Factors influencing college completion disparities between African American and white males

¶ … African-American Males Not Completing Colleges Same Rate With White Counterpart

African-Americans consist of a large segment of the American population. In 2015, the total population of the United States was 330.36 million, and the population of African-Americans was 46.28 Million making up to 14% of the American population. The data from CensusGov (2016) showed that African-American consisted of 45.7 million of the American population and increased by 1.3% between 2013 and 2014. Their population is projected to reach 74.5 Million by 2060. Despite a large number of the Black population in the United States, there are still disparities between the number of male Black completing the college education compared with their White counterparts. While the college education can assist people to earn a high paycheck, historically, there is a disparity between the number of male African-Americans and the white counterpart completing colleges in the United States.

Several factors influencing these disparities. Factors such as an increase in college tuitions, household income, and level of parents\' education are influencing the disparities between African Africans males not completing colleges compared to their White counterpart.

This literature is reviewed to answer the research question and sub-questions addressing factors influencing Black males not completing colleges the same rate with their White counterpart. The literature is also reviewed to address the issues such as high-school preparedness of male African-American for college, as well as programs and resources that could help African-American males in college, and effect of masculinity on the success of African-American males in college.

Factors Influencing Black Males not Completing Colleges same Rate with White

This study identifies the high rates of college tuitions are one of the major factors responsible for the disparities between male African-American and White counterpart graduating from college. In the United States, the tuitions are increasingly expensive each year. The average costs of attending colleges and universities in the public universities are $35,370 per year, while the average costs of attending the private universities are $45,370. When the transport and other living expenses are added, the costs of attending colleges will increase by 10%. Mettler (2014) argues that the costs of attending colleges in the United States increased by 244% between 1980 and 2011, thus, African-Americans were unable to send their children to colleges because of the consistency increase in college tuitions. The author maintains that the current tuitions make million of Americans to be in debts. For example, the federal loans debts are more than $1 Trillion and private loan debts reaching $200 billion. (Naylor, Wooldridge, & Lyles, 2014). Although, the US spends more than $407 billion yearly on higher education, however the amount is exorbitant because the United States still ranks 12th globally with reference to the college degree attainment. Moreover, the core ethnic groups in the United States are still left out or underrepresented in the American colleges despite that the U.S. government spends a large amount of money on higher education, For example, minority group such as male African-Americans are being left out from the college experience. (Carnevale et al., 2015).

Household Income

Mettler (2014) believes that majority of African-American households still earn lower income compared to their White counterparts, thus, many of them cannot afford to sponsor themselves to colleges or sponsoring their children to colleges. Even when they attend colleges, a larger proportion of them finish at the lower-tiered universities or not able to complete their studies. According to the data presented by U.S. Census Bureau, (2016), 10% of African-Americans aged 19 and above earn a college degree, 12% with a graduate degree and 7% with doctoral degrees. The issue reveals that fewer African-Americans are likely to secure high paid jobs in the private organizations or public organizations. (Mettler, 2014). Spurgeon, & Myers, (2010) contribute to the argument by pointing out that 58% of high school African-American male graduate attend college, however, less than 50% of those attending colleges graduate from schools making female African-American graduate outnumber the male counterpart. Spurgeon, & Myers, (2010) believe that the major factor leading to a gap in the number of male African-Americans who graduate from colleges compared to the white counterpart is the risk factors and negative behaviors that include drug abuse, substance abuse, depression, and violence among male African-Americans. (Michael 2015).

However, Wyatt-Nichol et al., (2011) believe that income inequality between White population and African-American has contributed to the segregation of African-Americans in the American society, which affects the number of male Blacks attending colleges. In 2012, 81% of students between 18 and 29 who enrolled in colleges are from top income families. The data presented by the National Center for Education Statistics (2016) show that average of 82% of high-income people who enrolled in colleges completed their studies between 2010 and 2015. (See Appendix 1). Comparatively, an average of 55% of low-income people enrolled in colleges was able to complete their studies between 2010 and 2015. The data show that average 45% of low-income people who enrolled in colleges dropped out of school. Since a large percentage of African-Americans college students are from low-income families, 45% of them are less likely to graduate from colleges.

\"In 2015, the percentage of white males age 25 to 29 with a bachelor\'s degree was twice as high as the percentage of black males with a bachelor\'s degree (38% vs. 19%) and almost three times as high as the percentage of Hispanic males with a bachelor\'s degree (38% vs. 13%).\" (Ma, Pender, & Welch, 2016 p 15).

The disparities between Black and White male counterparts completing colleges vary by states. The West Virginia is the first state noted for the disparities with 48% of White male completing colleges while 24% Black males are able to complete colleges. Followed by Wisconsin with 45% of Male White and 22% for the Black male counterpart.(See Appendix 1).

Mitchemn & Mortenson, (2014) argue that students from the upper-income level in the United States are 9 times more likely to complete their colleges than students coming from low-income families. In the U.S., income is a significant factor that influences the ability of college students to complete their education. Colleges male students from high-income families are likely to complete their colleges than students from low-income families.

Kimberly et al. (2015) support the argument of the previous authors by pointing out that economic inequalities between Black and White population make African-American less likely to live in the neighborhoods the colleges and universities are located. It is essential to realize that many colleges in the United States are located in neighborhoods occupied by White majority where the house rents are expensive for the Black students. Thus, when the Blacks student adds the costs of accommodation with the tuitions, the colleges may be out of reach of the male Black population.

Level of Education of Parents

The level of education of parents is one of the most powerful predictors of the children level of education. Baum, Ma, & Payea, (2013) argue that parents\' education influences the level of education of their children. For example, parents who are able to finish the college education are likely to have high paying jobs than parents who drop out from colleges or parents with high school diploma. Camera, 2015). Since large percentages of White parents have college degrees, they are likely to belong to high income or middle- class than Black parents with low-income brackets. (College Board.Org, 2017). Thus, low level of education of Black parents makes large percentages of them to remain at the poverty level. Moreover, class and race are intertwined in the United States and African-Americans are overrepresented disproportionately in poverty. Typically, 24.1% of Black Americans between 18 and 64 live in poverty. If the trends continue, male students from low-income families are less likely completing their colleges, which will have a negative long-term impact on their ability to land a good job and earn a high income. Without a college degree, adults will less likely to secure a gainful employment.

Racial Discrimination

Spurgeon, & Myers, (2010) argue that large proportion of male African male population are at risks because of the negative stereotypes and covert discrimination that consequently lead depression, psychological disengagement, and suicide abuse among young Black males. For example, the leading cause of death among African-American males is a homicide. While the male Black population in the United States is only 6%, however, 45% of African-American male population are homicide victims. Moreover, young Blacks male are 10 times likely to commit murder than the White male counterpart. The rates of family violence are also high among young black males than the white counterpart. (College Board.Org, 2017). The years the young black male population should have been spent in schools, most of these years are spent prison. Spurgeon, & Myers, (2010) believe that poverty is the major factor that makes Black male children to commit homicide than their White male counterpart. Additionally, a racial identity that African-Americans have suffered over several centuries is still affecting their positive psychological well-being. Especially, the discrimination may affect African-Americans attending colleges that have a large percentage of the white population. This issue definitely leads to an increase in the number of male Black graduates dropping out of the universities.

Ma, Pender, & Welch, (2016) reveal female Black population attending colleges outnumber male Black population because the crime rates among male African-Americans are high.

\"The percentage of black females age 25 to 29 who had completed a bachelor\'s degree nearly doubled (from 12% to 23%) between 1990 and 2010, while the percentage of black males with bachelor\'s degrees rose from just 13% to 16%. However, between 2010 and 2015, the male attainment rate grew faster than the female attainment rate and the gap narrowed from 6 to 5%age points.\" (Ma, Pender, & Welch, 2016 p 15).

Sub-Questions

Level of High-school Preparedness Affecting African-American Male for College

The accepted prediction shows that 65% of jobs in the United States will require college graduate or education above high school by the year 2020 however, large percentages of African-American high school graduates are unprepared to take these challenges. Bryant, (2015) argues that a large number of African-American attends high-poverty schools making them least to prepare for the college education. This phenomenon has been measured by SAT scores, high school graduation rates, enrollment in science and mathematics, and exam passages. Since the bulk of African-Americans attend poverty ridden high schools, however, many of these schools do not have enough qualified teachers to prepare students for colleges. Moreover, the disparities between Black and White attending colleges are influenced by the key variables such as availability of experienced teachers, coursework, available guidance and counselors in schools. Frequently, Black high school students are not taught to be prepared for colleges. The primary reasons are that there is a lack of support and their school deliver inadequate courses. Unlike the White counterparts who attend good high schools in the urban environment, African-Americans do not attend quality high schools that can prepare them for rigorous course works in mathematics and Algebra II. Essentially, students who are exposed to college-level coursework are likely to succeed in their higher education. Moreover, many African-Americans are not equipped in writing basic skills and content knowledge such as analytic skills, oral communication, writing, research skills, and analytic thinking skills that can prepare them for colleges. Typically, many high schools do not offer full complement courses that prepare them for the colleges. Only 57% of high schools sampled in the urban environment offer full complement courses that can prepare students for colleges. (Bryant, 2015).

Programs and Resources to Help with African-American males College Persistence

In the United States, education is regarded as a pathway to enter into the middle class. In other words, the educational attainment has been regarded as a prerequisite to earning high incomes because college graduates earn roughly between $40,000 and $60,000 while people with high school diploma earn an average of $13,500. (Lareau, 2003). Despite the benefits associated holding a college diploma, a rise in college tuitions and related costs has been one of the major factors leading to an increase in the dropout rates among African-Americans in the United States. Moreover, costs of college attendance keep increasing year-by-year. Faced with an increase in college tuition, many African-Americans are unable to complete their courses because of the rise in costs. The best strategy to address these problems is to design the special financial aid program for African-Americans. Moreover, the government should come to the aid of the African-American by accelerating the way to obtain student free interest loans, which should be subsidized by the federal government. Moreover, the government should set up a grant program that will provide free money to the African-Americans to assist them completing their colleges. The aforementioned programs and resources can improve African-American males regarding their college persistence.

Issues of Masculinity affecting Success of African-American males in College

McGowan, (2012) reveals that college enrollment is increasingly diverse, with a growth of colored people attending colleges, the number of African-American males attending college is proportionately low. Moreover, completion rates among African-American male are lower compared with other ethnic groups. Several socio-cultural factors influence the masculinity of African-Americans. For example, several colleges allow Black male students to participate in sports thereby allowing them to demonstrate their masculinity. Since many African-American males perform poorly academically in colleges, they use sports especially the basketball to demonstrate their manhood and masculinity using the avenue to gain visibility and respects. While the sports are being used to demonstrate their masculinity, it also affects their basic academic performances. Some Black male students face challenges in compromising both masculinity experiences and school academic studies. Consequently, some of them drop out of schools in the bid to pursue their masculinity objectives. Alternatively, the concept masculinity can be referred as being tough and strong. Thus, some misguided Black male students join bad groups engaging in the drug business at the same time pursuing their academic program. However, if they are caught when peddling drugs in the campus, that would be the end of their academic programs.

Summary

The literature is reviewed to investigate factors responsible for a disparity between the number of male African-Americans and Whites counterpart who graduate from colleges and universities in the United States. The study considers several factors that lead to this disparity. Income inequality between the White and Black population is the major factor that leads to this disparity. Moreover, a large proportion of the male Black population is noted to commit crimes ranging from homicides to drug business. When they are caught, some of them spend years that would have been spent in colleges in prisons. The level of education of parents is also considered. Historically, White population dominates colleges and universities in the United States. Thus, a large proportion of them have high paying jobs compared to the Black population whose many of them are high school graduates. Thus, the White ethnic groups are able to send their male children to colleges, however, Black parents face challenges sending their children to colleges because of high costs of attending colleges in the United States.

Reference

Black Voices. (2013). Black Graduation Rates May Depends On\"Grit\"As Much As Grades, Study Show. The Huffington Post, pp. 1-4.