African American males are typically over-represented at the bottom rungs of

the achievement ladder on most student performance measures, as supported

by a greater likelihood to be suspended and expelled from school or tracked

into remedial courses and absent from honors courses than any other racial

group. The data presented are derived from a yearlong, 2008-2009, case study

of twenty African American adolescent males enrolled in an extra-curricular

social and academic academy in a largely urban city in Southern California.

Findings suggest that the pervasive influence of both structural and cultural

factors—such as, racial ideology, racial tracking in schools, and street

socialization processes in neighborhoods—help explain students’ persistent

expectations to work in the entertainment and athletic fields. The implications

of this study call for a reemphasis on the relevancy of racial inequality and

marginality in improving the career expectations of African American males.

How do Black male high school students explain and perceive their career aspirations and expectations?

R E S E A R C H Q U E S T I O N S

1) Black males, in comparison to all racial groups have a disproportionately lower representation at a degree granting institution comprising less than 12% of all males enrolled, in addition to the widening achievement gap between White students in terms of high school GPA and standardized test scores in math, science and reading (Jencks & Phillips, 1998; National Center for Education Statistics, 2009; The College Board, 2002). 2) The low performance among African American males are not only attributed to school factors such as racial segregation (Orfield & Eaton, 1996), inequities in funding (Kozol, 2012), and the politics of school governance (Meier, Stewart & England, 1989); but also, societal factors such as negative stereotypes and depictions harbored by the media (Brooks, 2009), gang pressures and neighborhood problems (Mickelson, 1990). 3) Studies on the Obama effect have reported mostly positive results on a number of social and academic behaviors. Plant et al. (2009) analyzed survey data (n=209) and found that an increased activation of qualities associated with Obama as a political figure was related to lower levels of implicit prejudice among college students.

Theoretical Framework The Multiple Marginality (MM) framework addresses ecological, economic, sociocultural, and psychological factors that underlie street gangs and youths’ participation in them (Conchas & Vigil, 2012). Multiple marginality reflects social and economic complexities and their persistence over time and works as a tool because it encompasses the disengagement and reengagement that occurs on multiple micro and macro levels. All youth of color must confront and come to terms with economic, environmental, racial, and cultural forces. Street socialization affects all youth in distinct ways. Even school smart youth are not immune to the hazards of marginalization and street socialization. Academic and social disengagement is an outcome of marginalization.

Study Objectives 1) Using the MM framework, we explore how African American high school boys perceive their

social mobility during the historic election of the first African American President. 2) Examine how students respond to the onset of negative African American male stereotypes

portrayed through the media and society, while determining the extent of its impact on students’ perspective on their career aspirations and expectations.

3) Explore students’ home lives in relation to their neighborhood and peer relations.

ABSTRACT

- The potential impact of Obama’s presidency has not caused a discernible effect on the students’ career aspirations and expectations. - The Multiple Marginality framework has been useful in allowing us to examine how students perceive racial stereotypes perpetuated in the media and institutionalized throughout society. Even though students responded positively about the impact of Obama’s election, students still felt that poverty was prevalent in their lives and a major source of racial inequality and neighborhood tensions

- Negative characterizations of African American males continue to be institutionalized by the presence of tracking in the school system, thus prompting for initiatives to make high-status knowledge accessible to students in non-academic tracks (Oakes, 2005). - Schools need to sustain a proactive discourse on race to address the structural and cultural inequalities that may impede the academic performance and career aspirations of students of color, in particular with African American students.

Policy Implications

Strengths: Collected the diverse perspectives of low to high academically achieving African American males who were able to clearly articulate about their racial experiences. In-depth interviews were particularly effective not only in providing the details needed for a rich and vivid account, but also in delivering an honest account of the realities in school and in society that are often overshadowed by mainstream media narratives. Limitations: Focusing on the experiences of a small sample of African American males in a Southern California urban city is limited in its generalization regarding Blacks across the United States.

Super Star or Scholar? African American Youth’s Perceptions of Social Mobility in a Time of Change

ALEX R. LIN & SEAN DRAKE (PI: Dr. Gilberto Conchas) University of California, Irvine

Background

The project was designed through a comparative case study with the focus on analyzing the elaborate and vivid descriptions drawn from the students’ schooling experiences.

Data Sources

- During the 2007-2008 academic year, the qualitative study consisted of a comparative research project that drew Latino, Asian and African American students from a male academy located in Southern California to explore the extent of the academy’s ability to improve the educational outcome of its members. The data collected from the students and the school includes a student survey of high school experiences (pre and post administration), formal and informal interviews with students, teachers, and administrators, academic records, photographs, participant observation field notes, and male academy meeting agendas and other documents distributed at male academy meetings.

Analysis

Data analysis consisted of a deductive process that coded excerpts where students referred specifically to their perceptions of social mobility within school and outside of school—that is, the micro and macro processes that either supported or hindered their optimism and success.

Methods

Perspective on the Exposure to Obama’s Presidency “When an African American gets a doctorate or master’s you know it’s a very rare thing and most African Americans celebrate that when something like that does happen because they say dang you know he made it or it’s like when Obama became president, you know a lot of African Americans were like you know we finally have one of our people in there [Obama]… we can actually do something where it’s no more of that excuse of oh I’m African American.” (Jonathan, a high school junior) Students shared the belief that they could feel the positive transformation in societies’ expectations concerning African Americans, and believed the doors of opportunities would dramatically open for them. In fact, they observed how current and future generations of African Americans should be discouraged from relying on the long history of racial oppression as a crutch for not achieving greater things. Thus, the influence of Obama’s presidency has extended towards the African American community in taking more responsibility for their actions. Here, these findings are consistent with the group-specific approach that is critical to understanding how membership to an ethnic group allows for “culturally related socialization experiences”, guiding individuals to seek direction in their career aspirations and expectations, while also limiting the possible occupations they may pursue (Carter & Constantine, 2000). Certainly, past and future barriers surface from the enduring history of slavery and “experiences of rigid racial segregation” that has long shaped the identity of African Americans (Alfred, 2001). Thus, the collective nature of the African American community plays a critical role in informing and socializing students into believing that the doors of opportunity has widened considerably with Obama’s election. However, the following three findings further complicate this notion.

Students’ Perceptions of Being Black in the United States “So many things for the negative side, like we’re seen as loud, violent… talkin’ super loud in theaters, we ruin it for everybody. We’re the ones gang-banging, shootin’ people, goin’ to jail.” (Kevin, a high school senior) Students vividly described how the media and society portrayed African American males with an unfavorable disposition, showing them to exhibit adverse characteristics provoking volatility and likely to clash with social norms. Additionally, students commented that these negative attributes would likely be viewed as aggressive and violent behavior susceptible to higher encounters with the law. The students’ perceptions is congruent with past literature showing that the media has historically devoted a disproportionate amount of negative stories to minorities, in particular with African Americans. The study showed that it is much more common to see journalist cover stories regarding African American students having “lower average test scores, grades and college attendance,” than “White students who drop out of high school in alarming rates.” (Gordon, 2010).

Students’ Perspectives of Race and School Students perceived schools to hold preconceived notions of which racial groups would succeed or end up at the bottom, ultimately affecting their academic and social status. Further, students shared how racial discrimination would be manifested in the classroom as teachers would hold lower academic expectations particularly for African American students. We can see how students’ perception of the social ordering system is not coincidental to the presence of tracking in the school system. In addition to school inequality, the students attributed poverty as a source of gang-related activities and violence that had a detrimental impact on their school and home life.

Findings

Conflicting Perspectives on Aspirations and Expectations “[What are your aspirations?] Hopefully go to the NFL, that’s the dream but if that doesn’t work I was thinking of something in real estate.” (Drake, high school senior) Table 1: Student Profiles and Career Aspirations

The male academy aims to encourage all of its members to aspire to college and professional careers. However, only 12 of 20 actually aspire to a professional career or college post high school with 2 seeking the military and 1 aspiring for a blue collar profession. More problematic is the fact that 8 of 12 student-athletes desired careers in the entertainment/athletic fields. These findings are surprising given students’ earlier admission that the odds of making it onto the professional league were astronomical compared to pursuing a career in the health, medical and law field. Also, given the context of the school (i.e., a non-athletic emphasis) and focus on college and professional trajectories, some students still sought careers in sports. Additionally, socioeconomic status did not have any considerable effects in regards to students’ career aspirations, as students were predominately lower to middle class.

Findings Strengths / Limitations

- Incorporate a global study on African American students by including females in assessing the impact of Obama’s presidency. - Extend the study to encompass different geographic regions across the United States, with particular interest in the Washington D.C. area to explore the localized effects of Obama’s residency in the White House. - Lastly, it would be interesting to evaluate the perspectives of Asian, Latino, White, and those youth who identify as mixed- race.

Directions for Future Research

Foot Notes

1 In this study we use the terms Blacks and African Americans interchangeably. 2 To protect the identity of the school and students, all references are pseudonyms

References

Alfred, M.V. (2001). Expanding theories of career development: Adding the voices of African American women in the White

academy. Adult Education Quarterly, 51(2), 108-127.

Brooks, R.L. (2009). Racial justice in the age of Obama. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Carter, R.T. & Constantine, M.G. (2000). Career maturity, life role salience, and racial/ethnic identity in Black and Asian American

college students. Journal of Career Assessment, 8(2), 173-180.

Conchas, G. Q., & Vigil, J. D. (2012). Streetsmart Schoolsmart: Urban Poverty and the Education of Adolescent Boys. Multicultural

Education Series. Teachers College Press.

Gordon, T.T. (2010). Stereotyping African-American students in the media and classroom. Retrieved from

http://www.ttgpartners.com/.

Jencks, C., & Phillips, M. (1998). The Black-White test score gap. Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press..

Kozol, J. (2012). Savage inequalities: Children in America's schools: Broadway.

Meier, K. J., Stewart Jr, J., & England, R. E. (1991). The politics of bureaucratic discretion: Educational access as an urban service.

American Journal of Political Science, 155-177.

Mickelson, R.A. (1990). The attitude-achievement paradox among Black adolescents. Sociology of Education, 63 (1), 44-61.

National Center for Education Statistics (2009). Total fall enrollment in degree-granting nstitutions, by race/ethnicity, sex,

attendance status, and level of student: Selected years, 1976 through 2008. Retrieved from

http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d09/tables/dt09_226.asp.

Oakes, J. (2005). Keeping track: How schools structure inequality. (2nded.) New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Orfield, G., & Eaton, S. E. (1996). The Harvard Project on School Desegregation. Dismantling desegregation: The quiet reversal

of Brown v. Board of Education.

Plant, A. E., Devine, P.G., Cox, W. T., Columb, C., Miller, S. L., Goplen, J. &Peruche, M.B(2009). The Obama effect: Decreasing

implicit prejudice and stereotyping.. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 961-964.

References

Summary of Findings

Special thanks to Gilberto Conchas and Leticia Oseguera for collection

of the data and guidance in the direction for this study

Name Grade

Whether

Recruited in

School

Sports Team

Ideal Career

1 Kevin 12th No Architecture

2 Bill 11th No Military

3 Arthur 10th Yes Football player

4 Jeffrey 10th Yes Basketball player

5 Cliff 12th Yes Biologist

6 Sam 10th Yes Basketball player

7 Jonathan 12th

No Sociologist

8 James 10th Yes Basketball player

9 David 10th Yes Actor

10 Drew 12th Yes Basketball player

Name Grade

Whether

Recruited in

School Sports

Team

Ideal Career

11 Steve 12th No Real estate agent

12 Curtis 12th

Yes College

(undetermined)

13 Todd 11th

No High school

counselor

14 Fred 10th Yes Basketball player

15 Marcus 11th No Engineer

16 Marvin 12th

Yes College

(undetermined)

17 Drake 12th Yes Football player

18 Raymond 11th No Airforce

19 Terrence 12th

Yes College

(undetermined)

20 Burt 11th No Mechanic

University of California, Irvine 3200 Education, Irvine, CA 92697-5500 Phone: 949-824-5117