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.

scholarly journals A Link To The Future: A Pilot Study Look At How Historically Black Colleges And Universities With Journalism And Mass Communications Units Use The Internet In Recruiting

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry Crawford, II
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Predominantly White ◽  
Historically Black ◽  
African American Students ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Black Colleges ◽  
The Internet ◽  
White Institutions ◽  
American Students ◽  
The 1960S

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have had the ability to recruit African-American students since the 1860s by stressing a sense of inclusion and family through their mission statements and community outreach. There was little to no competition for African-American students from predominantly white institutions until integration was fully implemented a hundred years later in the 1960s. HBCUs, by their standing in the community, have been a gateway to first generation college students, regardless of race or social class status and "many continue to have 'open' admissions policies, welcoming all who wish to attend college, regardless of previous academic performance. Today, HBCUs have to actively recruit students students that can now apply and enroll in Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) with the use of technology that includes the Internet. How has the digital divide changed from its classification in the 1960s? How are African-Americans using the web and are HBCUs using the Internet to inform, recruit and enroll African-Americans today? This pilot study looks at HBCUs that have Journalism/Mass Communications units to examine if their websites have a good sense of usability and interactivity for African-American students looking to go to college, primarily as first-generation students.

Advancing the Demarginalization of African American Students

2021 ◽  
pp. 73-96
Author(s):  
Annie Ruth Leslie ◽  
Kim Brittingham Barnett ◽  
Matasha L. Harris ◽  
Charles Adams
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Historically Black ◽  
African American Students ◽  
Symbolic Interaction ◽  
Black Colleges ◽  
Colleges And Universities ◽  
American Education ◽  
Historically Black Colleges ◽  
American Students ◽  
Black Colleges And Universities

This chapter presents theoretical discussions about advancing the demarginalization of African American students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by bringing in insights from Afrocentric and symbolic-interaction perspectives. Here, the authors discuss demarginalization related to certain intra-racial and intersecting class, gender, and mental health issues emerging since COVID-19 and online learning. The ideas presented here are equally viable in student face-to-face and virtual learning environments. It begins with discussing marginalization and Afrocentric and symbolic-interaction theories. It reviews relevant literature about the history of African American education since the American Civil War, including 19th and 20th century reconstructions, Jim Crow, the rise of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the Black student campus union and Black power movements, and other relevant happenings in Black American education.

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.

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