Abstract
Power 5 refers to 64 North American Universities that belong to five prominent athletic conferences and offer strong academic and research programs, but also have a significant stake in athletics; e.g. American Football and Basketball. Power 5 Universities show low enrollment of African-American men (2.4%). However, these men make up at least 55% of the football and basketball teams in their schools (Harper, 2018). Additionally, the six-year graduation rates for African-American men are much lower (55.2%) than graduation rates over all (76.3%) (Harper, 2018). While graduation rates for African American male student athletes are on par with African American students, rates are much lower than student athletes (68%) in other ethnic or racial groups (Harper, 2018). At the University of Arkansas where iBelieve was developed, African American males make up only 2% of the student body, however, represent at least 50% of the athletes. The overall 6-year graduation rate for African American male students was 30% in 2010 when the rate of graduation overall was 62%. The iBelieve Initiative was designed to improve retention and success of African American male students. iBelieve encourages participants to develop an identity as a scholar, an owner mindset and resiliency skills. Although iBelieve was developed and funded through athletics, this program focuses on African American male students – athletes and non-athletes. This case study describes development of this innovative program including curriculum, social connections and preparation for career. The authors also discuss evaluation efforts and plans for the future of the program.
Presenters
Alishia FergusonDirector, Master of Social Work Program and Clinical Associate Professor, School of Social Work, University of Arkansas, Arkansas, United States Jl Jennings
Director of Field Placement, College of Education, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Education and Learning Worlds of Differences
KEYWORDS
Student Success, African American Men; Resliency, Preparation For Career
