African American College Students , Extracurricular Activities and Motivation

African American college graduation and retention rates are alarmingly low. Factors such as social engagement, student involvement, and academic motivation influence academic achievement for African American male students. This study used in-depth interviews to examine the college experience of African American students at a public four-year university in northern California. The data collected in this study explored the relationship between participation in extracurricular activities, sense of belonging, and academic motivation. The results showed that participation in extracurricular activities helped African American male college students gain a sense of belonging and academic motivation at California State University, Sacramento. Research shows that college students drop out for a variety of reasons (Bean 1990; Cabrera et al. 1992; Peltier et al. 1999; Tinto 199 ). Some of the most common factors that lead students to drop out are background characteristics such as first generation college experience, lower socioeconomic status, and lack of pre-college academic experience. Other factors include the structural characteristics of institutions such as curriculum not reflecting certain students and a lack of interaction with faculty and peers. These characteristics are some of the most common factors that make being successful in college more difficult. Furthermore, studies have shown that race can be a significant predictor of persistence in college (Astin 1997; Murtaugh et al. 1999; Peltier et al. 1999). For example, some studies have indicated that, compared to their white peers, students of color perceive the college environment to be less supportive and are, thus, less likely to persist and graduate (Carey 2004; Pascarella et al. 1996). The academic achievement of African Americans has been a topic of great concern to many scholars and educators (Allen 1992; Cokley 2000; Fordham and Ogbu 1986; Rowley 2000; Sellers et al. 1998; Steele and Aronson 1995). Researchers examining the academic achievement gap between African McNair ScholarS JourNal ▪ VoluMe 12 209 American and European American students have shown consistent disparities between these two groups (Gordon 2004; US Department of Education 2009). Specifically, African American college students have a 20% lower college graduation rate than do European American college students (US Department of Education 2009). The rate of African American enrollment in institutions of higher education has increased in the United States from approximately 20% in the 1980s to 0% in the 2000s when compared to the 1970s (Coakley and Moore 2007). Although this increase in enrollment may appear to be a substantial rise in African American academic success, that is not necessarily the case. because the graduation rate for African American college students is still low at 8% (African-American College Graduation Rates 2002). The growth in minority student enrollment in higher education institutions, along with a low graduation rate and external pressures for institutional accountability for student learning, have made understanding the factors that influence student success in college vital (Bok 2006; Commission of the Future of Higher Education 2006). In response to disparities in college enrollment and dropout rates, a number of studies have examined factors that may be related to the lower rates of academic success of ethnic minority students compared to their white counterparts (Lau 200 ; NCES 2001; Tierney 1999). One factor that may contribute to the low rates of success among ethnic minority groups is a negative perception of campus climate (Gloria 2001). In a study that included nearly ,000 multiethnic college freshmen, Johnson (2007) found that white students reported a stronger sense of campus belonging than did African American, Latino and Asian students. The results from a study of students attending the University of California showed that African American students reported lower levels of campus belonging than did other ethnic groups (Chatman 2008). Other studies suggest that African Americans have more negative descriptions of campus life, including perceptions of prejudice, discrimination, racial conflict, and marginalization (Ancis 2000; Gossett 1998; Parker 1998; Suarez-Balcazar 200 ). “Marginalize” means to relegate or confine to a lower or outer limit or edge and, in this case, it means students feel like they are not being accepted into the college campus community. A positive attitude toward campus climate is associated with academic success. Gloria (1999) found that positive perceptions of social support, cultural congruity and college environment were all associated with persistence among African American college students. In another study, African American students expressed that positive faculty and peer relationships, such as perceptions of trust and openness, contributed to a sense of community (Booker 2007). The students in these studies who did not have such positive faculty and peer relationships reported that they were