Date of Award
3-21-2013
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Educational Leadership
First Advisor
John Kuykendall
Abstract
The previous decade has seen the creation of African American Male Initiative programs at colleges and universities across the United States. These programs were created in response to the low retention and graduation rates of African American males on these campuses. There has been little research, however, to discover best practices for these programs and what must be done to best affect change for this population at institutions of higher education. Unfortunately, most published research on African American males has dealt only with the negative outcomes they face in education and life. Recent research, however, has begun to focus on those African American males who do succeed, and the lessons that their experience can provide for how a campus environment can cultivate success. This study tells the story of an African American Male Initiative at a doctoral research university in the American South. Data were collected through interviews with 20 students and 4 program administrators. The interview protocols were based on the conceptual framework for the study, which consisted of positive organizational scholarship variables and student retention/attrition theory variables that were theorized to affect African American male student success. The findings include emerging issues and implications for theory in positive organizational scholarship, and a list of 21 programmatic elements that participants stated were essential in its success. It is theorized that these 21 essential elements would be transferrable to the creation of similar programs at other institutions.
Recommended Citation
Patterson, Randall Bradford, "African American Male Initiatives and Positive Change: Understanding the Process of Successful Program Development" (2013). Theses and Dissertations. 412.
https://research.ualr.edu/etd/412
