Black Students Research Articles

Black Researchers Studying Racial Battle Fatigue Among Black Students

In this paper, we explore what it means to be Black researchers exploring racial battle fatigue while simultaneously navigating our own racial battle fatigue. We undertook a photo-elicitation project to investigate racial battle fatigue among Black undergraduate and graduate students. Amid doing this work, we wrestled with how to responsibly complete this research while treating participants with care who had full lives, histories, and stories. Using scholarly personal narrative methodology, we make sense of our research process as a research team of five Black people (two faculty members and three graduate students). We share journal entries to underscore the questions with which we were grappling in the research process, ultimately, to help readers understand our answer to the question: What does it mean to center racial battle fatigue in educational research when Black researchers are navigating their own racial battle fatigue? We close the article with lessons learned from our process to leave readers with ideas to consider as they embark on their own journeys of researching a topic with which they are also experiencing.

An Exploration of Collaborative Learning Experiences for Black STEM Students

An Exploration of Collaborative Learning Experiences for Black STEM Students

Systematic investigation of inadequate food access at a large southeastern land grant university.

Over the past decade, the impact of low food security on student well-being and academic performance has become a growing concern at institutions of higher education across the U.S. This mixed methods study adds to the growing body of evidence on the association between student socio-demographic and economic characteristics and food security. An online survey covering food access, student well-being, and housing security was sent to 35,337 undergraduate and graduate students at a large southeastern land grant university. A total of 2,116 complete responses were received; a 6% response rate. The survey responses also included 176 written statements by students. The survey found that 16% of both undergraduate and graduate students had low or very low food security, as defined by a modified USDA food security measure. The socio-demographic and economic characteristics that were linked to a higher likelihood of low food security included: having a GPA of less than 3.0, having a disability, being an international student, being a first-generation student, being a transfer student, going into debt to pay for food, being a Black or African American student, having poor mental health, having uncertain living arrangements, and having no medical insurance. Recommendations for enhancing student access to food, housing, and mental health services are discussed.

Affiliation of black and/or low-income students to the school of medicine: a literature review

Resumo O presente artigo tem como tema a afiliação dos estudantes negros e/ou de camada popular ao curso de medicina e objetiva apresentar revisão de literatura realizada por meio de levantamento bibliográfico nos repositórios Catálogo de Teses & Dissertações, do portal da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Capes), Biblioteca Digital Brasileira de Teses e Dissertações (BDTD), Scientific Electronic Library Online (Scielo) e Google Acadêmico. Foram utilizados os descritores “afiliação”, “estudante negro”, “estudante de camada popular”, “cotista”, “curso de medicina” e “Coulon”, conjugados com o operador lógico booleano “e”. As buscas privilegiaram a língua portuguesa, por se tratar do contexto universitário brasileiro e, após refinamento, considerando a delimitação temporal dos cinco últimos anos e a pertinência ao recorte epistemológico dado ao estudo, foram selecionadas 20 produções. Os resultados sugerem que os estudantes negros e/ou de camada popular ainda são os primeiros de suas famílias a ingressarem na universidade, que é percebida por eles como um espaço de ressignificação e mobilidade social. Questões raciais, sociais e econômicas perpassam por toda sua trajetória estudantil. É percebido um comprometimento da qualidade de vida desses estudantes para que consigam alcançar sucesso acadêmico. Assim sendo, considera-se a pertinência do acolhimento e da implicação da universidade no processo de afiliação do estudante negro e/ou de camada popular e da ausência da análise das relações de subalternidade no conceito de afiliação de Coulon.

Differential attainment gap persists for black pharmacy students and trainees, says RPS report

Differential attainment gap persists for black pharmacy students and trainees, says RPS report

Supporting Black African Students to Engage More in Physical Activity: A Qualitative Study of Lived Experiences in the Midlands, UK

Supporting Black African Students to Engage More in Physical Activity: A Qualitative Study of Lived Experiences in the Midlands, UK

Exploring the Experience of Academic Stress, Eating Behavior, and Food Choice among Black University Students

Introduction: Academic stress is a common problem faced by university students in the UK, and it tends to affect dietary practices. The study explored the experience of academic stress, eating behaviour and food choice among black university students. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted. A convenience sampling technique was utilised. Validated outcome measures were used for data collection. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation, and Wilcoxon signed rank test. Association between variables were considered significant at p< 0.050. IBM SPSS version 25 was used for data analysis. Result: The response rate was meagre (n=42). The mean perceived stress scale score was 20.49±6.71, depicting moderate academic stress. The mean food group diversity score (FGDS) was 9.32±1.16 in Nigeria and lesser (6.38±2.090) in the UK. Rate of Food group adequacy (FGA) was 36(97.3%) in Nigeria as compared to the UK 19(51.4%). Consumption of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) – protective food groups (NCD protective) was higher (7.78±1.65) in Nigeria compared to the UK (4.35±2.41). However, consumption of food that predisposes to NCDs (NCD risk) was higher (7.73±1.84) in Nigeria, compared to the UK (5.16±3.59). Participants’ compliance with global dietary recommendations (GDR) was higher (9.054±2.449) in Nigeria compared to the UK (8.189±3.487). The differences between dietary indicators (FGDS, FGA, GDR, and NCD protective, NCD risk) scores in Nigeria and the UK were statistically significant as (p<0.01) in each case. Lastly, the academic stress level had a moderate negative significant correlation with their eating behaviour and food choices as measured by their GDR score (r=-.371, p=0.024). Conclusion: Stress level was moderate, which negatively affected their dietary quality suggesting the need to implement supportive measures and educational programmes that can contribute to better stress management and improved nutritional practices. Further studies should ensure usage of a large and more diverse sample to aid usability and generalizability of findings.

BLACK MALES IN STEM: EXPLORING FUTURE ENGINEERING GRADUATE SCHOOL ASPIRATIONS OF UNDERGRADUATE BLACK MEN

Black males are underrepresented in undergraduate and graduate engineering programs. While a significant amount of research studies have highlighted Black men's challenges in engineering graduate programs, fewer studies have sought to uncover and understand the factors that influence Black males to pursue engineering graduate degrees. As part of a more extensive study, in this investigation we used thematic analysis to understand the factors that might influence 20 Black male engineering undergraduate students to pursue engineering graduate degrees. Although we took an inductive approach to data analysis, we used community cultural wealth to hone our sensitivity to the assets Black males engage in as they pursue advanced degrees in engineering. We developed four themes, which describe what might drive participants' motivations to pursue advanced degrees in engineering in the future: passion for knowledge, financial security and career advancement, early exposure to graduate school, and influence of social networks. The findings of this study may impact intervention design and efforts to recruit and retain Black males in engineering graduate programs.

Black Lives Matter in higher education: conversations about race to transform the lived experience of Black (African-Caribbean) staff in UK universities

Academia in the UK is diminished by a lack of representation of academics from Black (African-Caribbean), Asian and South-East Asian communities. Based on data for 2019–20, only 18 per cent of academic staff at universities in the UK were from global-majority communities. This article will propose positive actions to promote greater representation and leadership opportunities, with a specific focus on Black (African-Caribbean) academics and professional staff. It will underline the importance of solidarity and collective voice to effect change, informed by the lived experience of Black staff thriving and surviving within the White spaces of UK universities. By emphasising the value of the lived experience, the article will conclude that equal representation of colleagues from Black (African-Caribbean) communities is essential not only to support student experience but also to recognise the knowledge, skills and human rights of Black (African-Caribbean), Asian and South-East Asian students and staff.

Understanding and Improving Black Social Worker and Student Experiences in England

This article explores the experiences of Black newly qualified social workers and student social workers in England. Drawing on related studies that have begun to outline the challenges faced by Global Ethnic Majority social workers in the UK, the article highlights that this is both an important and under‐researched area. The article provides a much‐needed contribution to understanding the unique experiences of Black social workers through a thematic analysis of interviews with Black social workers, providing an opportunity for social work colleagues, managers, educators, and academics to understand the challenges and obstacles that these social workers face. The research reveals a dire situation in which Black social workers are hindered by racial stereotyping, discrimination, and invisibility. Black social worker voices also highlight suggestions for best practice and guidance for the social work sector about how to improve. By centering these underrepresented voices, this article provides an opportunity to acknowledge and begin to rectify the barriers and challenges that Black social workers face.

School Climate, Teacher Characteristics, and School Discipline: Evidence From New York City

School discipline is a salient problem of educational policy and practice. Teachers play an important role in the production and disruption of racial inequities in school discipline, yet there remains a need to disentangle the relationship between teacher characteristics, their perceptions of school climate, and school discipline patterns. This study uses longitudinal data representing over one thousand public middle and high schools in New York City and linear regression methods to examine the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of school climate, teacher characteristics, and the rates of and disparities in suspensions. Overall, results indicate more positive teacher perceptions of school climate, higher years of teaching experience, and a greater share of Black teachers are independently associated with lower rates of office referrals and suspensions, overall and especially for Black and Latinx students. The study concludes by discussing implications for teacher education and on-the-job support as well as school leadership.

Influence of Black HBCU STEM Doctoral Students' Intersecting Identities on Their Values and Expectations Toward Entering the Professoriate

Influence of Black HBCU STEM Doctoral Students' Intersecting Identities on Their Values and Expectations Toward Entering the Professoriate

Differential Prediction for Disadvantaged Students and Schools: The Role of High School Characteristics

Validity studies of college admissions tests have found that, on average, students who are Black or Hispanic earn lower freshman grade-point averages (FGPAs) than predicted by these test scores. This differential prediction is used as a measure of bias. These studies, however, conflate student and school characteristics. The differential prediction affecting minoritized groups may arise in part because they attended high schools in which college enrollees, regardless of race, perform worse than predicted. Using data on students who graduated from New York City public high schools in 2011 and enrolled in the City University of New York, we examined this using college admissions and high school test scores. There was no differential prediction based on race/ethnicity among students within high schools when school characteristics were accounted for. Instead, overprediction of FGPA was associated with the school proportion of enrolled Black and Hispanic students. Overprediction was larger in models with high school test scores.

Racism and sexism in the trajectory of black female medical students: an integrative review

Racism and sexism in the trajectory of black female medical students: an integrative review

A Difusão das Comissões de Heteroidentificação nas Universidades Públicas: Instituições e Mudança Organizacional

Abstract This article draws insights from the literature on institutional isomorphism and social movements theory to explain the diffusion in Brazil of procedures for validating the self-identification of candidates for admission to federal universities through racial quotas. The diffusion of these procedures has transformed how the right to affirmative action is understood and how it has led to organizational challenges. By analyzing documents and interviews, this article identifies the coercive, mimetic, and normative mechanisms at play. It shows that they derived from interactions among Black university students, staff, faculty members, and organizations of the black movement and state agencies, all engaged in protecting racial affirmative action. Implications for studying change in Brazil’s higher education and race relations are also discussed. Higher education and race relations in Brazil are also discussed.

Professional Identity Development of Black Doctoral Students in Counselor Education: A Reflexive Model

Professional Identity Development of Black Doctoral Students in Counselor Education: A Reflexive Model

A Narrative of the Community Cultural Wealth of a Black Male Engineering Undergraduate Student

A Narrative of the Community Cultural Wealth of a Black Male Engineering Undergraduate Student

Exploring BAME Student Experiences in Healthcare Courses in the United Kingdom: A Systematic Review.

Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students in healthcare-related courses are exposed to various challenging experiences compared to their White counterparts, not only in the UK (United Kingdom) but across the globe. Underachieving, stereotyping, racial bias, and cultural differences, among other experiences, hinder their medical education, practice, and attainment. This review aimed to explore and understand the experiences of BAME students enrolled in healthcare related courses in the United Kingdom. Computerised bibliographic search was carried out using MeSH and free text descriptors via PubMed, Cochrane, Google Scholar, and Science Direct for eligible English-published studies exploring BAME experiences in the UK from 2010-2023. A cumulative total of 813 studies were obtained from the literature search, of which five met the inclusion criteria. Quality assessment for risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle Ottawa scale, yielding one study of satisfactory quality, while four were deemed to be of good quality. BAME students pursuing health-related courses across the UK. face a range of experiences, including racial discrimination, unconscious bias, and a lack of representation and support. Additionally, BAME students are more likely to report incidents of racial harassment and withdraw from their respective courses as well as experiencing mental health issues due to their experiences.

Beyond Learning Loss: Prioritizing the Needs of Black Students as Public Education Emerges from a Pandemic

Beyond Learning Loss: Prioritizing the Needs of Black Students as Public Education Emerges from a Pandemic

Revealing the Known: The Invisibilized Bias of Commercial Literacy Curricula

ABSTRACT A critical content analysis is employed to scrutinize the second-grade materials within EL education’s English language arts curriculum. Applying critical race theory, this study confronts the pervasive anti-Black narrative embedded in standardized curriculum used in the United States. The study unveils the presence of this narrative in the materials while advocating strategies for teachers obligated to use these resources. The aim is to empower educators to foster critical engagement among students, encouraging them to craft their counternarrative while actively advocating for an antiracist curriculum. The elementary literacy curricula widely employed across the United States tend to propagate a White-centric agenda. Despite attempts to veil biases and racism, these curricula subtly reinforce White privilege through practices such as colorblindness, context-neutral settings, and the perpetuation of the myth of meritocracy. To counter this, a community-centered approach to education is proposed. This approach challenges the entrenched power structures of White supremacy by supplementing mandated scripted curriculum with additional resources and diverse perspectives that authentically incorporate the lived experiences of Black students, families, and experts. This study underscores the urgent need to address the inherent biases in educational materials, advocating for a pedagogical shift toward inclusivity and actively challenging the perpetuation of systemic racism in curriculum frameworks.