Michelle Obama (2018) described her experience as a Black
student attending a predominantly White institution (PWI) as “jarring and
uncomfortable, at least at first, like being dropped into a strange new
terrarium, a habitat that hadn’t been built for me” (p. 72). A talented student from a predominantly Black
high school, she uses the metaphor of “poppy seeds in a bowl of rice” to
describe the awareness of color she discovered in her new academic home (Obama,
2018, p. 72). She describes, unlike many
of her peers, persisted in this startling environment having found places of
belonging, though she never acquired a full sense of integration at
Princeton. Obama’s story illustrates
what is a common experience of attrition and persistence for students of color
at PWIs and has been extensively researched (see Bean, 2005; Davis, 2004;
Fries-Britt & Turner, 2001; Hurtado, Milem, Clayton-Pederson, & Allen,
1998; Johnson, 2013; Tinto, 1993).
Johnson purports retention of African American students at PWIs has been
problematic since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which opened
access to college for students of color.
Student Affairs professionals in higher education have long grappled
with ways of improving retention and success of Black students.
Much
of the existing literature on retention of Black students is centered in a
discourse of deficit, a phrase coined by Powell (1997) as one that focuses on
Whiteness as normal and Blackness as needing to conform. Retention literature
points to ways Black students lack the academic skills and non-cognitive
factors to be successful in college (Han, Farruggia, & Moss, 2017). Traditional notions of academic and social
integration suggest Black students are expected to conform to the White
institution at which they arrive (Tinto, 1975, 1993; Astin, 1993). Kelly & Smith (2014) argue people of
color will cover or hide their full
authentic selves when the “perceived demand of hyper-conformity is inconsistent
with stated corporate values of equality.”
In the case of higher education, Black students at PWIs are pressured to
conform to a White context which conflicts with the espoused values of
diversity and inclusion commonly found throughout higher education.
Newer
research related to retention of Black students is beginning to explore the
issue from a discourse of potential (Harper, 2015; Paredes –Collins, 2012). Kinzie (2012) offers a provocative question
that may shift the discourse around retention from a deficit to potential
orientation. She asks, “Who are the
culprits of depressed success rates: underprepared or unmotivated students or
ineffective pedagogies and underperforming institutions?” (p. xii). To this
end, Harper’s (2015) research on Black achievers does not discount the role of
campus culture for racial inclusion, but highlights skills and talents
demonstrated by Black students that fuel their success: engagement and
leadership on campus, development of competency and confidence in confronting
stereotypes, and finding solace and reprieve in Black cultural centers or
student organizations. Paredes-Collins (2012)
suggests a divergent path is required when considering thriving of Black
students. Traditional measures of
success for White students (high school grades and test scores) are not the
same indicators of success for Black students (sense of belonging,
spirituality, and faculty interaction).
Relevance
of the Problem at Westminster College
Jamie,
a Black, female student at Westminster College, spoke to the Board of Trustees
at a recent Student Experience Committee meeting. She shared her story of transition, struggle,
and loneliness at Westminster. Jamie is
a sophomore, student leader, and officer of the Black Student Union. She attended a Pittsburgh public school and
describes her academic self-confidence as one of imposter. “I feel so inadequate and like I don’t really
belong,” she told members of the Board.
Her story is not uncommon and retention rates for Black students at
Westminster College support the idea that more Black students share this
experience.
There
are stories we tell ourselves about why Black students leave at higher rates
than White students. The arrival of a
new football coach brought about a change in recruitment strategies and began
to increase our structural diversity.
More Black student athletes were admitted, especially from Florida and
the term “the Florida boys” was coined among faculty, staff, and students. While never explicitly defined, the term was
understood to mean academically underprepared, football players, more committed
to their sport than their education, and quite likely to withdraw. Faculty tell the story of lowered admission
standards yielding students who lack the attitude, preparation, motivation, or
grit to be a student at Westminster. Black
students have retold conversations with faculty who suggested community college
might be a better fit for them. This
deficit language carries into our CARE team conversations where we express
exasperation at students who don’t read emails, resist our efforts to offer
assistance, and witness more flight than fight.
I submit that underneath student reactions to our efforts is
internalized oppression from the deficit language we use to describe the
problem. As such, my problem of practice
statement is: Unexamined use of deficit
language by the Westminster College community creates an unwelcoming and
unsupportive campus climate for Black students that negatively impacts their
retention and success.
Context,
Setting, and Role
In
November 2019, I was promoted to Vice President of Student Affairs and oversee
the area of diversity and inclusion. An
immediate change was the hiring of an Associate Dean of Student Affairs:
Student Success and Inclusive Excellence who holds responsibility for strategic
initiatives around diversity and inclusion.
She and I will collaborate on a campus climate assessment early in her
tenure and will build strategic goals from our findings. I anticipate that she and our Director of
Diversity and Inclusion will create student programs as part of the strategic
plans.
For
my problem of practice, I would like to explore trainings and professional
development programs for faculty and staff that foster the use of language of
potential, especially for Black students.
Krista Tippett (2016) asserts that “words matter” (p. 15). Speaking of racial difference, she criticizes
the use of “tolerance,” a word once widely used regarding difference. Tolerance, she says, “allows, endures,
indulges” (p. 15). It does not welcome.
Words matter. Phrases such as
“Florida boys” and “underprepared” do not welcome. Jamie speaks of herself using deficit
language. Would she see her potential if
we used language that expressed it regularly?
Would she realize the sense of belonging she aches for? Can an intentional shift in the words we
choose help us to fulfill our mission promise of maximizing the possible
development of each person’s capabilities?
These are the questions I hope to explore.
Questions
The following questions
will guide my literature and professional knowledge review:
1. What
professional development programs might we provide faculty and staff regarding language
of equity, language of potential, and language of deficit? How do we shift the
basic underlying assumptions of the Westminster culture such that we can better
serve students?
2. How
can I better understand the research on Black student success and potential to
inform my understanding of my problem and potential improvement initiatives?
References
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college?: Four critical years revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Bean, J. P. (2005). Nine themes of
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Davis, D.R. (2004). Black students’ perceptions: The complexity
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Lang.
Fries-Britt, S. L., & Turner, B.
(2001). Facing stereotypes: A case study of Black students on a White campus. Journal of College Student Development.,
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Moss, T. P. (2017). Effects of academic mindsets on college students’
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