Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice

Advisor

Mary Lynn Vogel

Committee Member

Julie Alemany

Committee Member

Kimberly Durham

Keywords

academic integration, acculturation stress, acculturation, advisor support, African-Caribbean students, attrition, Bourdieu, cultural capital, cultural differences, culturally responsive pedagogy, culturally responsive practices, family support, financial constraints, higher education institutions, konbit capital, mentoring, peer support, persistence, psychological well-being, resilience, retention, social capital, social integration, student support services, Tinto, U.S. universities, Zoom interviews

Abstract

The problem addressed in this research was the high attrition rate of African-Caribbean students enrolled in U.S. universities. This study aimed to ascertain preferred practices in student support services programs to improve the retention of African-Caribbean students enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions. African-Caribbean students come to the United States with premigration experiences (e.g., language, cultural differences, and financial constraints). This generic qualitative study used semistructured Zoom interviews lasting 45–60 minutes with 12 African-Caribbean students who left their country of origin after age 12; interviews offered insight into their lived experiences and perceptions of U.S. higher education institutions. This study analyzed the factors that influenced academic and social integration, psychological well-being, and acculturation stress in U.S. higher education institutions. The study was grounded in Bourdieu’s theory of social and cultural capital, as it negatively influences nondominant groups, and Tinto’s theory of academic and social integration to increase student retention.

Findings indicated that African-Caribbean students, beyond Tinto’s departure theory and Bourdieu’s capital, possess konbit capital that fosters their persistence. African-Caribbean students’ needs are supported by programs (peer, mentoring, advisor, counselor, family) through konbit capital. Based on premigration knowledge and their konbit capital, a multicultural approach through culturally responsive practices could increase the retention rate of African-Caribbean students. The researcher developed a model that drew on culturally responsive pedagogy to enhance the African Caribbean students’ konbit capital that put faculty, mentor, peers, family, and advisors in collaboration to foster African-Caribbean students’ resistance, resilience, and persistence in their educational goals. African-Caribbean students face challenges (e.g., acculturative stress, language issues, financial constraints, and culture differences) that require student support services to foster their persistence.

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