Factors That Influence the Retention of Freshmen Students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Abstract

The research study was guided by such theories as social interactionist, student involvement framework, and student attrition framework that were to form the frame of references or foundation for the study. The social interactionist framework used students' backgrounds characteristics; shared values and a friendship to explain behavior while the student attrition framework used intentions attitudes and believe. In integrating the two theories, the researcher was able to predict or explain the study outcomes and link them to the existing body of knowledge. This research presented the theoretical framework of the study on factors that affected retention among freshmen students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The research problem in this chapter was factors that affected retention among freshmen students at HBCUs. This research problem anchored the entire study and formed the basis of constructing the study's theoretical framework. The key variables in this study were the freshmen students, theories, retention rates, and the factors affecting retention.