Date of Award
Spring 2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Division of Education and Counseling
First Advisor
Ramona Perkins
Second Advisor
Keisha Smith
Third Advisor
Judith Miranti
Keywords
student engagement, social engagement, involvement, graduation rates, persistence, retention
Abstract
This qualitative exploratory single-case study examined the social engagement strategies utilized by one HBCU and the influences of these strategies on Black undergraduate students' sense of belonging and social engagement, which have been found to support and improve student persistence. Previous research on Black undergraduate students' social engagement and persistence has been primarily conducted at predominately White institutions (PWIs), with few studies explicitly focusing on social engagement and persistence at HBCUs. The site selected for this study was an HBCU under the pseudonym Fillmore State University (FSU). A qualitative exploratory case study was utilized as this methodology allowed the researcher to answer a "how" question exploring the complex social phenomena of the influence of the social engagement of Black undergraduate students on student persistence. The researcher collected and triangulated data from individual interviews with seven staff and five student government leaders to understand the institutional strategies utilized to engage students at FSU socially. A survey of 50 Black undergraduate seniors and a focus group of 10 undergraduate students were used to understand the social engagement experiences and the influence of these experiences on student persistence. This study produced four themes and 12 subthemes related to institutional engagement strategies and the impact of these strategies on student persistence based on the viii perceptions and experiences of Black undergraduate students. Based on research findings, social engagement strategies play an integral role in bolstering motivation and a sense of belonging, improving student persistence.
Recommended Citation
Siddell, Kayla, "Factors Influencing Student Persistence through Undergraduate Degree Completion: A Case Study of the Social Engagement of Black Students at a Private Historically Black College and University." (2024). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation. 176.
https://digitalcommons.xula.edu/etd/176