Opportunity Beyond Affirmative Action: How Low-Income and Working-Class Black Male Achievers Access Highly Selective, High Cost Colleges and Universities
Ecological approaches to college student development have increasingly become a key contributor to the work of student affairs professionals. The literature discusses several forms of ecological approaches that have been research in the last decade. Human ecology examines the interactions, dependence, independence, and interdependence of humans with the environment. These interactions can be based within the individual, groups, or societies that are within the environment. The literature discusses environment as the primary external forces that may have influences on the individual whether that be the home, workplace, and (as we will discuss) the campus environment. Developmental ecology notes that development of the person cannot be examined without consideration of the outside contexts of the developing individual. Campus ecology highlights the development of the student as it relates to the interaction of the campus environment. Uncovering the dynamics of campus ecology one would look how the campus influences the student and how the student influences the campus.
Overview
In Opportunity Beyond Affirmative Action: How Low-Income and Working Class Black Male Achievers Access Highly Selective, High Cost Colleges and Universities, Shaun Harper and Kimberly Griffin (2011), sit down with several students to discuss the decisions and their implications for choosing an elite institutions for their undergraduate career. This article uses the anti-deficit achievement framework to describe the enablers rather than the barriers to academic achievement. The authors specifically examine the experiences of students who are the least likely to enroll due to financial resources. Harper and Griffin discuss the policies and programs that enabled these students to successfully venture their way to these colleges and universities. It also suggests further actions for best practices and policies for student affairs professionals, institutions of higher education, and government officials. I believe the main purpose of this article is to show the factors that can contribute to college access for black males without solely being based on affirmative action. Often times, the past and present literature focuses on the factors that inhibit or prevent black males from attending high class colleges and universities. Although, it is not stated explicitly, I will make clear connections through examples from the research that was conducted to ecological approaches to college student development. I saw that this theory was prevalent in much of the article and could have implications for the types of environments that enable black male success.
Method and Data
The population that was selected and interviewed consisted of black male high achievers who were from low-income or working class backgrounds that were able to enroll, attend, and successfully matriculate through these expensive predominately White private institutions of higher education. Using eighteen institutions, forty-two participants self-reported being among low-income and working-class backgrounds. Participants self-report described 38.1 percent as low-income, 61.9 percent as working class. Family structures were labeled as 45.2 percent single parent and 50.0 percent two parent households. Participant demographics suggested that more than 70 percent were from families that neither parent had attained a bachelor’s degree. Participants were interviewed based on previous literature on programs, policies, and practices that enabled college access. Several themes were categorized into three domains that will be discussed further in the findings section of this paper.
Findings
It is interesting to note that no participant in the study knowingly suggested that they received special treated for their race throughout the admissions process. However, it should be noted that 39 out of the 42 participants reported that they had been accused by White peers of entrance into the institution solely based on affirmative action policies and practices. The three themes that stood for the researchers were the major programs and policies institutions both on campus and out of college that contributed to the access for these students. The first type of program is the “specialty high school contexts and independent school access initiatives for urban youth.” This type of enabler is the environment that prepared the student for access to these colleges. These students are from urban communities but had privileged school environments, such as magnet schools, that established a strong college-going atmosphere throughout K – 12. Also, an outside organization called Prep for Prep was attributed to with the ability to help shape and set paths to college through visits, scholarships, and mentorship by counselors. The types of encouragement that was given to these students pushed them to apply to competitive colleges. One student mentioned that “You don’t go to these Ivy League – caliber high schools and then not go to college.” Now, I want to refer back to our reading to connect the dots. The environment that these students had the access to provided them with the key concepts for student development. The interactions between guidance counselors in the classroom and other officials like at Prep for Prep provided the needed student-interaction to enable success into college. The person in the context of this small microsystem encouraged particular forms of interaction between the student and authority figures that pushed these students.
Secondly, the article discusses another type of enabler that allows for college access for black males. “Collaborative college access and talent identification programs for urban youth,” provided for these students direct scholarships and other types of funding that enabled students to cover the cost of their tuition, books, and room and board. One of these groups was called the Posse Foundation, which actively seeks out ways to engage black male high achievers. A posse was instrumental in helping these student transitions into college and provided further assistance during their first year of college. Also, these students were engaged by the foundation to unveil the educational value of these students and gave them a sense of purpose and meaning. They did this by grouping similar students’ demographics by socioeconomic backgrounds and career interests. Through this mesosystem the student now has several external structures that support the “developmentally instigative characteristics” of the student. I also want to plug in the intersectionality of Schlossberg’s theory of transition and highlight these are important events that impact the student through the 4 S’s. In particular, support is essential to the student. As a student identifies support systems that can affirm, encourage, and push the student can function as a successful transition for why these black male college students felt that they could achieve in a college setting.
Finally, another common access enabler that was highlighted within the research were the institutional efforts for funding for students. These institutional funds provided access to the high achieving black males to gain entrance into these Ivy League institutions. “Institution based, no-loans, and zero-contribution initiatives,” is the theme that described the types of funding that these students received upon entrance into the particular institution. For these students who come from low-income and working class families the financial aid package was the biggest faction in choose the high class university over the state school close to home. The exosystem that surrounds the student in the college environment provided the policies and procedural structures that allowed for greater access.
Conclusion and Assessment
This study main purpose was to examine the enablers to college access for high achieving black males. The article put a special emphasis on affirmative action policies and their need. Although it had mentioned several cases of students who were afforded the opportunity to attend these elite institutions, the authors failed to mention their stance on affirmative action itself. They do not mention if the standing policy should be left or removed. The article indirectly suggest that the policy should remain but subtly suggests that policies should be in place like the ones aforementioned that would enable minority student to attend college. The conclusion and suggestions are a bit general and too vague for the benefit of student affairs professionals. It suggests that there should be more policies in place that would allow for more student access into these high class institutions without providing the “how to” methods.
