Communalism Values and the Academic Success and Retention of the African American Male Student in Community College

Abstract

In this study the author examines the cultural dimension of communalism, one of the nine dimensions of Afrocultural expression; specifically, academic communalism will be investigated, which can be seen as an interdependent culture of attitudes, beliefs, and values within a learning environment. With the use of the Academic Communalism Scale, the researcher found African American males' academic communalism values were significantly lower than White males' academic communalism value, yet not statistically significantly different than African American females, Hispanic males, Hispanic females, or White females. Additionally, the communalism continuum model, which consists of student demographics, academic communalism values, and current remedial math courses were examined to determine these variables' influence on the likelihood of success and retention of community college students. Based on the analysis, as academic communalism values rose, remedial math students were significantly less likely to succeed, although by a negligible amount. Moreover, academic communalism values held no significant predictive value to a student reenrolling. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone [phone]. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]