How do individual differences interact with situational factors to shape social behavior? Are people with certain traits more likely to form lasting marriages; experience test-taking anxiety; break the law; feel optimistic about the future? This handbook provides a comprehensive, authoritative examination of the full range of personality variables associated with interpersonal judgment, behavior, and emotion. The contributors are acknowledged experts who have conducted influential research on the constructs they address. Chapters discuss how each personality attribute is conceptualized and assessed, review the strengths and limitations of available measures (including child and adolescent measures, when available), present important findings related to social behavior, and identify directions for future study.
Student retention continues to be a vexing problem for all colleges and universities. In spite of the money spent on creating programs and services to help retain students until they achieve their academic and personal goals, and graduate, the figures have not improved over time. This is particularly true for minority students, who have a greater attrition rate than majority students. Demographic information shows that the minority population in the United States is growing at a faster rate than the majority. It is imperative that educational institutions find ways to help improve retention rates for all students but particularly minority students. Retention rates should not differ appreciably among different racial/ethnic groups."The Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice" is the only scholarly, peer-reviewed journal devoted solely to college student retention. It has published many articles on minority student retention, and this topic continues to garner much attention. This book is a compilation of the very best of these articles, selected on the basis of reviews by a cadre of experts in the education field. The articles discuss African American, Latino/Latina, Asian and Asian Pacific, Native American, and biracial students, and institutional commitments to retaining a diverse student population. For those interested in this vital area, the collection will teach and inspire them to achieve greater heights and pay additional attention to retaining minority students in our colleges and universities.
This book reports findings from the National Study of Black College Students, a comprehensive study of Black college students' characteristics, experiences, and achievements as related to student background, institutional context, and interpersonal relationships. Over 4,000 undergraduates and graduate/professional students on sixteen campuses (eight historically Black and eight predominantly White) participated in this mail survey. Using these and other data, this book systematically examines the current state of Black students in U.S. higher education. Until now, our understanding has been limited by inadequate data, misguided theories, and failure to properly interpret the Black American reality. This volume challenges our assumptions and contributes to the growing body of knowledge about Black student experiences and outcomes in higher education.
The book begins with a step-by-step guide to a successful college selection process and freshman year, offering insights invaluable to students, parents, teachers, guidance counselors,and athletic recruiters. Next, notable African-American men and women tell the stories of their own college careers--from admission to graduation--in 27 short, autobiographical essays included in Part Two of the book, How I Did It. Also featured is a directory of more than 900 colleges and universities with information and statistics of particular interest to African-American students. The directory includes evaluations and listings of the most prestigious American undergraduate institutions, with detailed information on special programs and activities for African-American students, entries on historically Black U.S. colleges and universities and African and Caribbean institutions, and information on Black Greek letter organizations. A subject index concludes the guide. This is the only complete college guide specifically designed for African-American students and their counselors. The Black Student's Guide to College Success is a step-by-step quide and reference tool for students, parents, teachers, guidance counselors, and athletic recruiters--leading the reader through a successful college selection process and freshman year. A directory of more than 900 colleges and universities is provided, with information of particular interest to African-American students. Many distinguished Black educators and prominent Americans have contributed to make this work a comprehensive reference tool which addresses the questions and problems encountered by African-American students. A foreword by Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, introduces the first part, How to Succeed in College, featuring 14 hard-hitting essays geared to the needs of the African-American student during the college selection process and the freshman year. Of special interest are: * essays on the Black student athlete; * choosing a Black or an integrated college; * financing a college education; * connecting with students from Africa and the Caribbean; * getting along with other ethnic groups on campus; * handling academic stress; * study habits and hints; and * affirmative action. The next part, How I Did It, includes inspirational autobiographical essays on the college careers--from admission to graduation--of 27 notable African-American men and women. These success stories will motivate and encourage students as they consider their college options. The last part, Directory of Colleges and Universities, includes: (1) complete up-to-date information on more than 900 American colleges and universities (2) the names of recruiters of African-American students (3) the percentage of African-American students enrolled and those who graduate (4) the percentage of student athletes who graduate, and (5) information on African-American organizations Evaluations and listings of the most prestigious U.S. undergraduate institutions, detailed information on programs and activities of special interest to African-American students, listings of historically Black colleges and universities (and evaluations of the top ten), profiles of universities in Africa and the Caribbean, and information on national Black Greek letter organizations are also included in this thorough, accessible directory. A subject index concludes the guide. This work is especially useful for high school and public libraries, high school guidance and career counselors, college admissions offices, athletic recruiters, and African-American education organizations, as well as for aspiring African-American students in search of the motivational key to achievement in college.
This accessible, challenging discussion of race relations looks at how institutions shape individual experience and asks how we can prevent a violent splintering of American society along racial lines in the 21st century. Arguing that the best way to understand race relations is through the personal accounts of individuals as they go through the life cycle, this highly readable book uses real life stories to illuminate how families, peer groups, and workplaces influence views about other racial and ethnic groups. The authors hope to inspire readers to intervene and counteract negative perceptions of racial difference through their open, frank discussion of the racial divide.
Education is a necessary foundation for improving one’s livelihood in today’s society. However, traditional learning has often excluded or presented a challenge to students with visual, physical, or cognitive disabilities and can create learning gaps between students of various cultures. It is vital that learning opportunities are tailored to meet individual needs, regardless of individual disabilities, gender, race, or economic status in order to create more inclusive educational practices. Accessibility and Diversity in Education: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice examines emerging methods and trends for creating accessible and inclusive educational environments and examines the latest teaching strategies and methods for promoting learning for all students. It also addresses equal opportunity and diversity requirements in schools. Highlighting a range of topics such as open educational resources, student diversity, and inclusion barriers, this publication is an ideal reference source for educators, principals, administrators, provosts, deans, curriculum developers, instructional designers, school boards, higher education faculty, academicians, students, and researchers.
This important book provides African American parents with the knowledge to diversify K–12 school choices beyond traditional neighborhood public schools in order to optimize the educational chances of their own children, and it will help educators and policymakers to close the black-white academic achievement gap throughout America. Closing the K–12 achievement gap is critical to the future welfare of African American individuals, families, and communities—and to the future of our nation as a whole. The black-white academic achievement gap—the significant statistical difference in academic performance between African American students and their white peers—is the single greatest impediment to achieving racial equality and social justice in America. Black Educational Choice provides parents, citizens, educators, and policymakers the critical knowledge they need to leverage the national trend toward increasing and diversifying K–12 school choice beyond traditional neighborhood public schools. Parents can use this information to optimize the success of their own African American children, while policymakers and educators can apply these insights to help close the black-white academic achievement gap throughout America. The book collects the interdisciplinary, multi-racial, and multi-ethnic perspectives of education experts to address the questions of millions of anxious African American families: "Would sending our children to a private school or a charter school significantly better their chances of closing the achievement gap and becoming successful individuals? And if so, what kinds of challenges would they likely experience in these alternative educational settings?"
The Agony of Education is about the life experience of African American students attending a historically white university. Based on seventy-seven interviews conducted with black students and parents concerning their experiences with one state university, as well as published and unpublished studies of the black experience at state universities at large, this study captures the painful choices and agonizing dilemmas at the heart of the decisions African Americans must make about higher education.
Leading African American scholars examine the often neglected cultural context in research and policy development in African American higher education in this collection of essays. Past research has most often been conducted by individuals unfamiliar with the historical and cultural considerations of specific ethnic groups. Therefore, the outcomes of research and the development of programs have been based on deficit models, that is, what is wrong with African Americans, or what they cannot achieve. The book examines the questions; what is the relationship between African Americans' culture and experiences, and how should their culture be integrated into research and practice? How do African Americans' intra- and interrelations differ in higher education? How does understanding African American culture as it relates to higher education research enhance policy-making and practice? What role do HBUCs play in African Americans' participation in higher education? What are the policy and practice implications of past and current research? Scholars and practitioners of education, culture, and race relations will find this collection informative and interesting.