Boots On the Ground Theory: Removing Non-academic Barriers to Black Male Success at Community Colleges
LaSella L. HallAbstract
Black men attending community colleges face many academic and non-academic barriers. Community colleges offer various means to support a student’s academic challenges while few offer, if any, means to address non-academic barriers. Non-academic barriers show up in many forms such as deficient housing, inefficient transportation, financial need, inadequate childcare, meager resources for the larger family unit, and others. When non-academic barriers are not addressed, it leads to low retention and persistent rates and increased dropout among black male students. The following chapter looks to share experiences about these non-academic barriers, provide a framework, and suggest recommendations to obtaining more resources for black men at community colleges.