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  • Minority Student Retention: The Best of the "Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory, and Practice"
  • Anthony J. Bettendorf
Minority Student Retention: The Best of the "Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory, and Practice". Alan Seidman . (Editor) Amityville, NY: Baywood Publishing Company, 2007, 318 pages, $49.00 (hardcover)

Demographic shifts within the United States are bringing increasing numbers of students of color to institutions of higher education. Between 1990 and 2000 students of color enrolled in higher education institutions increased eleven and a half percent; however, students of color are also leaving our institutions at higher rates (Seidman, 2007). In light of this vexing paradox the persistence, retention, and success of students of color must be a high priority for researchers in the higher education community.

Minority Student Retention: The Best of the "Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice" brings together 14 articles on the retention of students of color. Alan Seidman edits this book in which a panel of scholars on retention reviewed all articles written on retention from the Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice. The panel chose the best articles to showcase in this compilation. The book is divided into six sections, which include African American students, Latino/a students, Asian and Asian Pacific students, Native American students, biracial students, and institutional retention efforts.

In section 1, five articles examine African American students. Two of these articles examine retention of African American males, a particularly at risk community within community colleges. "Correlates of Retention for African American Males in Community Colleges," by Linda Serra Hagedorn, William Maxwell, and Preston Hampton found strong support for the impact high school grade point average, collegiate goals and credit hours with regards to retention. In "The Retention of Black Male Students in Texas Public Community Colleges ," Frank S. Glenn identifies the following factors as important to retention at the top quarter of community colleges in their survey: first year advising, orientation for credit, required tutoring and advising, monitored attendance, and specific retention programs.

The third article, "Predicting Academic Success and Retention for African American Women in College," by Robert A. Schwartz and Charles M. Washington studies the retention of African American women. The authors found that the best predictors for academic success included a combination of personal emotional adjustment, availability of a strong support person, and high school GPA. Additionally, social adjustment was found to be the best predictor of persistence.

In their article, "Retaining Black Students in Engineering: Do Minority Programs Have a Longitudinal Impact," Jennifer Good, Glennelle Halpin, and Gerald Halpin investigate a program for minority students, and the impact that they can have on retaining students. The authors found that these types of programs significantly affect the retention rates of African Americans.

The last article, "Validating African American Students at Predominantly White Institutions" by Sharon L. Holmes, Larry H. Ebbers, Daniel C. Robinson, and Abel G. Mugenda consider validation of African [End Page 509] Americans at predominantly white institutions. The authors utilize research and theory to develop a model that reduces barriers and increases positive experiences of African American students. The model includes recruitment considerations, first year experience including in and out of class validation, and student outcomes.

The two articles in section 2 study the retention of Latino and Latina students. "Stopping Out and Persisting: Experiences of Latino Undergraduates," by Martha Zurita qualitatively unravels the experiences of 10 Latino/a students who persisted and stopped out. The other article "Leaking Pipeline: Issues Impacting Latino/a College Student Retention," by John C. Hernandez and Mark A. Lopez reviews the personal factors, environmental factors, involvement factors, and socio-cultural factors that may be impacting the retention of Latino/a students.

In section 3, Theresa Ling Yeh presents the article, "Issues of College Persistence between Asian and Asian Pacific American Students," that probes into the retention and success of Asian and Asian Pacific students. The author focuses attention on the different populations of Asian and Asian Pacific students at our institutions. Yeh's article looks at Filipino, South East Asian, and Samoan students who are underrepresented and have low persistence rates.

Mary Jiron Belgarde and Richard K. LoRé examine Native American students...

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