Examining the impact of a black men's initiative : a mixed methods approach to program evaluation

Abstract

The attrition of Black males in higher education has garnered much attention within recent years. Subsequently, programming specific to this issue has been developed to intervene; however, there is very little research that has captured the impact of such initiatives. The current study employed a mixed methods approach to evaluate the effect a Black men's initiative has on the academic performance, retention, racial identity, sense of belonging, college self-efficacy, and career decision making self-efficacy of Black male college students. Quantitative results for the initiative were inconclusive; however, qualitative interviews reveal that students in the BMI experience different levels of access and identity development than their peers not enrolled in the program. The current study produces implications for future research and academic practice/policy of administratrators in higher education.