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Research Questions

Running head: COMPREHENSIVE EXAM QUESTION4

Comprehensive Exam Question 4:

The Research Questions Derived from the Literature and the

Proposed Theoretical Framework and Research Design

Brandi N. Hutchins

University of Cincinnati

Abstract

Based on the author’s literature review of race-based scholarships, four questions have been formulated. The question that will be addressed is: How do race-based scholarship programs retain students of color at predominately White institutions?The question will be answered using Social Identity Theory (SIT), Tinto’s Student Retention Model, and Critical Race Theory (CRT). The author will examine how race-based scholarships can have a positive affect on minority student’s identity, how the use of learning communities can promote group cohesion and socialization, and how subtle and overt forms of racism can be combated through empowerment. The author will also address the proposed research design for the question.

Research Questions Derived from the Literature and the

Proposed Theoretical Framework and Research Design

Based on the author’s research of race-based policies in the field of higher education, five important elementshavematerialized. First, race and racism prevails in American society and has a deep rooted foundation in higher education. There is an ideology of racial resentment that is encompassed by those who feel that minorities have taken over and have benefited from special privileges. Secondly, race-based programs (especially scholarships) continue to be controversial and the termination of these programs could have a devastating effect on the recipient or those prospective students who would have met the programs requirements. Thirdly, race-based programs have been shown to positively affect minorities at predominantlyWhite institutions by helping them grow and develop with students who have similar goals and interests. Fourth, research shows that many predominately White institutions do not create a conducivelearning environment for students of color. Diversity is overly exaggerated, but may notbe genuinely accepted. Many campuses have deep rooted racist policies and attitudes that are insensitive. Finally, many students of color will continue to struggle with their self-esteem, self-concept, and academic achievements becauseof their race and class.

In the following paper, the author has devised four questions pertaining to race-based scholarships derived from the literature review. The questions are as followed: 1) How do race-based scholarship programs retain students of color at predominately White institutions? 2) Are recipients of race-based scholarship negatively affected by those who oppose them? 3) Do race-based scholarships have an inverse affect on the recipients and non-recipient’s cultural identity? and, 4) Does one’s ethclass determine the type of financial assistance that they will receive? The author will address the first question using the theoretical frameworks of the Student Retention Model, Social Identity Theory (SIT), and Critical Race Theory (CRT). The author will also address the type of research design that would benefit the proposed research question.

Research Question

How do race-based scholarship programs retain students of color at predominately White institutions? Based on the literature review, it is noted that students of color at predominantly White institutions face many issues that could hinder their matriculation. These issues could impact the studentpersonally, academically, socially, and environmentally. Race-based scholarships have been used to help diversify college campuses and have been an aid to recruitment strategies. Race scholarships are more than tools to promote political correctness. They have been proven to be an attribute to students of color. The impact of race-based scholarships will be approached theoretically, emphasizing the student’s personal, academic, social and environmentaldevelopment.

The Personal Impact of Race Scholarships

As shown in the research, students of color make internalizations about themselves,referencing theirethnic background and competency to obtain a college education. Their race and socioeconomic status may cause them tounconsciously feel inferior. Unfortunately, they could identify with feelings of inadequacy. Social identity theory (SIT) can explain how race-based scholarships can have a positive affect on the student’s identity,creating a positive self-image.

Group Membership

Brown (2000) indicates that SIT begins with the thought that one’s identity originates from their group membership. He further notes that people strive to maintain a positive social identity by making comparisons between in-groups and out-groups (2000). According to Brown (2000), if one perceives a negative identity about themselves, they find ways to leave that group. In regards to students of color at predominantly White institutions, many see themselves as inferior. African American and Hispanic students have been shown to have apprehensions about their educational preparedness which could validate their inferiority complex. Stets and Burke (2000) suggest that the“self” is impulsive and can make itself into anobject. The “self” can categorize or name itself in relation to other social categories, calling this process “self-categorization.” Stets and Burke (2000) explain how identity is formed through self-categorization. Students of color look at themselves in regards to others on campus. If minority students associate themselves as being inadequate or at a disadvantage, they will compare themselves to the dominant culture of the institution. The student may form an identity whichappears deficient. SIT states that a disadvantaged or inferior position in one’s own group could lead to a negative social identity; however, the individual attempts to improve their status position in the group (Mummendey, Kessler, Klink, & Mielke, 1999).

Social Categories

Regardingidentity, Stets and Burke (2000) reference the work of Hogg and Abram who point out that individuals associate themselves with social categories. They explain that we are born into a society that is made up of social categories, in which comparisons are made on the basis of power, prestige, and status (2000). One’s identity is constructed from the social category in which they belong. Students of color can identify with many social categories which could have an affect on their success at predominately White institutions. For example, a student who is Hispanic, female, and from a lower socioeconomic household, brings three different social categories to campus. If that student is also a part of a race-based scholarship program, they can associate themselves in the category of “academically talented” or “scholar.” These positive connotations could make them examine the historical and/or current disparities of their race, class, and gender and inadvertently associate themselves as successful students. Stets and Burke (2000) point out that throughout one’s life, they are associated with many combinations of social categories which sets the foundation for one’s self-concept, or how one viewsthemselves in relationship to others.

Organizational Membership

It has been suggested that organizational membershipsalso define one’s identity. Ashforth and Mael (1989) give three distinct findingsregarding organizational membership, based on SIT. First, individuals support organizations that implement activities that are aligned with their person identity. Second, the group formation is a process of social identification that includes intragroup cohesion, cooperation, altruism, and positive evaluation of the group. Finally, identification through organizations encompass group values, norms, and similarities in behaviors and attitudes. People behave according to the groups identity (Stets & Burke, 2000). Stets and Burke (2000) indicate that when low socioeconomic minoritiesuse the group label to describe themselves, they are more inclined to take on the characteristics of the group to distinguish themselves from the outgroup. For the student who has been brought up in poverty and has been educated in a poor school, when they become apart of a scholastic scholarship program and observe students similar to them achieving; they may continueto improve on these characteristics and disassociate themselves from groups that deviate from the scholastic group’s ideals.

For students who are in race-based scholarship programs, many would say that they belong to a group or organization. This group has a set mission which is accompanied with goals and objectives.The students in these programs join in activities that promote unification and scholastic achievement. They are a cohesive group with similar values, norms, attitudes and behaviors. They associate themselves with one another and compare their group to the greater campus community. Each member brings diversity to the group. In some cases, one may dislike a member of the group, but at the same time they embrace the group’s entity (Ashforth & Mael, 1989). In addition, Brown (2000) indicated that it is common for group members to think that their own group (and its product) is superior to other groups. This could be common for students who are participants in a race-based scholarship program. As students indicated in Fries-Britt’s (1998) research of the Meyerhoff scholarship program at the University of Maryland, theirscholarship programs was a family-oriented unit. The program improved their self-esteem and self-concept, allowing them to associate and identify with others in the group. Being a part of a scholarship program that is specifically geared to students of color could propel thestudent, for the first time,to identify themselves with superiority on campuses where they are marginalized.

Social identity theory gives a psychological perspective, examininghow one develops their identity. They identify with the social categories they are genetically born. Throughout their lives, they will identify with more than one social category, and will gravitate to organizations and activities that will help redefine their identity. SIT will allow one to examine how race-scholarship programs can affect one’s social identity as it relates to programs that promote academic achievement, praises one’s accomplishments, challenges racism and oppression, and accepts students with no hesitation.

The Academic and Social Impact of Race Scholarships

Tinto’s student retention model has been incorporated in many universities to aid in the matriculation and retention of students of color at predominantly White institutions. Given the challenges that students of color face in college, there is a need for the incorporation of models that will help students academically and socially. Eimers and Pike (1997) stress that some minority students intentionally avoid social opportunities because they fear it will keep them from becoming academically integrated in college. Many race-based scholarship programs have utilizedTinto’s model to prepare students to achieve academically and to advance their social affiliations.

Eimers and Pike (1997) found that African American and Hispanic students were more likely to drop out of college than White students. They also note that many institutionsboast about their successful minority recruitment strategies (1997). However, many cannot boast on their ability to retain these same students. Tinto states that student enter college with many different characteristics, such as, “gender, race, academic aptitude, academic achievement, family socioeconomic backgrounds, parental educational levels, and different levels of initial commitment to the institution (as cited in Elkins, Braxton, & James, 2000, p. 252). These findings suggest that there must be strategies in place to handle the demands of students who possess many different social traits. According to Tinto’s retention model, Newman and Newman (1999) reported that in order for degree completion, three factors must be addressed:

  1. Preceding college enrollment factors, such as attendance at a college-oriented high school, parent’s educational background, family’s educational values and goals, the intention to attend college, clarity of career goals, and high school course work and grades
  2. College or university factors, which include the availability of financial aid or other financial support, the academic climate, availability of tutoring, student orientation of the faculty, acceptance into a degree-granting program, availability of required courses, housing and roommate arrangements, and access to mentoring and/or academic advisors
  3. Personal development factors such as, level of identity resolution, the ability to balance various demands (work, classes, extracurricular activities, social life, and family), degree of homesickness, feelings of isolation, academic self-concept and academic self-efficacy, and the ability to seek out and obtain social and academic support (p. 484).

Many race-based scholarships and student orientation programs take all of the above into consideration when working with students of color. A common theme that is heard when working in higher education is that students come to college at different levels. As students prepare for college, they may face many apprehensions. The college environment is fast paced. The student will quickly transition from dependent high school student to independent college student. Race-based programs have been known to be more accepting and understanding of thistransition.

Learning Communities

An important academic aspect that Tinto highlights in his retention modelis the use of learning communities. Many race-based scholarship programs are exclusively programs. They incorporate learning that is community based. Tinto and Goodsell (1993) indicate that many universities have implemented learning communities to address educational engagements and socialtransitions. They testify that learning communities require students to take courses together in which they travel in groups. Students are required to work together to establish a unified experience, building social and academic integration. Some race-based scholarship programs implement learning communities or some aspect of them. It is stressed that students in race-based scholarship programs register for classes together, work and study together in groups, and hold each other accountable. Another component of learning communities is the use of online assistance software such as Blackboard or other virtual learning tools to foster the use of communication between students in the program.

Tinto and Goodsell (1993) found that the aspect of learning communities create social networks which positively influences a student’s experience. They add that many first year students feel that social memberships take precedence over the demands of academic work. Students want to feel as if they belong. A program that brings students together to cultivate social and academic relationships can be very beneficial to students of color.

Social and Academic Integration

Eimers and Pike(1997) indicate that a student’s persistence in college is a function of their social and academic integration. Tinto is referenced and describes that high levels of social and academic integration leads to academic commitment. This commitment is likely to lead to persistence (Eimers & Pike, 1997). Many race-based scholarship programs strive to integrate the students academically and socially. Tinto’smodel also stresses the importance of student’s rites of passage. Students who successfully completed a rites of passage, were more likely to remain in college (Eimers Pike, 1997; Tierney, 1999). This is important given that minority students have been known to feel educationallydisadvantaged and underprepared. Fries-Britt (1998) indicates that race-based scholarship programs allow students to achieve with others who look like them, an aspect that could be comforting to many students. Also, race-based scholarship programs similarto theMeyerhoff Scholarship Program at the University of Maryland, require students to enter the program in cohorts. The students depend on each other for social support and academic assistance. After four or five years of college, the students will have developed meaningful relationships with their cohort members, faculty and staff, and will have taken the necessary steps to complete their degree.

Cultural Suicide

Another important aspect of Tinto’s model pertains to the term “cultural divorce” or “cultural suicide.” Tinto states, “adolescents must physically as well as socially dissociate themselves from the communities of their past in order to become fully incorporated in the academy” (as cited in Tierney, 1999, p.82). Tierney (1999) states that, “students must divorce themselves from their previous relationships – in effect, commit a form of suicide or figuratively ‘kill off’ their former selves and forge new selves and relationships in order to successfully integrate themselves into college life” (p.86). Tierney (1999) further explainsthat for minority students, this aspect is very important. If the student has come from poverty, has no members of their family that have pursued higher education, and has friends and family that are unemployed; when they enter college they should“kill off” all ideas and behaviors of their past. They need to mentally erase those thoughts and images to replenish their mind with thoughts of scholastic achievement, social connections, career placement, and prosperity. In order to move forward, it is imperative to dissociate oneself from their old ways of thinking and relationships.