Why He Sings: An Action Research Study Using Counternarratives to Affect the Deficit Narratives Attributed to Students of Color

There is ample research that shows that students of color are less likely to graduate from college than their White peers. Meanwhile, the demographics of students who enroll in college continue to be more diverse than previous generations. As universities struggle to understand retention disparities, the voices of the students are often eliminated from the discussion. Many university staff members, instead, opt for a deficit narrative to blame what they believe students of color lack that inhibits them from persisting in college until graduation. The purpose of this study is to use narrative inquiry to better understand the educational experiences of students of color and how those experiences affect their perception of their university experience. The students’ experiences and thoughts regarding campus racial climate will then be shared with members of university staff in a group discussion setting to determine how that hearing students’ stories of racialized encounters in education affects staff members’ perception of the retention disparity and reasons why students of color are less likely to graduate than their White peers.