Hidden in Plain Sight: Contemplations on Race and Culturally Responsive and Equitable Evaluation Practices Within the Context of a Randomized Control Trial of a Men of Color Initiative
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Many postsecondary institutions have developed programming to support males of color as an approach to increase retention and graduation rates. To contribute to the understanding of the effectiveness of providing a bundle of services, the authors embarked on a mixed-methods, randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a two-semester male of color program at a community college in the mid-Atlantic region. The study, which incorporated culturally responsive and equitable evaluation (CREE) practices, randomly assigned 514 students who self-identified as males of color to a program group that received the multi-component intervention or a control group eligible to use available campus services. This article provides an overview of implementation and impact findings from the evaluation and then provides reflections on the challenges the research team encountered studying a program focused on race at an institution where the student body is majority Black and Hispanic and an administration and faculty that are predominately White. It concludes with lessons that future mixed-methods efficacy evaluations can incorporate to identify mechanisms, such as systemic racism, that are hidden, covert, implicit, or invisible in the traditional research process.
Institution: Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4408914008