Exploring Culture Shock:

Retention of African American Men

Timothy Beard, Ph.D. Pasco-Hernando Community College

Darlena Jones, Ph.D., EBI

http://phcc.edu/

Research on African American Male Retention

Male Ideation

Social and Cultural Isolation

Financially Expectant

Social Justice Deprivation

Academically Marginalized

Gender Defused

Masculinity Bound

Improving Retention

Early Alert Systems

Peer Mentors

Tutoring

Financial Aid Student Activities

Living / Learning

Communities

First-Year Experience

With the

exception of Early

Alert Systems,

these are all

passive

interventions

Culture Shock

Culture shock is the anxiety, feelings of frustration, alienation

and anger that may occur when a person is placed in a new

culture (seen primarily in people moving to foreign countries).

(Wikipedia)

Four Phases:

• Honeymoon phase: Romantic, fascination

• Negotiation phase: Differences begin creating anxiety

• Adjustment: Begin to feel comfortable with new culture

• Mastery: Participate fully and comfortable in new culture

Metrics of Culture Shock

Culture Shock

Internal

External

Populations

• Homesickness

• Poor social integration

• Poor peer connections

• Low commitment

• Behavioral issues

• Mental Health issues

• Isolation

• Not getting involved

• Financial Issues

• First-Generation

• Minority students

• Rural to urban

• Urban to rural

• International students

What Predicts Retention?

http://phcc.edu/

Predicting Retention

Demographic factors

Non-Cognitive Measures

Behavioral/ Environmental

Cognitive Measures

Admissions controls which students come

to your institution.…

These are within your influence…

Areas of Influence…

Behavioral / Environmental

• Satisfying living environment, financial issues, campus climate, family issues

Non-Cognitive

• Academic and social integration, academic self-efficacy, goals, resiliency, social comfort, educational commitment

Getting students

help to overcome

issues like financial

or housing will

likely solve some

retention problems.

But what about

social/academic

integration?

MAP-Works Data Set

2010-2011 Participants

• 79 4-Year Institutions submitting over 133,000 students

Fall 2011 Fall Transition Survey

• 76% response rate

Fall 2011 Fall Check-Up Survey

• 46% response rate

Individual Student Profile

• 68 institutions provided fall term GPA

• 59 institutions provided fall-to-spring persistence data

• Conceived at Ball State

University 22 years ago

• Partnership leveraging

EBI’s research, theory,

technology, and

experience

powered by

MAP-Works was created by

educators, for educators

The Whole is Greater

Identifies Risk

Motivates

Informs Staff

Manages Strategy

Analytics & Reporting

Provides Feedback

Quickly Identify Students

Drill down to see

Johnathan’s

Talking Points…

Johnathan’s Risk

Indicator was Green,

now it’s yellow…

Quickly identify most

recent issues

• Using Fall 2010 MAP-Works data

• Comparing students who responded to Fall Transition Survey (~ 3 weeks in to fall term) to the Fall Check-Up Survey (~ 10 weeks in to fall term)

• Cutting perceptions by persistence/attrited status

• Two groups of students: African American Men (4,768 students) compared to all others (~110,000)

Matched Data Set

61%

38%

2%

23%

64%

13%

Low Entrance (ACT =1291)

African American Men All Other Students

Entrance Test Scores

The majority of African

American Men enter

college with lower test

scores The majority of all

other students enter

with moderate test

scores

47%

21%

34%

32%

20%

48%

African American Men All Other Students

Fall Term GPA >= 3.0

Fall Term GPA 2.0 to 2.9

Fall Term GPA < 2.0

Fall Term Outcomes

16% 10%

84% 90%

African American Men

All Other Students

Attrited Persisted

Differences in African American Men and All Other Students

Differences

Social Integration

Institutional Commitment

Basic Academic

Skills

Financial Means

Academic Integration

Overall, to what degree:

– Do you belong here?

– Are you fitting in?

– Are you satisfied with your social life on campus?

Social Integration

Social Integration: Changes

10%

11%

11%

7%

31%

37%

36%

33%

59%

53%

53%

59%

All Other Students

African American Men

All Other Students

African American Men F

a ll

C h e

c k U

p F

a ll

T ra

n s it io

n

Low (Mean < 4.0) Moderate (Mean < 6.0) High (Mean >= 6.0)

Early in term, Af Am Men

slightly higher

But, 7 weeks later, Af Am Men slightly lower

– overestimated earlier integration?

37%

8%

22%

10%

37%

31%

42%

37%

26%

61%

36%

53%

Attrited

Persisted

Attrited

Persisted A

ll O

th e r

S tu

d e n ts

A fr

ic a n

A m

e ri c a n

M e

n

Low (Mean < 4.0) Moderate (Mean < 6.0) High (Mean >= 6.0)

Social Integration: Persistence

Attrited were impacted by lack

of Social Integration

… but not as impacted as

the other students – why?

To what degree are you committed to completing your college degree at this institution

To what degree do you intend to come back to this institution for the:

– Spring term

– Next academic year

Institutional Commitment

5%

5%

4%

4%

15%

24%

17%

26%

81%

71%

79%

70%

All Other Students

African American Men

All Other Students

African American Men F

a ll

C h e

c k U

p F

a ll

T ra

n s it io

n

Low (Mean < 4.0) Moderate (Mean < 6.0) High (Mean >= 6.0)

Institutional Commitment: Changes

Early in term, fewer Af Am

Men are committed

Same 7 weeks later

43%

2%

26%

4%

24%

14%

32%

25%

33%

83%

42%

71%

Attrited

Persisted

Attrited

Persisted A

ll O

th e r

S tu

d e n ts

A fr

ic a n

A m

e ri c a n

M e

n

Low (Mean < 4.0) Moderate (Mean < 6.0) High (Mean >= 6.0)

Institutional Commitment: Persistence

A smaller segment of Af Am men who

stayed are committed to institution Fewer attrited men wanted

to leave

To what degree are you confident that you can pay for:

– Next term's tuition and fees

– Monthly living expenses (e.g. room / board / utilities / rent)

– Social activities (e.g. eating out, going to movies) with your friends

Financial Means

Financial Means: Breakdown

10%

7%

20%

14%

16%

17%

15%

23%

25%

37%

13%

4%

All Other Students

African American Men

Not receiving aid but need it About 25%

About 50% 75% or more

All or nearly all Not receiving aid, don't need it

64% of African American men receive 75% or

more of need through financial aid (or they

don’t need it) compared to 53% of other

students

7% of African

American men don’t

receive any aid and

really need it!

17%

23%

21%

29%

34%

40%

43%

44%

49%

37%

36%

26%

All Other Students

African American Men

All Othe