Educating the African American Male College Student

The academic achievement gap persists in spite of much talk in various arenas. This study explored and understood the academic achievement gap in relation to the education of African American male students in college. The impact of academic support programs designed to facilitate student academic success was examined. Literature on this topic is scarce. Available literature focuses on the achievement gap issue in general. The conceptual framework informing this study was based on the systems, critical and social learning theories. Participant selection followed a purposive criterion sampling. The participants included nineteen African American male students and six administrators. One college in the southeast of the United States was the site for the study. Data were collected through structured in depth individual interviews. Research questions explored the achievement gap issue focusing on causes, solutions and impact of academic support programs on student academic success. Data analysis was though horizontalization to extract relevant themes. The study is significant for it fills gaps in literature, raises greater awareness to the problem, and informs educational reform.