Today in my Seminar in School Psychology class we discussed the issue of black cultural learning styles. As the only African American in the class, I could not help but to think what this conversation would have been like if I were not present. Not taking anything away from my classmates, (I have learned a great deal from their perspectives, they are all very intelligent and insightful) but it appears that discussions about black students in general, have been dominated in academia and in research predominately by Caucasian scholar’s, scientist’s, and researcher’s. I could not help but to think of how underrepresented African Americans are in higher education & graduate programs in general. If our goal is to decrease the achievement gap for all students (specifically students of color), how can we adequately achieve this goal if we do not have enough experts, professionals, and highly trained practiticioners of color? Are we to sit back and leave this task (improving academic outcomes and decreasing the achievement gap for black students), to those that are most unfamiliar with black students?
In reality, in the majority of graduate programs the likelihood of an African American being in the class is about 2%, while the likelihood that an African American male is in the class is less than 1%. Realizing that I am in a very small percentage of black males that pursue a doctorate degree in the field of psychology, I also am faced with the challenge of “representing” and holding it down for African Americans. In other words, I have a ton of pressure not to look bad, not appear dumb, and yes, not to fulfill any stereotypes (being late for class, speaking in slang, eating fried chicken, etc.,).
It’s the whole idea of double consciousness that Dubois talked about, a dueling war of conflicting thoughts, in which blacks struggle to “stay true” to black culture or assimilate in order to fit in with the majority culture. All the while, despite this internal conflict raging within most black students (from Kindergarten to higher education), they are expected to perform well academically and achieve at the same standards as their peers. Recently, there is an glimmer of light that may potentially aid in decreasing the achievement gap for black students.
From the Sanford University News:
A new study by Stanford psychologists has found that negative stereotypes can also prevent minority students from learning new academic material. But alleviating concerns about stereotypes dramatically improves black students’ learning.
The idea that a person’s work might suffer if he or she believes a poor performance will reinforce a negative stereotype about that person’s group is known as “stereotype threat.” Studies have shown that stereotype threat is a likely cause of educational achievement gaps.
“What hadn’t been done was to see whether the same stereotype threat affects how well people learn new academic material,” said Greg Walton, an assistant professor of psychology and co-author of a new study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
When students of color walk into a classroom, “They might be aware of stereotypes that their group lacks intelligence,” said the study’s lead author, Valerie Jones Taylor, a former Stanford graduate student who is now at Princeton. “These concerns could impact how well they acquire novel information.”
To determine if stereotype threat actually affects learning in addition to performance, Taylor and Walton set up a two-part experiment.
First, black and white students studied the definitions of 24 obscure English words. Half of the students studied in a threatening environment designed to make intellectual stereotypes relevant. They were told that the task would assess their “learning abilities and limitations” and “how well people from different backgrounds learn.”
Meanwhile, students in the non-threatening environment were told that the study focused on identifying “different learning styles.”
One to two weeks later, the students were tested to see how many word definitions they could remember. They were first given a low-stress warm-up exercise with half of the word definitions. Then, in order to evoke concerns about stereotypes, a test was given which was described as evaluating “your ability to learn verbal information and your performance on problems requiring verbal reasoning ability.”
The results were eye-opening.
Read the full story at: Stuck in a stereotype? How psychological cues can limit black students\’ academic learning and success.
July 12, 2011 at 11:23 pm
No matter how many statistics are used to quantify, affirming or negating these ideals, being a minority in rigorous academic settings adds extra pressure to perform. Regardless if this extra pressure is “self” imposed, or a mere figment of our imagination, there is a certain impetus that pushes us to prove that we belong. Du Bois knew from first hand experience when he wrote about, “Two unreconciled strivings, two warring ideals,” (being the only black Doctoral student at Harvard 1890-95) well those concepts are still relevant today, and are recognizable on many college campuses and universities. This is a great study, it begins to touch on major issues impacting our students. We have to think, it is only a small step forward that students of color are beginning to enter higher ed, now we have to find more effective ways to keep them there and make sure they matriculate successfully.
July 14, 2011 at 4:42 pm
I strongly agree with the findings of this study. During my two year matriculation at a non-HBCU graduate school, I learned that I must make a conscious effort to not try and carry the weight of the Black race on my back. The pressure that this article speaks about was very real for me. Often times, I was indeed the only Black in my classes. When one finds themselves in this type of situation, I think it somewhat normal that one would default to feeling this pressure. But in my opinion, it is extremely dangerous. Dangerous because it can be stifling and cause an individual to be double-minded, as Dubois points out. This lack of clarity of thought and constant self-checking can make it difficult for the student to fully be in the moment and explore the subject matter that is being learned. And in regards to stereotypes more generally, if the consensus is that Black people are constantly late for class, then so be it. And if I am a Black that contributes to that consensus because I am always late, then I am not going to change on the basis of attempting to dispel a stereotype. Heck, maybe the stereotype is true. Or maybe it’s not; but I’m not convinced that is what’s important. If I decide to not be late, it will be because lateness is not a characteristic that I wish to embody or because I want to promote the value of punctuality. Why should it be up to any one Black man to change the world’s view (no matter how ignorant) on Black men by changing who we are? On some level, this could be viewed as allowing other’s view on who I should be, to dictate what I allow myself to become. I am but one Black man, and I am what I am, I do what I do, and I like what I like. If what I am contradicts someone’s stereotype of what a Black man is, then that’s great. And if it perfectly aligns with their notion, well I think that’s ok too. I enjoy fried chicken, watermelon, and basketball! And I won’t pretend that I don’t in an attempt to change someone’s view of Blacks. But back to the main point of how this plays out in the classroom, we need people in the education arena who can champion the idea of encouraging and supporting different learning styles. And as with many of the so-called problems in our society, I believe the road to recovery begins with the values that are instilled in the home and with a return to God.
B, I commend you for the blog my man. It takes courage to share your thoughts and opinions. Fligher Education!!
July 14, 2011 at 6:23 pm
J-Rob, what’s up bro? I appreciate the feedback and taking your time to share your experiences. It seems like we have had some of the same experiences post HU in our graduate programs of study. I always reach the conclusion that a great deal of problems and the resolutions as well can all be found beginning and ending in the home and with families. Its important to not only discuss these issues but also to do something about it!
July 15, 2011 at 2:42 am
Blantly… I think stereotypes are a bunch of crap, however they do exist. More interestingly we are judged based on stereotypes everyday; whether they are positive or negative. I found this article very interesting because not only are we judged based on stereotypes but actually expected to fulfill them.
As a former high school math teacher, I saw my students (mostly African American with low-performing math skills) actually believe in the stereotypes and abide by them somewhat. Statements such as “math is to hard,” “we don’t do that,” or we haven’t been taught this,” provides minority students of low performing backgrounds every opportunity to increase the achievement gap rather than closing it. From these instances I believe that we do have some pressure to diminish those negative stereotypes in order for others to stop basing our success on it.
July 15, 2011 at 2:24 pm
Tracae, your right, whether the stereotypes are positive or negative, most people regardless of race are often judged based on these preconceived notions. I’m sure you can list tons of examples that you have as a teacher in a education setting. Thanks for providing your insight to the discussion!