For decades, researchers and policymakers have grappled with the issue of the underachievement of African American students. An age-old problem has been that these students on average lag behind their peers of other racial/ethnic groups in math, science, and reading. Recently, California, like some other states, has implemented a high-stakes standardized testing program that has revealed that when test scores are disaggregated along racial/ethnic lines, the scores of African American students continue to trail those of their peers.
The study described in this book was undertaken in an effort to uncover schooling practices that are advantageous or detrimental to the achievement of African American students. The study was based on interviews and questionnaire results from nearly 300 African American high school seniors. Most of these students resided in a region that had a low college attendance rate and a high child poverty rate. The students were given an opportunity to discuss numerous issues pertaining to their schooling experiences, including teacher attitudes and expectations, the curriculum, homework practices, the quality of services provided by their high school counselors, racism at school, school safety, parental involvement, and their early reading habits and attitudes about reading. In addition to quantitative results, most chapters include detailed narratives describing the elementary and secondary schooling experiences of the interviewees.
Preface
Introduction
Elementary School Experiences
Elementary School as a Precursor to Subsequent Schooling Experiences
Early Reading Habits and Attitudes About Reading
Elementary Teachers
Elementary Course Work and Homework
Middle School Experiences
Middle School Issues
Middle School Teachers
Middle School Course Work and Homwork
High School Experiences
High School as an Ending and a Beginning
High School Teachers
High School Course Work and Homework
Other Issues
Attitudes About College and Future Plans
Racism at School
School Safety
Parent Involvement
Conclusion
References
Index
Reviews
Thompson to the literature on effective traits of successful teachers of African American students that began with Janice Hale-Benson's Black Children in 1983. The author provides useful information from her ethnographic examination of African American teenagers expressing their thoughts on the educational process....This book would be useful for graduate students conducting research in ethnography and the academic achievement of African American students. Highly Recommended. Graduate collections and above.—Choice
This volume provides a framework for those involved in the schooling of African-American youth. These pedagogies should challenge African-American students to consider alternative life possibilities, to become critical thinkers, and to consider the transformation of their current life situations and the life situations of others.—MultiCultural Review
