Shaun Harper - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Shaun Harper

TO REFLECT ON THEIR EXPERIENCES at a private liberal arts college, ten students of color met with... more TO REFLECT ON THEIR EXPERIENCES at a private liberal arts college, ten students of color met with the president, key administrators, and several white faculty members a few weeks before graduation. All from low-income families and urban environments, these undergraduates had entered the institution through a program designed to protect them from the alienation and disengagement often experienced by underrepresented students. Before the start of their freshman year, this cohort was equipped with resistant responses to the racist stereotypes and differential treatment they would likely encounter, they were socialized to rely on each other for friendship and support, and they were exposed to recent liberal arts college alumni who shared with them useful navigational insights. In sum, they entered this predominantly white institution prepared to productively confront racially stressful educational conditions. Four years later, they attended a meeting to reflect as seniors on how strikin...

The Review of Higher Education, 2019

The palpable dissatisfaction and concerns of students, staff, and faculty-often in the form of pr... more The palpable dissatisfaction and concerns of students, staff, and faculty-often in the form of protests and demonstrations-continue to challenge contemporary college and university campuses. Practical considerations notwithstanding, what remains are questions regarding how higher education

Journal of the First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, 2015

Social scientists, educational researchers, postsecondary educators (including student affairs pr... more Social scientists, educational researchers, postsecondary educators (including student affairs professionals), and others have attempted to understand problematic behavioral trends and developmental outcomes among undergraduate men. Little attention has been devoted to examining the masculine identities and ideals about manhood that these students bring to college contexts, hence the purpose of this study. The sample comprised 68 undergraduate men representing a range of backgrounds and subgroups. Findings indicate that parental influences, interactions with same-sex peers, and involvement in youth sports were socializing factors informing ideas about masculinity that students brought with them to college. Recommendations for supporting the college transitions and gender identity development of undergraduate men are offered. Educators and administrators have become increasingly concerned about undergraduate men’s development and behaviors in college. Sexual assault cases, increased ...

During the last several decades, research concerning the developmental trajectories, experiences,... more During the last several decades, research concerning the developmental trajectories, experiences, and behaviors of college men as ‘‘gendered’’ persons has emerged. In this article, we first critically review literature on Black men’s gender development and expressions within college contexts to highlight certain knowledge gaps. We then conceptualize and discuss progressive Black masculinities by relying on Mutua’s germinal work on the subject. Further, we engage Black feminist scholarship, both to firmly situate our more pressing argument for conceptual innovation and to address knowledge gaps in the literature on Black men’s gender experiences. It is our belief that scholars who study gender development and expressions of masculinities among Black undergraduate men could benefit from employing autocritography, and its built-in assumptions, to inform several aspects of their research designs. 1 University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA 2 University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI,...

Urban Education, 2015

The overwhelming majority of published scholarship on urban high schools in the United States foc... more The overwhelming majority of published scholarship on urban high schools in the United States focuses on problems of inadequacy, instability, underperformance, and violence. Similarly, across all schooling contexts, most of what has been written about young men of color continually reinforces deficit narratives about their educational possibility. Taken together, images of Black and Latino male students in inner-city schools often manufacture dark, hopeless visualizations of imperiled youth and educational environments. Using photographic data from a study of 325 college-bound juniors and seniors attending 40 public New York City high schools, this article counterbalances one-sided mischaracterizations of young men of color and the urban schools that educate them. Specifically, visual sociology and critical race methodologies are used to construct anti-deficit counternarratives about boys of color and urban education.

Urban Education, 2016

Presented in this article is a case study of Black students’ enrollment, persistence, and graduat... more Presented in this article is a case study of Black students’ enrollment, persistence, and graduation at Cityville University, an urban commuter institution. We combine quantitative data from the University’s Office of Institutional Research and the U.S. Department of Education with qualitative insights gathered in interviews with students, faculty, and administrators. We then use tenets, theses, and propositions from Critical Race Theory to analyze structural problems that undermine persistence and degree completion, sense of belonging, and academic achievement for Cityville’s Black undergraduates.

Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 2017

For decades, racial incidents have routinely occurred on college campuses. But today, news about ... more For decades, racial incidents have routinely occurred on college campuses. But today, news about them is more quickly and widely shared because of the public's access to technology. In response, it is common for senior-level administrators to release statements about racial incidents after an institution receives widespread negative publicity. This study is an analysis of 18 statements issued by college presidents. Each statement is in response to a racial incident that occurred over 3 academic years (2012-2015). Findings reveal how college presidents' statements broadly mention the racial incident itself, regularly address the group or individual who committed the racist act, but usually do not acknowledge the systemic or institutional issues that foster racial hostility on college campuses. Because racist behaviors on college campuses have been constant, the need to address concerns about racial issues will continue, and this study offers a new perspective on evaluating college presidents' responses to highly publicized racial incidents in higher education.

International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 2014

Research on fraternity men focuses almost exclusively on problematic behaviors such as homophobia... more Research on fraternity men focuses almost exclusively on problematic behaviors such as homophobia and sexism, alcohol abuse, violence against women, sexual promiscuity, and the overrepresentation of members among campus judicial offenders. Consequently, little is known about those who perform masculinities in healthy and productive ways. Presented in this article are findings from a qualitative study of productive masculinities and behaviors among 50 undergraduate fraternity men from 44 chapters across the US and Canada. Findings offer insights into participants' steadfast commitments to the fraternity's espoused values; their acceptance and appreciation of members from a range of diverse backgrounds; strategies they employed to address bad behaviors (including sexism, racism, and homophobia) among chapter brothers; and the conditions that enabled them to behave in ways that contradict stereotypes concerning men in collegiate fraternities.

New Directions for Institutional Research, 2010

A framework adapted from the National Black Male College Achievement Study is introduced in this ... more A framework adapted from the National Black Male College Achievement Study is introduced in this chapter as a lens through which to explore the enablers of student achievement in STEM. The chapter places an emphasis on reframing deficit‐oriented research questions regarding students of color and their trajectories in STEM fields.

New Directions for Student Services, 2003

The value of mentoring relationships among African American women in postbaccalaureate degree pro... more The value of mentoring relationships among African American women in postbaccalaureate degree programs is emphasized and coupled with a discussion of the current shortage of same‐race, same‐sex mentors for African American female graduate and professional students.

New Directions for Institutional Research, 2007

Understanding how students navigate their ways to and through higher education could be instructi... more Understanding how students navigate their ways to and through higher education could be instructive for those seeking to wisely invest institutional and public resources, foster supportive environments for student development, and cultivate worthwhile partnerships to improve access and enhance student success.

New Directions for Student Services, 2006

The launch of the Journal of African American Males in Education is significant for several reaso... more The launch of the Journal of African American Males in Education is significant for several reasons, not the least of which is that it offers an intellectual venue for the engagement of critical issues concerning a population that is continually underserved by the majority of American schools, colleges, and universities. I am honored to have been invited to serve on the JAAME advisory board and author this preface for the inaugural issue. Indeed, J. Luke Wood, T. Kenyatta Jones, and their editorial leadership team should be saluted for responding purposefully to the need for evidence-based change on behalf of African American boys and men in education. Particularly praiseworthy is the vision that compelled their creation of this journal as well as the time and effort required to solicit cutting-edge manuscripts, recruit an all-star advisory board, and manage the technical delivery of a high-quality publication. I read and publish in several academic journalsas I see it, none are presently more important than JAAME. My excitement and appreciation for JAAME are only surpassed by the height of my expectation for its rigor and relevance. I often make the point that no African American male student rises to low expectations. In this same way, I maintain here that the impact of the Journal depends on an enormously high expectation that prospective authors will submit methodologically rigorous, conceptually complex, theoretically sophisticated, and socially important manuscripts that help (re)shape education policy and practice. Anything short of this, I am afraid, will do little to disrupt the slow pace with which teachers, administrators, and policymakers foster the conditions necessary for correcting past and present wrongs in education. Current challenges concerning African American boys and men demand the publication and dissemination of good social science research that will oblige decision-makers and resource

Tariq Dixon and Bryan Barnhill II, both juniors at Harvard University, share a variety of common ... more Tariq Dixon and Bryan Barnhill II, both juniors at Harvard University, share a variety of common characteristics, including race and gender. The two black male undergraduates maintain 3.6 cumulative grade point averages, are extremely active on campus and hold leadership positions in multiple student organizations, and aspire to attend law schools upon completion of their bachelor's degrees. Perhaps more interesting are the circumstances from which they emerged. Some may erroneously assume that all Harvard students come from privileged socioeconomic backgrounds and high resource preparatory schools, which is far from true. Comments

Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 2012

About Campus: Enriching the Student Learning Experience, 2005

More than two-thirds of all African American males who begin college never finish. This and a leg... more More than two-thirds of all African American males who begin college never finish. This and a legion of other discouraging facts about African American males are the usual headlines. But what about those among this population who beat the odds, make the most of college, and achieve in multiple ways inside and outside of the classroom? Who are they, and what can they teach us?

Too often, though, we treat men as if they have no gender. kimmel & messner, 2010 I n May 2009, E... more Too often, though, we treat men as if they have no gender. kimmel & messner, 2010 I n May 2009, Elizabeth Redden, a reporter for Inside Higher Ed, wrote a news story titled, "Lost Men on Campus." She began by briefly describing some contemporary issues facing college men, such as their lower rates of enrollment, persistence, and graduation in comparison to college women; their relative disengagement in enriching educational experiences and campus leadership positions; and their overrepresentation among campus judicial offenders. The remainder of the article was devoted to the Second National Conference on College Men, which had been recently co-sponsored by two student affairs professional associations and hosted at the University of Pennsylvania. Reportedly, educators and administrators from postsecondary institutions across the United States and Canada gathered to devise a set of educational strategies in response to the alarming status of male undergraduates. Highlighted in the story were conference presenters whose research linked various problems concerning college men to troubled masculinities and gender identity development. Perhaps more fascinating than Redden's article were the comments posted in response to it-nearly 100 within the first week.