Committee Chair

Bernard, Hinsdale

Committee Member

Rausch, David W.; Anderson, Deanna; O'Leary, Brian J.

Department

Dept. of Education

College

College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

This study examined the perceived relevance of Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs) through the perspectives of the undergraduate student populations at four target universities located in the State of Tennessee. This study also compared student learning outcomes of African American students who were members of BGLOs against African American students who did not belong to BGLOs Three research questions were addressed in this study: (1) Is there a significant difference in the self-reported GPAs of African-American students who are members of BGLOs versus those who are not members of BGLOs? (2) Is there a significant difference in student perceptions of the relevance of BGLOs based on the following variables? campus location, GPA category, class standing, ethnicity, status, gender, Greek affiliation, and type of institution (i.e. historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) or predominantly white institutions (PWIs)? (3) For those students who are members of a fraternity or sorority, is there a significant difference in their perceptions of the relevance of BGLOs based on the organization’s governing council? A researcher-developed instrument was used to measure student perceptions on five scales. In terms of BGLOs and academic integration, the Pearson Chi-square test found no significant difference in academic performance for Blacks students with membership in BGLOs and Black students without membership in BGLOs. For social integration, results of the ANOVA and t-test used for questions 2 and 3 suggested the following: (a) Students with lower self-reported GPAs were more likely to have favorable perceptions of BGLOs than students with higher self-reported GPAs, (b) Black students were more likely to have favorable perceptions of BGLO’s leadership on campus, engagement in the community and overall relevance, than White students and students classified as “Other,” (c) part-time students were more likely to have favorable perceptions of BGLO’s leadership on campus and overall relevance, than full time students, (d) female students were more likely to have favorable perceptions of BGLO’s leadership on campus, engagement in the community and overall relevance, than male students and (e) Students enrolled at HBCUs were more likely to have favorable perceptions of BGLO’s leadership on campus than students enrolled at PWIs.

Acknowledgments

First, I would like to acknowledge God, for I know that without Him, nothing is possible. Thank You for being the head of my life and keeping me during this process. May this dissertation glorify You and Your love for your children. To my mother, Cathy Cooper, thank you for serving as the epitome of a God-fearing woman. Words cannot express how much I appreciate all that you have contributed to my life. I can truly say that I would not be the man I am today, had God not brought you into my life. Thank you for saving my life both figuratively and literally, you are truly my guardian angel. From Shawhan, to Robinwood to Oakwood, you have been there every step of the way. I hope that I have made you proud. To my wife, Kayla, I am so proud to have such a loving, kind and considerate woman in my life. Thank you for being my biggest cheerleader when I had moments of doubt regarding this process. I pray that God gives you all the desires of your heart! To my dissertation chair, Dr. Hinsdale Bernard, thank you for all of your guidance, encouragement and most of all, your patience with me during this process. I can truly say that I would not have made it through this process without your help. I am humbled to have worked with such an amazing professor. It was truly an honor to serve as one of your doctoral learners. To my committee members, Dr. David Rausch, Dr. Dee Dee Anderson and Dr. Brian O’Leary, thank you for your dedication during this process. While I know that the journey may have been longer than any of us anticipated, I am truly appreciative of all of your guidance and insight.

Degree

Ed. D.; A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Education.

Date

8-2018

Subject

African American Greek letter societies; African American college students -- Conduct of life

Keyword

Greek; Organizations; Black

Document Type

Doctoral dissertations

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

xviii, 177 leaves

Language

English

Rights

https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

Additional Files
Cooper_Dissertation_08082018.pdf (1918 kB)
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