Perceptions of nontraditional African American baccalaureate nursing students of their persistence in or departure from an urban nursing program

The purpose of this naturalistic qualitative inquiry was to determine perceptions of experiences of nontraditional African American nursing students regarding their persistence in or departure from a baccalaureate degree nursing program. The literature reflects that although more people of color are enrolling in higher education, graduation rates remain dismal. Many studies have examined the problem from an institutional viewpoint with a focus on retention and attrition. The present study laid out a blueprint for qualitative research and focused on the individual student so that the problem was approached from the angles of persistence and departure. A bi-polar model of this educational issue was proposed to demonstrate this concept.Convenience sampling was used to identify participants who were assigned to separate focus groups. One group was composed of participants who were departers due to academic dismissal. The second group was composed of participants who persisted and were either currently enrolled or had graduated. Interview guides were developed and participants were interviewed in a focus group setting, followed by individual interviews. Data analysis identified emergent themes from the transcribed interviews that fell into the categories of educational climate, myth of homogeneity, and desire for a level playing field.The findings suggest that African Americans attending predominantly White institutions continue to face racism and oppression, supporting the conclusion of previous researchers on these issues. Implications from this study concluded that to reflect the changing demographics in society, higher education and specifically nursing education must become more inclusive.The conceptual framework for this study was based on the theories of McClusky (1963) from the field of adult education; and Tinto (1975, 1993) prominent in the field of higher education. McClusky's Power/Load/Margin Theory was found to be minimally supportive in describing the experiences of nontraditional African American BSN students. Participants identified barriers that related solely to their status as African Americans and thus eroded the level of Margin. Tinto's longitudinal model of institutional departure was found to be applicable to students who leave due to academic dismissal, an area not previously addressed in the model. Recommendations for further research were given.Department of Educational LeadershipThesis (D. Ed.