Identity, identification, and socialization: Preparation and retention of African American males in institutions of higher education

Abstract

Everyone is vulnerable. The degree of balance (or not) between protective factors present (i.e., supports available and accessible) and risk factors present (i.e., cumulative challenges confronted) in an individual's life is always relative and linked to inevitable perceptual processes (see Spencer, 2006, 2008). That is, individuals’ perceptions of risk and protection are just as important as the actual presence of risk and protective factors. Thus, it is inescapable that human beings – particularly Black males in the United States – will experience some level of vulnerability at every point across the life course. In fact, a persistent dilemma has been the narrow focus of social science literature on the risks and persistent challenges confronted by Black males. Unfortunately, the successes achieved or manifested resiliency of Black males remains under-analyzed. Thus, a resiliency theme is generally not integrated into the training of those intended to provide and contribute to the building of protective factors which maximize the accessibility to and use of sources of support. Accordingly, independent of the fact that all humans are vulnerable, for some who experience a disproportionate share of risks and challenges given particularly constructed social conditions (e.g., African American males), the mechanisms which promote the obtainment of good outcomes as expressed resiliency are frequently under-examined either conceptually or theoretically.

Citation

Dupree, D., Gasman, M., James, K. and Beale Spencer, M. (2009), "Identity, identification, and socialization: Preparation and retention of African American males in institutions of higher education", Frierson, H.T., Wyche, J.H. and Pearson, W. (Ed.) Black American Males in Higher Education: Research, Programs and Academe (Diversity in Higher Education, Vol. 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-3644(2009)0000007004