Standing Outside on the Inside

Black Adolescents and the Construction of Academic Identity

By Olga M. Welch & Carolyn R. Hodges

Subjects: Education
Series: SUNY series, The Social Context of Education
Paperback : 9780791433423, 144 pages, March 1997
Hardcover : 9780791433416, 144 pages, March 1997

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Table of contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Education and Equal Opportunity: The Failed Promise

2. Precollege Enrichment for African American Adolescents and the Construction of Achievement Identities: Is There a Relationship?

3. The Lana Turner Syndrome: A Reassessment of African American Achievement and the Dream Deferred

4. Diffusing the Rumors of Inferiority: Creating a Climate of Excellence for Inner-City, College-Bound Students

5. Equal Access to Excellence: Shifting the Center and Reconstructing Knowledge

References

Index

This book, the result of a longitudinal study of academic achievement and pre-college enrichment for disadvantaged Black adolescents, offers fresh insights on barriers which continue to impede the academic progress of those students.

Description

At a time when increased emphasis is placed on pre-college preparation of disadvantaged students, the number of African American students entering colleges and universities continues to decline and the achievement gaps between these students and their White peers persist. While many enrichment programs report impressive gains, little research on these programs contains the perspective of the Black students. This book presents the results of a longitudinal study of academic achievement and pre-college enrichment of disadvantaged African American adolescents in two inner-city high schools.

Through its presentation and analysis of the students' perceptions of pre-college enrichment seen in relation to their definitions of scholarship and the discussion of findings related to parent and teacher involvement, this book provides fresh perspectives on the school experiences of Black adolescents and offers important insights for those involved in both the development and evaluation of enrichment programs.

At the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Olga M. Welch is Professor of Rehabilitation, Deafness and Human Services and Carolyn R. Hodges is Professor of German and Slavic Languages and Chair of the Comparative Literature Program.