Breaking Barriers: Unleashing the Potential of Black Males in School

March 8th, 2010 By: Ivory Toldson, Ph.D. in Articles, Learning Community

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“With education, I know I can go beyond my wildest dreams. With help from my teachers, family, and friends, the sky is the limit!” said 8th grader Zaniriusz. Zaniriusz lives in a community with a dropout rate above 50% for Black males, but aspires to graduate from college and return to his neighborhood to “build a new playground,” make sure “every family has air conditioners and heaters,” and “get rid of criminals and gangs.” He shared his experiences in “A Mile in My Shoes Writing Project: African-American Males Telling Their Own Stories.”

The educational aspirations of young African-American males are influenced by the choices that are available to them. With more than one third of African-American children living below the federal poverty line, over 60% living in single parent homes, and a high school graduation rate of only 50% in some states, African-American children, particularly males, face numerous barriers to academic success. However, every Black community, regardless of economic resources, contains shining examples of young Black men who achieve in school, regardless of immeasurable social disadvantages.

Importantly, education policy needs to examine the full scope of the experience of African-American males to improve their school performance. In Breaking Barriers: How Teachers can Help Black Males Achieve in School, I provide strong empirical support for the impact that personal and emotional, family, social and environmental, and school factors play in the ability of young males to perform and successfully participate in an academic setting.

Achievement gaps, racial disparities in learning and school funding, and the growth of punitive measures to address student academic and social behavior are only some of the issues that educators and administrators face in the battle to improve student performance. Not surprisingly, research evidence indicates that the better students felt about their lives, the more positive was their engagement and academic outcome in school. Students who had a less positive outlook had lower academic achievement.

The research also revealed strong evidence that modeling is an important component to academic development among Black adolescent males. Father’s education, but not mother’s education, had a significant impact on Black males’ academic achievement. Generally, parents who helped their children with homework, who were comfortable talking to teachers, who urged their children to do well in school and who maintained high expectations generally had higher-performing children.

“Liking” school and not being “bored” by school appears to be language that is particularly salient to school adaptive patterns for Black males. Two national surveys demonstrated that the more Black males report that they like school, and the less they report being bored by school, the better their educational outcomes. Black males also need to believe that what they are learning is important for their future and that the school work is meaningful. Research findings also revealed that academic failure among young Black males may also be attributed to feeling pressured by school work and feeling that school rules are too strict. Notably, low-achieving Black male students’ sense that they “belong” at school was similar to high-achieving Black male students. “Belonging” might be an initial investment in the learning process for low-achieving Black students that could ultimately foster an interest in school.

Across three national surveys, through the findings, a profile of a teacher that was particularly effective in fostering academic growth among Black males clearly emerged. High-achieving Black male students reported that their teachers were interested in them “as a person,” treated them fairly, encouraged them to express their views and gave extra help when needed. Teachers who were effective also routinely let their students know when they did a good job. Overall, Black male students who were successful perceived their teachers to be respectful people who treated them like they matter and nurturing people who builds up their strengths, instead of making them “feel bad” about their weaknesses.

The findings clearly demonstrated that Black male students perform best in environments that they perceive as safe. Low-achieving Black male students were more likely to carry a weapon to school for self-defense than middle- or high-achieving Black male students. High-achieving Black male students reported more often that they feel safe at school. The findings also revealed that Black students were significantly more likely than white or Hispanic students to feel unsafe at school. Current school safety measures explored in this study did not have a relationship to academic achievement among African-American students. These issues indicate a need for greater mental health services in schools and African-American communities.

For most, the research revealed in this study will remind them of, or provide statistical support for, commonly held truisms in contemporary education. Education is most effective when it promotes positive school-related growth experiences, with particular emphasis on teacher-child relationships, didactic learning and emotional support. Positive parent-child communication, including parents expressing praise, helping with homework, talking about the dangers of drugs and alcohol and cooperative parenting arrangements, promotes academic success among Black males. Providing community resources and academic assistance to children in low-income areas, which build character through civic engagement, volunteerisms and sports, can improve academic functioning. Most importantly, we must advocate for policy that reduces racial disparities in income and increases equity and inclusion in education.

Tags: achievement, achievement gap, graduation rate, poverty, research, single parent homes

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