Using Critical Race Mixed Methodology to Explore African American College Students’ Experiences with Racial Microaggressions

Abstract

There is a dearth of social justice or critical mixed methods research approaches, particularly in higher education. Critical Race Mixed Methodology (CRMM) is a type of critical mixed methods research that combines Critical Race Theory (CRT) and mixed methods research (DeCuir-Gunby in Educational Psychologist 55, 244-255, 2020). However, there are limited examples of CRMM within higher education research (Johnson & Strayhorn in Journal of Diversity in Higher Education 16, 539-553, 2023). Our study further operationalizes CRMM through the explication of an explanatory sequential mixed methods exploration of African American college students’ experiences with racial microaggressions, where the qualitative findings are used to expand upon the quantitative findings (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2017). The study uses Critical Race Theory (Bell, 1992; Ladson-Billings & Tate in Teachers College Record 97, 47-68, 1995; Solórzano & Huber, 2020) to focus on how African American college students’ experiencing of racial microaggressions influences their racial identity and feelings of belonging in historically white institutions (HWIs). The quantitative findings (n = 97) indicated that private regard (racial identity) protected students’ sense of belonging when experiencing racial microaggressions. The qualitative findings (n = 15) explored students’ stories regarding their experiences with racial microaggressions, focusing on their feelings of belonging. Through our discussion, we advance the use of mixed methods in higher education research to better understand the racialized experiences of African American college students and demonstrate how CRMM can be used to integrate quantitative and qualitative findings.