Persistence & Involvement Reconsidered: A Phenomenology of African American College Men Who Make a Difference

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Stanley Jacob Gajda (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Deborah Taub

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to better understand how socially responsible leadership is experienced by African American men at a comprehensive university in the southeast. Employing the interpretive tradition of phenomenology, and building on college student retention, involvement, and leadership theories, the researcher asked 20 students what does making a difference mean and what is the result? Informants ascribed meanings to informal, individual encounters; but attributed outcomes to formal, group affiliations; and finally recommended formal, individual and community interventions. Furthermore, informants supported a non-positional, relational outlook on leadership and credited those relationships with persistence. Ultimately, the aim of phenomenology is to discover the essential structures of a lived experience. For these men, making a difference was structured by dialogue that developed a mindset to enable or enact positive role modeling and mentoring for other Black men. Thus, others are called to facilitate and further research cross cultural relationships that inspire student involvement.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2008
Keywords
College, Student, Retention, Involvement, African American, Leadership
Subjects
Phenomenological sociology
African American men
African American college students
Leadership--Education (Higher)

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