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The Resilience of African American College Students from “high risk” Environments

Jenise Noble, Ronald E. McNair Scholar Dorinda Carter Andrews, Mentor -Teacher Education College of Education, Michigan State University noblejen@msu.edu. The Resilience of African American College Students from “high risk” Environments.

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The Resilience of African American College Students from “high risk” Environments

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  1. Jenise Noble, Ronald E. McNair Scholar Dorinda Carter Andrews, Mentor -Teacher Education College of Education, Michigan State University noblejen@msu.edu The Resilience of African American College Students from “high risk” Environments

  2. “In the midst of winter, I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer.” -Albert Camus

  3. Literature:Why They Do Not Succeed • African Americans students give up on succeeding in school because they do not want to be seen as “acting white,” which is “learning school curriculum and learning to follow the standard academic practices of the school” (Ogbu, 1985). • The number of African American students who take Advance Placement Exams are lower than that of Whites (Hoffman et al, 2003). This could reflect a lack of preparation for the test, which could also reflect a lack of college preparation resources for students. • Many African American students who do go on to college are first- or second- generation college students, and they face challenges different from those who are not in the same situation (Pike et al, 2005).

  4. Literature:Factors That Influence Going to College • Parent engagement, peer engagement, and college preparation have influence on college enrollment (Horn et al, 1998). • African American youths’ experiences with • Family support • Success and failure in school • Feelings of self-worth and security (Connell et al, 1994).

  5. Literature: Understanding Resilience • There is very little research surrounding the resilience of African American college students. • Much of the present research centers around the reasons African American students from high-risk backgrounds do not succeed at the K-12 level. • Ogbu (1986) discussed the belief that because the majority (White) society controls many of the avenues African Americans use to succeed, avenues such as education and employment, African Americans are not able to excel in these areas.

  6. Previous Studies • The Concept of Resilience • “The set of attributes that provide people with the strength and fortitude to confront the overwhelming obstacles they are bound to face in life” (Sagor, 2002, p.38). • “A dynamic process encompassing positive adaptation within the context of significant adversity” (Luthar, Cicchetti, Baker, 2007, p 543).

  7. Research Question • Why do some African American students from urban, high risk backgrounds decide to go to college and remain in college? Sub-Questions • What are the resources that help prepare these students for college? • How do family members contribute to the student’s idea of college? • How is resilience embodied despite difficulties in college?

  8. Methods • Hypothesis: • African American students from “high risk” backgrounds who attend college and maintain success display characteristics of resiliency. • Participants:

  9. Data Analysis • Data Collection: • 20-90 minute tape recorded interviews with each participant. • Transcribed each interview • Coded Interviews for themes

  10. Research Findings Two Major Themes: • Wanting To Do Better • Positive Influences, or the Lack Thereof

  11. Wanting To Do Better Interviewer: Did your neighborhood/community have an impact on your idea of college? How? I didn’t wanna live there no more! (laughs)… I would see that they had to work so much just to maintain this lifestyle. I would see all that, the neighborhood, I was in the middle, and I knew I wanted to go across Southfield, mentally and economically…Colton, Interviewed 4/15/10 --- So I think that, just seeing people fail kind of made me not want to fail because I saw it everywhere…John, Interviewed 4/26/10 --- Yes, showed me that I need to go! (laughs) That’s about it! Uh, yeah. The way that particular community is situated is there isn’t a lot of community interaction, even just the way it’s set up there’s no community center nearby. The only encouraging is that I looked at the life and said I don’t want this(laughs)! …Audrey, Interviewed(4/23/10)

  12. Positive Influences, or the Absence Thereof Interviewer: Could you tell me about the resources (school, neighborhood, etc) that helped you prepare for college? Positive Influences: My high school had lots of resources for us, like we had ACT prep people come in and we would do ACT practice our 11th grade year, and we had pretty great counselors that helped us prepare applications and that kind of thing. Samantha, Interviewed 4/6/10 --- Every since kindergarten I’ve had “smart friends,” kids who thought it was cool to get good grades, so I never had a battle of “oh I don’t want to be the smart person.” And that has a lot to do with it that was my positive reinforcement because all my friends were going to college. “Oh you’re going to college? Let’s go to the same college! Aww, I’m gonna miss you when we go to different colleges.” So it was always a positive thing - my friends. Colton, Interviewed 4/15/10 --- Society as a whole tells me as a Black Man that I can’t come to college, and especially tells me that I can’t be a teacher. Less than 10% of teachers are of African American descent and within that males make up probably about 3%, and that’s says, yeah, no for me…Blue, Interviewed 4/15/10

  13. Discussion • Both the motivation to do better and positive influences helped the participants to foster resilience, as supported by Horn’s (1998) study. • These factors allowed students to display resilience, causing them to not only come to college, but to remain there. • The concept of resilience is very broad. • Limitations: • small sample size • Implications: • Resources and personal relationships provided to students from urban, high-risk backgrounds can lead them to display resilience • Students in negative situations can use the situations to foster resilience.

  14. Next Steps • Further research must focus on how to provide both support and resources to a wider population of students from high-risk backgrounds to give more the opportunity to pursuit college. • These resources must be made available to all students, regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic status.

  15. References • Fordham, Signithia, and John Ogbu. "Black Students' School Success: Coping with the “burden of ‘acting White’”." The Urban Review 18.3 (1986): 176-206. SpringerLink. Web. 24 Apr. 2010. <http://www.springerlink.com/content/k1576rj3p2x51q6t/>. • Sagor, Richard. "Building Resilience." Educational Leadership (1996). Web. 24 Apr. 2010. <http://kaching.sw.hku.hk/Workshop%20Notes/Resiliency/Building%20Resiliency.pdf>. • Connell, James P., Margaret Beale, and J. L. Abner. "Educational Risk and Resilience in African-American Youth: Context, Self, Actions, and Outcomes in School." Child Development 65.2 (1994): 493-506. JSTOR. Web. 24 Apr. 2010. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/info/1131398?seq=1>.

  16. Thank You!!

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