Date of Award
2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Social Sciences
First Advisor
Barton, Michelle
Area of Concentration
Psychology
Abstract
The goal of this study is to understand college students’ perceptions and experiences while discussing current racial issues within their universities and how that could potentially impact their connection with the university as a whole. The objective is to raise awareness of the importance of creating an academic environment that advocates student growth by understanding the impact educator support has on students. The study employed an online survey through Prolific.co to current US college students. Students were questioned about their relationship with their universities and how connected they felt to their respective institutions. Students were assessed by their connection to their university in relation to their perception of their school's willingness to discussing racial issues. Results suggested that when the perception variable was specific to individual professors and racial discussion opportunities, they predicted a student’s feelings of connection to their university. Physical distance from the Breonna Taylor death did not predict student perception, although the operational definition of near and far (0-700 and 700+ kilometers) could be refined to more accurately represent nearness to the event on student perceptions. Student race did not predict perception as there were too few African American participants to capture their opinions as opposed to Latinx and Asian participates. Future research should include a more refined distance value and greater African American inclusion to form conclusions on distance and race on student perceptions of their university.
Recommended Citation
May, Nicole, "Students’ Perceptions about Discussing Current Racial Issues in the US with their University Faculty Impacts a Student’s Feelings of Connection to their University" (2021). Theses & ETDs. 6102.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/6102