Analyzing Predictors Of Success For Higher Education Among African American Students

The academic debate over affirmative action has become a bitter stalemate. Opponents consider affirmative action to be reverse discrimination, while supporters say that the relationship between blacks and whites is hardly symmetrical. The sterility of this debate suggests that it is time for a fresh perspective, and an analysis considers affirmative action in light of critical race theory (CRT). One of CRT’s tenets is that conventional civil rights scholarship has limited application to current racial problems. Because of the practical and political limits on affirmative action, disputes about its legitimacy are likely to fade as attention shifts to other problems and remedies.

A substantial amount of educational and psychological research has consistently demonstrated that African American students underperform academically relative to White students. For example, they tend to receive lower grades in school (e.g., Demo & Parker, 1987; Simmons, Brown, Bush, & Blyth, 1978), score lower on standardized tests of intellectual ability (e.g., Bachman, 1970; Herring, 1989; Reyes & Stanic, 1988; Simmons et al., 1978), drop out at higher rates (e.g., American Council on Education, 1990; Steele, 1992), and graduate from college with substantially lower grades than White students (e.g., Nettles, 1988). Such performance gaps can be attributed to

The Bakke Vs. The Regents of University of California case is one of the most well known supreme court cases in America dealing with the topic of affirmative action. Stated by Eastland, “affirmative action policies are those in which an institution or organization actively engages in efforts to improve opportunities for historically excluded groups in American society” (10). In 1978, the plaintiff Bakke filed a suit against the University of California, claiming that his rejection from the school was a result of racial discrimination and that it violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the equal protection clause of the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment, and the California Constitution (Posner 171). The U.S Supreme court ruled that affirmative action was constitutional, but not the use of racial quotas. The significance of this case is that it dealt directly with two major theories prevalent to minorities and race: Their assimilation into the university setting using affirmative action, and also the systemic racism that these groups faced as well. More specifically however, the Bakke Vs. the Regents of University of California case can be explained by systemic racism more so than assimilation, because systemic racism was and still is in effect in these educational institutions. Even with the inclusion of programs such as affirmative action that are supposed to combat systemic racism and simplify assimilation, American institutions were built upon ideological processes that

Excluding those in highly prestigious institutions, Black students have low college graduation rates. I have found that Black students are finishing college less often because of stereotype threat, lack of preparation, and lack of support. Solutions to these problems are involved college counselors, learning cohorts, and decent funding for all primary and secondary schools.

African American males in higher education have captured the attention of researchers; sadly, exhausted amount of research has focused primarily on the failing black male, while little has been done to address the problem. This paper focuses on factors that influence the perceptions and self-esteem of African American males in higher education, and explore why their educational achievements are overwhelmingly lower than any other racial/ethnic group. Specifically, this review focuses on how research in education or the lack thereof has contributed to this particular issue. The review of literature in this paper leads to two research questions: (1) What efforts if any have been directed to address the negative outcomes of black males in higher education? (2) What other external factors have prevented black males from achieving their objectives at a lower rate than any other racial or ethnic group? The following 10 reviews attempt to answer the above questions.

Iverson uses critical race theory (CRT) to examine how discourses of diversity, circulating in educational policies, reflect and produce realities for people of color on university campus. Analysis reveals four predominant discourses shaping images of people of color: access, disadvantage, marketplace, and democracy. This article aims to enhance understanding about how racial inequality is reproduced through educational policies. CRT originated in the 1970s to contest the absence of attention to race in the courts and in law. Data from an analysis of 21 diversity action plans issued at 20 U.S. land-grant universities. Use of NVivo computer software designed for qualitative data analysis. He sought universities that had a diversity committee,

Although situational attribution prevails dispositional attribution within the Black male community, there are incongruous instances in which Black men have overcome the stigmas, relishing the social, economic, and political mobility they have achieved. However, even with social stability many prominent Black professionals still endure disenfranchisement. Looking strictly at the academia within a Black community, the National Center for Education Statistics reports that, “A majority of African-American males in the 4th, 8th, and 12th grades do not reach grade-level proficiency in reading, mathematics, history, and science,” (NCES, 2007, 2009). The hurdles

Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States and the president who signed the Civil Rights Act into law, once said, “Until justice is blind to color, until education is unaware of race, until opportunity is unconcerned with the color of men’s skins, emancipation will be a proclamation but not a fact.” Many are unaware of how well a person can receive their education when their race differs from the dominant white majority of the U.S. Whether it’s ignorance or the deliberate choice of not giving other races the same opportunity to succeed, we don’t know, but that is what we have set out to find. Throughout all of our literature, we can see examples of people not getting the same choices or opportunities as other citizens

The article displayed an statistic on how the african american male student fall below all of the other subgroups.Also showing that it is an unequal amount of student who dont plan to enroll in college from high school at all leaving the number of african american males scarce in the higher education category. Once enrolled and moving through college these student typically faced hardships that other subgroups may not face in their day to day life. Anumba mentioned the “Critical Race Theory”, which examined african american experience and the their educational outcome. The article finalize with african american student are deserving of assistance completing the the educational process. Obligating society to alter the status quo and beliefs

In today’s society, Predominately white institutions and campus climate can contribute and play a key role to the success and achievement of minority students. In the twenty-first century, African American (black) students will continue to enroll in predominantly white institutions (PWIs) at greater rates than black students enrolling at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs); yet, if this current trend continues, over half of black students at PWIs will fail to persist and graduate (Allen, 1992). Individual’s

As an African American student it often troubles me that many fellow African Americans still do not have adequate access to higher education whether the barrier pertains to first generation status, familial income, or lack of school support. For my research project I am seeking to answer the question, “What factors inhibit or promote post-secondary academic success amongst African American students?” I decided to ask this question in two parts because it would be fairly simple to just list and describe sanctions that inhibit post secondary success. However, I also want to explore factors that promote success and how success is measured.

CRT overall goals were to eliminate all forms of oppression and challenge America to examine race, class, and gender privileged individuals in both formal and informal settings (Crenshaw, 1995). CRT suggested that America considers racism to be normal and because racial practices are so common, it is not easy to see (Bell, 1995). It also concludes that White Americans will only support justice of African Americans when it is in the interest of the White American (Bell, 1995). Finally, CRT argues that race neutrality, equal opportunity, and color blindness do not exist and are not practiced in education (Bell, 1995).

Black males' performance in education is a serious problem in the black community. Many black males find themselves performing poorly in educational institutions because they do not have father figures or leaders in their life. In this literature review, I will use literature researched by others as well as their thoughts to discuss the performance of black males in higher education and the problems they face during their process.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) informs the theoretical framework of the study, encompassing the interlocking and emotionally-charged discourses of social justice, educational equity, integration ideology, redemption, and social, political and economic equality, to name a few (DeCuir & Dixson, 2004; Ladson-Billings, 2013; Parker & Lynn, 2002; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). Critical Race Theory openly challenges traditional research paradigm and existing policy and practice on race and racism, and proceeds from the underlying premise that racism is a ubiquitous and pervasive construct whose essence is ensconced within every aspect of American society (Bell, 1995; Ladson-Billings, 1998; 2013; Solorzano, 1998; Taylor, 2013). Whether sub-conscious or subliminal,

In my first memo, I focused on the core elements of my research topic, African-American males in higher education. Since our last meeting, I have taken time to reflect on your suggestions, and think about how to revamp my research questions and purpose statement. Most important, I have taken time to do self-reflection.