Date

11-13-2024

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Administration (PhD)

Chair

Shanna Baker

Keywords

higher educational support, black doctoral students, higher education, retention

Disciplines

Higher Education

Abstract

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study is to describe the lived experiences of Black students majoring in the mental health field and the perceived influences that challenges have on degree completion at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) in Central Virginia. The theories guiding this study are Tinto’s theory on student departure in higher education and Astin’s theory on student involvement as they relate to White stakeholders supporting Black students at the doctoral level. The following central research question guides the study: What are the lived experiences of Black doctoral students majoring in the mental health field at PWI? A transcendental phenomenological research design will be used. Two separate higher education institutions are examined in this study, with a total of 10 doctoral participants. Data for the present study was collected using a questionnaire, individual student interviews, and a focus group. Pseudonyms were used to protect the privacy of each participant throughout the research study, along with all personal identifying information, transcriptions, and codebooks being stored on a password-protected computer. Answers to the questionnaires, along with transcriptions for both the individual interviews and focus groups will be read. Coding was used for each data source, bringing attention to themes within each data source. Through the data analysis process, three themes were identified: responsibilities, supports, and hardships. These themes were broken into six subthemes: personal and academic responsibilities, personal and campus supports, and personal and academic hardships. The themes and subthemes aided in answer the research questions.

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