Female African American Students Research Articles

Investigating Physics Self-Belief of Female African-American Students

Female African Americans comprise an underrepresented group in physics-focused careers. Between 2002 and 2012 African-American women comprised approximately 1% of graduating physics majors in the United States. It appears that at some point in their educational careers, many female African-American students stop considering the field of physics as being a viable or attractive option. One approach to garnering a greater understanding of this phenomenon is to specifically look into the impact of their self-belief; this encompasses students’ attitudes, self-concept, and self-efficacy. Self-concept refers to how one views one’s own strengths and weaknesses, while self-efficacy refers to one’s capacity to believe in one’s own abilities to succeed in specific situations. There does not yet exist a large body of research that specifically concentrates on middle and high school-aged female African Americans, low physics representation, and its connection to self-belief related to physics. In this instance, the question is: “Do these students believe they can succeed in physics?” This research investigates the levels of physics self-belief of female African Americans who are enrolled in middle and high school physics.

Negating Stereotype Threat: Autonomy Support and Academic Identification Boost Performance of African American College Students

Using a 2 × 2 factorial design, we examined the effects of stereotype threat and autonomy support on the test performance of 190 African American college students. Participants completed a set of 7 easy and 7 difficult problems from Raven’s Progressive Matrices and a survey including measures of Academic Self-Concept, Learning Climate, and Perceptions of Stereotype Threat. ANOVA results revealed that among African American men, those who had a stronger academic identification performed worse than those with a weaker identification; however, the reverse was true among African American women, as those who had stronger academic identification performed better than those with a weaker identification. Finally, both stereotype threat and autonomy support improved test performance for all participants (on easy items), except when women received both conditions. Our results indicate that the deleterious effect of stereotype threat is not consistent, and that performance may be boosted by providing greater autonomy support and strengthening academic identification (especially for female African American students).

Do you see me? The complex experiences of women of color MSW students

Universities have increased the number of female students of color. However, inconsistency remains in terms of the number of women of color in positions of power and privilege. This discussion attempts to forward the dialogue about the challenges as well as the resilience of female students of color based on the experiences of four female African-American students in a graduate social work program at a predominantly white institution (PWI). Participants shared their daily experience of isolation and exclusion in their graduate programs compared to their experience in Historically Black College or Universities (HBCUs). Participants also discussed the divide that exists in institutions, as well as the sustaining forces and implications for education and research.

Reductions in HIV Stigma as Measured by Social Distance: Impact of a Stigma Reduction Campaign in a Historically Black University

We evaluated the effectiveness of a small media campaign intervention on a historically African American college campus aimed to lower social distance (willingness to interact) for people with HIV. A modified version of the Bogardus Social scale was used to measure social distance. The survey included questions regarding HIV transmission knowledge and sympathy felt towards those with HIV. Time between pre-test (n= 207) and post-test (n=210) was 1 month. There was significant change in social distance from pre- to post-test only among women (p<.001). In a regression analysis transmission knowledge (p=.027), sympathy towards those with HIV (p=.000) and gender (p=.000) were significantly related to social distance. There was a significance difference between men and women for transmission knowledge (p=.001) and sympathy (p=.001). Small media campaigns can be effective at lowering social distance among female African American students but may need to be modified to be effective among males.

The Benefits and Satisfaction of Participating in Campus Recreational Sports Facilities and Programs among Male and Female African American Students: A Pilot Study

The purpose of this study was to assess the benefits and satisfaction of participating in campus recreational sports facilities and programs among male and female African American students. A convenience sample of students from classes in the Department of Health and Human Performance at a small southeastern private historically black college and university was used in the study. The instrument consisted of a modified version of the National Intramural-Recreational Sport Association's Quality and Importance of Recreational Services Survey. Independent samples t test and analysis of variance were used to test for differences between gender and the benefit of participation questions (α = .05). It was determined that 80% benefitted with communication skills, 79% benefitted with a sense of belonging/association, and 76% benefitted with leadership skills. In terms of gender, 79% of the males benefitted from self-confidence, 90% benefitted with a feeling of physical well being, 78% benefitted with a sense of accomplishment, and 81% benefitted with respect for others. Eighty-five percent were satisfied with their overall academic experience and 73% with satisfied with their overall experiences with other student services programs and activities. Males scored higher than females when it came to reporting the following benefits from participating in recreational activities: feeling of physical well-being, sports skills, fitness, physical strength, stress reduction, and balance/coordination. Although limitations to the study exist, the results provide further evidence that students report that participating in campus recreational sports has an impact on their benefits and their satisfaction with their academic experience and their experiences with students' services programs and other activities. This is a finding that can only serve to increase the practitioner's understanding of those who use such facilities and programs. More studies are needed to further examine the benefits of campus recreational facilities and programs on African American students.

Impact of Campus Recreational Sports Facilities and Programs on Recruitment and Retention among African American Students: A Pilot Study

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of campus recreational sports facilities and programs on student recruitment and retention among male and female African American students. A convenience sample of students from classes in the Department of Health and Human Performance at a small, southeastern, private, historically black college and university was used in the study. The instrument consisted of a modified version of the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association's Quality and Importance of Recreational Services Survey. An independent samples t test was used to test for differences between gender and the recruitment and retention questions, alpha = .05. It was determined that 60% of the male students reported that the availability of recreational sports was important/very important in deciding to attend the college and 68% of the men reported that the availability of recreational sports was important/very important in deciding to continue attending the college. Men scored higher than women when it came to importance of the availability of recreational facilities and programs in deciding to attend the school, the importance of the availability of recreational facilities and programs in deciding to continue at the school, how important sports and fitness activities will be to them after graduation, and the total times per week they participate in active recreational sports pursuits. Although there are limitations to the study, the results provide further evidence that students report that the availability of recreational sports facilities and programs has an impact on both their decisions to attend and remain at an institution. This is a finding that can only serve to increase the practitioner's understanding of those who use such facilities and programs. More studies are needed to further examine the impact of campus recreational facilities and programs on African American students.

Assessment of psychosis proneness in African-American college students.

The present study employed the psychometric high-risk method to investigate psychosis proneness in African-American and Caucasian college students recruited from three sites. The goals of the study were to develop norms for African-American students on the Perceptual Aberration (Chapman, Chapman, & Raulin, 1978), Magical Ideation (Eckblad & Chapman, 1983), Revised Social Anhedonia (Eckblad, Chapman, Chapman, & Mishlove, 1982), and Physical Anhedonia Scales (Chapman, Chapman, & Raulin, 1976), as well as to assess the validity of this research method with African-American students. Structured diagnostic interviews were conducted to assess the concurrent validity of these scales for identifying psychosis proneness. The results supported the use of separate norms for male and female African-American students and provided support for the concurrent validity of this research method with African-American and Caucasian college students.

Values-Spoken and Values-Lived: Female African Americans' Educational Experiences in Rural North Carolina

Educational research on low academic performance and high dropout rates among minority and poor students is almost exclusively confined to urban settings (DeYoung, Huffman, & Turner, 1989). Moreover, as Wolfe (1991) states, only passing attention is usually given to the educational. . . status and needs of women of color (p. 7). Academic scholarship thus cannot account for the complex and often contradictory educational experiences of female African American students in rural areas. To better understand the reasons underlying these women's academic decision making, the present research focuses on both the range of their personal school experiences and the various interpretations of the value of education within the specific social and historical context of their communities. Preliminary findings indicate the presence of numerous contradictions between educational beliefs (values-spoken) and actual academic behavior (values-lived). While many of these findings can be generalized to include both genders, and while I have occasionally included the voices of males or portrayed notions of the entire community in this investigation, my main focus is on the female experience with education in the town of Centerville. To this end, I conducted a series of indepth, open-ended interviews with several of Centerville's 14to 26-year-old African American females and their mothers.