Abstract
This qualitative study explored the stop-out experiences of minoritized male collegians in associate degree programs. A narrative inquiry approach captured participants’ stories and helped develop a deeper understanding of their stop-out journeys. Use of Bean and Metzner’s (1985) Conceptual Model of Nontraditional Undergraduate Student Attrition and Yosso’s (2005) Cultural Wealth Model allowed the researcher to avoid the deficit perspectives that continue to characterize research on historically minoritized students and to instead focus on understanding how forms of cultural wealth can promote the college persistence of minoritized males.
Interviews of five students were conducted at an open-access, associate degree-granting HSI institution in Florida. Using thematic analysis, three major themes and six sub-themes were conceptualized from the stories shared by the participants. The first theme—Challenges, had the sub-themes Life Experiences; Life Happens and Institutional Barriers. The second theme, Our Support System, also had two sub-themes: Your Personal Village and Your Institutional Village. The third theme, Don’t Give Up; Don’t Lose Sight of Your Goals—had two sub-themes: Something Bigger than Himself and Education Provides Opportunities. Participants’ stories revealed the men experienced life and institutional challenges that led to the decision to discontinue enrollment. However, they were able to leverage various forms of capital to overcome those challenges and resume their education. Study findings add to the literature and help institutions identify challenges for minoritized male collegians and create practices and policies that support their persistence and success in associate degree programs.