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Description
This mixed methods study yielded two explanatory models for better understanding of the association between socioacademic factors and gendered racial identity among African American community college women. The quantitative portion explored the degree to which racial identity attitudes and sense of belonging with faculty were predictors of self-reported college GPA, number of semester units enrolled, and noncognitive variables, of academic self-efficacy, locus of control, and action control. Using data compiled from 596 self-identified Black women who responded to the Community College Success Measure (CCSM), ordinal regression and weighted least squares regression analyses were conducted. Quantitative findings revealed that although racial affinity and sense of belonging with faculty were not found to be significant predictors of self-reported college GPA and number of semester units enrolled, they were found to be statistically significant predictors of academic self-efficacy, locus of control, and action control. To achieve a richer understanding of student experiences, a constructivist grounded theory approach guided the qualitative portion of the study. Examining narratives from 16 African American community college women revealed participants’ perceptions of gendered racial identity, barriers to success, and their sense of belonging on their college campuses. Qualitative findings revealed themes related to (a) intersectional oppression on college campuses; (b) unhelpful practices from educators that hampered student success; the development of coping responses; (c) the varying impacts of maintaining gendered racial centrality; (d) intentional collectivistic belongingness practices with the aim to build community between past, present, and future Black women; and (e) an explicit pursuit toward self-actualization.
