Black Deaf Students : A Model for Educational Success

2 Backgrounds of Successful Postsecondary Graduates

24 Backgrounds of Successful Postsecondary Graduates 2 The participants in this study* are all African American deaf and hard of hearing college or university graduates. They have encountered obstacles that could have interfered with their academic achievement; however, they persevered, overcame these challenges, and earned bachelor’s degrees. Some have continued their education beyond bachelor’s degrees. In this chapter, you will learn about the participants’ backgrounds and their families. Family Backgrounds of Participants The nine participants in this study are African American women and men who are self-confident, highly motivated, and self-determined individuals who have overcome obstacles to succeed. All have bachelor’s degrees. All of the participants, except one, work in professional jobs requiring a bachelor’s or graduate degree. The one exception is a participant who is in graduate school full time and, to support himself in graduate school, is working full time in a position that does not require a degree to support him in graduate school. As members of a minority group on predominately White campuses, with few African American graduates, the participants viewed graduation from college as a challenge. They also viewed graduation as evidence that African Americans can succeed in college. Many of them view themselves as role models for other African American deaf and hard of hearing individuals and for other minorities. They have demonstrated that they can enter and graduate from a college that has a large population of deaf and hard of hearing individuals. The college that they graduated from is located in the Northeastern part of the United States. It serves a large population of deaf and hard of hearing students and is a predominately White college. * See the appendix for an explanation of research methods. 25 Backgrounds of Successful Postsecondary Graduates Ages and Genders of Participants This study involved five female and four male participants. All are employed in professional jobs with the exception of one who is enrolled full time as a master’s student. To maintain the confidentiality of the participants, no names or individual identifying information will be used. The participants in this study ranged from 21 to 49 years of age. The majority of the participants were between the ages of 21 and 34. Two were between 35 and 44 years of age and one was between 45 and 49 years old. Though there was a wide age range, there were many similarities in individual, family, school, cultural, and community factors within this group, and there were strong thematic similarities in their interviews. Geographical Areas Represented The data from the demographic survey indicated that the participants represented five states and the District of Columbia. However, most of the participants grew up in Washington, D.C., and the majority presently live in the D.C. metropolitan area. Family Composition Five of the participants lived with both parents during the time that they were in elementary and high school. There was one participant whose parents divorced during his early years in school. He initially lived with his mother and later with his father after he finished elementary school. Both of his parents had high expectations and were supportive of him in school. He maintained a good relationship with his mother, whom he visited on weekends while living with his father. However, his relationship with his father became strained. He viewed his father’s academic expectations as being beyond the level that he was able to maintain in school. Changing schools, coupled with his father’ expectations and prolonged punishments, led to problems in his relationship with his father. The other three participants—one female and two males—had no fathers in their homes while they were in elementary, school, high school, and college. The female participant’s father died when she was very young. Her mother had the help of a community volunteer, a White female who assisted by providing moral and financial support for the participant as she entered high school away from home. This same volunteer maintained Chapter Two 26 contact with and provided support for the participant during the entire time that she attended high school and college away from home. One of the two males, who had no contact with his father, had a male extended family member who took an active role in his life and became a father figure. The other male participant found his own mentors by visiting a nearby college campus. He talked to college...