COMMITTEE CHAIR: Dr. Pamela Freeman

CO-COMMITTEE CHAIR: Dr. Anthony Harris

TITLE:  UNTOLD STORIES: EXPLORING QUEER AND GENDERQUEER STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF SENSE OF BELONGING AND EXPERIENCES AT ONE HISTORICALLY BLACK UNIVERSITY

ABSTRACT:  Higher education institutions and classrooms are not only forums for scholarly work and learning; they are also rich social arenas with constant interactions. While some students interact ably and form relationships with various institutional agents, that is, professors, peers, staff, and administrators, others find it problematic to network or navigate such relationships. Marginalized students, such as queer and genderqueer cohorts, are likely to experience isolation and a sense of not belonging, specifically at historically Black colleges or universities (HBCUs), due to traditional values (Davis, et al., 2020; Lenning, 2017; Mobley & Johnson, 2019). A sense of belonging among students, particularly queer and genderqueer students, has been reported to influence behaviors such as persistence, engagement, academic achievement, and a sense of self (Garvey, 2020; Strayhorn, 2019; Squire et al., 2018). Consequently, constructing and cultivating a sense of belonging among queer and genderqueer students in the HBCU context is crucial to their welfare and overall academic success. Basic components of creating and cultivating a sense of belonging involve students communicating and developing positive relationships with professors, staff, administrators, and peers. This study used a basic interpretative qualitative design, using a case study as the theoretical approach to examine the experiences of queer and genderqueer students, particularly as they foreground developing a sense of belonging in the face of marginalization on an HBCU campus in the Southwest region of the United States. Purposeful sampling was used to select six participants enrolled in a HBCU in the United States with an enrollment of more than 8,000 students.
Research Question 1: How do queer and genderqueer students make meaning of their experiences regarding sense of belonging in HBCU spaces?
Research Question 2: How do queer and genderqueer students foreground a sense of belonging in their interactions with administrators, faculty, staff, and peers on HBCU campuses to achieve academic success?
Data collection consisted of semi-structured interviews that were recorded. Semi-structured interview questions were developed and were open-ended, requiring participants to provide thick, rich descriptions and detail. Also, a reflective interview prompt, and field notes were used in the analysis process. Patterns and themes emerged from thematic coding via the use of NVIVO, a qualitative data analysis program. Triangulation, member checking, prolonged engagement, an audit trail, and peer debriefing was employed to ensure the trustworthiness of the data. The result of the study informs institutions to identify practices that adversely or positively influence queer and genderqueer students’ sense of belonging in the HBCU context. Also, this study informs queer and genderqueer students on methods to become agents in their own development and sense of belonging.

 Keywords: queer, genderqueer, sense of belonging, academic success, historically Black colleges and universities.

Zoom Meeting:

https://pvpanther.zoom.us/j/9534550886?pwd=dC9MWmM5eTllOHZWMm9zdEhPVmZLQT09&omn=97646597505

Meeting ID: 953 455 0886

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