Exploring The Lived Experiences of African American Male Learners in Higher Education

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore how specific factors like college readiness, college affordability, and financial preparedness lead to college success for African American male learners attending historically Black colleges or universities located in Ohio. The state of Ohio continues to experience concerns with the low academic achievement of African American male learners. This study was explored through the implementation of three research questions: How do African American male learners perceive the effectiveness of their college readiness experiences to being successful in college? How do African American male learners perceive the effectiveness of their college affordability experiences to being successful in college? How do African American male learners perceive the effectiveness of their financial preparedness experiences to being successful in college? To ensure both data saturation and data triangulation, this researcher utilized three data collection instruments: face-to-face, in-depth interviews with 16 participants; three focus group sessions; and a researcher journal. The results indicate that successful African American male learners depend on their non-cognitive college readiness skills—self-motivation, family motivation, time management/strategic planning, and strong relationships through engagement and guidance from professors and education leaders— to support their success in college. Many African American male learners are enrolled full-time and work one or two jobs to support their financial preparedness and college affordability responsibility. They perceive their university to offer affordable tuition when compared to other institutions of higher education