Transcript Document

Ethnic Minority
Achievement:
Assumptions, Realities,
and Possibilities
Tabbye Chavous
University of Michigan
School of Education
Meeting of Oakland County Superintendent’s Association
May 2, 2007
My Goals in Today’s Talk
To begin to complicate our thinking around race, diversity,
and students of color in ways that can have positive
implications for educational practices with students of
color
 Describe current theories and perspectives on ethnic
minority achievement from social science
 Address assumptions underlying these perspectives and
their implications for teachers and educational practices
 Engage in discussion about ways that the norms of
educational practice and professional development can
hinder or facilitate efforts to effectively education ethnic
minority students
Context of African American
Achievement
• Racial group disparities in socioeconomic
structures and opportunities contribute to
racial differences in achievement outcomes
• Not just a social class issue, though
• “Achievement gaps” reported across
socioeconomic contexts
1994 average NAEP reading scores for twelfth graders by their racial
and ethnic status and the education levels of their parents
Parent Education Level
Less than high
school
Graduated from
high school
Some education
beyond high
school
Graduated
from college
White
274
283
294
302
Black
258
258
271
272
Hispanic
260
265
279
283
White-Black =
16
25
23
30
White-Hispanic =
14
17
15
19
Note: Differences in scores between groups were calculated before rounding. Source: Campbell,
J.R., et al., NAEP 1994 Reading Report Card for the Nation and the States: Findings From the
National Assessment of Educational Progress and Trial State Assessments (Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Education, 1996).
What influences students’
engagement in school?
School
- Teachers
- Peers
- Culture
Home
- Parents
- Siblings
- Culture
Community
- Role models
- Opportunities
- Culture
Self
- interests
- efficacy/beliefs
- temperament/affect
What influences students’
engagement in school?
Home
- Parents
- Siblings
- Culture
Community
- Role models
- Opportunities
- Culture
Self
- interests
- efficacy/beliefs
- temperament/affect
Prevalent Theories of Ethnic
Minority Achievement
• Ogbu & Fordham
• “Acting White”
• “Racelessness”
• Stereotype Threat
• “Academic Disidentification”
Major Assumptions of Theories
• Identification with being Black associated
with
• Cultural orientation that devalues education
• More susceptibility to negative effects of concern
about racial stereotypes on achievement and
motivation
• Race-consciousness or awareness of racism
detrimental to academic achievement
Black Identification as Risk Factor
Racial Group
Identification
Awareness of
Group Societal
Status
+
Academic
Motivation
Concerns with Current Theories
• Non-historical view of African American
culture
• Lack of explanation for positive
achievement outcomes
• Little attention to within-group variation in
youths’ beliefs and attitudes
• Little empirical support for idea that Black
identity related to academic risk
Why are These Theories
the “Popular” Ones Then?
• Reasons for ethnic minority underachievement
found within students (or their families,
communities, and cultures)
• Schools and other societal institutions can feel
good about acknowledging effects of “past
wrongs,” but
• Have no current culpability or responsibility to
change structures and practices
Why Educators Should Have
Problems with These Models
• Within these frameworks, teachers and
schools have little agency or efficacy in
affecting or improving student achievement
Empirical Research Related to
African American Achievement
Values
Family and parental socialization research
African American identity research
Black Identification as Protective Factor
Racial Group
Identification
+
Group Pride
Awareness of
Group Societal
Status
+
Academic
Motivation
Family & Parental
Socialization Research
 African American parents report similar or
higher levels of achievement values than
other groups
 African American youth who receive
messages from parents emphasizing group
identity and pride report better educational
outcomes
African American Identity
 Racial identity involves how individuals think of
themselves in relation to their group
 Particularly relevant to developing children and
adolescents
 A schema regarding the relations between self,
group, and society
 Lens through which individuals perceive,
interpret, and respond to their social and
educational experiences
African American Identity
 Views of racial identity from popular theory
 “all or nothing” view of group identity
 existence an “optimal” racial identity
 assumption of particular beliefs accompanying racial
identification
 Our research shows African Americans vary in
 definitions of self with regard to their group
 perceptions, interpretations of societal discrimination
and group barriers
 perceptions of and feelings toward their group
Bad News and Good News
“Bad” News
Life becomes complicated when considering the
vast variation that may exist within this group
Good News
A complex view of youth and how they think is
actually more consistent with what we see in
the real world
Importance of School for Future
5
4
3
2
Group 1
+ Black Identity
+ Group Pride
+ Society View of
Blacks
Group 2
+ Black Identity
+ Group Pride
- Society View of
Blacks
Group 3
- Black Identity
+ Group Pride
- Society View of
Blacks
Group 4
- Black Identity
- Group Pride
- Societal View of
Blacks
Academic Self-Efficacy
5
4
3
2
Group 1
+ Black Identity
+ Group Pride
+ Society View of
Blacks
Group 2
+ Black Identity
+ Group Pride
- Society View of
Blacks
Group 3
- Black Identity
+ Group Pride
- Society View of
Blacks
Group 4
- Black Identity
- Group Pride
- Societal View of
Blacks
12th Grade School Status
Not In School
In School
+ Black Identity
+ Group Pride
- Society Views of Blacks
10
(5.7%)
165
(94.3%)
- Black Identity
+Group Pride
- Society Views of Blacks
13
(10.2%)
114
(89.8%)
+ Black Identity
+ Group Pride
+ Society Views of Blacks
19
(10.1%)
169
(89.9%)
- Black Identity
- Group Pride
- Society Views of Blacks
21
(18.1%)
95
(81.9%)
College Attainment 2 Years Later
Not College
In College
+ Black Identity
+ Group Pride
- Society Views of Blacks
62
(48.8%)
65
(51.2%)
- Black Identity
+ Group Pride
- Society Views of Blacks
53
(63.9%)
30
(36.1%)
+ Black Identity
+ Group Pride
+ Society Views of Blacks
86
(65.6%)
45
(34.4%)
- Black Identity
- Group Pride
- Society Views of Blacks
55
(68.8%)
25
(31.3%)
Summary
 Youth vary in the ways they think about
race and society
 Youth with strong, positive sense of racial
identity reported more school motivation
and showed better achievement outcomes
 Youth who de-emphasized their racial
identity and internalized negative group
views showed lower motivation and
achievement
Implications
 Cultural risk or stigma perspectives not sufficient
in understanding ethnic minority achievement
 Essential to consider potential assets and
strengths associated with youths’ group identities
 Need to understand ways that youths’ contexts
help shape their views, attitudes, and selfperceptions related to self and schooling
 Potential roles of schools and classroom
systems
Culturally Relevant
Educational Practices
Boykin’s Integrity-Based Principles

Meaningful Learning

Strategic Instruction and Critical Engagement

Learning Community

Cultural Resources

Constructive Social Relationships
“Culturally Relevant”
Educational Practices
• Isn’t this “just good teaching”?
Yes
and No
• Consistent evidence that schools often are not
providing these types of environments for many
students of color
• Subtle and complex ways that “diversity” or “culture”
is relevant can be overlooked
The “Input-Out” View of What
Causes African American
Underachievement
Students’ Academic
Beliefs and Values
Motivation
And
Engagement
Transactional Approach
School
Structures
and
Practices
Students’ Academic
Beliefs and Values
Motivation
And
Engagement
We Can Affect the Way
Students Develop Views of
“Reality” with the
Environments we Create
for Them!
Experiences in School Context :
Racial Discrimination
 Little study of race-based experiences of
children and adolescents
 Experiences of racial discrimination not
uncommon for African American youth
 Reported experiences often school-based
 Evidence of detrimental impact on wellbeing and achievement
Impact of Perceiving Racial Discrimination
in School on African American
Achievement
Teacher
Discrimination
_
_
Peer
Discrimination
Academic
Attitudes
&
Performance
Spencer, 2001
Wong, Eccles, & Sameroff, 2003
Chavous, Rivas, Smalls, et al. 2007
Smalls, White, Sellers, Chavous, 2007
“When You Work Really Hard In
School, Which of the Following
Reasons Are Most Important To You?”
African
American
White
Hispanic
Asian
My teachers
encourage me to
work hard
47%
31%
41%
31%
The teacher
demands it
15%
29%
19%
20%
From: Ferguson (2003)
Reports that “My Teachers Support Me and
Care About My Success in Their Class”
Af Am
Boys
Af Am
Girls
Asian
Boys
Asian
Girls
White White
Boys Girls
Strongly
Agree
Agree
8
12
24
36
33
44
12
16
42
33
21
27
Disagree
38
45
16
15
18
11
Strongly
Disagree
42
27
18
16
28
18
listed as percentages
N=537
From: Ferguson (2003)
An Alternative View of the
“Acting White” Theory
• O’Connor (2006) ethnography of suburban high school
• Teachers primary explanation for Black underachievement
was “acting White” theory
• Students segregated structurally through ability grouping
• Over time, some began to adopt Black anti-intellectual
views
• Thus, schools can create “self-fulfilling prophecies” in
relation to the ways they view and respond to students
Two Instructional Approaches
Constructivist Teaching
 Phonics Instruction
Embedded in Meaningful
Text
 Modeling & Guided Use of
Explicit Comprehension
Strategies
 Multiple Methods of
Reading
Instruction
 Connection to Children’s
Personal Experiences
 Encouragement of Self
Expression




Didactic Teaching
Isolated Phonics
Instruction
Rote Memorization
Teachers Read to Students
Without Engaging in
Conversation
Correctness Emphasis in
Children’s Writing
From: Stipek (2004)
Predictors of Didactic Teaching
% Below
Grade Level
% Eligible
Free/Reduced
Lunch
Didactic
Teaching
%
African American
%
Latino
From: Stipek (2004)
Predictors of Didactic Teaching
% Below
Grade Level
% Eligible
Free/Reduced
Lunch
%
African American
.18
.04
.42***
Didactic
Teaching
.06
%
Latino
From: Stipek (2004)
As Teachers Aren’t Evil Beings
(at least most of us),
What Types of Factors Could
Contribute to Such
Phenomena?
Diversity in Educational Training &
Professional Development
Discussions of diversity, race, ethnicity often
avoided
If they are discussed, they are framed:
 As separate from and distinct from content
learning areas
 As separate from learning models and
paradigms used for students in general
Potential Consequences
 White youth viewed as norm when trying
to understand educational processes
 Ethnic minority youth viewed only through
oversimplified “racialized” or social class
lens
 Raises potential for stereotyping,
erroneous assumptions and interpretations
Even With Good
Intentions…
“Giving students the love they don’t get
at home”
Potential Consequences
• Education professionals unsatisfied or frustrated
when they expect “concrete” or oversimplified
information about youth from different
backgrounds
• e.g., “What are minority students like?” and “How
should I teach minority students?”
• Teachers feel less equipped and less effective in
working with youth, affecting
• Nature of interactions with youth
• Students’ learning and social outcomes
Implications &
Recommendations
 An integrated approach to diversity in
teacher professional development would
require the definition of a good teacher to
include the ability to teach in diverse
settings with diverse youth
 NOT diversity as tools to supplement teachers’
skills and methodologies, but, instead
 Diversity as part of teachers’ skills and
methodologies
Recommendations
In taking such an approach, it would be essential
to
 Have informed views about youth from different
racial/ethnic groups
 Acknowledge variation within any given group
 View ethnic minority youth as “whole people”
 Engage in self-reflection regarding our own views
and worldviews and assumptions and the ways
they influence our practices