African American Male Student Focus Group Report...African American Male Student Focus Group Data...

African American Male Student Focus Group Data Report--April 2010 2

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND

This document reports the analysis of student focus group qualitative data collected to examine

the reasons TCC African American male students have difficulty succeeding in college.

Achieving the Dream (AtD) is a multiyear national effort to help community college students

succeed. This effort focuses on student groups that traditionally have faced significant barriers

to success, including students of color and low-income students. TCC is working to increase

the percentage of students who accomplish the following five goals:

successfully complete the courses students take;

advance from remedial to credit-bearing courses;

enroll in and successfully complete gatekeeper courses;

enroll from one semester to the next;

earn degrees and/or certificates.

Because both national and institutional data indicate that African American male community

college students face overwhelming barriers to success, the college has selected this group of

students to work with for understanding and intervention of identified barriers or challenges.

The below Achieving the Dream FOUR-STEP PROCESS will be used for making data-

informed decisions about helping students be successful at TCC.

COMPONENT 1 – What’s Wrong?

Identify areas of weakness using quantitative data provided by Planning and Institutional

Research.

COMPONENT 2 -- Why Is the Problem Happening?

Conduct research using qualitative methods (e.g., focus groups or interviews) and/or

quantitative methods (e.g., surveys or descriptive data analysis) with faculty, staff, and

students to address the barriers/challenges encountered in the considered target area. In

addition, when possible, capture the knowledge and actions faculty, staff, and students

utilized to overcome these challenges/barriers.

COMPONENT 3 – Design and Implement Intervention(s)

Data-informed decisions are made by faculty and staff.

COMPONENT 4 – Evaluate and Assess the Impact of the Intervention(s)

Using both formative and summative assessments of interventions, we evaluate progress

toward increasing African American male success. Interventions are modified based on

assessment findings.


As a part of COMPONENT 1, quantitative data were collected from 109 African American

male students in the first-time freshmen cohort enrolled in 2008.

Fall 2008 African American male, first-time freshmen student cohort = 109 students.

Average African American male, first-time freshmen,

o Fall to Spring retention = 60%,

o Compared to 74% overall college Fall to Spring retention.

Average African American male, first-time freshmen,

o Fall to Fall retention = 36%,

o Compared to 50% overall college Fall to Fall retention.

African American male, first-time freshmen persistence,

o After three years, including graduation or retention, is 16%,

o Compared to 36% overall college first-time freshmen persistence after three

years.

COMPONENT 2 required investigating „why‟ many African American male students were

having difficulty succeeding in college. TCC Achieving the Dream conducted student focus

groups in summer and fall 2009 semesters to discover the challenges and barriers students faced

while enrolled at TCC.

[NOTE: This report presents data from Components One and Two of the process. The

Intervention Team will continue investigating and responding to identified college barriers by

going through Components Three and Four of the Achieving the Dream process.]

METHODOLOGY

Focus groups for African American male students were conducted during July and October

2009. A total of seven focus groups, six at Metro Campus and one at Northeast Campus, were

led by six trained facilitators and scribes from TCC‟s Achieving the Dream Data Team.

Data collected in each focus group included barriers (or challenges) to success for African

American males, as identified by African American male students. In addition, students related

for each barrier the knowledge, actions, changes and what currently works at TCC.

After Data Team facilitators transcribed their focus group data into spreadsheets, a

comprehensive African American male spreadsheet was created with 110 barrier items. To

begin the process of analyzing the data, a modified Q-sort was conducted on all barrier items by

each data team member. Each barrier item was classified into a broader barrier subtype

category. From the results of this Q-sort, the barrier subtypes were sorted into three types or

groups: Managing College Life and Goals, African American Male Experience, or Institutional

barriers.

DATA

As a result of these focus groups, 110 barrier items for African American males were identified.

Of these, 69 barrier items were related to Managing College Life and Goals, 24 barrier items

were specifically related to the African American Male Experience, and 17 barrier items were

related to Institutional Barriers.


Barrier items were categorized by subtype and then type.

For the 69 barrier items for Managing College Life and Goals, ten barrier subtypes were

identified. The table below lists the ten barrier subtypes and their frequency counts. A

corresponding pie chart listing the percentages found for each barrier subtype has also been

given.

[

Managing College Life and Goals Barrier Type Total

Number

Balancing School, Employment, and Life 14

Adjusting to College 10

Financial Management/Need 10

Goals (academic, career, background) 10

Academic Skills 8

Motivation 7

Time Management (including procrastination) 5

Non-Traditional Student 3

Fear of Failing 1

Transportation 1

Total 69 Items

Table 1. Barrier subtypes with corresponding frequency counts for 69 Managing College Life and Goals

Barrier Items

Chart 1: Barrier subtypes with corresponding relative frequencies for 69 Managing College Life and

Goals Barrier Items


For the 24 barrier items for African American Male Experience, three barrier subtypes were

identified. The table below lists the three barrier subtypes and their frequency counts. A

corresponding pie chart listing the percentages found for each barrier subtype has also been

given.

African American Male Experience Barrier Type Total

Number

Negative Peer, Community, and Family Influences 12

Not seeing others of the same race/gender 6

Stereotyping 6

Total 24 Items

Table 2. Barrier subtypes with corresponding frequency counts for 24 African American Male

Experience Items

Chart 2: Barrier subtypes with corresponding relative frequencies for 24 African American

Male Experience barrier items


For the 17 Institutional Barrier Items, two barrier subtypes were identified. The table below

lists the two barrier subtypes and the frequency counts. A corresponding pie chart listing the

percentages found for each barrier subtype has also been given.

Institutional Barrier Type Total Number

College resources (navigating campuses;

finding campus offices and services;

mentoring programs)

16

Textbooks 1

Total 17 Items

Table 3. Barrier subtypes with corresponding frequency counts for 17 Institutional

Barrier Items.

Chart 3: Barrier subtypes with corresponding relative frequencies for 17 Institutional

Barrier Items.


To help focus on the specific barriers identified by the focus group participants, below is a

comprehensive list of the specific barrier items sorted by Type and Subtype.

African American Male Barriers by Frequency: Summer and Fall 2009

I Managing College Life and Goals (69 barriers)

A. Balancing School, Employment, and Life (14 barriers)

1. Balancing family and school life

2 Balancing work and school schedule

3. Adjusting (balancing) work and school

4. Prioritizing work and studies

5. Balancing work and school

6. Balancing family and school

7. Scheduling school and work

8. Balancing school and life

9. Balancing job work and school

10. Family relying on me

11. Job placement while in school

12. Finding work

13. Job

14. Health (learning disability, causing student to miss class)

B. Adjusting to College (10 barriers)

1. Street life (adjusting to school environment)

2 Adjusting to a new schedule (not like high school); not Monday-Friday

3. Getting adjusted to teachers (teaching styles fast-paced/personalities)

4. Coming out of high school

5. Lots of freedom

6. To be more responsible

7. Not to give up

8. Lack of discipline

9. Lack of asking

10. Lots of work/effort

C. Financial Management/Need (10 barriers)

1. Second job

2 Financial challenges (paying for books)

3. No money

4. Lack of money

5. Management of finances

6. Financial (job layoff)

7. Finances

8. Financial support

9. Financial Aid

10. Lack of Financial Aid for older students (Not T.A eligible)

D. Goals (10 barriers)

1. Difficulty with identifying goals


2 Choosing a major

3. Choosing a career

4. Lack of a game plan

5. Fear of career choices

6. Purpose of going to college

7. Losing focus

8. Personal barrier to not go back to school (being mentally prepared)

9. College is not for me (mindset)

10. Understanding the relationship between academic success and career

E. Academic Skills (8 barriers)

1. Identifying academic areas you need to work on

2 Inadequate preparation

3. Study habits

4. Poor study habits (working full time)(not being taught how to study)

5. Study skills

6. Being oriented toward correct English

7. Finding a study group

8. English as a Second Language

F. Motivation (7 barriers)

1. Lack of motivation

2 I‟m my own challenge (self-motivate)

3. Staying motivated

4. Challenge of staying focused

5. Self courage (lacking)

6. Keeping spirits up

7. TCC is not worth it (thinking)

G. Time Management (5 barriers) 1. Time Management

2 Time Management

3. Procrastination

4. Procrastination

5. Being successful takes a lot of time

H. Non-Traditional Students (3 barriers)

1. Being away from college and coming back (adjusting)

2 Returning to school after being out so many years

3. Age

I. Fear of Failing (1 barrier)

1. Pressure of failing

J. Transportation (1 barrier)

1. Getting to campus (transportation)

II African American Male Experience (24 barriers)

A. Negative Peer, Community, and Family Influences (12 barriers)

1. Avoiding outside negative influences

2 Peer pressure (not to go to school)

3. Environment (negative)


4. Negative peer pressure

5. Peer Pressure

6. Criticism from peers

7. Criticism from any peers in school

8. No support (community or school)

9. Ourselves (and other African Americans)

10. Family pressure (to not go to school)

11. Family support (encouragement, pushing you, congratulating you)

12. Lack of infrastructure (support network)

B. Not seeing others of the same race/gender (6 barriers)

1. Number of African American male faculty

2 Lack of African American male administrators

3. Lack of people of color (staff) (intimidation)

4. Finding other blacks in your class

5. Challenge being only African American in class

6. Lack of recruitment [not seeing many African American males]

C. Stereotyping (6 barriers)

1. Advisor stereotype

2 Faculty stereotype

3. Stereotyping (fear)(ignorance)[of Black people]

4. Maintain open mind and not be pigeon-holed [not believing stereotyping]

5. Product of your environment

6. Racism in the classroom

III Institutional (17 barriers)

A. College Resources (16 barriers)

1. Lack of knowledge of student support services

2. Lack of knowledge of Financial Aid

3. Not aware of Financial Aid

4. Lack of information on Financial Aid

5. Understanding of Federal Work Study

6. Putting together a schedule

7. Not using resources

8. Finding your way around campus

9. Trust of institutions (inconsistency)

10. Limited guidance from advisors [about goal setting]

11. Lack of counseling

12. Lack of directions

13. Misleading information (from staff, faculty, and advisors)

14. Knowing the benefits for students

15. Finding a mentor

16. Lack of African American male mentors

B. Textbook (1 barrier)

1. Books


To help in understanding some of the suggestions made by focus group participants, the table

below captures frequently mentioned advice students provided for other students, for faculty

and staff, and for TCC in improving success for African American males at TCC.

A Few Suggestions from Students for Students, Teachers, Staff, and TCC

African American Male Student Focus Groups

Type What Students Suggest

for Other Students

What Students Suggest for

Teachers/Institution

What Students Say

Is Working at TCC

Managing

College Life

and Goals

Make a schedule

for work, school,

and home

Put your

priorities first

Leave time for

studying

Time

management

Contact dSRC if

you have a

disability

Set a budget

Turn your goals

into a motivating

factor

Surround

yourself with

positive,

motivating

people

Know that if you

miss class it's

hard to catch up

Study ahead

Don't be late for

class

Know to pay

attention during

class

Know that every

teacher is

different

You might not

like every

teacher

Internships through

TCC

People look for jobs

through TCC

(alumni)

Make provisions

for supporting

students with

family needs

Update information

everywhere on

campus (on campus

and Internet)

Control/improve

the quality of

instructors

Encourage teachers

to be more

engaging with

students

Have student

support groups

Provide more role

models

More personal

counselors

TCC graduates

used as consultants

and discuss their

success

Show more AA

Scheduling

morning and

evening

classes

Different

campus

schedules

Online

classes

Fitness

Center

Health

workshops

A class to

address

[students

seem

unaware of

SAS course]

Deans are

helpful

Counselors

Internet

Teachers

with good

personalities

Teachers

who are

engaging

Teachers

who



for Other Students



What Students Say

Is Working at TCC

Know you can

use teacher's

office hours

Ask teacher to

explain

information in a

different way

Stay organized

No cramming

Not the same as

high school

Must study for

tests

Teachers are not

going to walk

through work

step by step

Know that it is

rough in the

beginning but

pays off

Make a plan,

write it down

Don't be afraid

to ask questions

males that have

succeeded

Have Career Days

in which AA males

can see other AA

males who have

succeeded

Offer more tutors

Free developmental

courses

Special orientation

courses

Start advertising for

college early, as in

elementary, middle,

and high school

Have TCC buses

emphasize

better study

habits

African

American

Male

Experience

Set goals

Use time wisely

Choose peers

with same

mentality

Stay focused on

your goals

Surround

yourself with

positive people

Get involved in

community and

school

Help/support

someone else

TCC use

affirmative action

agent to recruit

dislocated workers

Recruit/advertise to

black community

Do things that

relate to the

community

Talk to high school

African American

males about

attending TCC

Bring TCC role

models into the

Student

Associations,

such as

AASA and

Honor's

clubs

A class to

address

[students

seem

unaware of

SAS course]

Focus groups

Writing Lab

Focus groups



for Other Students



What Students Say

Is Working at TCC

Don't listen to

negative family

members or

peers

Don‟t worry

about limited

AA faculty

Focus on your

being here to

learn

Use professional

associations to

come in as

presenters /

mentors

Be friendly

Speak to each

other

Be part of

orientations for

African

Americans

Know that there

are African

American

student groups

community

Show that AA

Males have

succeeded through

TCC

A stronger SGA

Show statistics of

those going to

college/not going to

college

Have family nights

High school

recruiters

Institutional Know to ask

questions

Check TCC

website

Walk around

campuses (get to

know your

campus)

Get a map of

your campus

Attend

Show where each

office is located

during an

orientation

Hire more

counselors

Teachers putting

Student Activities

Office and

Organizations in

syllabus

Class

presentations

Internet

Advisement

Counselors

in Financial

Aid

Orientations

Student

Handbook

Student



for Other Students



What Students Say

Is Working at TCC

orientation

Advisors can

help

Research

Get a second

opinion

Go to counselor

in college and

high school

Find someone

who can help

GOOGLE it

Keep asking

until you

understand

Seek out mentors

(in school or

community)

Become a

mentor

Activities list

of all that can

be done with

TCC ID card

a class to

address

[students

seem

unaware of

SAS course]


DATA ANALYSIS

The process of focus group data analysis involves the comprehensive search for general

statements and themes that connect the various categories of data. According to Marshall and

Rossman (1999), data analysis is the detailed process of bringing order, structure, and

interpretation to a mass collection of data. From the data analysis, the data team members

identified a classification system (Patton, 1990). The data team members identified and

categorized emerging themes, phrases and/or behaviors relevant to the study. The data team

members utilized “indigenous typologies” or constructed

typologies depending upon the data that was produced

and what is considered most effective (Marshall &

Rossman, 1999). In order to ensure no important data

were lost, careful attention was given to data reduction

throughout the process of analysis. Each data team

member coded the barrier items for types and subtypes

using the same coding process to increase reliability (Patton, 1990).

Note: Analysis to determine if statistically significant differences existed in the AA male

barriers did not occur by campus because our sample was not generalizable across all campuses

and we did not collect a sufficient number of focus group responses for each campus to conduct

these tests. The intervention team may want to consider a different type of research approach in

order to assess campus differences.

OVERALL FINDINGS

Overall, the Barrier Types of Managing College Life and Goals, African American Male

Experience, and Institutional Barriers provide the broad Barrier Types for the African

American male student focus group results. “College Resources,” a subtype of Institutional

Barriers, along with “Balancing School, Employment, and Life,” a subtype of Managing

College Life and Goals Barriers, were the Barrier Subtypes with the highest frequency.

NEXT STEPS

The Four Components of Achieving the Dream are recommended as the process for

designing an intervention.

[NOTE: This report presents data from Components One and Two of the process. The

Intervention Teams will continue investigating and responding to college barriers by going

through Components Three and Four of the Achieving the Dream process.]

REFERENCES Marshall, C. and Rossman, G. C. (1999). Designing

Qualitative Research (3rd Ed). Thousand Oaks,

CA: Sage. Patton, M. Q. (1990). Qualitative Evaluation & Research

Methods. (2nd ed). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.


Review quantitative data from the Office of Institutional Research about student

success.

Focus group results reveal barriers that answer this question. Review the focus

group results received from the TCC AtD Data Team.

Barriers to student success

Percentage of students estimated to be affected by barriers

Student Knowledge needed to overcome barriers

Student Action Strategies used to overcome barriers

Suggested Changes

List of What Works today (definitely do not discontinue these things!)

Review the African American Male barriers targeted by focus groups.

Also, cognitive measures of skills and knowledge may also be used to answer

the “Why?” question.

Using data findings from both the FIRST and SECOND COMPONENTS of the Achieving the

Dream FOUR-STEP PROCESS for making data-informed decisions, develop the college-wide

intervention to address specific barriers.

Component 2: Why?

Component 3: Intervene

Component 1: What’s Wrong? Components One and Two of the Achieving the Dream four-step process are covered by this data report of focus group results.


Based on the quantitative (IR) and qualitative (focus group) data, what changes are

needed to address the targeted barriers?

Class interventions

Institutional changes

Of these potential changes, which changes will make the greatest positive impact on

African American male student success?

From considered potential changes, select an intervention. Selected intervention(s)

should align with one or more of the AtD goals:

successfully complete the courses students take;

advance from remedial to credit-bearing courses;

enroll in and successfully complete gatekeeper courses;

enroll from one semester to the next;

earn degrees and/or certificates.

Define the intervention(s) to ensure that all planners and stakeholders understand the

intervention(s) proposed and the terminology used as the planning moves forward.

a. Design an intervention (while considering the following questions).

What is the intervention?

What is the detailed plan for the intervention?

With which AtD goal does the intervention align?

What is the description of the intervention?

Which barriers are addressed by the intervention?

What is the population for the intervention?

What are the goals and objectives of the intervention?

What outcomes (knowledge, skills, and/or attitudes) should students demonstrate

as a result of experiencing the intervention?

Who will conduct the intervention?

Have the confounding variables in the intervention been identified and removed,

if possible?

How will the success of the intervention be assessed?

b. Plan an intervention assessment.

Assessment of AtD interventions should include evaluation of activities used to

increase student success. Assessment plans should include formative and summative

measures, and a variety of measurement characteristics are encouraged for inclusion

to account for the variety of types of data available.


For the sake of convenience, the following distinctions in educational assessment are

defined:

Formative Assessments: Assessment that is part of the instructional process.

These measures give feedback during the intervention cycle.

Summative Assessments: Assessment that serves as a gauge at a particular point

in time, often at the end or near the end of the intervention cycle.

Educational researcher Robert Stack explains the difference between formative

and summative assessment with the following analogy:

Direct Assessment Strategies: Assessment, either summative or formative, based

on analysis of student behavior in which the students demonstrate how well they

have achieved outcomes. Cognitive measures are often appropriate direct

assessments.

Indirect Assessment Strategies: Assessment, either summative or formative,

based on an analysis of reported perceptions about outcomes, including self-

reported perceptions and peer evaluations. Affective measures are examples of

indirect assessment strategies.

Objective Assessments: These can be summative or formative, and are a form of

questioning which has a single correct answer. This is well suited to computerized

or online assessment, and cognitive measures are objective assessments.

Subjective Assessments: These can be summative or formative, and are a form of

questioning which may have more than one correct answer. These can be short-

answer essays and require greater critical analysis of the evaluator when analyzing

outcomes. Affective measures are subjective assessments.

c. Implement the intervention (and consider the following questions).

When will the intervention be implemented?

What professional development, if any, may be needed to implement the

intervention?

What institutional support is needed to implement this intervention?

How will the intervention be communicated to the AtD Core Team, to all

faculty, to students, and to other stakeholders throughout TCC?

“When the cook tastes the soup, that's formative. When the guests taste the soup,

that's summative.”


Assess the intervention to evaluate its success. Modify the intervention based on assessment

results in order to address the barriers and increase student success.

Assessments

Student feedback through course evaluations and surveys

Other formative assessments planned for the intervention

Change in retention

Change in developmental course success

Change in college-level gateway course success

Change in graduation rate

Other summative assessments

Modify the intervention based on assessment results (while considering the following

questions).

What is the modification?

What is the detailed plan for the modification?

With which AtD goal does the modification align?

What is the description of the modification?

Which barriers will the modification address?

What is the population for the modification?

What are the goals and objectives of the modification?

What outcomes (knowledge and skills) should students demonstrate as a result of

experiencing the modification?

Have the confounding variables in the modification been identified and removed, if

possible?

How will the success of the modification be assessed?

When will the modification take place?

What professional development, if any, may be needed to implement the

modification?

What institutional support is needed for this modification?

How will the modification be communicated to the Core Team, to all faculty, to

students, and to other stakeholders throughout TCC?

Component 4: Assess and Modify


Attachment 1

African American Male Student Summer and Fall 2009 Subtypes by Frequency

16 College Resources (navigating campuses; finding campus offices and services)

14 Balancing School, Employment, and Life

12 Negative Peer, Community, and Family Influences

10 Adjusting to College

10 Financial Management/Need

10 Goals

8 Academic Skills (academic preparation; study skills)

7 Motivation

6 Not seeing Others of the Same Race/Gender

6 Stereotyping

5 Time Management

3 Non-Traditional Students

1 Fear of Failing

1 Textbooks

1 Transportation


Attachment 2

African American Male Student Summer and Fall 2009 Subtypes Alphabetically

8 Academic Skills (academic preparation; study skills)

10 Adjusting to College

14 Balancing School, Employment, and Life

16 College Resources (navigating campuses; finding campus offices and services)

1 Fear of Failing

10 Financial Management/Need

10 Goals

7 Motivation

12 Negative Peer, Community, and Family Influences

3 Non-Traditional Students

6 Not seeing Others of the Same Race/Gender

6 Stereotyping

1 Textbooks

5 Time Management

1 Transportation

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