A Positive Revolution in Enhancing the Collegiate Men of Color Experience: An IPA Study Using Appreciative Inquiry from a Social Identity Perspective to Explore how College Males Navigate Their Social Identity Groups

Colleges and universities have used a multitude of strategies to ensure that historically marginalized men of color graduate from their institutions. However, these schools have utilized deficit-based approaches that assumed this population did not have the skills to be successful in college. There was little evidence that utilizing this population's social identity could yield new and innovative ways to support them in while in college. This qualitative study with an interpretative phenomenological methodology combined social identity theory and appreciative inquiry to better understand the important factors that men of color found most valuable within their social identity groups. Eight self-identified historically marginalized men of color participated in semi-structured interviews that asked about their social identity groups and what their university could do to better support these group's development. Data analysis showed that participants valued their personal identity of being a man of color, had leaders within their in-groups they admired, took on an increased level of leadership within their groups, had motivation from their group members to complete their degree, and campus involvement helped them find connections with their in-groups. Recommendations for educational administrators included continued offering of involvement fairs and interest meetings where students can form in-groups, working to ensure campus environments were welcoming for men of color, and create support programs where men of color across different racial and ethnic backgrounds can talk about shared experiences.