The Impact Of Mentoring African-American Males During Their Undergraduate Experience

Abstract

The purpose of the present qualitative study was to examine mentoring
relationships for African American males enrolled at a predominately white university.
Study participants met the following criteria: (1) African American male; and (2) senior
class status based on earned academic credits. Characteristics such as prior enrollment at
other institutions, age at the time the study was conducted, and degree program
enrollment were not identified criteria. The findings of the present study include the
perceptions of the impact of mentoring on the persistence, involvement in the cocurriculum,
relationships with formal and informal mentors, and , in general, their
successfulness ( as a measure of imminent degree attainment) in the academy over a four
year period. The expectations and experiences of the mentor/protege' relationships of six
African American males enrolled at Eastern Illinois University, a predominately white
institution, revealed not only the continuing need for such relationships, but also the
influences of race, formal and informal social interactions with mentors, and the
influence of familial relationships on the successful attainment of degrees sought.

Date of Award	2011
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	James Wallace (Supervisor)