Date
12-4-2025
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Administration (PhD)
Chair
Rebecca Lunde
Keywords
belonging, Maslow, inclusivity, Black females, undergraduate, PWI
Disciplines
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Hudson, Sheila Marie, "Not Feeling The Skin I Am In: A Phenomenological Qualitative Study On The Importance Of Belonging For Black Undergraduate Females At PWIs" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7663.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7663
Abstract
The purpose of this phenomenological study will be to discover the importance of finding and establishing belonging for Black, female undergraduates at PWIs. The theory guiding this study is Maslow’s theory on humanistic needs, as it explains the relationship between belonging as a human need for motivation and how PWIs can encourage these students to find their place on the campus to be motivated and retained. The central research question for this study is: What are the lived experiences of Black females who attend PWIs in establishing a sense of belonging on the campus? The methodology for this study will consist of collecting data via surveys, interviews, and focus groups from 12-15 Black female undergraduates. After the completion of the research study, the results indicated the themes of culture shock referencing the campus environment as a whole, identity in terms of representation and tokenism and attitudes in terms of the demeanor and behavioral approaches of the campus community and the participants’ own perseverance and motivation were of importance to the experience of the participants.
