Purposes of study/research questions/key research issues
The African American people make are part of the American population. The African American population adds up to 12% of the entire community across the nation (Hardiman, 2013). However, despite a relatively small percentage, the African American males leading in making them not so good statistics. These cases include homicide, incarceration, school drop-out rates, poverty, sexually transmitted diseases, unemployment, and drug addiction. Whereas there a lot of factors that contribute to this scenario, it is to relate it to the education situation among African American males. The fact is that there are high literacy levels among African American males. Though many black boys enroll in American high schools, more than half of them fail to earn a diploma.
The situation is very worrying, considering that black men are among the minority groups, the fastest-growing segment in America. According to Williams and Flores-Ragade (2010), this group could be instrumental in the country’s social-economic development, but only if its potential is fully tapped. Unfortunately, the male gender continues to lag behind even behind their female peers in college admission.This has attracted a lot of attention, especially from educators and other stakeholders who relate this case with high numbers of those incarcerated,to conveniently conclude that black boys are simply unteachable and ungovernable. Yet, some black men have succeeded in different fields, from academia to entertainment. Could this then mean that there are other issues at the center of a crisis that face the black males’ education, and is there a way that these issues could be resolved? Therefore, this study seeks to answer the following questions: Which factors contribute to the dismal performance of African American males at school? What is the relationship between the school system and other issues associated with black men like drop-out rates, crime, incarceration, drugs, etc.?
Theoretical Framework: Critical Race Theory
As mentioned above, the African American male leads in the number of people incarcerated, school drop-out rates, sexually transmitted diseases, drug addiction, fatherless homes, among other negative scenarios. The situation has led to many false theories, including the assumption that black boys are generally of lesser cognitive ability. This generalization of an entire race raises the need for the subject to be analyzed through the lens of Critical Race Theory. This research will seek to examine the education situation among African American males using the CRT. To discuss this theory’s framework, it is imperative to define such terms as racism and internalized racism.
Racism is characterized by a belief by one race that it is superior to others. According to Huber, Johnson, and Kohli (2006), it is a belief that has been utilized by the whites to distinguish themselves from others. It is a belief that fuels the need to exclude others from participation. As such, the whites’ notion of superiority gives them the leeway to exercise racist practices with abandon. The narratives, as mentioned earlier, are cases of institutionalized racism in the education system.
Internalized racism is the subconscious acceptance that there exists a racial hierarchy in which people of white descent are consistently ranked above other people of color. Internalized racism is not only about the prejudice held and instilled by the white supremacists, but it is instead an assumption of values and beliefs as well as world-views that are characteristic with white supremacy that has the potential of resulting in self negative perception (Huber, Johnson, & Kohli, 2006). Internalized racism refers to the conditioning of people of color to believe that they are of less value to their white counterparts. Internalized racism does not happen on its own but instead exists as a result of inherent racism in society (Kohli, Pizaro, & Nevarez, 2008).
Though internalized racism has been studied in psychological spheres. This is because internalized racism is believed to be the infusion of racism into one’s mind. Although in earlier works it was associated with being generated by the whites coming up with negative stereotypes that were derogatory towards the Black Americans, literature developed later suggests that racism affects a broader group than the African American minority. Additionally, the fact that African Americans and other minority groups are not homogenous means that whereas both have experienced racism from whites, their experiences are not necessarily similar. Most works suggest that racism has been associated with self-hate among Black Americans. However, works sought to dispute this after establishing black Americans who exhibited sufficient levels of self-esteem. However, this could result from the deliberate effort of the Americans of black descent to overcome the brunt of racism that they have to encounter daily. Racism is so entrenched in American institutions that parents and guardians have to help their children recognize this and learn to deal with it. The American education structure has been blamed for entrenching racism for decades.
Literature Review
The dismal performance in academic performance in the part of the students of color, especially black boys, has been well documented. Many have found it convenient to relate this to low intellectual capacity. Yet others claim that they don’t have the required discipline to succeed academically. However, according to Lynch (2017), it is the education system that does not meet these young people’s needs. According to Lynch, the education system is strictly devised to meet the needs of the middle-class white speaking children. In contrast, the needs of the minority groups, especially black boys, have not been understood. The style of learning by this group, as well as their unique social skills, have often been mistaken for class problems that the system is so eager to root out. Rather than devising disciplinary measures that would help guide these young men through a challenging stage in their lives, the system is so keen to force them into conforming to what they are not. When this fails, it is easy for everyone concerned to give up and claim they are unteachable.
There is a possibility that the failure of black boys at school reflects others’ failure in society. More often not, the black boys’ social background is very different from that of their white counterparts. They come from a hugely marginalized social group with high crime rates, poverty, and drugs. For this reason, this plays a massive part in their behavior. As such, when those who want to relate genes to their failure to succeed, this sounds too convenient and easy on the part of these proponents (Lynch, 2017). It is irresponsible for educators to assume that crime and generational poverty have no bearing in the class performance of children.
School is easily related to a pipeline to prison when black boys are concerned. According to Lynch (2017), statistically, the drop out rates are relatable to incarceration rates. Up to half of the black boys that get admitted to urban schools fail to get a diploma. Crotty (2011) also supports this and further notes that 60% of these end up being jailed. There is a big chance of more than a third of all black males being incarcerated at one point or more in their lifetime. Whereas it is easy to relate drop out rates with crime rates, the mentality of the black boy also plays an important role here (Lynch,2017). The same black boy who believes that they cannot attain what is considered an elementary right among the Americans, a high school diploma, is likely to fail in making any significant contribution to society. The failure to excel in school and dropping out is a kind of approval for the black boy that he belongs in prison.
Schools fail to discipline black boys appropriately. When children attend school for the first time, especially in public schools, the setting is supposed to be an equalizer. Unfortunately, it is not because there is a high possibility that black boys come from backgrounds riddled with crime, drugs, poverty, and other related issues bearing on the child’s behavior. However, the school system has a rigid system of handling discipline cases. Any form of disruption by a child will lead to them being sent out. This looks like a great way of solving issues as the school looks at the greater good of other students, yet according to Lynch (2017), this is just an easy way out. The best way would be to follow up on these cases and handle them individually rather than the generalistic approach of sending students away to get them out of your skin. However, the school does not have that time or patience. Unfortunately for the black boy, there are other issues like poverty, fatherless homes, and drugs that further prevent them from getting a guiding hand.
Additionally, the disciplining approach, in a way, is biased against the black boy. Despite only 19% of the entire student enrollment being of black descent in public schools, it is no wonder that they make up to 47% in suspension cases. A majority of these cases are of the male gender (Evans, 2019). It is, however, unfortunate that these suspensions are a result of far lesser offenses. Yet, according to Huber, Johnson, and Kohli (2006), these students hardly drop out but are pushed out by a system that they find challenging to relate with. Lynch (2017) finds a correlation between the black boys that are suspended or expelled with the high incarceration rates. Those students who get suspended or expelled from school end up eventually dropping out and are generally more likely to end up in prison than those who were never pushed out. Thus, it is not surprising that almost 70% of the men in federal prison do not have a high school diploma. Given that most of these are of black descent, it is too easy to relate a school to a pipeline to prison as far as black boys are concerned.
The school system fails to meet the needs of black boys I the American education system. Young boys struggle to psychologically connect with studying because a school has been so much associated with the dominant culture. It is not uncommon for a black boy committed to his books being taunted by his black colleagues that he is trying too much to be white. This is because the system has implicitly associated school and academic performance to be white. This has been done in various ways. The domination of white teachers in American schools is among the factors that contribute to internalized racism. According to Huber, Johnson, and Kohli (2006), over 80% of teachers in elementary school in the country are of white origin. Therefore, this means that despite being part of the education system, students of color hardly get taught by teachers of color. In a different study that explored all teachers in the U.S., it was established that 90% of teachers in the country are of white origin. Additionally, it was found that 40% of schools hardly employ any teacher of color. On top of this, the faculty of education is also dominated by white educators. Therefore, it is not surprising that educators develop a pedagogy that serves the interests of the dominant culture (Kohli, 2008). Given that most of these white teachers were also taught under the same circumstances, it is not surprising that they fail to have a cultural understanding; hence they are likely to have adverse effects on the black students’ self-perception.
On top of this, schools attended by black boys lack sufficient infrastructure. For instance, they are more likely to be taught by a significantly more significant number of uncertified teachers than the other children. For instance, according to Lynch (2017), schools with at least 50% in black students’ populations have only 75 maths teachers that are qualified compared to 92 % in schools dominated by white students. In English, the situation is 57% versus 68 %, while in science, it is 57% against 73%. Lynch (2017) notes that the disadvantage is more precarious when the numbers are analyzed from only a black boy’s perspective.
Furthermore, the way teachers go about their teaching does not favor the black boy. The instruction is done from a skewed point of view. Teachers have been taken through a system that is biased towards the dominant culture that they find it difficult to relate the instruction to black boys. As a result, black boys are just like passive passengers in classes that are supposed to determine the courses of their lives (James, 2014). More often than not, teachers would don’t tolerate discussing racism despite its being exhibited in the curriculum. For instance, although racism would be manifested in course books, teachers hardly tolerate any student raising an issue about it. According to Kohli( 2008), the teacher would insist that students, especially of black descent, steer clear of discussing racism exhibited in course texts or drop the course. Black students are thus forced to live with epithets that instill adverse perceptions about their racial background. Since some of these courses are integral to the learners’ chances of graduating, many choose to do what the teacher wants. This observation is also shared by Huber, Johnson, and Kohli (2006), who note that discussions regarding race or racism are hardly discussed in K-12 classrooms. Given that black students and other minority groups are overwhelmed by the dominant white race, they have nowhere to raise their grievances.
Black boys also have to undergo educational instruction that damages their self-perception. Despite the U.S. being multicultured and priding itself as the only nation where any individual irrespective of their background, can dream and actualize these dreams, its curriculum makes a different statement. A curriculum should reflect the values of all cultures contained in a population to give every student a sense of pride in their heritage. However, this has far remained to be lip service in the American educational setup. California is an example of states with a code in place that insists on all instructional materials being multicultural to reflect its vast population. However, a study was done by Huber, Johnson, and Kohli (2006) on the California curriculum point at a picture that perpetuates racism. The History Standards taught in various grades from the fifth through 12th grade in the California curriculum is an example of this. Therein, the syllabus covers the U. S history from the pre-Columbian era to th modern era. Even though human society’s advancement in the U.S. is a collective contribution of the multicultural populations in the country, very little is said regarding the other non-white groups, especially the African American race. The only notable mention of this race is the period of slavery and the consequent advocacy for civil rights (Huber, Johnson, & Kohli, 2006). The California curriculum, therefore, notices the African Americans as just the group that underwent slavery. At the same time, it associates every significant contribution to American society’s development with the white race. The white race’s glorification and the simultaneous degradation of the black men’s participation damage the young boy’s self-perception. It makes them believe that they are not up to the task of anything in society.