Black Student Belonging

California Community Colleges Want Black Students to Succeed, But Not to Belong

The academic success of Black students at California Community Colleges has been a hot topic among educators and policymakers for years as completion rates for Black students have consistently been the lowest of any student group. A closer look at the issue will undoubtedly reveal a variety of factors, but a lack of motivation stemming from a sense of not belonging is a significant contributor.

A sense of belongingness, as described by Mark Leary and Cody Cox, is a powerful motivator that enhances self-esteem, provides a sense of identity and purpose, and reduces feelings of loneliness, which all lead to a greater overall well-being. Researchers from Southern Cross University led by Megan Pedler found that students who feel they belong are more likely to see the value of required work and have higher self-belief in their chances to succeed. These findings indicate that when students don’t feel like they belong on a college campus, it can have an impact on their ability to persist through challenges and achieve academic success. 

California’s Community College system is the most accessible of all public colleges in the state, but only 3 percent of Black students transfer or graduate within 2 years, that number increase to and equally disappointing 37 percent after 6 years according to the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. Despite increased access to college for student of color between 1980 and 2022, the continued low success rates of Black students is alarming.

Colleges that address the issue of belonging can make a difference for Black students trying to succeed, but not feeling they are welcomed or are a part of the campus community. Keyona Booker from the College of Charleston and DeLeon Gray of NC State University found that when interactions between Black students and teachers take place the students feel heard, accepted, and valued as members of the classroom community. They also found that even greater success was experienced when this sense of belonging applied to the institution as well. Community colleges talk about equity, diversity, and inclusion, and because a sense of belonging is positively associated with academic success and motivation, this needs to include a real institutional plan that backs up the talk to help Black students feel like they are included. 

There are 116 campuses in the California Community College System, however, only eight have a Black Student Success Center to increase Black students sense of belonging. The ones with an existing physical space to improve the sense of belonging among Black students include American River College, College of the Desert, Chabot College, El Camino College, Las Positas College, Mt. San Antonio College, Pasadena City College, and Santa Rosa College. If a designated ethnic space can improve a sense of belonging and promote success for Black students, more colleges need to follow suit.

Ethnic spaces on campus represent inclusive diversity practices as noted by Tiffany Brannon and Andy Lin of UCLA, where institutions actively promote a culture of inclusion in ways that helps students belong and become more involved. This is importance to success according to Mary Fischer from the University of Connecticut, who found that students that become more involved in various aspects of campus life are more likely to stay in college and perform better academically. Professor Alexander Astin also supported this noting that if students are not involved in their campus life, they will have a higher risk of dropping out of school and are most likely to retain and persist in college if they are active on campus. 

Community colleges across California have highlighted the low Black student achievement rates for years, leading to checked off boxes on documents, recycled programs that have not produced consistent improvement, and tired ideas that have been tossed around for decades. Six community colleges in California have stepped up to the plate and established a space for Black students through their Black Student Success Centers telling Black students that “We want you here, you belong!” There are 108 community colleges remaining…who’s next?

This Op-Ed is the view of Larry R. Leach, a doctoral graduate of the Educational Leadership Program at the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education.

For further reading:

• Astin, A. W. (1975). Preventing students from dropping out (1st ed.). Jossey-Bass.
• Booker, K. (2007). Perceptions of classroom belongingness among African American college students. College Student Journal, 41(1), 178-186.
• Brannon, T. N., & Lin, A. (2021). “Pride and prejudice” pathways to belonging: Implications for inclusive diversity practices within mainstream institutions. The American  Psychologist, 76(3), 488–501. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000643
• Fischer, M. J. (2007). Settling into Campus Life: Differences by Race/Ethnicity in College Involvement and Outcomes. The Journal of Higher Education (Columbus), 78(2), 125–156. https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2007.0009
• Gray, D. L., Hope, E. C., & Matthews, J. S. (2018). Black and Belonging at School: A Case for Interpersonal, Instructional, and Institutional Opportunity Structures. Educational Psychologist, 53(2), 97–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2017.1421466
• Leary, M. R., & Cox, C. B. (2007). Belongingness motivation: A mainspring of social action. In Shah, J. Y., & Gardner, W. L. (Eds.), Handbook of motivation science (pp. 27–40). The Guilford Press.
• Pedler, M.L., Willis, R.L., & Nieuwoudt, J.E. (2021). A sense of belonging at university: student retention, motivation, and enjoyment. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 46, 397-408.
• State of California. (n.d.). California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office – Management Information Systems Data Mart. [Data file]. https://datamart.cccco.edu/Outcomes/Transfer_Velocity.aspx