Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to identify specific support services that helped African American male students in California Community Colleges to successfully complete developmental math and/or English courses. Methodology. Data were collected from 123 African American men who were enrolled in one of three Los Angeles area community colleges who had previously completed a developmental English and/or math course. A 33-item questionnaire was administered to the study participants. Findings. (1) Utilization rates of support services identified as best practices were high; 7 in 10 African American male students reported using counseling and tutoring services and participating in SI and learning communities. (2) A large proportion of students (6 in 10) agreed or strongly agreed that counseling services were helpful in completion of both English and math. (3) More students reported they agreed/strongly agreed on items related to the helpfulness of SI and learning communities in English than in math and on items related to the helpfulness of tutoring in math than in English. (4) The highest rating of agree and strongly agree for other services and factors was self-motivation, supportive family, supportive faculty, and participation in an athletic team. Conclusions. The study data support the conclusion that support services identified were instrumental in the success of African American males who were enrolled in developmental math and/or English courses. Recommendations. Further study could be done to (1) determine why African American males in community colleges engage in specific support services, and why these support services are effective or not effective in completing their developmental education courses; (2) extend the current study by administering a questionnaire, both to African American students who were successful in developmental education courses and those who were not, to determine whether successful and nonsuccessful students use services and rate the helpfulness of services similarly or differently; (3) examine the experiences of faculty, staff, and administrators regarding their perception of African American males who enroll in developmental education courses and the reason they do not access support services; (4) explore the experiences of African American women who test into developmental education courses and the factors that lead to the completion of those courses; (5) explore the experiences of African American male student athletes in community colleges.