In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • Standing on the Outside Looking In
  • Audrey Jaeger and Frim Ampaw
Mary F. Howard-Hamilton, Carla L. Morelon-Quainoo, Susan D. Johnson, Rachelle Winkle-Wagner, and Lilia Santiague (Eds). Standing on the Outside Looking In. Sterling, VA: Stylus, 2009. 239 pp. Paper: $29.95. ISBN-13: 978-1-57922-284-0.

The editors of this volume note their astonishment that a book addressing the experiences of students of color in graduate programs has not been written to date. We agree. While we know that the number of students of color pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees is increasing, it is still surprising that students of color represent only 24% of the graduate population (Bell, 2009). This edited volume offers a reason why this percentage is so low.

Mary F. Howard-Hamilton, Carla Morelon-Quainoo, Susan Johnson, Rachelle Winkle-Wagner, and Lilia Santiague have arrayed a rich collection of articles that address critical issues affecting students of color in graduate and professional degree programs including choice, access, financial aid, retention, STEM degrees, mentoring, curricula, and spirituality. By including the voices and perspectives of students of color from varying racial and ethnic backgrounds, they illustrate the similarities and uniquenesses among and between these perspectives—a strength of this compilation of research.

Howard-Hamilton and her colleagues seek to answer questions about how students of color choose graduate programs, their experiences in these programs, and how institutions of higher education can support students of color. For example, [End Page 602] Chapter 1 on the advanced-degree pipeline for students of color identifies elements that are fairly common across all the chapters in the text and in most published work addressing students of color. These elements include the need for adequate support structures, the current lack of diversity at many postsecondary institutions, and the critical importance of financial aid in choosing a graduate program.

This discussion is expanded in Chapter 2 by exploring the choice decisions of students and adds a new theoretical lens to the discussion: social allocation theory. The author notes that the type of undergraduate institution that students of color choose influences their aspirations for further education. Research also suggests that some students of color choose institutions of higher education based on family and cultural influences—a limitation that results from being bound to certain locations (Jaeger, Levin, Haley, Ampaw, & Cox, 2009). Thus, attendance at a particular type of undergraduate institution may limit the socialization to and preparation for graduate education of students of color.

Chapter 3 offers an important discussion about how financial aid acts as a gatekeeper to advanced education. Research indicates that financial aid also affects students’ choice of undergraduate institution, thereby indirectly affecting student aspirations for a graduate degree (Heller, 1999; Perna & Titus, 2004).

One of the book’s most valuable contributions is offered in Chapter 4, “The Path to Graduate School in Science and Engineering for Underrepresented Students of Color.” This chapter discusses “four institutional approaches for improving the educational attainment of undergraduate [and graduate] students of color in STEM fields” (p. 65). The authors suggest developing integrated support systems, ensuring inclusive curricula, promoting interactive classrooms, and increasing the availability of role models and mentoring. Although some of these ideas have been addressed in previous literature, this chapter offers specific details, both comprehensive and practical, about each approach.

Chapter 5 offers a more individualized perspective by reporting the voices of several Asian American doctoral students, while Chapter 6 focuses on the distinctive experiences of students of color—in particular, Latinas—in a doctoral program.

The author in Chapter 7 provides descriptive statistics showing trends in enrollment and completion data in graduate education for African American males. The dearth of literature on this subject makes this and other chapters important first steps in the conversation. Chapter 8 focuses on Black women in graduate education, reporting how they negotiate and cope in an environment of marginalization. The author notes that these students relished their identities as Black females and saw their education as a form of racial uplift.

An interesting discussion in Chapter 9 documents how faith and spirituality can become a coping strategy for graduate students of color. A search for a purpose and a spiritual...

pdf

Share