Hitting and climbing the proverbial wall: participation and retention issues for Black graduate women

This qualitative study isolated the participation and retention issues of Black graduate women who were enrolled in four departments within the College of Education at a major research university. By identifying factors that contributed to and hindered their successful educational tenures, this study details how the societal issues of gender, race and class affected the women's academic lives. The graduate women in this study did not report the concerns set forth in the literature as factors that influenced their participation. The two major issues that affected participation were the accessibility and encouragement by university representatives and personal recruitment by Black mentors and students. Regarding retention, four factors emerged as significant themes: the presence and mentoring by supportive faculty and staff, the presence of and networking by Black students, respect from professors and continued funding.