Self-Care Practices and Perceptions of Holistic Health Among Selected Educational Leadership Graduate Students Attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities or Minority Serving Institutions

As health disparities continue to grow within communities of color, the need to educate and empower individuals to adopt healthier self-care practices and preventative holistic health behaviors become more vital to shifting short and long-term outcomes for future generations. Future educational leaders may have the ability to transform health perceptions within the populations most impacted by fostering a commitment to self-care and holistic health practices. The purpose of this mixed methods research study was the examination of selected self-care practices and perceptions of holistic health among purposely selected Educational Leadership graduate students attending Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs) or Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) with the purpose to investigate the following 4 questions: RQ 1 : What is the relationship between selected self-care practices and perceptions of holistic health among participants?; RQ 2: What are the shared lived experiences related to self-care practices and holistic health behaviors among participants?; RQ 3: What are the differences between the self-care practices and perceptions of holistic health among doctoral, master and specialist level graduate students?; and RQ4: What strategies do participants believe may be implemented by higher education institutions to support self-care practices and holistic health among students, faculty, and staff? Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted with participant responses (N= 64) from the Self-Care Practices and Perceptions of Holistic Health Survey, and a phenomenological approach was chosen to analyze data from 9 follow-up focus groups conducted with (n=12) participants to provide a comprehensive investigation of the shared lived experiences described by Educational Leadership graduate students. Results of EFA generated 4 factors, and 8 themes and subthemes emerged from qualitative data analysis. Findings suggested that participants felt more strongly about EFA factors and overlapping themes associated with spiritual, physical, social, and psychological wellness. Findings suggested that students have experienced a decline in health since beginning coursework due to challenges associated with the additional demands of graduate studies, and participants believe institutions are not demonstrating a commitment to the health and wellness of graduate students