Global Journal of Management and Business Research, B: Economics and Commerce, Volume 22 Issue 4

5 Global Journal of Management and Business Research Volume XXII Issue IV Version I Year 2022 ( ) B © 2022 Global Journals Racial and Community Wealth Disparity the Bane of HBCUs: A Wealth Ecology Model Relational Perspective Staffolani (2015) find that perceived quality institutions accept talented students irrespective of their wealth status. Thus, does a student or a student's family wealth status or type of wealth accumulation influence their choice of HBCU over for example, a Predominantly White Institution (PWI). For African American students to choose HBCUs because they are poor and/or from poor communities, then as wealth status deteriorates, HBCUs should see enrollment grow. Based on the theory of reasoned action, per Pitre et al. (2006) analysis, a graduating high school student’s behavioral attitude and subjective norms play roles in students' school choices. Students attitude to school choice may be influenced by their perception of their wealth status. This perceptive behavior on wealth seems to affect the student’s attitude as well as their held norms of support they can receive from their immediate circle (family, family friends). As individuals, their wealth perception or expected income level may tell them they cannot afford the school they may want to attend, and this contributes to their behavioral attitude. Their perception of their family or family members wealth and coupled with their ability or intention or potential to support may increase the student’s intention to attend and choose a particular college. The following two propositions suffice: African American students' perceived low wealth status leads to their choice of HBCU post-secondary education. And that, the type of wealth accumulation influences their HBCU choice. The propositions lead to the following relational testing hypotheses. The first null hypothesis, Ha0 and its alternative, Ha1 are: H a0 : African American students' wealth increases with their HBCU enrollment (HBCU school choice). H a1 : African American student wealth status decreases, their HBCU enrollment increase. The second null and its alternative hypotheses are: H b0 : African American students HBCU enrollment is not related to any specific type of wealth component (or wealth accumulation type). H b1 : African American students HBCU enrollment is influenced by at least one specific type of wealth component. III. D ata and M ethodology This study uses archival data research from available survey data on behavioral choices in relation to prevailing economic status to test the hypotheses. From the hypotheses, the dependent variable is school choice (HBCU enrollment) with the independent variables as family wealth (household wealth) status and its decomposed contributing components. Data for school enrollment (fall semester enrollment) is taken from the National Center for Educational Statistics’ (NCES) 2019 Digest of Educational Statistics (DES). The 2019 edition of the DES is the 55th in a series of publications initiated in 1962. The DES provides a compilation of statistical information on the broad fields of American education from prekindergarten through graduate school (de Brey et al., 2021). It contains data on varieties of education delivery topics with post-secondary enrollments for HBCU and non-HBCUs in separate sections, the main dataset used for this study. The DES has data over a long period but do not show enrollment figures for each year since its inception. However, it provides comprehensive data on the periodic data collection years. The period for the study is from 1989 to 2017 with enrollment figures for fall semesters only. Data for household wealth is taken from the Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) for the same time periods. The SCF is a triennial survey sponsored by the Federal Reserve with the cooperation of the Department of the Treasury. It is designed to provide detailed information on U.S. families’ balance sheets and their use of financial services, as well as on their pension rights, labor force participation, and demographic characteristics at the time of the survey interview. The survey also collects information on total family income, before taxes, for the calendar year preceding the survey. The family term in family income is similar to the U.S. Bureau of the Census definition of household that excludes single people (Kennickell et al., 1997). It is a fully representative data on the broader financial status of U.S. households. The SCF is unique in that there is no any other survey that collects data on the household finances of a probability sample of Americans. The underlying statistical methodology of the surveys has largely stayed the same since its inception making all the periodic data more comparable (Kennickell et al., 1997). a) Sample Size The target population is African American students who attended or chose to attend HBCU and non-HBCU post-secondary education during the targeted period from 1989 to 2017. The study is a longitudinal study of period cross-sectional samples as per the design of the surveys forming the database from which the research test data is sourced.. The sample size in terms of the number of periods covered is ten based on available data at the survey’s periodic collection years. This constricted number of periods for the study may introduce validity concerns but the broad- based nature of the data sets and their randomness of cases from the larger population minimizes the effects. b) Methodology for Data Analysis In this analysis, use is made of both descriptive and regression statistics for the variables: enrollment and median household wealth. To determine the significant association effects and determinants of