Disparity Among African-American Students

Words: 1271
Pages: 6
Open Document
For years the academic achievement, or more appropriately, underachievement, of African-American students has been a topic that has been greatly researched, discussed and debated by educators and researchers. Much of the significant research is devoted to discovering why students do not achieve at the same level as White students (Samuel, 2014). The achievement gap refers to the disparity in academic performance between groups of students (Porter, 2007).
The goal of this study is to understand the beliefs and experiences of White female novice teachers, and how those have shaped the teachers’ perceptions and instructional practices when working with African American students. This study will delve into the background of each of these participants, …show more content…
Indeed, African American students begin school in Kindergarten academically behind their White counterparts, and this gap persists throughout most students’ time in school (Reardon, 2015). There is widespread awareness that there is a significant gap between the educational achievement of the White and the African American population in our nation and that the gap is as old as the nation itself (Barton & Coley, 2010).
Paige and Witty (2010) define the achievement gap as, a complex phenomenon that has powerful tentacles, buried deeply not only in school quality but also in African American home and family life in African American community sociocultural life. The “achievement gap” refers to the disparity in academic performance between groups of students (Porter, 2007). The achievement gap shows up in African American students’ grades, standardized-test scores, and dropout rates. (Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2011). Despite some success in raising overall achievement levels, national test data show little change in the achievement gap between African Americans and Whites between 1992 and 2005 (National Center for Education Statistics 2012; Jones, 2011). Identification of the cause or causes of the achievement gap might reveal why the gap has been so difficult to eliminate (Jones, …show more content…
Teachers are the ones that can provide a firsthand account of what is happening in the classrooms because 90% percent of the teacher workforce is made up of White females (Feistritzer, 2011). These White novice teachers come into classrooms with little or no concept of what it means to be culturally competent, much less culturally responsiveness. The result of this “lack of awareness” only exacerbates issues such as the achievement gap, discipline issues with certain minority students, as well as, teacher frustration, which contributes to the high attrition rate (Gregory, Skiba, & Noguera, 2010). The bottom line is that teachers are human beings and as such bring to school their own set of cultural and personal characteristics that influence their work. This includes their beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, ethnicity, gender, and social (Irvine,
Show More

Related Documents: Disparity Among African-American Students

Essay On Disparities Among African American Women

Statement of Problem African American women are “often vilified and/or criticized for doing work” too early on time, too well or not good enough. They are labeled as either an overachiever or a slacker, as too ambitious or lazy. Robin M. Boylorn who is a Assistant Professor at University of Alabama and specializes in storied experiences of black girls and women argue African American female women “struggle to find the balance between these things” or “know that some people assume you got your…

Words 595 - Pages 3

Public School To Prison Pipeline Theory Research Paper

disproportionately affect African American students, leading to increased incarceration rates. The relationship between the penalization of African American youth through suspension and expulsion and their subsequent involvement in the criminal justice system. Suspensions of African American high school students have risen at an alarming rate compared to their white peers since the 1970s. TheEdAdvocate.org reports that these suspensions have increased eleven times more quickly for black students. This stark disparity…

Words 522 - Pages 3

Racial Disparity In The Criminal Justice System

overcome have more to with my race and less to do with my abilities. Some of these obstacles come in the forms of education, access to health care and the criminal justice system. The term racial disparity refers to a difference that may or may not be related to discrimination. One type of racial disparity occurs when there is a significant difference between the percentage of a racial group represented in the general population and the percentage of the same group represented at any point in the justice…

Words 963 - Pages 4

Systemic Racism In Department Of Health Care

minor addition to U.S. society's structure but rather is systemic across all major institutions. Oppression of non-European groups is part of the deep social structure. Penner: This systemic issue has led to the marginalization and setbacks of African Americans in contemporary society in multiple ways. Fagin (2006) addresses this, stating that systemic racism "encompasses a broad range of white-racist dimensions: the racist ideology, attitudes, emotions, habits, actions, and institutions of whites in…

Words 1346 - Pages 6

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study

County, Alabama, were deliberately denied effective treatment for syphilis in order to document the natural history of the disease. The continuing shadow cast by the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and efforts to improve the overall health status of Black Americans spurred the push for an apology by the federal government." The legacy of the study at Tuskegee," the president spoke, "has reached far and deep, in ways that hurt our progress and divide our nation. We cannot be one America when a whole segment…

Words 1587 - Pages 7

African American Income Inequality

been oppressed throughout American history. African Americans, in particular, have been largely affected by discrimination in education and the work force. They had been provided unequal opportunities in college application and employment before affirmative action was enacted by federal laws. Affirmative action(………………..) In 1961, President Kennedy issued the Executive Order 10925, which began the elimination of racial bias and ensuring equal opportunity for all Americans for employment. President…

Words 1020 - Pages 5

African American Aspirations And Expectations In Education

There are two words that mean a lot when it comes to education within the African American race; Aspirations and expectations. Even though education beyond high school has increased, among African Americans, it still has not reached the levels of Caucasians at that level. It was up to me to succeed or not succeed in life. African American women, who make up 13 percent of the female population in the United States, are making significant strides in education, participation, health, and other areas…

Words 880 - Pages 4

Essay About The 1960's Sixties

of the country, making economic disparity in the United States more obvious. A national culture was emerging that linked all Americans more closely than ever before; television became common and allowed people to witness events…

Words 619 - Pages 3

Educational Challenges And The African American Community

Educational Challenges and the African American Community Sharena Zayed English 1020 January 30, 2015 The African American community faces unique educational challenges due to a number of mental, cultural and environmental circumstances. After attending a meeting at my child school concerning the implementation of new course curriculum, I saw a handout that analyzed educational achievement according to race. In every category, African Americans were achieving noticeably less…

Words 1370 - Pages 6

Ecological Systems Perspective

surrounding environment has an effect on a their cognitive development. An African American school aged boy whose literacy performance is lower than their white counterpart is attributed by the effects of socioeconomic status. According to Dotterer, (2012); McKinsey & Company, (2009), acknowledged that "low income and ethnic minority children perform at levels below those of children from higher income families and European American children" (p.657). More specifically, the subsequent sections explore…

Words 1594 - Pages 7