Date of Award

Fall 11-19-2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership

First Advisor

Bryan McCoy

Abstract

A qualitative, instrumental case study approach with multiple embedded cases guided the examination of each African American woman’s experience in socialization across various higher education institutions. Due to the intersectional identities of African American women, the theoretical framework for the current study uses both the newcomer’s adjustment framework and Black feminist thought (BFT). The findings include the following: 1) African American women in higher education student affairs experience a lack of official training and onboarding, 2) In the various roles held by African American women, they take on advanced commitments to Black and minority student populations, causing feelings of being superhuman and burnout, and 3) African American women experience a lack of autonomy in their professional roles and place a great value on years of experience to reach career advancement. This study contributes to the literature on African American women, identifying their socialization experiences and how they impact their retention and resilience to leadership or cause thoughts of field attrition. The African American women participants experienced challenges that are not always overt experiences in racism and sexism but oppressive in reaching career goals and occupying stress-free environments. The participants found value in being African American representation for students on campus, but as one of the participants directly stated, “representation matters, but so does me.”

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