Description

Dissertation Prospectus

Introduction

Pulliam, Ieva, and Burlew (2017) recommended that future studies be completed on minority female college students’ perceptions of their careers and how those perceptions impacted them. [DM1] To provide a significant response to this issue, this research will explore whether there are correlations between African American female college students perceived career barriers and their self-efficacy in making career decisions[DM2] . [DM3] In other words, this study asks if college students’ awareness of barriers to their career progression relates to how they perceive their ability to build a career after college. This study focuses on African-American college women in predominantly white universities (PWI[DM4] ) to shed light on this population’s experiences.

Research is needed [DM5] to address how African American female college students’ perceptions of career barriers are correlated with their self-efficacy for career decision-making (Pulliam et al., 2017). Prior research indicates that cultural characteristics may directly influence the presence of perceived career barriers (Albert & Luzzo, 1999[DM6] ; Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 2002; Luzzo & McWhirter, 2001[DM7] ).[DM8] 

African American women face barriers in life posed by factors such as sexism, colorism, and racism, even when many people believe those hindrances are no longer present (Sims, & Hirudayaraj, 2016). Bradley (2019) conducted a study to examine the career paths, barriers, and professional experiences of African American community college students. Bradley (2019) found that African American women still faced obstacles [DM9] in their struggle to excel in their careers and professional lives. Holloway-Friesen (2018) established that perceived career barriers among African American women could be predicted based on sex and college environment. [DM10] African American female college students experienced barriers [DM11] to career progression (Bradley, 2019). African American women face barriers to career advancement that include receiving less support from their managers and fewer sponsorships from employers compared to other groups of women (Hunter-Gadsden, 2018).

Having coping skills is vital to overcoming barriers in daily life. Literature shows that African American women have developed coping strategies [DM12] to overcome barriers to career progression (Greer & Cavalhieri, 2019).[DM13]  Hope, Velez, Offidani-Bertrand, Keels, and Durkee (2018) investigated whether there is a relationship between political activism as a protective factor against experiences of racial/ethnic discrimination. The results indicated that there is a significant relationship [DM14] between political activism and the level of stress and anxiety among African American students (Hope et al., 2018). Hope et al. (2018) suggested that future studies should seek a deeper understanding of how students vary coping strategies with respect to the barriers they face. Kim and O’Brien (2018) investigated the measures of perceived career barriers across ethnic minority women. The results of the study highlighted the need to identify and measure salient barriers for college women of color. There is a need to determine if there is a relationship between barriers and coping skills to the career progression of African American female[DM15]  college students.[DM16]