Black women: college experiences and academic engagement

Limited research has been specifically dedicated to women generally and black women
specifically and their college experience, yet today women consistently enroll in community
colleges at a higher rate than men. To explore how black women engage in their college
experiences, this descriptive phenomenological study examined the lived experience of black
women, their gender racial identity in relation to the classroom or on-campus experiences, and
how they engage academically.
As this study’s focus was black women enrolled or recently enrolled at a community
college, black feminist theory, intersectionality theory, identity centrality theory, and
stereotype threat theory provided a theoretical backdrop. Metzner and Bean’s nontraditional
and commuter college student engagement model served as conceptual model to determine
how traditional predictors to student persistence and success applies to black women enrolled
in college. The purposive sample included ten black women who provided in depth narrative
essays about how they developed their gendered racial identities and about their classroom or
on-campus experiences. Also, they were engaged in two virtual interviews that inquired about
their college experiences and academic engagement related to five factors including (1)
background and external factors, (2) autonomy and self-determination, (3) academic supports,
(4) faculty trust, and (5) student effort.
Three themes emerged from essay narratives related the research participants
gendered racial identities related to their classroom or on-campus experiences including the (1) use of stereotypes, (2) presence or lack of diversity, and (3) feeling of being dismissed. Three
themes emerged from the interviews which were about their college experiences and academic
engagement. Those themes were (1) letting go of baggage, (2) developing self-agency, and (3)
navigating learning experiences.