Untold Stories: Exploring Queer And Genderqueer Students’ Perceptions Of Sense Of Belonging And Experiences At One Historically Black University
Abstract
This study used a basic interpretative qualitative design, using a case study as the theoretical approach to examine the experiences of Black queer students, particularly as they foreground a sense of belonging on a historically Black college and university (HBCU) campus. Extant literature demonstrated that queer cohorts are likely to experience isolation and a sense of not belonging at HBCUs due to tradition (Davis, et al., 2020; Lenning, 2017; Mobley & Johnson, 2019). Queer students’ sense of belonging can influence behaviors such as persistence, engagement, academic achievement, and a sense of self (Garvey, 2020; Squire et al., 2018; Strayhorn, 2019). Consequently, constructing and cultivating a sense of belonging is crucial to their welfare and overall academic success. Although educational attainment is an important goal for Black queer students, research detailing strategies that cultivated foregrounding of a sense of belonging as a path to academic success among this population is needed to fill the gaps in the literature. The objectives of this study were to research queer students making meaning of their experiences as well as to discover how these students focused on creating an environment of belonging and succeeding in a conservative space. Research detailing the strategies toward college completion is necessary to inform educational leaders on policies and practices that encouragingly influence queer students. This study informs queer students on becoming agents of their own development and success in college. The conceptual framework guiding this study was extracted tenets from College Students’ Sense of Belonging, Queer Theory, and Quare Theory. Data collected through interviews, artifacts, observation, and field notes were analysis utilizing thematic analysis. Two semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant. The interviews provided thick, rich descriptions and details that gleaned the lived experiences of the participants. Data analysis revealed two master themes: Contextualizing A Sense of Belonging: Navigating A Non-Culturally Responsive Classroom and Learning How to Just Do Me: Attaining Self-Actualization. The findings support the importance of educational leaders cultivating welcoming spaces and the importance of self-agency in foregrounding a sense of belonging.
Keywords: queer, genderqueer, sense of belonging, academic success, historically Black colleges and universities