Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Understanding The Lived Experiences Of Asian American Transracial Adoptees In College, Frances Elizabeth Mcdermott

Honors Program Theses

Asian American transracial adoptees are an underserved and underrepresented population in America, specifically on college campuses. The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of experiences lived by individuals in this group, focusing on their time in college. Through qualitative interviews, this research captured the feelings, opinions, and experiences of select individuals within this group. Two semi-structured interviews were conducted with six separate participants via video chat. All participants attend(ed) the University of Northern Iowa, were 18 years of age or older, and were adopted from an Asian country into a White, American family. Results showed that …

Examining African American Male Mentors Relationships With African American Boys: Benefits, Barriers, Recruitment, And Retention, Quenton Angelo Richardson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Currently there is a shortage of African American male mentors available to build meaningful relationships with young African American boys and young men. Approximately 200,000 youth mentors are working in community agencies in any given year, yet only 6% of these mentors are African American men. Research supports that youth can benefit from a homogeneous mentoring relationship. Very limited research has been conducted that explores the benefits, barriers, recruitment, and retention of African American male mentors from an African American perspective. Therefore, this research gathers information and explores the benefits and barriers of African American adult males who mentor young …

Remembering Obama In The Era Of Trump, Dante Allen Miller

McNair Scholars Program Summer Research Symposium

People think the election of Obama led to post racial America. Our research seeks to understand how collective memory of generations affects political understandings of the election of President Obama and President Trump. Using Bonilla-Silva’s lens of racism without racist and Berlant’s theory of cruel optimism we argue that post racial ideas are optimistic and hinder how individuals remember Americas racial past. Through interviewing Generation X and Millennials we find personal relationships factor into how individuals recall political events more than candidate stances. Decoupling politics from person creates a phenomenon where individuals assume voting does not have social implications.

Language Policy In Sudanese-Arabic Speaking Families, Marwa Ibrahim

Annual Graduate Student Symposium

In countries like the United States, where English is the dominant language, minority languages spoken in families and communities are at risk of being lost by the second and subsequent generations. This study thus examines the language maintenance and family language policies that exist in families of first-generation immigrant Sudanese residing in a Sudanese community in a Midwest university town of 74,000. The study aims to answer how family language policy, spoken or unspoken, affects the maintenance of the children's first language. The participants in this study were first generation immigrants, identified themselves as bilingual, resided in the United States …

Skin Bleaching In The African Community, Yena Balekyani

Research in the Capitol

Bleaching of skin is the action in which person(s) apply chemical substances on their body to chemically alter (e.g., in this case, lighten) their skin pigmentation. The purpose of the study is to gain ground in understanding how and why this phenomenon of skin bleaching is occurring in the African Community in the U.S., as well as how skin bleaching affects them. In person interviews are conducted to collect qualitative data on women and men of color in the African diaspora, in the United States who decide to engage in the bleaching of their skin. Previous prominent research in skin …

Racial Disparities Among African Americans Primarily In The Criminal Justice System And Other Areas In Society, Juana D. Hollingsworth

Graduate Research Papers

African Americans are overrepresented in the criminal justice system and known to experience disadvantages in society because of their race/ethnicity. In an effort to understand the barriers that hinder African Americans from equal opportunity; this study explores the possible factors that account for the disparities against the African American population in the criminal justice system and other areas in society. The current studies that exist utilize qualitative and quantitative interviews to collect the perceptions and experiences of African Americans with law enforcement. Findings revealed disparities particularly in the criminal justice system; the disparities are present in traffic tops, arrest, and …

Is Higher Education The Key To Unlock The Door Of Fortune? A Study Of Students' Occupational Aspirations, Daiyue Sun

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study focuses on the relationship between students' social backgrounds and their occupational aspirations (in terms of becoming an authority, financial success and recognition in the workplace). By applying the status attainment theory and segmented assimilation theory, this study examines the significance of parental socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and social capital in predicting college freshmen's occupational aspirations using multivariate analysis. Interaction effects between the main predictors as well as control variables such as immigrant status, gender, school performance, motivations and skills are tested in the analysis. Results suggest that socioeconomic status is not statistical significance in predicting individuals' occupational aspirations in …

What Methods Have Been Used To Help Narrow The Achievement Gap Between African-American Students And White Students?, Cindra L. Landau

Graduate Research Papers

The research in this paper provides an overview and analysis of the problems in our nations' schools pertaining to the achievement gap between African-American students and White students, and what interventions and/or supports that have been found to start narrowing this gap. The analysis is based on educational journals, books and my own personal experiences from the stand point of teaching in a school with 60% African-American students. It will reveal some of the factors that may contribute to the achievement gap between African-American and White students, as well as teacher/student relations, classroom management and high/low teacher expectations, parent/teacher relations, …

Psychological Barriers To White Counselors' Racial Identity Development, Kathleen Rice

Graduate Research Papers

White racial identity development includes abandoning racism and considering racial information more objectively. Racial identity is a key aspect of multicultural competency, which is a high priority within the counseling profession. Psychological barriers to White counselors' racial identity development include personal characteristics, cognitive strategies, and beliefs. Personal traits related to racism include poorer overall mental health, more anxiety, more neurotic tendencies, and less open, extroverted, agreeable, flexible, responsible, and tolerant personalities.

Cognitive processes to avoid confronting the reality of racial issues include self distortion, defense mechanisms, dysconsciousness, stereotyping, and stigmatization. Racist attitudes are maintained by specific beliefs including the myths …

The Effects Of Affirmative Action On Students Of Color Applying To Four-Year Institutions, Cathy M. Ketton

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this research is to examine the history, pros and cons of Affirmative Action, and the effects affirmation action has in the college and university admissions process of four-year institutions. Furthermore, this paper encompasses the benefits of valuing and aggressively seeking diversity of students and faculty on America's college campuses.

Identity Formation Of Asian American Teenagers And The Role Of The School Counselor, Susan K. Baker

Graduate Research Papers

Teachers and counselors who work with young people know that adolescence is a time of physical, mental, emotional, and social change. Adolescence is a time when teenagers are trying to form an identity for themselves and as they go through this process, many factors will help form who they are and who they become. Most teenagers are able to navigate these years with little conflict, on the other hand, some struggle with different issues. Adolescents have to deal with issues related to sexuality, peer pressure, and development to name a few. However, adolescents belonging to ethnic/racial underrepresented groups have to …

Are Black Colleges Necessary?, Mark B. Longley

Graduate Research Papers

Black colleges have a vital role in the lives of young people and the black community as a whole. They are not vanguards of segregation, but of black culture and black life. Though they are not the most up-to-date technologically, or offer the most magnificent campuses, or accumulate large endowments, they are the most successful in educating black students, doing it with minimal resources. I suggest other institutions study the techniques of HBCUs in order to educate all young people, particularly other minority groups such as Latinos and Native Americans. Our communities, states, and federal governments as well as corporations …

Commonalities Connecting Biraciality And Bisexuality : Building Integrated Support In The College Environment, Kelly R. Barrett

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this paper is threefold: (1) to develop a better understanding of biracial and bisexual identity development; (2) to determine developmental similarities between biracial and bisexual college students; and 3) to provide implications for student affairs practitioners.

Exploring Social Justice With Third Graders Through The Works Of Mildred D. Taylor, Elaine M. Johnson

Graduate Research Papers

We need to learn the history of the civilizations that have given us the framework for all of what we teach and learn. We must learn more specifically about the Americas and the European oppression, slavery, the Civil War in the United States, and the American Dream with liberty and justice for all. Still, perhaps the most significant learning, our change of heart, happens just one person at a time. It happens by developing those relationships of mutual care and concern.

For us, the voices came from [author] Mildred D. Taylor and from Nina [a student]. For social justice to …