Date
5-25-2023
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Chair
Sherrita Rogers
Keywords
credit recovery, high school dropouts, Black females, ecological systems
Disciplines
Adult and Continuing Education | Education
Recommended Citation
Love, Tennille A., "A Phenomenological Study: Black Female Resilient Dropouts and How They Perceive Parental Influence in Their Pursuit of Completing a High School Diploma at a Midwestern Credit Recovery Institution" (2023). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 4421.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/4421
Abstract
The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Black female resilient high school dropouts, and whether parental involvement impacted their enrollment and completion of a diploma from a midwestern credit recovery school. The guiding theories of this study were ecological systems and critical race feminism as it relates to the participants of a specific race and gender, and how the microsystemic relationship between them and their parents may have influenced their decision. The research questions of the study were: (a) what are the lived experiences of Black females who dropped out of their traditional public high school and enrolled and persisted to high school graduation from a midwestern alternative credit recovery school?; (b) how do Black female resilient high school dropouts perceive their ecological microsystem of parental involvement as it relates to their decision to enroll in a midwestern alternative credit recovery high school?; and (c) how do Black female resilient high school dropouts explain their educational experiences and parental involvement in connection with their previous traditional public high school? Using purposive sampling, the participants were graduates of Freedom High School. The primary source of data collection was individual, semi-structured, and open-ended interviews conducted with 10 Black female participants. Focus groups and participant letter writing followed the interviews. Data collection results generated similarities and themes of Black female resilient high school graduates. Using Moustakas’ approach, emerged themes developed to understand the lived experiences of the participants with the phenomenon of being a Black female high school dropout and graduate via the ecological systems and critical race feminist perspectives. Empirical, practical, and theoretical implications of the data analysis and recommendations for ongoing research were discovered.
