A Potential Avenue for Academic Success: Hope Predicts an Achievement-Oriented Psychosocial Profile in African American Adolescents

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 532-561 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dante D. Dixson ◽  
David Stevens
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
African American Students ◽  
Academic Motivation ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
African American Adolescents ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Psychosocial Variables ◽  
Psychosocial Profile ◽  
American Students

In a sample of 117 African American students, we examined how well hope predicts five psychosocial variables—school belonging, academic self-concept, goal valuation, attitude toward teachers, and academic motivation/self-regulation—that altogether make up an achievement-oriented psychosocial profile. Results indicated that, after controlling for demographics and previous achievement, the subscales of hope accounted for a meaningful portion of all five psychosocial variables, ranging from 17.2% to 29.9%. The agency subscale of hope was a significant predictor of all five psychosocial variables, while pathways was only a significant predictor of goal valuation and academic self-concept. Given that several quick and effective universal hope interventions have been developed, these results suggest that hope may be a promising avenue to improve the achievement-related outcomes of African American students as well as aid in mitigating the achievement gap.

What Do We Know about the Motivation of African American Students? Challenging the "Anti-Intellectual" Myth

2003 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 524-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
KEVIN COKLEY
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Predominantly White ◽  
Historically Black ◽  
African American Students ◽  
Academic Motivation ◽  
Black Colleges ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
African American College Students ◽  
Predominantly White University ◽  
American Students

In this article, Kevin Cokley challenges conventional wisdom about African American college students and the factors underlying their academic underachievement. In this quantitative study of students attending three historically Black colleges and universities and one predominantly White university, Cokley reviews and integrates existing research on the academic motivation and academic self-concept of African American students. He then introduces self-determination theory as an additional motivational framework to understand African American students' motivation. While Cokley finds that African American students are intrinsically highly motivated, this motivation is not related to how they perform academically or to their academic self-concept.

Self-Concept of African-American Students: An Operational Model for Special Education

1992 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Festus E. Obiakor
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
African American ◽  
African American Students ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Operational Model ◽  
School Programs ◽  
American Students ◽  
Multicultural Perspectives

African-American students who fail in school programs are presumed to have a “low” self-concept. However, this view fails to recognize self-concept as an observable, describable, situation-specific, and measurable phenomenon. In addition, it ignores the cultural biases and prejudices inherent in current self-concept assessment tools. In contrast, the operational model of self-concept, which defines self-descriptive behavior, permits identification of styles, strengths, and weaknesses in the areas of self-concept. The article explores methods for enhancing self-concepts of African-American students and accommodating multicultural perspectives.

The School Counselor's Role in Addressing the Advanced Placement Equity and Excellence Gap for African American Students

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 2156759X0001700
Author(s):  
Pamela Davis ◽  
Michael P. Davis ◽  
Jerry A. Mobley
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Advanced Placement ◽  
Peer Relationships ◽  
African American Students ◽  
School Counselor ◽  
Individual Counseling ◽  
National Examination ◽  
American Students ◽  
Excellence Gap

This study describes the collaboration among a school counselor, a school counselor intern, an Advanced Placement Psychology teacher, and a counselor educator to improve African American access to Advanced Placement (AP) coursework and increase success on the AP Psychology national examination. The team initiated a process that recruited African American students into AP Psychology and supported them through group and individual counseling to create an achievement-minded cohort that emphasized peer relationships and academic success.

Parental Involvement in Education

2019 ◽  
pp. 116-140
Author(s):  
Olivia Patrice-Chante' Miller ◽  
Regina L. Banks-Hall
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Academic Success ◽  
Parental Involvement ◽  
Parenting Styles ◽  
Low Income ◽  
African American Students ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
American Students ◽  
Crime Family

This chapter examines the key factors of parental involvement in relation to African-American students' academic success. Researchers identified that school failure is common among low-income African-American youth in the United States. This achievement gap requires a review of areas, such as poverty and crime, family environments, parenting styles, and academic race stereotypes, that could possibly affect African-American's academic achievement. Data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey revealed that opportunities exist in reducing poverty and crime in African-American communities. Additionally, factors such as school-district locations may impact African Americans' perception of education. Most low-income schools lack educational resources to support students with increased learning needs which leads to greater disparities in developmental outcomes. Using social-cognitive theory as a framework, the authors found that increased parental involvement may improve African-American students' self-efficacy for increased academic motivation.

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