SUPPORTING MEN OF COLOR IN COMMUNITY COLLEGESMen Issues w/ Health Concerns A frican American Mexican Yes 15.8% 25.9% No 84.2% 74.1% If yes, how stressful? Not stressful 33.3% 7.1%

SUPPORTING MEN OF COLOR

IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Frank Harris III & J Luke Wood - San Diego State University

Purpose of the Session

• Discuss trends, issues, and salient influences on experiences

and outcomes for community college men of color.

• Identify factors that warrant an intentional and culturally-

affirming approach to serving community college men of

color.

• Propose strategies that can be employed by student services

staff to build rapport and facilitate student success for

community college men of color.

Why the Focus on Men of Color?

Enhanced strategies are needed to leverage:

• academic and personal resilience

• external life responsibilities

• familial-community commitments

• lived experiences that enrich educational contexts and contribute to learning and development

Why the Focus on Men of Color?

Strategies are needed to mediate the effects of:

• poor K-12 school experiences

• external life pressures

• racial-gender stereotypes

• under-exposure to effective preparation experiences

Student

Success

Effective and Engaging Practices

Relational: Trust/Mutual Respect/Authentic Care

Pyramid of Student Success

STRATEGIES FOR SERVING MEN OF COLOR

Anti-Deficit Perspectives

• Recognize that students want the best for themselves

• Hold high expectations for performance

• Convey mutual respect (‘down to earth’)

• Avoid unintentional micro-messaging

Get to Know Students

• Get to know them personally, with interest

• Powerful tool for building rapport and demonstrating care

• Initial discussions should focus on students’ prior experiences in education

– “What do you enjoy most about learning?”

– “How would you describe your relationships with teachers?”

– “Beyond money, what do you want to get out of your college education?”

“Disclosing” Challenges & Successes

• The “struggle to get out of struggling”

– 4 to 5 major stressful life events in the past two years

– Often have part-time, temporary, and physically demanding jobs

– Routinely educated in environments that are invalidating and alienating

• Appropriately ‘disclose’ examples of similar challenges and how those challenges were overcame

• Avoid making claims of equivalency or negating experiences

• Inspire men towards greater levels of resilience

Connect Students with ‘People’ not ‘Services’

• Awareness of services may not translate into use

– Referrals do not require follow-through

– Numerous reasons for avoiding recommended actions (e.g., anxiety, time management, mistrust)

• Relationships serve as a necessary condition for fostering use of services

• Connect with institutional agents who are validating, have high expectations for them, and care about their success

• Can lead to a greater sense of belonging and limit social anxiety associated with help-seeking

Gauge Intrinsic Interest in Majors and Careers

• May not be fully aware of major and career opportunities – Goals can be informed by friends, the media, and students’ financial goals

– Socialized by society to believe that only certain career paths are appropriate

– Should be informed by authentic interests, familial dynamics, and skillsets

• What their interests are, where those interests come from, what they want to do with their lives.

– Critical reflection on whether they are ‘authoring’ their own lives

• Exploration via dialogue, assessments, internships, service learning

• Traditional student developmental theories are very individualistic and often ignore the familial and cultural contexts

Avoid Systematic Degree Tracking

• Some men of color are ‘tracked’ in the community college

– Stereotypical perceptions, external pressures, immediate monetary goals

• Men of color are concentrated in applied and career-technical fields

• ‘Tracked’ into short term certificate programs that do not align with their long term goals for degree attainment or transfer

– Planning should be focused on stackable credentials

• “Job” vs. “career”

• Be cautious about directing futures unless there is a good ‘holistic’ understanding of the student as a person

Be Intrusive

• Staff should have several meetings per semester

• Time to develop and cultivate relationships necessary to foreground effective guidance

• Set up alternative contacts in advance

• Development of an action plan that required students to come back to them regularly

– Prior to a student leaving an appointment, the advisor would give them an assignment that required the student to engage in some sort of action and to report back on what occurred within a specific time frame

Ensure the Message Conveyed is the Message Received

• Colleges have extensive codes, procedures, guidelines, and timelines that must be adhered to (policies can be difficult to grasp)

• Information presented in sessions can often be overwhelming and even contextual (i.e., if this, then that)

• Double check for comprehension to ensure that they fully understand what is being told to them

– Apprehension to ask for clarification due to socially constructed messages about gender and masculinity

• Ask: “After you complete this step what are you going to do next?” “What office are you going to bring this document to?” “What are you going to tell them?”

Positive Messaging

• Validation and messaging (e.g., positive futures, control, resilience) that invites interactions and engagement is key to persistence and success

• Men of color must hear “you belong”, “you can do the work”, “you can succeed”, “you have the ability”, “you are very intelligent”

– Serves to counter the void of positive messaging in prior schooling and social stereotypes of unintelligence

– Can result in more healthy psychosocial (e.g., confidence, perceptions of the usefulness of college, authentic interest in school) and identity outcomes

– Best maximized if task oriented (e.g., “you did a great job on XXX”)

• Authenticity is key to the effective delivery of positive messaging

Support Strategies and Practices

• Early Alert Practices

• Early Alert Practices involves monitoring students’ attendance and assignment outcomes to proactively address concerns before they become larger issues.

• Ensure the utility of the system

• Provide feedback to improve the system

What are strategies that you use that are effective in supporting

college men of color?

Books on College Men of Color

for Instructional Faculty for Classified Staff

Online Certificate Programs

PROGRAMS FEATURE

• Designed for community college educators• One-week long program • Fully online program delivery• Live interactive dialogue with instructors• Tangible solutions for real challenges

LEARNING FORMAT

• e-Learning videos• Virtual discussion board• Real-time conferencing with instructors• Practical readings

LEARN MORE at www.coralearning.org CONTACT at [email protected]

This is a non-credit, non-CEU professional development training program

Center for Organizational Responsibility and Advancement

TARGET AREAS OF INTERVENTION

• Racial Microaggressions

• Collaborative Learning

• High Expectations

• Validation

• Personal Relationship

• Challenge

• Support

• Culturally Relevant Teaching

• Culturally Relevant Materials

• Empowerment Strategies

• Intrusivity

• Performance Monitoring

TEACHING MEN OF COLOR IN THE

COMMUNITY COLLEGE

SUPPORTING MEN OF COLOR IN THE

COMMUNITY COLLEGEAND

http://www.coralearning.org/

mailto:[email protected]

COMPTON COLLEGE DATA

Initial Findings from the CCSMNon-Cognitive Domain (cont.)

African American Mexican

Men Women Men Women

Action Control

Completely focused on school Needs Attention Needs

Attention

Needs

AttentionImmediate

Concern

Work as hard as I can Needs Attention Acceptable Acceptable Needs

Attention

Put forth my best effort Immediate

ConcernAcceptable Needs

AttentionNeeds

Attention

Driven to be successful Acceptable Acceptable Acceptable Acceptable

Self Efficacy

Ability to excel Acceptable Acceptable Acceptable Needs

Attention

Understand difficult concepts Acceptable Needs

Attention

Acceptable Immediate

Concern

Master the material in class Acceptable Needs

Attention

Needs

AttentionImmediate

Concern

Confident in abilities Acceptable Needs

Attention

Acceptable Immediate

Concern

Intrinsic Interest

Enjoy learning Acceptable Needs

Attention

Acceptable Acceptable

Class is interesting Needs Attention Needs

Attention

Acceptable Needs

Attention

Want to learn as much as I can Acceptable Acceptable Acceptable Acceptable

Absorbed in coursework Acceptable Immediate

Concern

Immediate

ConcernImmediate

Concern

Women

Issues w/ Stable

Place of Living

African

American

Mexican

Yes 25.6% 22.9%

No 74.4% 77.1%

If yes, how stressful?

Not stressful 10.0% 5.3%

Somewhat stressful 30.0% 42.1%

Stressful 40.0% 42.1%

Very stressful 20.0% 10.5%

Initial Findings from the CCSM

Men

Issues w/ Health

Concerns

African

American

Mexican

Yes 15.8% 25.9%

No 84.2% 74.1%



Somewhat stressful 42.9%

Stressful 35.7%


Women

Issues w/ Stable

Place of Living

African

American

Mexican

Yes 25.6% 31.3%

No 74.4% 68.7%







Men

Issues w/ Stable

Employment

African

American

Mexican

Yes 31.6% 38.9%

No 68.4% 61.1%




Stressful 33.3%


Women

Issues w/ Stable

Place of Living

African

American

Mexican

Yes 30.8% 39.8%

No 69.2% 60.2%







Men

Issues w/

transportation

African

American

Mexican

Yes 52.6% 38.9%

No 47.4% 61.1%






Women

Issues w/ Stable

Place of Living

African

American

Mexican

Yes 7.7% 6.0%

No 92.3% 94.0%


Not stressful 40.0%


Stressful

Very stressful 33.3%


Men

Issues w/ Hunger

African

American

Mexican

Yes 31.6% 16.7%

No 68.4% 83.3%






Women

Issues w/ Stable

Place of Living

African

American

Mexican

Yes 33.3% 32.5%

No 66.7% 67.5%







Men

Issues w/ Stable

Place of Living

African

American

Mexican

Yes 57.9% 35.2%

No 42.1% 64.8%






Initial Findings from CCSM

Campus Ethos Domain (cont.)


Men Women Men Women

Service Care

Advising Acceptable Needs

Attention

Needs Attention Acceptable

Career counseling Acceptable Immediate

Concern

Needs Attention Needs

Attention

Transfer services Acceptable Immediate

Concern


School Library Acceptable Immediate

Concern

Acceptable Needs

Attention

Computer Lab Acceptable Immediate

Concern

Needs Attention Needs

Attention

Tutoring Acceptable Needs

Attention


Cafeteria/Food Service Immediate

ConcernImmediate

Concern

Needs Attention Immediate

Concern

Maintenance/Janitorial Staff Immediate

ConcernImmediate

Concern

Immediate

ConcernImmediate

Concern


Campus Ethos Domain (cont.)


Men Women Men Women

Service Access

Easy to access Acceptable Acceptable Acceptable Acceptable

Know where to go for help Acceptable Needs

Attention


Available when I need them Acceptable Needs

Attention


Service Efficacy

Provide me with the help I need Acceptable Needs

Attention


Accurate information Acceptable Needs

Attention


Critical to my success Acceptable Needs

Attention



Non-Cognitive Domain


Men Women Men Women

Help-Seeking

Asking for help Acceptable - Needs

Attention

-

Accepting help Acceptable - Needs

Attention

-

Following through with

offered help

Acceptable - Needs

Attention

-

Breadwinner

Orientation Studying for classes is

compatible with role

Immediate

Concern

- Immediate

Concern

-

Going to classes is compatible

with role

Needs

Attention

- Immediate

Concern

-

Being on campus is


Needs

Attention

- Immediate

Concern

-

Being a college student is


Needs

Attention

- Immediate

Concern

School as a

Gender

Neutral

Domain

School is structured to serve

both men and women

Acceptable - Acceptable -

School is equally important

for both


Men and women are equally

capable



Student Outcomes (cont.)


Men Women Men Women

Outcome

Measures

Transfer Readiness Acceptable Acceptable Needs

Attention

Acceptable

Anticipated Persistence Needs

Attention

Immediate

Concern

Immediate

Concern

Immediate

Concern

SUPPORTING MEN OF COLOR

IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Frank Harris III & J Luke Wood - San Diego State University

Documents

SUPPORTING MEN OF COLOR IN COMMUNITY COLLEGESMen Issues w/ Health Concerns A frican American Mexican Yes 15.8% 25.9% No 84.2% 74.1% If yes, how stressful? Not stressful 33.3% 7.1%