I Am Because We Are: Identifying the Factors Influencing the Academic Experiences of African Leadership Academy Graduates Enrolled as Undergraduate Students at Duke University

Abstract

At the onset of Africa becoming the most populous continent in the world, there remains a wide gap in literature about the academic experiences of youth representing the vast diversity of the African continent. In an attempt to bridge some of the gap, the focus of this study is to identify the factors influencing the academic experiences of African Leadership Academy (ALA) graduates enrolled as undergraduate students at Duke University. Particularly, the influence of an ALA education on the academic experiences of the study participants in defining and achieving their academic success. Using a qualitative design, it was decided to use Astin’s Input-Environment-Ouput (I-E-O) model to guide the influence of an ALA education on the academic experiences of the study participants at Duke University. The findings show that due to personal motivation and the academic rigor of an ALA education, the study participants adapted relatively well to the academic expectations at Duke University. On the other hand, the study participants’ adaptation to the social environment was more difficult due to less preparedness on U.S racial context and individualistic cultural norms as encountered at Duke University. The findings show that the value based and afro-minded education at ALA played a significant part in giving the participants a clear focus for academic success as crucial to impactful personal and societal change.