Black Students Research Articles

Who’s Got Talent for Identifying Talent? Predictors of Equitable Gifted Identification for Black and Hispanic Students

Students who are Black or Hispanic have long been disproportionately represented in K–12 gifted and talented services. However, there are schools that have diverged from this trend by identifying atypically high numbers of Black and Hispanic students. In this conceptual replication of Peters and Johnson, we present predictors of whether a school offers gifted services (i.e., access) and representation indices for Black and Hispanic students (i.e., equity) within schools that enroll 10 or more Black or Hispanic students. Our results show that state policy mandates for gifted education are predictive of higher levels of access to and equity within gifted services for these schools. The average achievement and socioeconomic status of the district were positive predictors of access and equity while the district proportion eligible for special education services was a negative predictor of both. Finally, we end with a description of how the top 5% most-equitable schools in the country look different from their peers.

“I just chill and keep quiet ya’ know”: understanding Black college students’ silence during in-class racial conversations at an AANAPISI/HSI

ABSTRACT Communication scholars have considered silence in (higher) education as indicative of a range of cultural attitudes and an exercise of power. Some communication scholars consider student silence in classrooms as problematic, wherein a lack of participation in the learning process via student voice constitutes an act of resisting educators and education. Others conceptualize it as a way to challenge oppression or as a part of students' cultural identity. This study examines 21 Black college students' impetus for communicating silence during in-class discussions at a large Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-serving institution (AANAPISI) and a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) 4-year university on the U.S. West Coast. Given the anti-Black phenomena in recent years (e.g., police violence, anti-Black education laws, Black Lives Matter protests), this study investigates the reasoning behind Black students' reasons for communicating silence within in-class discussions of race/racial phenomena. This study found Black students communicate in-class silence for three overarching reasons: (1) silence due to feeling underrepresented, (2) silence to avoid (negative) peer attention, and (3) silence due to fear of instructor retaliation. Findings inform how instructors can better approach racial discussions by mitigating Black student racial labor, foster civility, and move toward improving cross-racial learning during in-class interactions.

“We’re changing the system with this one”: Black students using critical race algorithmic literacies to subvert and survive AI-mediated racism in school

PurposeThis paper aims to center the experiences of three cohorts (n = 40) of Black high school students who participated in a critical race technology course that exposed anti-blackness as the organizing logic and default setting of digital and artificially intelligent technology. This paper centers the voices, experiences and technological innovations of the students, and in doing so, introduces a new type of digital literacy: critical race algorithmic literacy.Design/methodology/approachData for this study include student interviews (called “talk backs”), journal reflections and final technology presentations.FindingsBroadly, the data suggests that critical race algorithmic literacies prepare Black students to critically read the algorithmic word (e.g. data, code, machine learning models, etc.) so that they can not only resist and survive, but also rebuild and reimagine the algorithmic world.Originality/valueWhile critical race media literacy draws upon critical race theory in education – a theorization of race, and a critique of white supremacy and multiculturalism in schools – critical race algorithmic literacy is rooted in critical race technology theory, which is a theorization of blackness as a technology and a critique of algorithmic anti-blackness as the organizing logic of schools and AI systems.

An Empirical Analysis of Racial Segregation in Higher Education

Abstract This paper documents how segregation between Black students and White students across U.S. colleges has evolved since the 1960s, explores potential channels through which changes occur, and studies segregation across majors within colleges. The main findings are: (1) Black–White dissimilarity fell sharply in the late 1960s and early 1970s and has fallen more gradually since then. White students' exposure to Black students rose almost continuously from 1968 through 2011 before declining somewhat in recent years. Meanwhile, Black students' exposure to White students increased sharply in the late 1960s and early 1970s and has fluctuated since. (2) There has been regional convergence, although colleges in the South remain more segregated than those in any other region when measured by dissimilarity or by Black students' exposure to White students. (3) A major channel for the decline in segregation is the declining share of Black students attending historically Black colleges and universities. Differences in which U.S. state students attend college play only a small role in creating segregation, and there is moderate evidence that segregation is related to college selectivity stratification by race. (4) Although there is segregation within universities, most segregation across major × university cells occurs across universities.

Hate Crimes and Black College Student Enrollment

Abstract Reported hate crimes in the United States have increased rapidly in recent years, alongside an increase in general racial animus. Scholars have shown that the larger sociopolitical environment can directly impact the campus climate and experiences of all students, particularly students of color. However, little is known about how reports of hate crime incidents relate to college enrollment levels of students of color. This lack of evidence has especially troubling implications for Black people, the most frequent targets of reported hate crimes. This paper helps to fill in that gap by exploring the association between the number of reports of hate crimes within states and Black students’ college enrollment. We examine a comprehensive dataset of institutional enrollment and characteristics, reported hate crimes, and census data on state racial demographics from 2000 to 2017 using several techniques, including institution fixed effects. We find that a 1 standard deviation increase in reports of state-level hate crimes predicts a 17 to 22 percent increase in Black first-time student enrollment at historically Black colleges and universities. As the number of reported hate crimes is almost assuredly an undercount of the actual number of incidents, we explore the implications of what these results mean.

Black college women’s lived memories of racialization in predominantly white educational spaces: I’m Black, I´m a migrant, I’m a woman, so what?

ABSTRACT Research on experiences of gender and racial discrimination among young, racialized college women in Europe is scarce, particularly in Spain where Black women have traditionally had a minority presence in universities. As a result of processes of social mobility, these women are now occupying higher education spaces to an unprecedented extent, where they are becoming increasingly visible. These women's experiences of gender and racial discrimination throughout the education cycle are invisible. The aim of this article is to explore the personal experiences of racialization and discrimination among Black female college students in southern Spain. Twelve in-depth interviews were conducted and analysed to shed light on the experiences of young Black female students in predominantly white educational institutions. The stories of these women show that gender and race intersect and are constructed simultaneously through interactions with their mostly white peers. These women display responses of significant resilience.

Examining changes in adolescents' high school math and science motivational beliefs and their relations to parental STEM support and STEM major choice at the intersectionality of gender and college generation status.

Drawing on the situated expectancy-value, dimensional comparison theories, and the intersectionality approach, this article examined the changes in adolescents' math and science motivational beliefs, the parental and college correlates of those beliefs, and the differences at the intersection of gender and college generation status (i.e., female and male first- and continuing-generation college students). Findings based on the nationally representative high-school longitudinal study data (N = 12,070; Mage = 14 years; 54% female students; 28% first-generation college students; and 14% Latinx, 9% Black, 10% Asian, and 57% White) suggest that although adolescents' math and science ability self-concepts declined during high school, their science interest remained stable, and their math and science utility values increased. Adolescents' motivational beliefs in ninth grade and the changes from ninth to 11th grade positively predicted whether they declared a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) college major. Parents' ninth-grade STEM support was more consistently associated with adolescents' concurrent beliefs compared to the changes in their beliefs. Finally, we found that female first-generation college students, who were more likely to be Latinx and Black students, tended to have lower math and science motivational beliefs, received less parental STEM support, and were less likely to choose a STEM major than their peers. The findings of this study indicate adolescents' math and science motivational development in high school matters for their college majors and that certain understudied groups, including female first-generation college students, may experience acute marginalization in STEM and warrant further attention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

“Failing to respond”: Black graduate students’ perceptions of a university president’s responses to racialized incidents.

“Failing to respond”: Black graduate students’ perceptions of a university president’s responses to racialized incidents.

Developing Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Teaching About African American Language in College Classrooms

Background: African American Language (AAL) refers to a rich, widely used, and extensively researched language variety. Despite its importance, AAL remains widely stigmatized in the United States due to anti-Black linguistic racism. Many colleges offer courses with AAL content, and these courses have the potential to help disrupt anti-Black linguistic racism by promoting understanding and respect for this language. Purpose: Simply increasing students’ knowledge about AAL is unlikely to disrupt anti-Black linguistic racism. College instructors must also attend to a wide range of challenges involved in teaching this content. Instructors’ knowledge of such challenges, as well as strategies for addressing them, constitutes a form of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). This study contributes to the emerging scholarship on PCK for teaching and learning about AAL. Research Design: In this qualitative study, we analyze open-ended survey data from college instructors to identify challenges faced when teaching AAL content. We also add depth and nuance to discussion of these challenges by analyzing qualitative interview data and qualitative survey responses from college students enrolled in courses with AAL content. Finally, we outline pedagogical recommendations that could potentially address these challenges. Conclusions: We identify three major categories of pedagogical challenges that commonly arise when teaching AAL content: protecting Black or AAL-using students from harm; managing other students’ knowledge, ideologies, and/or resistance; and addressing instructor positionality. We present six research-based recommendations to help instructors address these challenges, and identify key directions for future research on the teaching and learning of AAL.

Interrogating the equity promise for Black immigrant students in reformed mathematics classrooms

Interrogating the equity promise for Black immigrant students in reformed mathematics classrooms

Local Cure, Global Chant: Performing Theravadic Awakening in the Footsteps of the Ledi Sayadaw

Abstract This article takes as its starting point a repertoire of protective texts and practices articulated as ritual therapeutics in the early twentieth century by the well-known Burmese scholar-monk, the Ledi Sayadaw. Through an exploration of meditation-practice, meditation-teaching, and meditation-performance contexts in postcolonial Burma and India, I demonstrate the ways in which such texts and practices were adapted and refigured within the teaching models of two important twentieth-century Vipassanā meditation masters, Sayagyi U Ba Khin and S. N. Goenka. I argue that these protective texts and practices are constitutive aspects of the meditation modalities developed by these two teachers. I conclude with an exploration of the history of the Black American theologian and student of U Ba Khin, Leon E. Wright. In reflecting on Wright’s case, I consider the ways in which modern scholarly practices within Buddhist (modernism) studies continue to participate in the erasure of historically marginalized worlds and persons.

Exploring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Occupational Therapy Education: A Survey Study of Black Student Experiences

Exploring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Occupational Therapy Education: A Survey Study of Black Student Experiences

Ivy issues: An exploration of black students’ racialized interactions on Ivy League campuses.

Ivy issues: An exploration of black students’ racialized interactions on Ivy League campuses.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Utilization of HIV PrEP among Black College Students in the United States: A Systematic Review

Considering the diverse socio-cultural norms, sexual attitudes, and mental and emotional immaturity that generally exist among young adults, Black college students are behaviorally vulnerable to acquiring new HIV infections before requisite exposure to HIV prevention education. Black college students (aged 18 to 34) fall within the description of one of the highest priority populations at risk for new HIV infection given the overall under-utilization and racial disparities in the HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) coverage among Black people in the United States (U.S). Yet, research addressing sexuality and HIV PrEP amongst Black college students are limited. This systematic review undertakes a comprehensive exploratory search of eight databases and includes four studies that have been conducted regarding Black college students HIV PrEP knowledge, attitudes and PrEP utilization in the U.S. Our findings suggest a high rate of sexual activity and hesitancy to initiate PrEP due to fear, exacerbated by low comprehensive knowledge of PrEP, low self-perceived HIV risk, and low HIV testing before any PrEP educational intervention. Positive PrEP utilization was closely associated with high self-perceived HIV risk following PrEP education, particularly when individual and structural factors were satisfactorily addressed. Current evidence suggests that PrEP is grossly under-utilized by Black college students who may benefit from it, and attitudes are driven by multiple determinants informed by psycho-social and structural barriers to PrEP access or acceptability in the U.S. Therefore, PrEP education is a potent tool for improving sexual health behaviour and attitude among Black college students.

Leveraging Tokenism or “Pulling Up the Ladder”: Phenomenology of Black Faculty/Student Experiences at HWCUs

ABSTRACT The topic of affirmative action has been a subject of intense debate, with both proponents and opponents offering compelling arguments. Justice Clarence Thomas, an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, has consistently expressed strong reservations about affirmative-action policies, viewing them as a form of reverse discrimination that may “hinder the principles of meritocracy and equal treatment under the law.” However, it is crucial to examine the personalized experiences and consider the nuances, such as underrepresentation and microaggressions, that surround affirmative action. This study utilizes a symbolic interactionist and phenomenological approach that pulls from the individualized/collective experiences of Black students/faculty at historically White colleges and universities (HWCUs) and examines their sociocultural experiences on campus. Findings from this study highlight the continuing discriminative practices and “peer to peer” interactions that Black students/faculty must navigate at HWCUs and the strategies utilized to circumvent mistreatment and institutional adversities. Data from this study provide more context for the ongoing conversation pertaining to affirmative action, “peer to peer,” and institutional discrimination that Black students and faculty experience at HWCUs. In this article, I examine the concept of “leveraging tokenism,” a strategy that Black students and faculty utilize to circumvent underrepresentation and racial microaggressions.

Developing an Assessment Battery to Measure Exposure to Police Brutality on Social Media Among Black Adolescents

This study aims to investigate the impact of police brutality exposure on social media among Black adolescents, recognizing its profound influence on attitudes and perceptions. The research developed the PBE-SM self-report assessment battery through an iterative process, involving qualitative interviews and cognitive assessments with Black first-year college students. The battery comprises five instruments, each probing specific time frames to capture the dynamic nature of social media exposure. For each instrument, all ten items were submitted to an exploratory factor analysis, revealing distinct structures, and providing psychometric evidence of construct validity and the utility of a multifaceted approach in understanding how perceptions evolve over time. The study emphasizes the practical applications of PBE-SM for researchers, educators, and counselors. It facilitates real-time monitoring of Black adolescents' exposure, aiding counselors in recognizing periods of heightened exposure and guiding stress management. Educators can use the tool for positive social media integration in academic settings. While limited to Black college undergraduates, future research aims to establish external validity across diverse demographics. In conclusion, PBE-SM represents an innovative tool for comprehending and addressing the psychological well-being of Black adolescents amidst prevalent exposure to police brutality on social media.

Mixed reviews on diversity initiatives: toward an institutional change model for Black faculty in engineering and computing

IntroductionUniversities across the United States have implemented initiatives to enhance diversity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, focusing on improving outcomes for racially minoritized students. While many diversity initiatives target undergraduate programs, there is a gap in support for STEM graduate students. Recognizing the persistent underrepresentation of racially diverse populations in STEM, the Biden-Harris Administration launched the “Raise the Bar: STEM Excellence for All Students” initiative, aiming to bolster STEM education nationwide. Foundations like the Sloan Foundation have developed pathways programs for STEM students, extending support into graduate school and the professoriate. The success of diversity initiatives often hinges on the participation and endorsement of underrepresented STEM faculty.MethodsThis study investigates the perspectives of twenty-nine Black engineering and computing faculty regarding diversity initiatives within their respective departments. Grounded theory methodology guided the qualitative analysis, enabling a deeper understanding of the racialized diversity management framework. Drawing on institutional racism perspectives, the study aimed to develop a theoretical framework elucidating institutional engagement with and implementation of diversity initiatives in engineering education.ResultsThe participants’ perspectives on diversity initiatives reflected features of organizational change. Three types of organizational environments emerged: 1) stagnant, characterized by aspirational commitments to diversity; 2) moderate, where underrepresented populations are recruited but expected to assimilate into the dominant culture; and 3) transformational, representing organizations taking significant steps towards creating equitable environments. The narratives of the study participants shed light on the varying effectiveness of efforts to increase the representation of successful Black students and faculty in engineering academia.DiscussionThe findings underscore the importance of understanding organizational contexts and dynamics in shaping the outcomes of diversity initiatives. By delineating the racialized diversity management framework, this study provides insights into the complexities of institutional engagement with diversity in engineering education. Addressing the challenges identified, particularly in environments characterized as stagnant or moderate, is crucial for advancing equity and inclusion in STEM fields. Effective diversity initiatives must go beyond recruitment efforts to create transformative, equitable environments conducive to the success of racially minoritized students and faculty in engineering academia.

The stickiness of pandemic-driven disenrollment from public schools

The extent to which pandemic-induced public school enrollment declines will persist is unclear. Student-level data from Michigan through fall 2021 yields three relevant findings. First, relative to pre-pandemic trends, fall 2021 enrollment had partially recovered for low-income, Black, and Hispanic students, but had declined further for non-low-income, White, and Asian students. Second, annual public school exit rates remained elevated for elementary students and accelerated further for middle school students. Third, public school exit is sticky and varies by chosen alternative. Only 21 percent of those who left for private schools in fall 2020 had returned by fall 2021, while 50 percent of those who left for homeschooling had returned. These findings suggest that pandemic-driven public school enrollment declines may persist, and more so among higher income families.

Year in Industry: who gets access and what difference does it make? Access and awarding gaps in UK university undergraduate placement programmes

This article explores the extent to which students of different ethnicities, (dis)abilities, sexes, POLAR groups, and academic abilities undertake Year in Industry (YINI) placements and realise post-placement academic improvements, in comparison with non-YINI students. The benefits of work placements on student employability and graduate prospects are well-documented but less is known about which student groups gain access to placements. The study analyses secondary data relating to the sex, ethnicity, disability, POLAR group, grades, and degree classifications of 31,159 undergraduates graduating from a UK Russell Group university between 2016 and 2023, representing the largest study of its kind to date. The study found that students completing YINI programmes are significantly more likely to achieve first class (70.1% YINI, 28.5% non-YINI) and good degrees (97.7% YINI, 83.6% non-YINI). Importantly, the study found that YINI completion narrows awarding gaps found in the non-YINI population in relation to sex, disability, ethnicity, and POLAR group. The potential gains are greatest for male students, students with disabilities, Asian, Black and mixed ethnicity students, and students from low POLAR groups. However, access to placements is not proportionately distributed. Female students, students with disabilities, students from all ethnic minority groups and those of unknown ethnicity, and students from low POLAR groups are under-represented within the YINI population, suggesting placement access gaps in relation to sex, disability, ethnicity, and POLAR group. The paper concludes with strategies to encourage YINI participation amongst diverse student groups and calls for further research into lived experiences of YINI and non-YINI students.

Six Years Later: Examining the Academic and Employment Outcomes of the Original and Reinstated Summer Pell Grant

Abstract The Pell Grant, while offering substantial financial support for low-income students pursuing higher education, historically covered only the costs of two full-time semesters per year and did not include assistance for summer courses. Research has consistently demonstrated that continuous enrollment throughout the academic year enhances college persistence and degree completion. In response to this understanding, the Summer Pell (SP) program was introduced in the summer of 2009, providing eligible low-income students with an additional grant to cover summer tuition and related expenses. However, after a brief period of operation, the SP program was discontinued in 2011, only to be reinstated in 2017. We utilize administrative data obtained from New York City in the context of differences-in-differences analyses spanning both program periods, and find that SP-eligible students exhibited a higher retention rate in the fall of their second year, achieved higher rates of associate's and bachelor's degree attainment, and experienced greater earnings gains up to nine years after college entry compared with SP-ineligible students. Our analysis of heterogeneity further underscores that the benefits of the SP program were pronounced among Black students and older students.