center. An invitation to participate was sent to the target population by Information Technology and the link remained active for ten days. ANALYSIS: Due to the nature of the survey, descriptive statistics were utilized to report the majority of results. However, a Chi Square Test of Independence with an alpha level of .05 was utilized to determine significant and non-significant relationships, where applicable. RESULTS: Statistically significant findings include that: males are underrepresented within the high-achieving population; students who live within one hour of GVSU are more likely to return home more frequently; and within the high-achieving group, GPA directly relates to considering leaving GVSU. Many additional findings are also discussed. CONCLUSIONS: Expanding upon existing research, results from this study suggest that high-achieving African American students are considering leaving GVSU at higher rates when compared with all African American students. Additional expansions and affirmations of existing research are also discussed.
Understanding High-Achieving African American Students: A Quantitative Study at Grand Valley State University
Hager-Lubbers Exhibition Hall
PURPOSE: Many obstacles often stand in the way of collegiate success for students who identify as African American (Mauk & Jones, 2006). The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics of high-achieving African American students. SUBJECTS: A census population of 353 undergraduate students identifying as African American were invited to voluntarily participate in this study. These students possessed sophomore or higher status and maintained a GPA of 3.0 or greater at the time of survey distribution. 101 students completed the survey resulting in a response rate of 28.6%. METHODS: The survey instrument was developed by the researcher with assistance from the Statistical Consulting Center. An invitation to participate was sent to the target population by Information Technology and the link remained active for ten days. ANALYSIS: Due to the nature of the survey, descriptive statistics were utilized to report the majority of results. However, a Chi Square Test of Independence with an alpha level of .05 was utilized to determine significant and non-significant relationships, where applicable. RESULTS: Statistically significant findings include that: males are underrepresented within the high-achieving population; students who live within one hour of GVSU are more likely to return home more frequently; and within the high-achieving group, GPA directly relates to considering leaving GVSU. Many additional findings are also discussed. CONCLUSIONS: Expanding upon existing research, results from this study suggest that high-achieving African American students are considering leaving GVSU at higher rates when compared with all African American students. Additional expansions and affirmations of existing research are also discussed.