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Exceptional Female Students of Color: Academic Resilience and Gender in Higher Education

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Abstract

In researching the exceptional academic performance of 31 female and 19 male low socioeconomic college students of color, three distinctly female approaches to exceptional achievement arose from the data. These included the inordinate degree of familial resistance faced by the females and their approaches to that resistance, the value and importance of post-college goals and ambition, and the presence of effective cross-gender mentoring relationships. The impact of racial, ethnic, class and gender-based identities in relation to academic performance is also explored.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, New Jersey City University, Professional Building, Rm. 323, Jersey City, NJ, 07305-1597, USA

    Erik E. Morales

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  1. Erik E. Morales
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Correspondence to Erik E. Morales.

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Erik E. Morales

earned his B.S. and Ph.D. from New York University and his M.Ed. From William Paterson University. He is currently an assistant professor at New Jersey City University in the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. His research interests are academic resilience and the retention of college students of color.

Appendix A: Interview Protocol Excerpts

Appendix A: Interview Protocol Excerpts

Initial Interview—Examples of General Open Ended Questions

  • Can you describe your educational journey thus far?...How it began and how you ended up here?

  • Is there anything or anybody significant that you would credit for getting you where you are today academically?

  • What are your earliest memories related to education and schooling?

  • Are they positive or negative?

Follow-up Interview(s)—Examples of Specific/Targeted Inquiries

  • You said that without your uncle, you don’t think you would have made it to college, what did he do exactly?

  • How often did you see him?

  • How was he similar or different from your father?

  • Did he ever meet with your teachers?

  • Can you think of a specific time where he assisted you academically?

  • You said that “a positive attitude” was crucial to your success, what did you mean?

  • Can you remember a specific time when a positive attitude led to doing well in school?

  • Do you ever find it difficult to maintain a positive attitude?

  • Where do you think that positive attitude came from?

  • How would your current academic status be different if you didn’t have a positive attitude?

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Morales, E.E. Exceptional Female Students of Color: Academic Resilience and Gender in Higher Education. Innov High Educ 33, 197–213 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10755-008-9075-y

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