Pressure to assimilate: students of color make sense of their experiences at a historically white college.

Permanent URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20240623
Title:
Pressure to assimilate : students of color make sense of their experiences at a historically white college
Creator:
Bonderoff, Mary H. (Author)
Contributor:
Young, Carol (Advisor)
Brown Thompson, Corliss (Advisor)
Davenport, Darrien (Committee member)
Language:
English
Publisher:
Boston, Massachusetts : Northeastern University, 2017
Date Accepted:
February 2017
Date Awarded:
April 2017
Type of resource:
Text
Genre:
Dissertations
Format:
electronic
Digital origin:
born digital
Abstract/Description:
This qualitative study examined the experiences students of color have at a historically white college campus in the Northeast. The participants studied a variety of academic disciplines and comprised a broad spectrum of ethnicities. An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) methodology was employed to investigate the participants' lived experiences. The data was analyzed through the lens of Critical Race Theory. The study revealed that students of color experienced racism in many forms, students utilized protective factors such as assimilation to remain resilient against barriers and stressors experienced in educational and social settings. This study confirmed that students of color experience racism at historically white institutions and must acquire strategies to be successful. Moreover, this study found that inclusive classroom pedagogy and skills are necessary for faculty so that students of color can avert discrimination and feelings of isolation both in and out of the classroom. The study found that students of color struggle with friendships at historically white institutions and this issue is one that needs further examination. The participants were actively involved on campus and found their roles in clubs and offices a large factor in creating a sense of belonging on campus. In this study, students felt strongly that they had to adapt to the environment in order to be successful. There is a need for future studies in peer mentoring, how mentors and mentees are matched and the impact peer mentoring has on enhancing the experiences of students of color at historically white institutions.
Subjects and keywords:
assimilation
classrooms
friendships
historically white college
racism
students of color
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17760/D20240623
Permanent Link:
http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20240623
Use and reproduction:
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