Afrocentric Identity and High School Students' Perception of Academic Achievement
Afrocentric Identity and High School Students' Perception of Academic Achievement

Author: Denise W. Coley

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13:

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African American students have historically been labeled as underachievers in the arena of education (Battin-Pearson, Newcomb, Abbot, Hill, Catalano & Hawkins, 2000; Entwisle, 1990; Mickelson, 1990; Kazdin, 1993). Numerous explanations such as education being seen primarily as a White domain, that African Americans who strive to achieve an education are often seen as not being Black enough or that Blacks will be rejected by their peers and community for wanting to be "White" (Fordham & Ogbu, 1986), have been suggested to explain the underachievement of African American students. Others have questioned if the poor performance demonstrated by African American students might be attributed to problems with students' lack of connection with their Afrocentric/racial identity (Datnow & Cooper, 1997; O'Connor, 1997; Sellers, Chavous & Cooke, 1998; Taylor, Casten, Flickinger, Robert & Fulmore, 1994). This study examined three research questions: (1) Is there a relationship between Black students' Afrocentric identity and academic achievement? (2) Is there a relationship between Black students' academic self-concept as related to their racial identity? (3) Is there a relationship between Afrocentric identity and students' desire to attend college? Participants included 84 Black high school senior adolescents from local high schools. Participants were asked to complete four measures to examine racial identity, academic self-concept and academic achievement. The results indicated that there was a significant correlation between racial identity (internalization stage) and academic self-concept. While there was a significant correlation between racial identity and academic self-concept, GPA scores appeared to be a better predictor of academic achievement. Results also indicated that awareness of one's identity, affirmation of Black life, and the development of Black people had a negative impact on one's overall academic performance (GPA). These findings raised issues about racial identity and the desire to achieve academically among African American high school seniors.

Racial Identity Attitudes, Self-Esteem, and Academic Achievement Among African American Adolescents
Racial Identity Attitudes, Self-Esteem, and Academic Achievement Among African American Adolescents

Author: Jocelyn Freeman Bonvillain

Publisher:

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 23

ISBN-13:

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The purpose of the present study was to explore the extent to which racial identity attitudes and self-esteem could predict academic performance for African American middle school students. A total of 175 African American adolescents in 7th grade attending one of two urban schools participated in the study. The Multi-Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE) were used to measure children's feelings toward themselves and their group. Cumulative grade point average (gpa) was used to measure academic achievement. The findings partially supported the hypothesis that racial identity and self-esteem are predictors of academic performance. Self-esteem and racial affiliation were significant predictors of academic achievement, but not the racial identity search component of the MEIM. The results revealed self-esteem to be less predictive of academic achievement than racial affiliation. The second part of the study was to examine the effects of racial identity and self-esteem on African American adolescents' academic performance. The hypothesis was supported. Students who exhibited high levels of self-esteem and racial identity performed better academically than students who showed low levels of self-esteem and racial identity. (Contains 7 tables.).

African American Psychology
African American Psychology

Author: Faye Z Belgrave

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 468

ISBN-13: 9780761924715

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This core textbook provides students with comprehensive coverage of African American psychology as a field. Each chapter integrates African and American influences on the psychology of African Americans, thereby illustrating how contemporary values, beliefs, and behaviors are derived from African culture translated by the cultural socialization experiences of African Americans in the US. The literature and research are referenced and discussed from the perspective of African culture (mostly West African) during the period of enslavement, at other critical periods in this country (e.g., early 20th century, civil rights era), and through the present. Chapters provide a review of the research literature, with a focus on applications for contemporary living.

Blacked Out
Blacked Out

Author: Signithia Fordham

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 1996-03-13

Total Pages: 426

ISBN-13: 022622998X

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This innovative portrait of student life in an urban high school focuses on the academic success of African-American students, exploring the symbolic role of academic achievement within the Black community and investigating the price students pay for attaining it. Signithia Fordham's richly detailed ethnography reveals a deeply rooted cultural system that favors egalitarianism and group cohesion over the individualistic, competitive demands of academic success and sheds new light on the sources of academic performance. She also details the ways in which the achievements of sucessful African-Americans are "blacked out" of the public imagination and negative images are reflected onto black adolescents. A self-proclaimed "native" anthropologist, she chronicles the struggle of African-American students to construct an identity suitable to themselves, their peers, and their families within an arena of colliding ideals. This long-overdue contribution is of crucial importance to educators, policymakers, and ethnographers.

The Relationship Among Ethnic Identity, Psychological Well-being, Academic Achievement and Intergroup Competence of African American High School Adolescents
The Relationship Among Ethnic Identity, Psychological Well-being, Academic Achievement and Intergroup Competence of African American High School Adolescents

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13:

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AbstractIn the last two decades the demographic composition of the United States has witnessed extraordinary changes in the numbers of ethnic minorities, and no where is this more evident than in our nation's public school system. Due to this proliferation of changes in the demographics of our country, serious issues and concerns have been raised with regard to the mental health and academic achievement of school-age children from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The major purpose of the study was to examine the implications of the relationship of psychological well-being variables (life satisfaction, self-esteem and ethnic identity), mental health depression, and Intergroup interactional competence and academic achievement of school- age adolescents. In group assemblies of varying sizes, seven measures were explained to students to fill out either in school or at home and return to be collected. These measures have been previously utilized and have been found to have adequate reliability and validity (Crumly & Hyers, 2004). The reliability of all the measures was also assessed in this study and was found to have moderate to high range. The study utilized a total sample of 119 African American adolescents from low social economic status ranging in grades from ten through twelve. The findings indicated significant intercorrelations among some selected psychological variables and objective and self-reported measures of achievement. Gender differences were noted in the predictability of achievement of reading. The perceived caring, inter-group anxiety, and psychological sense of membership measures were found to be the best predictors of academic achievement. Implications of the study as well as recommendations for future research in this area are discussed.