Exploring the situations of afro-descendant students who drop out from URACCAN-Bluefields: causes, consequences and retention strategies

Garth Sambola, Ivania and Hodgson Lewis, Yelicet and Baez, Courtney (2017) Exploring the situations of afro-descendant students who drop out from URACCAN-Bluefields: causes, consequences and retention strategies. Documentation. URACCAN, Bluefields. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

This study investigated the factors that influence Afro students’ decision to drop out of the Bluefields campus of the University of the Autonomous Regions of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua (URACCAN). It was guided by the following objectives: learn which factors affect why Afro students drop out from URACCAN-Bluefields; identify the factors that influence dropout; describe the consequences of dropping out; and ascertain the university’s existing student retention strategies, plans or programs. The analytical framework drew on both general studies of school dropout as well as the experience of gender and racial discrimination in the region. The study employed a qualitative approach and used snowball and purposive sampling methods. The sample consisted of eighteen participants divided into three categories: students, teaching faculty and university authorities. Some fieldwork was done on campus and some was done in the former students’ home communities. The study found that various factors jointly influence why Afro students drop out from URACCAN Bluefields. They are: individual/personal (e.g. personal motivation affected by one or more of the factors; support provided by one’s family and friends), structural (e.g. socioeconomic conditions, racial discrimination and/or discriminatory gender roles), and/or institutional levels (e.g. problems with the program/course offerings, with the quality of teaching and other educational supports, or the availability of full scholarships). The results also identified that there was no current program for student retention, but there were some informal or indirect methods that seemed to be effective. Some strategies used by URACCAN prevented the factors that contributed to dropout, such as encouraging the use of Afro students’ first language, and these furthermore contributed to URACCAN’s institutional vision and mission. At the same time, other institutional factors contributed to dropout. The structural dynamics of racial and gender discrimination identified in the region one or two generations ago (Woods Downs, 2005) have improved somewhat, but they still are notable in the factors that influence dropout as well as the consequences. Recommendations were proposed based on the findings and the suggestions by research participants. In the hopes they would contribute to more Afro students finishing their degrees. These proposals for actions and strategies were directed towards students and prospective students, URACCAN-Bluefields, CEIMM and the community, as well as parents.

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