Date of Award
8-2020
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Executive Leadership
First Supervisor
Dr. Guillermo Montes
Second Supervisor
Dr. Jamie D. Smith
Abstract
This transcendental phenomenological study examined how Black fathers’ perception of their own and their father’s fatherhood impacts persistence in community college. This study interviewed six Black male community college students with children in New York State. The study posed three research questions: (1) How do Black male college students experience fatherhood (from a son’s perspective) facilitating or impeding community college completion? (2) How do Black male college students experience their fatherhood (from a father’s perspective) facilitating or impeding community college completion? and (3) In the experience of Black male college students, how do community colleges support Black students who are fathers? Findings show that fatherhood acts as a catalyst to community college completion for Black student-fathers, that children are a central motivation for persistence for Black student-fathers, and support systems in community colleges are lacking for Black student-fathers. The six emergent themes included parenting matters, impenetrable lifelong connections, resilience and progression, desire to be living proof, typical unnecessary obstacles, and true knowledge and acceptance. Recommendations for practice include recognizing Black student-fathers, implementing support programs specific to Black student-fathers, and actively recruiting Black male faculty and support staff. Recommendations for future research include broadening research nationally, including 4-year institutions, and examining student-fathers of different races.
Recommended Citation
Stokes Jr., Carl Lamont, "Invisible: A Phenomenological Study of Perseverance in Black Student-Fathers in Community Colleges" (2020). Education Doctoral. Paper 458.
https://fisherpub.sjf.edu/education_etd/458
Please note that the Recommended Citation provides general citation information and may not be appropriate for your discipline. To receive help in creating a citation based on your discipline, please visit http://libguides.sjfc.edu/citations.