Perceptions of African American women receiving an online doctoral degree

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Introduction to Study

The purpose of this study is to understand the perception of female African Americans in obtaining an online doctorate degree. This chapter will be divided into the background of the problem, which will address the social context of the problem affecting the society. The purpose of this study will follow highlighting the reasons behind conducting this study and its social implication. The significance of this study will provide a justification for the topic chosen; the nature of the study will follow and will focus on elaborating the study in detail. The research questions will follow, and then the theoretical framework will be discussed. Lastly important terms will be defined and assumptions, limitations and scope will be presented.

Background to the Problem

The doctorate is deemed the pinnacle of academic success. Based on the level of commitment, rigor, expense and time required have been seen as major issues in the attainment of the degree; yet every single year thousands of students venture this journey in hopes of fulfilling their dream of earning a doctoral degree. As stated by Orzoff et al. (2008) graduate degrees are presently replacing undergraduate degrees as the latest standard required for professional competence. Amongst the number of doctoral degrees earned every year within the United States, only a handful of African American students receive the degree (National Opinion Research Center, 2004).

Many would expect the number of African Americans obtaining a doctoral degree which could be correlated to their percentage of the population within the US. The study conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (2004) further provides evidence over this fact, within the year 2004 a total of 42,155 doctoral degrees were awarded amongst those only a mere 1,971 were presented to African Americans. According to the US Census Bureau (2004) African Americans were at the stated time 12 percent of the national population. Hence, it can be stated that the number of doctoral degrees received by African Americans was considerably lower than their percentage within the nation's population. In light of more recent findings provided by the Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED, 2007) a total of 48,079 people were awarded with doctoral degrees. Out of this number 26,166 were males and 21,859 were females. Apparently more males earned doctorates than females yet more African American females earned doctoral degrees than African American males. Thus, it can be stated that even though the number of doctoral degrees earned each year has risen significantly, and even though the number of female African Americans getting doctoral degrees are plenty it is necessary to further understand this occurrence in order to determine the reasons behind such events.

In the year 1862, Mary Jane Patterson, the very first African American woman to be awarded with a Bachelors of Arts Degree made history. Since then, thousands of African American women had made significant accomplishments in the field of education. African American women are now CEO's of multinational organizations, they have excelled in ...