From Opposition to Engagement: Lessons from High Achieving African American Students

Abstract

Influential research on African American students has examined their school failure in terms of studentsÕ opposition to school achievement. Only a few studies have explored school engagement and success among these students, and even fewer have examined the experiences of high achieving black students. This study illustrates the school context and school processes that high achieving African American students identify as contributing to their academic success. The findings reveal three main school effects impacting the studentsÕ performance: 1) teacher practices, engaging pedagogy versus disengaging pedagogy; 2) participation in extracurricular activities and; 3) the state scholarship as performance incentive. According to the students, teacher practices were the most instrumental school effect benefiting their outcomes. Recognizing the processes that promote high achievement among African American students can help to improve our understanding of student performance, while promoting success among these students.

Navigating STEM: Afro Caribbean Women Overcoming Barriers of Gender and Race

“…This cultural identity is reflected in their collective identity (Ogbu, 2008). When there is constant comparison to the dominant group, the Black-White binary is strengthened, and Whites are used as the measuring rod for success (Wiggan, 2007). This limits the formation of a collective identity derived from the members of ones' own group.…”

Effective Teachers

“…The onus is on teachers to resist the temptation to use the excuses that blame family of origin, socioeconomic factors, or academic readiness for the lack of student performance. King Miller (2013) offered research on the academic success and progress of African American students that resulted in the following: (a) African American students need to feel valued and have their ethnicity and culture validated (Harris & Marsh, 2010;Ladson-Billings, 1995a;Lynn, Bacon, Totten, Bridges, & Jennings, 2010), (b) teachers need to have high expectations for student success (Cholewa, Amatea, West-Olatunji, & Wright, 2012;Lynn et al, 2010;Tucker, Dixon, & Griddine, 2010;Wiggan, 2007), and (c) African American students need to experience connections with their teachers, their classrooms, and their school (Lemberger & Clemens, 2012;Li & Hasan, 2010;Wiggan, 2007).…”

“…If they consider themselves as a representative of the dominant culture, they may enter the field with a belief system that views students of African descent as less capable and less intelligent (Martens, Johns, Greenberg, & Schimel, 2006;Steele & Aronson, 1995). This belief system and its comparative support structure often serve to reinforce the academic deficits in Black students (Wiggan, 2007).…”

A framework to improve teaching in multicultural contexts

“…Students learn to distrust school when what it teaches clashes with what they learn at home and in their communities (Epstein, 2009). Many simply experience school as boring or alienating (Harris & Reynolds, 2014;Ochoa, 2007;Wiggan, 2007), or tire of mainly studying White people (Ford & Harris, 2000). But teachers commonly attribute students' engagement and achievement in the classroom to their home backgrounds and lives outside school rather than what happens in the classroom.…”