I DE . u... 2%“, I... :9 if .33? a... 3: “A“: . in?» a F. “5.. w...“ L. l 130111." A...) z. 2.5 . . e a . . ‘7 . . Savant .0 Ram‘ruw. f: ‘ .vy $.11 . 336...)”. .1.” t: 11.1: It ézu.ill~r~l. l u‘ \ ‘ ‘r't VA» .v I. 3.12....rly ». -7 .v .1: .r. . ill Willi! llllllllillllllllllllll 3 1293 01413 8824 LIBRARY Michigan State University This is to certify that the thesis entitled A STUDY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENT MALE EDUCATIONAL ORIENTATION AND PERCEIVED FAMILY AND SCHOOL SUPPORT FOR EDUCATION presented by Charnessa Hanshaw has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Master's degree in Family Studies Major professor 0-7639 MS U is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution PLACE IN RETURN 80X to remove thle checkout trorn your record. TO AVOID F INES return on or before date due. DATE DUE DATEDUE DATE DUE MSU le An Affirmetive Action/Emmi Opportunity lnetituion Wane-m A STUDY of AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENT MALE EDUCATIONAL ORIENTATION AND PERCEIVED FAMILY and SCHOOL SUPPORT FOR EDUCATION By Chamessa Hanshaw MASTER’S THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Family Studies Department of Family and Child Ecology 1 996 ABSTRACT A STUDY of AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENT MALE EDUCATIONAL ORIENTATION and PERCEIVED FAMILY and SCHOOL SUPPORT FOR EDUCATION By Chamessa Hanshaw This study is designed to compare the influences of African American adolescent males' perceived family support of education and school support with their educational orientations. Using a secondary analysis of data on profiles of Michigan youth, a subsample of 478 African American ninth grade males’ were studied. Analysis of variance showed higher mean levels of educational orientations among African American males with perceptions of higher school and family support. Stepwise multiple regressions showed that perceived family support for education had a direct and strongly significant impact on the students’ perceptions of school support as well as on the students’ educational orientations. Also, African American males with higher school support had higher family support. While mothers’ educational level was found to have no direct influence on African American males’ educational orientations, regression analyes showed that it significantly influenced perceived family support. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to my committee chairperson, Dr. Harriette McAdoo and committee members Dr. LawrenceSchiamburg and Dr. Lillian Phenice for their strong guidance and suppon. The collection of the data used in this study was supported in part by grants from the Lutheran Brotherhood Association and the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station. Additionally, I sincerely appreciate the Institute of Children, Youth, and Families at Michigan State University Extension, especially Joanne G. Keith and Daniel F. Perkins, and the Search Institute (Minneapolis, MN) for making this research possible. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................... v LISTOF FIGURES .................................................................... vi I. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem ...................................................... 1 Significance of the Problem .................................................. 1 Theoretical Orientation ........................................................... 2 ll. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ..................................................... 6 Research encompassing Ecological Perspective ............. 6 Human Ecology and the Family ................................ 7 Ecological Model Applied to African American Adolescents and Their Families ............................... 8 Gender, Support, and Educational Outcomes ....... 13 African American Adolescents’ PerceptionsRelated to Their Educational Orientation ............................................... 23 African American Adolescents’ School Influences ........... 29 African American Adolescents’ Family Influences ............ 30 Motivations ............................................................................... 35 Aspirations ............................................................................... 43 Summary .................................................................................. 47 III. METHODS ............................................................................... 49 Overview of Research Design .............................................. 49 Research Design .................................................................... 49 Sample ..................................................................................... 49 Instrumentation ....................................................................... 51 Operational Definitions .......................................................... 51 Variables .................................................................................. 54 Analysis Strategy .................................................................... 57 IV. VI. Research Questions ............................................................... Hypotheses .............................................................................. RESULTS ................................................................................. FrequencyDistribution of the variables ............................... lntercorrelations and Reliabilities of Independent Variables .................................................................................. Analysis of Variance for Independent Variables and Education Orientation ............................................................ Reliabilty of Education Orientation Index ........................... Stepwise Multiple Regression Analysis ............................. DISCUSSION ......................................................................... Finding ...................................................................................... Limitations of the Study ......................................................... Implications .............................................................................. REFERENCES ........................................................................ 57 58 61 61 63 66 7O 73 77 77 80 80 81 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Demographic Characteristics ....................................................... Table 2. Frequency Distribution of Mother’s Educational Level, Family Support, School Support, Educational Aspiration and Educational Motivation ........................................................... Table 3. lntercorrelations Between Items for Family and School Support .............................................................................................. Table 4. Reliabilities of Variable lndices Family Support and School Support ............................................................................... Table 5. IntercOrrelations Between Items for Educational Orientations .................................................................................... Table 6. Reliabilities of Variable lndices Educatonal Orientations ...... Table 7. Analysis of Variance for African American Males’ Educational Orientations by Perceived FamilySupport ........... Table 8. Analysis of Variance for African American Males’ Educational Orientations by School Support ........................... Table 9. Analysis of Variance for African American Males’ Perceived FamilySupport by Perceived School Support .......................... Table 10. Summary Stepwise Regression Analysis of Variables Predicting African American Males’ Educational Orientations ................................................................................. vi 69 7O 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1. Regression Model Predicting the Influences of Mothers’ Educational Level, Family Support, and School Support on Educational Orientations ...................................................... 79 vii CHAPTERI Introduction StatemfimnghiELQhIfim Adolescence is generally considered to be a period of transition from childhood to adulthood. For many African American adolescents, the values they develop, particularly their educational orientation, are crucial for a successful transition to adulthood. The educational orientation of adolescents, generally defined as the adolescents' educational motivation and educational aspiration, reflect their basic values. These values are in large part shaped by their experiences and interactions with family members and the larger society (Ford, 1992; Eccles & Harold, 1993; McAdoo, 1985, 1993b). For some African American adolescents, however (males in particular), the values within their family network may conflict with those of the majority society. Thus, as African American adolescents learn to exist within two distinct cultures, their developing values and subsequent behavior become indicators of their ability or inability to integrate their experiences and function successfully (Ford, 1992; McAdoo, 1993b; Staples, 1991). For these reasons the examination of adolescents’ educational orientation within a family context is essential. The purpose of this research is therefore to examine the relationship between perceived family and school support and African American males’ educational orientation. This study is designed to compare the influences of perceived family support of education and school support with African American adolescent males' educational 2 orientations. The study of this relationship focuses on the following questions: (1) how African American adolescent males’ perceptions of family’s support for education develop within the context of their family background. (2) how African American adolescent males’ perceptions of support within the family influence their educational motivation. (3) how African American adolescent males’ perceptions of support within the family influence their educational aspirations. (4) how African American adolescent males’ perceptions of support within schools influence their educational motivations. (5) how African American adolescent males’ perceptions of support within schools influence their educational aspirations. S' 'I' I II E | | The examination of African American males’ educational orientation is significant for three reasons. First, the development of positive educational orientations and educational goals has been particularly problematic for many African American male adolescents (Garibaldi, 1992; McAdoo, 1988; Ogbu, 1988; Takei and Dubas, 1993). Often their educational pursuits are stifled by an inability to integrate seemingly contradictory elements of their family and school expedences. Secondly, the research on African American adolescent males generally focuses on problem behaviors. lnforrnation on the development of underlying internal motivations, orientations or values that may influence behavioral outcomes is infrequently examined. Furthermore researchers have frequently 3 taken a “deficit“ perspective in explaining the circumstances of the African American adolescent male often based on insufficient data and poorly understood information (McAdoo, 1988, 1993a). For example, deficit approaches which assume that African American children are unsuccessful in school because they come from homes or have motivational characteristics that are less conducive to success are often based on inadequate comparative data (Ogbu, 1988). Some of these perspectives do not explain why minorities with similar characteristics are successful. Other explanations which are derived from comparative samples of minority and caucasian children do not consider the differences in educational and economic opportunities between groups. Approaches such as this are a cause for concern, for too little information has been gathered on issues of motivation, moral development, attitude formation, and family socialization processes which are important in understanding the development of the African American male adolescent in context. Finally, although the family and the educational environment are critical institutions which contribute significantly to the development of a child's values and fundamental orientation to life, relatively little is known about the socialization processes in African American families involving the transmission of family orientations and values to adolescents (especially to young African American males) and how specific family processes associate with African American students’ school networks to influence their educational outcomes. Symptomatic of the difficulty of African American males may have in integrating their home/community and school experiences are the disproportionate 4 representation of African American males in learning disabled classes, non- promotions, suspensions, and school drop-outs. For example, although African American children represent seventeen percent of all students in an urban school population, they represent 41 percent of those students placed in special education classes. Of these placements, 85 percent of the students placed in classes for learning disabilities and behavioral disorders are African American males (Wilson & Banks, 1992). In another school district, African American children were reported to represent 30 percent of the school population, but they received more than 60 percent of the corporal punishments, suspensions, and expulsions (Wilson & Banks, 1992). The majority of these children were African American males. Similar statistics regarding the greater disparities in education of African American males have been reported across the country (Berry & Asamen, 1989; Garibaldi, 1992; Cakes, 1985; Reed, 1992). A better understanding of these processes, in particular the relationship between students' perceived family support and their educational orientations, could well enhance the development and impact of intervention programs for improving the circumstances of some African American males and African American families. This study counters some of the negative approaches in the literature by making within group comparisons as opposed to between group comparisons while focusing on the successes of African American males within the family and school context. Using a secondary analysis of data on profiles of Michigan youth, this study will concentrate on the developing educational orientation of 5 African American adolescent males and their perception of their families‘ support for education and school support. Specifically, this study will address the relationship between African American adolescent males perception of family and school support and their educational orientation. II I' | Q . I I' The theoretical orientation of this study will include a symbolic interaction perspective (Burr, Leigh, Day, & Constantine, 1979) and the human ecological theory (Bubolz, Sontag & Eicher, 1979; Bronfenbrenner, 1989). S I I' I l I. In symbolic interaction theory, the conceptualization of the "self" developing by role taking denotes the importance of adolescents' interactions with significant others. Also embodied in symbolic interaction theory is the idea that behaviors are influenced by individuals' perceptions of their social environments, and these perceptions lead to individual actions or reactions. As individuals interpret the circumstances (acts) within their environment, they respond (react) to their own internal symbolic productions. This provides a useful framework for understanding the focal variables of this study (adolescent educational orientation, school support, and family support for education) as a part of African American adolescents’ socialization processes. UnmarLfisskzgicalMgdel Orientations and attitudes are reflected in the behaviors of individuals as a result of socialization processes. The human ecological model provides a holistic approach to understanding how significant adult support networks such 6 as the family influence in the developing educational orientations of adolescents. The human ecological model describes the interaction which takes place within the individual, among the environments, and between the individual and the environments. This provides an expansive view of adolescents' social environments from which their values and consequential educational orientations emerge (Bronfenbrenner, 1989; Lamar, 1986). CHAPTER II Review of literature Theoretical and empirical research on African American adolescents’ educational orientations and those factors which influence them are reviewed in the following sections. This chapter begins by presenting a review of the studies encompassing an ecological appproach in research on African American adolescents and their families. This section describes the development of a human ecological approach when studying families, specifically African American families. Research focusing on African American males and their educational outcomes from an ecological approach is also also presented in this section. The next three sections review literature which emphasizes the importance of African American adolescents’ perceptions, school influences, and family influences on their educational outcomes. Research describing African American adolescents’ (particularly African American males) educational motivations and aspirations is presented in two sections toward the end of this chapter. in n l ' I Concern about the relationship of African American families to African American children's experiences, including school-family discontinuity, has led to research that emphasizes individual and family adaptation in a broad ecological context (Connell, Halpem-Felsher, Clifford, Crichlow, 8. Usinger, 1995; Luster, 1994; Mason, Cauce, Gonzales, Hiraga, & Grove, 1994; McAdoo, 1993a, 1993b, 1985; Harrison, Wilson, Pine, Chan, & Buriel, 1990; Johnson, 8 1988; McLoyd, 1990; Ogbu, 1988, 1985; Shade, 1987 & 1992; Silbereisen and Todt, 1994; Slaughter-Defoe, Nakagawa, Takanishi, & Johnson, 1990). In this section, I will discuss the differentiation between the use of an ecological model and other approaches in examining the cultural and contextual environment of educational development and the use of an ecological approach in various theoretical and empirical studies of African American adolescents and their families. WI]! The holistic view of individuals and groups in their association with the physical, biological, and social conditions and events around them has generally come to be known as human ecology (Bubolz, Sontag, & Eicher, 1979). Its focus begins with the total phenomena being studied, such as individual or group behaviors and activities in the family, in its entirety. Following a general ecological model that views organisms as interacting with their environment, the individual or group, its environment, and their interaction is called an ecosystem. An ecological perspective on the family emerged in the late nineteenth century stemming from social reform, urbanization, industrialization, expansion of public education, and concern about the health and welfare of families. In the 19605, the ecological perspective reemerged with the increased awareness of human interactions and interest in holistic and systems approaches. In the human ecology model, the family is described as an energy transformation system that is interdependent with its natural physical-biological, human-built, and social-cultural milieu. Paolucci, Hall, and Axinn (1977) and Bronfenbrenner (1989) were significant influences on the development of human ecology focused on the family. Paolucci and her colleagues built on earlier conceptualizations of family management in formulating and ecological model for family decision making which has been further developed by Deacon and Firebaugh (1988). Bronfenbrenner distinguishes four interlinked environmental systems in terms of their immediacy with respect to the developing individual. The family is the principle microsystem in which development takes place, the mesosystem incorporates the relationship between the family and other developmental environments such as schools, and the exosystem involves other environments such as work settings and social networks that affect the child. The micro-, meso-, and exosystems are all components of the macrosystem, the broad ideological values, norms, and institutional patterns of a particular culture that are the foundation for that culture’s ecology of human development. The human ecological model focused on the family is a general theory which can be applied to a wide range of studies related to families and their relationships with various environments. It focuses on individual family members as well as on the family as a whole, including the interactions and functioning of families in their daily lives. Since this model is not based on any particular family type or configuration, it can be useful in studies of families of diverse structures and national, ethnic, or racial backgrounds, in various CORIBXIS. 10 000-. nu: A903! 0;: 1l£ll3il An: = 2n. = E 'I' In terms of explaining and understanding adolescents' educational development, Feagans and Barsch (1993) point to the assumption of the ecological perspective that behavior is in part constrained by expectations of the setting in which the early adolescent operates. Based on Bronfenbrenner‘s conceptualization espousing that behavior and beliefs expected in one setting may or may not coincide with the expectations and beliefs in another setting, they contend that it is important to understand the component of the different settings in which the adolescent is learning. Ogbu (1985) argues that earlier models of African American child development such as universal and difference models are problematic in their design. He contends that the intent of the universal model used by mainstream developmentalists was to establish universal truths about child development. He further states that the universal model produced inadequate conceptualization of context, or environment because it ignored the possible influence of instrumental competencies on childrearing techniques, is based on ethnocentric conception of development, and it embodies a theory of social change not supported by historical or cross-cultural data. The difference model argues that minority groups have their own culture and that these cultures embody different child-rearing practices which inculcate different instrumental competencies. Ogbu (1985) explains that researchers proposing this model argue that African American children probably fail in . Ti‘ 11 school because teachers and other significant adults in schools do not recognize their unique competencies. He suggests that this model tends to overemphasize the African origins of African American culture and competencies without the proper knowledge of changes in African culture or adequate explanation of the persistent African elements among African Americans. He also states that the difference model does not explain why children from other minority groups, who also have distinctive cultural backgrounds, are not deterred by the same educational system. A culturaVecological perspective, Ogbu contends, provides a broader framework for understanding the environmental influences on transmission and development of instrumental competencies. Cultural ecology is defined as the study of how a population uses and is influenced by its natural environmental influences and its social and cultural composition. It explores how the relationships between the personal characteristics and behaviors of its members and the environment is influenced by strategies devised for coping with environmental demands. Based on the culturaVecological model, Ogbu (1988) describes African Americans as "caste-like minorities" because they are characterized by a greater lag in school performance. He identifies four features which distinguish African Americans from other minorities: 1) Caste-like minorities have usually been incorporated into “their" country involuntarily and permanently, 2) caste- Iike minority membership is acquired permanently at birth, 3) caste-like minorities have limited access to social opportunities because of their status '3-)- 12 rather than lack of training or ability, and 4) caste-like minorities tend to focus on the socioeconomic problems in terms of collective institutional discrimination. Ogbu suggests that these structural features distinguish African Americans from Caucasians, poor African Americans from lower-class Caucasians, and African Americans from other minorities. Other researchers of African American children and families are expressing similar preferences for the use of an ecological perspective. Slaughter-Defoe, Nakagawa, Takanishi, and Johnson (1990) found the culturaVecological perspective to be most desirable compared to earlier models of human development used in research of African American and other ethnic minority children. They argue that the cultural/ecological perspective has considered family and achievement in African American and other ethnic minority cultures. Harrison, Wilson, Pine, Chan, and Buriel (1990) use an ecological perspective to consider how the individual develops in interaction with immediate social environments and how aspects of the larger social context affect what goes on in the individual's immediate settings. With this perspective, they describe how ethnic minority families have faced similar ecological challenges from larger social systems and have developed similar adaptive strategies. They discuss the relation between ecologies of ethnic minority families, adaptive strategies, socialization goals, and developmental outcomes for ethnic minority children based on their premise that the family ecologies of ethnic minority children differ from those of majority children and consequently, 13 ethnic minority families have the potential of different outcomes in the development of children, especially when development is viewed as one's evolving conception of the ecological environment, one's relation to it, and one's growing capacity to discover, sustain, or alter it's properties. Mason, Cauce, Gonzales, Hiraga, and Grove (1994) test the utility of an ecological model in predicting and understanding externalizing behaviors among African American seventh and eight graders. They use a two-step ecological model to determine the influences of African American parents' exosytem variables (work and social support) on their microsystem variables (warmth, restrictive control, and family conflict). Analyses showed that the parents’ exosystem variables influenced perceptions of their family microsystem, which in turn, had an impact on early adolescent problem behavior. While the two-step ecological model, which separated the affects of the microsystem and exosystem variables, adequately fit the data, a more complete ecological model which included the parents' exosystem variables was a better fit. The results were reported as supportive of an ecological model, providing significant insights about the relationships between the broader social environment, parenting, and adolescent externalizing behaviors. Shade (1987) uses an ecological approach to support her contention that African American children living in urban environments develop a preference for social rather than inanimate aspects of the environment which influences their school behavior. She describes African American family ecological factors from within three broad categorizations described by Leichter , -4 .I-an— 14 (1984): the physical environment through which the family sets the stage for the child's interactions with symbols and objects, the interpersonal interaction which provides feedback to the child relative to his performance and expectations, and the emotional and motivational climates which influence personality and behavioral patterns. In a recent study, Shade (1992) empirically tested the possibility of a unique African American cognitive style. African American and Caucasian ninth grade students were administered three cognitive instruments which represented the perceptual, intellectual, and social domains involved in cognitive style (N=178). The results showed a highly significant difference between ethnicities on perceptual differentiation instrument and a modest difference was found on the social interaction measure. From these findings, Shade suggests that although it is difficult to separate the perceptual process from the general cognitive process, the African American students in the study demonstrated a unique preference in the perceptual dimension. They tended to be more spontaneous, flexible, open-minded and less structured in their perceptions of people, events, and ideas than the Caucasian students in the sample. However, although Shade (1987) alludes to the unique African American experiences as producing a culturally appropriate educative style, this study did not provide an association of African American students' unique cognitive style to their educational outcomes. WWW Some researchers consider the perceptions of adolescents to have a 15 significant impact on their educational outcomes. Bartsch (1993) argues that the adolescents' beliefs are central to educational research and intervention and must be assessed and addressed for more effective educational practices. In the research on African American adolescents, Ogbu (1978) and others contend that minority students' perceptions of the benefits of an education affect their performance behaviors in school. Mickelson (1990) studied the relationship between adolescents' attitudes and their educational achievement. Similar to Ogbu (1978), she found that African American students' perceptions of job discrimination tended to lower their academic achievement. However, other researchers have found no evidence that the phenomena of “caste-like“ minorities is relevant solely to African American and Hispanic groups (Steinberg, Dombusch, & Brown, 1992). Additionally, some researchers have positively linked educational achievement to African American adolescents' social identity (Bowman & Howard, 1985). Consistent with Ogbu (1978) and Mickelson (1990), Taylor, Casten, Flickinger, Roberts, 8. Fulmore (1994) showed that the more African American students' perceived job discrimination the less importance they attached to schooling. They also found that in their sample, African American adolescents' school performance and ethnic identity were positively related. Ford (1992) and others suggest that African American adolescents’ perceptions of social, psychological, and cultural variables are linked directly to their academic performance (Shade, 1987; Taylor, Casten, Flickinger, Roberts, & Fulmore, 1994). Her study ( 1992) showed a positive and significant 16 relationship between African American students' perceptions of psychological variables and underachievement. Her findings were reported inconsistent with Ogbu's (1983), who linked African American adolescents' achievement to socioeconomic variables. The literature seems to indicate that adolescents' perceptions of belonging and support are important determinants of their educational attainment (Feagan & Bartsch, 1993; Lerner, 1993; Ryan & Stiller, 1991). Goodenow & Grady (1993) investigated this relationship among African American and Hispanic students. They found that those students with a higher sense of belonging were more likely to be motivated and academically engaged than those with a low sense of belonging. Although there were some limitations in demographic information on the sample, the study provides some support for the influence of adolescents' perceptions on their educational orientations. Researchers have explored the role of gender within the ecological framework of educational outcomes. In examining the ecological correlates of gender related differences in adolescents' educational and occupational aspirations, Marjoribanks ( 1985) found that the perceptions of 516 Australian boys' and girls' outcomes were associated with varying environmental factors. Using an ecological construct to measure the adolescents' perceptions of parent-teacher support for learning, path models and stepwise regressions showed that the occupational aspirations of females were influenced only by ecological variables (9.9., social status background, parents' aspirations, 17 perceptions of the support for leaming of parents, teachers, and peers). The occupational aspirations of males in the study were influenced by ecological constructs as well as individual measures (9.9., ability, affective commitment, academic adjustment) with the most significant direct influence being their perceptions of parent-teacher support for Ieaming. Similar to the findings in Marjoribanks' study, some researchers have suggested that the outcomes of African American children may be associated with differences in their family and school experiences. The developmental process for African American males is considered more problematic, stressful, and unpredictable than for African American females (Connell, Halpem-Felsher, Clifford, Crichlow, & Usinger, 1995; Gibbs & Hines, 1989; Gibbs, 1988; McAdoo, 1988; Spencer, 1987). Gibbs and Hines (1989) assert that African American males' experiences are generally less favorable than African American females in their family, school, and community environments. McAdoo (1988) notes that as it is becoming increasingly difficult for African American males to meet their mobility goals, fewer males are attending college than females. Connell, Halpem-Felsher, Clifford, Crichlow, & Usinger (1995) describe their findings on differences in African American males' and females' school tendencies within an ecological context. In a longitudinal study of 443 urban African American seventh, eighth, and ninth grade adolescents (218 males and 225 females), behavioral, psychological, and contextual factors were related to the likelihood that the students stayed in school. Path analysis revealed that students' reports of higher levels of support at home and influenced self-system 18 processes of perceived competence for African American males and females, perceived relatedness for African American females, and perceived autonomy for African American males. Although the relationship between students' engagement and adult support were not directly measured, their individual self. system processes were reported to be predictive of school engagement. African American males from less economically disadvantaged homes were found to show less educational risk behavior, but they reported less support from adults in their school. African American males from less disadvantaged neighborhoods with higher concentrations of middle-class neighbors had a higher probability of remaining in high school. However, no significant family economic and neighborhood risk factors were found for the African American females educational outcomes. While family background factors such as parents educational level and socioeconomic status are considered to exert some influence on adolescents' educational orientations, there is increasing support in the literature that these factors alone do not account for variances in African American adolescents' outcomes. Researchers have reported relatively weak evidence that family background variables significantly affect educational outcomes for African American students. Dombusch, Ritter, and Steinberg found that such factors are more relevant for Caucasian adolescents and their families than for African American adolescents. Therefore, theoretical and empirical research are implying that family processes may provide more insight to African American students' educational orientation and achievement. ' 19 Some researchers have asserted that differences in achievement among African American adolescents may be better explained by their interpersonal relationships with adult family members which relate to academic achievement. Clark considered these interpersonal relationships to be the family's main contribution to children' educational success. He maintains that family background variables do not produce children' school behavior, but that school . . ..-.. s—w ”1" my. achievement is rooted in family beliefs, activities, and overall cultural style. Reynolds and Gill and others reported that parenting behaviors such as I monitoring school progress, parent-child interactions, and parent involvement in school have been positively associated with school achievement and success. Datcher-Loury's exploratory investigation (1988) of the influences of parental behaviors and attitudes on academic performance showed significant relationships between parent-child interactions and long term achievement. Similarly, Ford's study (1993) indicated that family achievement orientations (e.g., adolescents' perceptions of parents' attitudes and beliefs) were of greater significance than family demographic variables (e.g., parents' educational level and employment status) on the achievement orientations of African American students. The role of the family as a source of significant influence on the educational development of adolescents has been investigated and demonstrated extensively (Billingsley, 1992; Coates, 1985; Lerner, 1993; McAdoo, 1985, 1988, 1993b; Taylor, Chatters, Tucker, and Lewis, 1990). However, the variations in outcomes among African American students, males 20 in particular, have not been strongly linked to any specific domain within the family environment. Research has not provided a clear explanation of how African American adolescents' educational achievement is influenced by their family environment. The general consensus appears to be that still not enough is known about African American adolescents and their family life or the process by which adult family members influence adolescent educational orientations. Further, some researchers suggest that a more extensive understanding of the influence of families on the development of adolescents from various ethnic and racial groups can come from investigating the organizational and interactive processes within a specific culture (Allison & Takei, 1993; Lerner 1993). It has been well documented that achievement motivations are among the most significant predictors of academic achievement. These motivations tend to decline for adolescents in general because of the transitions from elementary to junior or high school. However, the literature has implied that African American students have motivational deficits associated with academic achievement such as lack of internal or personal control of outcomes. Wilson and Banks agree, attributing the lack of motivation (e.g., feelings of isolation, discouragement, and anxiety) in African American males, in particular, to the inadequacies of some educational systems with insufficient resources and achievement opportunities and to teachers with low expectations. Ford (1993) holds similar views espousing that racism and the devalued position of African Americans in society is the primary contributing factor to African American students' underachievement and that African American children are at the we. 5". 21 greatest risk of being forgotten in the educational milieu. Further, an extensive review of research by Graham (1994) has shown that 1) as measured by research on achievement motivation, there is no strong evidence that African American children lack personality traits associated with motivation, 2) African American youths are no less likely than Caucasian children to attribute achievement to extemaVcontrollable causes, and 3) both expectancy-for-future- success and self-concept of ability remain high even when achievement outcomes indicate othenNise. Attempts have been made to explain the discrepancies between African American adolescents' positive educational expectations and poor academic performance. Mickelson has suggested that for African American adolescents, particularly males, concrete attitudes which result from the realities in occupational attainment that people experience are important in predicting achievement behavior. The implication is that stronger, positive concrete attitudes are associated with higher educational motivations. When these concrete attitudes were taken into account, her study showed no differences between educational attitudes and GPA among African American adolescents. Taylor, Casten, Flickinger, Roberts, and Fulmore (1994) showed that African American students' educational motivations were significantly influenced by their perceptions of the importance of school. These results indicated that the more adolescents perceived unequal employment opportunities, the less importance they attached to schooling, and the less engaged they were in their school work. 22 Graham (1994) reviewed relevant to the educational motivations of African American children. She found that the majority of the literature focuses on motivational constructs such as locus of control and need for achievement which focus on individual personality traits. These approaches have been criticized for limiting research to motivational comparisons between racial groups (African Americans and Caucasians) and failing to adequately link motivational characteristics to achievement related behavior (Graham, 1989, 1991,1994) Graham (1994) also suggests that studies employing interrelated constructs of causal attribution, perception of control, and expectancy-value in conjunction with African American students' self-perceptions and family socialization processes may be beneficial in uncovering antecedents to motivation. In an effort to incorporate a more comprehensive measure, Ford (1992) created a model of achievement motivation produced by three broad indicators of achievement: students' self-reports of grade point average, effort, and teacher feedback each having two levels (high and low). This model incorporates the role of effort and performance as well as the importance function of perceptions. Success and failure are typically attributed to an ability factor that includes both aptitude and acquired skills, an exertion factor that includes immediate and sustained effort, the difficulty or ease of a task, personality, mood, and help or hindrance from others. Achievement motivation, then, encompasses individuals' perceived competencies and effort. Schultz (1993) 23 showed that achievement motivation among African American and Hispanic children was significantly related to better academic performance levels. Other studies supported this finding (Ford, 1992; Merchant, 1991). The findings in the study were limited to preadolescent children, but they provide significant insight for further research on educational motivation among adolescent children. African American students, males in particular, face much uncertainty -- __ _..- “H. because of the mixed signals they receive in society. They may also suffer because there is a preference for the behavioral styles of females in educational settings. Connell, Halpem-Felsher, Clifford, Crichlow, and Usinger (1995) showed that African American males in their study were more likely to stay in school when they were motivated, that those who perceived higher competence were more likely to exhibit educational risk behaviors, and that those who perceived higher support in the home were less likely to stay in school. These findings may be related to Halpem-Felsher's (1994) earlier contention that those African American males who tend to perform at a higher level than their peers are more aware of discriminatory practices and, consequently, less motivated. More research is needed to support this theory. Much of the research points to the adolescents external environment in terms of the prevalence of their educational motivations. It has also been noted that family members play an important role in the development of adolescents' educational achievement. However, specific parental processes have not been clearly linked to African American male predictors of achievement such as educational motivation. Thus, there is relative unCertainty about the interactive 24 processes in the family which provide African American males the motivation to achieve in school. Studies have noted that the educational aspirations of African American students from supportive family backgrounds were high regardless of parents'. educational level and occupation (Clark, 1983; Wilson-Sadberry, Winfield, & Royster, 1991). However, similar to their educational motivations, African American students' aspirations are not necessarily reflected in academic behavior. Simmons and Zhou (1994) found that African American sixth and seventh graders' aspirations are persistent in spite of discrepancies in behavior and declines in their liking of school. Research has indicated that there are some differences in educational aspirations by family contexts, gender, and race. Studies on the role of gender in aspirations are contradictory. Hossler and Stage (1992) found that parents' expectations exerted the strongest influence on students' aspirations throughout the model. They also found that females had greater aspirations than males and that there were no differences in educational aspirations between ethnic groups. Hanson (1994) showed that boys’ educational aspirations and expectations exceed girls and the consistency between aspirations and expectations of men is greater than for young women. Locus of control, friends' educational values, and standardized math scores were factors found to be significant for females. Mothers' educational expectations, the age at which the students expected to have their first child, and GPA were significant factors for 'fiquafinghw 25 males. Mean scores for minorities in the sample showed slightly higher aspirations (.39) than Caucasians (.38). It was also found that Caucasian youths were more likely to have reduced educational expectations than minority youths. The implications of these findings are difficult to ascertain because there is a lack of adequate information on the gender and ethnic representation and the results were either partially or poorly reported. Wilson and Wilson (1992) provided a more thorough description of a sample of adolescents using a sample from the same population as Hanson. They found that African American males' aspirations tended to exceed those of Caucasian and African American female students. They also found adolescents' educational aspirations to be significantly effected by family environment variables (e.g., parents' educational level, parents' perceived aspirations, parent monitoring of schoolwork, and parents' influence on high school program). In terms of how African American adolescents' educational aspirations, family background predictors and achievement are related, Wilson-Sadberry, Winfield, & Royster (1991) found that educational aspirations are predictive of eventual attainment than are family socioeconomic variables. They maintain that family SES is important because of the financial and human resources available to support academic success, monitor academic behaviors, and provide continual encouragement. ; I' -.| An:' .1 no : :1 : :o 0| ::I- :o. . I; -_- -. one. Q . I l' Adolescents' perceptions of their social environment have been hypothesized to affect them academically (Bartsch, 1993; Feagans and Bartsch, 1993; Ford, 1992; Fordham and Ogbu, 1986). Feagans and Bartsch (1993) argue that the nature of early adolescents' school experiences are inextricably linked to their belief systems. Bartsch (1993) emphasizes the centrality of adolescents' beliefs, theories, and concepts in educational research and intervention. She argues that the adolescent's own views must be assessed and addressed for more effective educational practices. Some researchers have focused on the perceptions of African American adolescents to help explain differences in academic achievement across cultures. Increasingly, the literature is addressing the theoretical frames of Ogbu (1978) and others suggesting that African American adolescents' perceptions of limited socioeconomic opportunities may affect academic achievement (Connell, Spencer, and Aber, 1994; Steinberg, Dombusch, and Brown, 1992; Taylor, Casten, Flickinger, Roberts, and Fulmore, 1994; Ford, 1992; Feagans and Bartsch, 1993; Mickelson, 1990; Fordham and Ogbu, 1986). In these studies, considerable references have been made to the works of Ogbu and his associates (Fordham, 1988; Fordham and Ogbu 1986; Ogbu, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1987). Ogbu (1978) has argued that "caste-like“ minorities' perceptions of severe job discrimination negatively affects educationally relevant behaviors. Based on ethnographic interVIews, Fordham and 27 Ogbu(1986) suggest that the lower school performance of African American students is a response to their belief that educational effort does not pay off. Other researchers have noted that while this theory seems promising, it needs more empirical research and support. In support of this theory, Mickelson's study (1990) analyzing the relationship between attitudes and educational achievement among 1,193 African American high school seniors (Ss = 492 African American and 721 Caucasian males and females) in the Los Angeles area showed that the African American students' perceptions of anticipated discrimination in attaining jobs tended to lower their academic achievement. However, the analysis revealed almost no relationship between the adolescents' grades and their broader beliefs about the importance of education. In contrast to Fordham and Ogbu’s (1986) theory, Steinberg, Dombusch, and Brown (1992) found no evidence that “caste-like" minorities (African American and Hispanic students) in their sample expressed beliefs unique solely to the group. In addition, Taylor, Casten, Flickinger, Roberts, and Fulmore (1994) identify findings in other studies which are inconsistent with the notion that African American social identity has a negative impact on students' achievement. They refer to Bowman and Howard's (1985) findings that parental support for the development of an African American identity was positively associated with grades. Based on the components of Ogbu and Fordham's model, Taylor, Casten, Flickinger, Roberts, and Fulmore (1994) examined the hypothesis that 28 African American adolescents' school achievement is detrimentally influenced by their perception of a discriminatory “job ceiling“ affecting their employment opportunities. They test the hypotheses that (a) African American adolescents' perceptions of existence of a job ceiling would be negatively associated with the perceptions of the importance of school, (b) African American adolescents' perceptions of a job ceiling would be negatively related to their perceptions of their academic abilities (c) African American adolescents' perceptions of a job ceiling would be positively associated with their ethnic identity developments, and (d) African American adolescents' perceptions of the importance of school, their perceptions of their abilities, and their ethnic identity would be significantly associated with their school performance. Among a sample of 344 African American and Caucasian adolescents from one public and one Catholic high school in a northeastern city, the main findings of path model analyses for African American students revealed that the more they perceived that discrimination negatively affects employment, the less importance they attached to schooling [(beta= -.15,_p<.05) in public school and (beta: -.26, p<.01) in Catholic school] and the less engaged they were in their school work [(beta= .24, p<.05) in public school]. This seemed consistent with the findings in Mickelson's study (1990) in support of Ogbu and Fordham's theory. Analyses also indicated that in the public school, African American adolescents' school performance and ethnic identity were positively related [(beta= .17,_p<.05) for grades and (beta: .20, p< .05) for ethnic identity]. This finding was reported to be supportive of earlier findings. 29 Castenell (1983) has suggested that discrepancies in varied findings such as these may be explained by a situational factor. While achievement behavior may be common to all groups, one may be motivated to achieve in the classroom or in sports, or one may experience a need to achieve in school one day but not the following day. Mickelson (1990) presents a different argument. She asserts that all students have two sets of attitudes about schooling, concrete and abstract. Abstract attitudes are students' general beliefs about school, and concrete attitudes reflect their real-life experiences related to the rewards of an education. Accordingly, the lack of socioeconomic returns on education for African Americans produces variances in African American childrens' perceptions and consequent behaviors. Taylor, Casten, Flickinger, Roberts, and Fulmore (1994) suggest that research in areas of African American adolescents psychosocial adjustment may reveal further insights of their perceptions related to achievement and engagement. Some research has been conducted in this area. Ford (1992) examined the social, psychological, and cultural determinants of underachievement from 148 African American fifth and sixth grade gifted, above-average, and average students' perspectives. Ford argues that African American students' perceptions of social, psychological, and cultural variables are linked directly to their academic performance. In the absence of any existing instruments that assessed her variables from the students' perspective, she developed her own which indicated an overall reliability coefficient of .82 and coefficients of .92, .76, and .67 for the Culture, Psychological, and Social 3O factors, respectively. A multiple regression analysis revealed a significant and positive relationship between the psychological factor (6.9., anxiety, locus of control, isolation, and self-efficacy) and underachievement (r = .50, _Q<.O‘I). No significant relationships were found between underachievement and the cultural and social factors. This finding was reported to be consistent with some empirical studies (Butler-For, 1987; Whitmore, 1980), but inconsistent with various other empirical and theoretical works that find achievement primarily related to socioeconomic variables (Fordham, 1991; Lomotey, 1990; Ogbu, 1983). In spite of the seemingly differing analytical outcomes and the study's focus on elementary students, Ford and others clearly indicate that the perceptions and attitudes of students play an important role in shaping behavior and achievement. Researchers have argued that the greater the adolescents' perceptions of belonging and support within various environments, especially home and school, the more likely they are to internalize the values of those members in the environment and achieve the valued goals (Feagan & Bartsch, 1993; Lerner, 1986; Ryan & Stiller, 1991). Some empirical literature seems to support this view. Goodenow and Grady (1993) investigated the relationship among early adolescent students' sense of school belonging, perceptions of their friends' academic values, and academic motivation. The study, conducted in a middle- sized, majority working class Northeastern city with large Hispanic and African 31 American populations, gathered a sample from two junior high schools. In the first school (1), a total of 198 seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-graders completed questionnaires. In this group, 104 were boys, 87 were girls, and 7 did not indicate gender. Eighty-nine students identified themselves as African American or Black, 32 as Hispanic, 66 as White, 2 as Asian, and 9 indicated no ethnic identification. The students' ages ranged from 12 to 16. No significant differences were found between the two schools or among grade levels, so they were combined. The average score on reactions to school as a whole were only slightly above it, where a 3.0 scale midpoint for school belonging measures was used. Forty-one percent (n=124) indicated that they did not feel as though they belonged or were supported by others in school, and 40% (n=122) were more negative than positive in their responses to the general school motivation scale. In a correlational analysis, school belonging was more highly associated with expectancy for success among Hispanic students ([ :50, p < .001) than among African American students ([ =.27,_p < .05) and among girls (r :53, p < .001) than among boys (I =.27,_p < .001 ). Although friends' values was significantly correlated with three motivation related outcomes (r :24 for expectancy, .37 for value of school work, and .21 for school motivation), school belonging was more strongly and significantly associated with expectancy (I =.35,_p<.001), value (1 =.46,_p<.001), general motivation ([ =.42, p<.001), and effort/persistence ([ =.12,_p<.05) when its influence was partialled out. Thus, the students' perceptions of the supportive environment had significant impact on their developing educational orientations. 32 The results indicated that students expressed relatively weak beliefs that they belonged in their schools, that those students with a high sense of belonging were more likely to be motivated and academically engaged than those with a low sense of belonging, and that there are both ethnic and gender differences in this pattern of relationships. These findings were limited, however, because there were no measures of students' educational D 4-“ : n. 9 -_-e.‘———-— achievement or classroom behavior from which to draw conclusions. Demographic information concerning the gender and ethnic background of adults in the school may have helped researchers gain further understanding of the ethnic and gender differences found in the study. Despite its limitations, this study highlights the importance of perceived support in the educational growth of adolescents. Also, expanding this study to include the supportive roles of family members in adolescent education may more clearly indicate the source of adolescents' motivations and expectancies which may influence their perceptions of belonging. ri ol n ’ I As African American students continue to perform poorly in schools, researchers are emphasizing the need for understanding the processes which impact their levels of achievement (Katz, 1991; Willis, 1992; Wilson & Banks, 1992). Some researchers contend that teachers’ expectations for and interactions with students are an important part of their educational outcomes (Asamen & Berry, 1989; Holliday, 1985; Irvine, 1990). The poor performance of some African American students has been attributed, in part, to the low 33 expectations of teachers (Asamen & Berry,1989; Irvine (1990). Additionally, researchers have suggested that the social patterns of interaction developed within African American childrens’ home environment may not be valued in schools (Hale-Benson, 1986; Wilson & Banks, 1992). For instance, while teachers may use impersonal, sequential and linear styles of instruction, many African American students tend to prefer more personal, abstract, and non- linear interaction (Gill, 1991; Hale-Benson, 1986; Katz, 1991). While this does not suggest that one method of processing information is superior to the other, it does imply that some African American students may experience increased difficulty in achievement because they prefer a learning style that is not valued or recognized frequently enough in schools (Katz, 1991 ). Based on their findings, Connell, Halpem-Felsher, Clifford, Crichlow, & Usinger (1995) suggest that the educational outcomes of the African American males and females in the study were associated with their differing experiences of family and school conditions. There were some varying interpretations of the findings from the African American males. One explanation for the African American males from less poor families reporting less adult support in schools while African American males from poorer families reported more positive associations is that those African American males in economically distressed homes may view school as a safe haven. Another argument attributes the disproportionate educational risk behaviors experiences by African American males to the cultural, gender, and socioeconomic mismatch between the students and teachers. It is argued that teachers do not discriminate among 34 minority male students along dimensions of socioeconomic status and school performance This non-discriminatory allocation of suspensions, retention, and low grades may cause some of the African American males, particularly those from middle-class families and neighborhoods who have higher performance levels and expect more support, to be resentful and report less positive school expenences. EI' E . Ell I'E 'IIII Regarding the development of adolescents' educational orientations, the majority of empirical literature reports statistically significant relationships between family factors such as parents’ socioeconomic status and education and childrens' school experiences. There is disagreement among researchers, however, concerning the specific family attributes considered most influential. Though a large volume of empirical research significantly links family socioeconomic status to students' school achievement, an increasing number of studies seem to suggest that school-related family activities are also significant predictors of academic performance. Steinberg, Dombusch, and Brown (1992) have asserted that although group differences in school performance are genuine, the differences in achievement still persist after socioeconomic and family structure characteristics are taken into account. Dombusch, Ritter, & Steinberg (1991) also found that family status variables were less predictive of achievement among African American adolescents than for Caucasians. Their study involved 3,899 (382 African American and 3,467 Caucasian) students attending high schools in northern 35 California and 3,878 students (389 African American and 3,489 Caucasian) attending three Wisconsin high schools. Correlational analyses of two family status variables, parental education and living in a two-natural-parent household, and high school grades were significant and positive only within Caucasian families. The family statuses failed to be a good predictor of grades for African American youths. Reynolds and Gill (1994) note that a general domain of influence on children's educational achievement is parental attitudes and beliefs, which typically includes parents expectations and aspirations for educational attainment, beliefs about the child's ability, and attribution of success. They also note that despite views that higher expectations and more positive attitudes toward education are positively associated with children's school achievement, independent effects outside of background variables are seldom found. They argue that research has not often investigated the factors through which parent expectations affect children's school success. In addition, Reynolds and Gill report that parents' behaviors are a second domain of influence on children's success. Such behaviors as parent monitoring (e.g., providing feedback and reinforcement on homework, monitoring out-of-school activities), parent-child interactions (e.g., reading with child, discussing school progress), and parent involvement in school (e.g., participating in school activities) have been positively associated with school achievement and success (Dombusch, Ritter, & Steinberg, 1991; Dombusch, Ritter, Leiderman, Roberts, & Fraleigh, 1987). 36 Clark (1983) considered the interpersonal relationships to be the family's main contribution to a child's success in school. He argued that the family unit's personnel and role properties (i.e. number of parents in the home, parent's marital status, maternal educational status, migration patterns, ethnic background, and income) are not the sources of children's school behavior, but that the family's beliefs, activities, and overall cultural style rather than composition or social status produces the requisite mental structures for school achievement. Based on ethnographic case studies often African American families, Clark describes how communication is facilitated as families work to produce children's motivations, expectations, and social competence in student roles. Although the study has a limited sample population, it brings attetion to African American family dynamics that are in need of further investigation. By comparing and contrasting the child development strategies used by parents of five high achieving students with the strategies used by parents of five students who were not as successful in classroom activities, Clark shows how parents establish role relationships within the home, how mothers and fathers manipulate affection and material resources in ways that motivate the child to do assigned tasks. Similarly, Datcher-Loury (1988) explored the hypothesis that variation in academic performance is due, in large part, to differences in behavior and attitudes among African American families. She points out that there are substantial variations across families that are identical in parents' education J-r An... ' 'A 37 and work history, family income, family size, and other standard measures of socioeconomic well-being. She cites as an example how some lower income families produce children who graduate from college and become economically successful while children from families within the same community and of similar backgrounds drop out of school and have behavioral problems. Her study builds on previous empirical research focused on scholastic achievement of low-income African American children based on the household production function framework. This frame assumes that the household chooses between investment in raising child quality and all other commodities in order to maximize its utility and that these commodities are produced by the household combining time of its members and goods purchased in the market. The data used in the study was taken from the ETS-Head Start Longitudinal study, which was designed to assess the effects of early education on the cognitive, personal, and social development of young children approximately 3.5 to 4.5 years of age. Subsequent interviews and tests were performed annually until the children were ages 8.5 to 9.5. Achievement was measured by scores on the first-grade and third-grade reading and math subtests of a nationally standardized test developed by the Educational Testing Service. The variables higher goods and time inputs directed raising child quality and higher family productivities in using these inputs were represented, in part, by standard indicators of socioeconomic status such as parents' years of schooling, parents' occupation and employment, and presence of father in the household. Other measures involved indicators Of maternal aspirations (e.g., 38 how much schooling child is expected to complete) for their children and the quality of interactions between mother and child (e.g., how regularly mothers attend PTA-type meetings, how often mothers read stories to the child, what kinds of toys are purchased for the child). In addition, the Eight-Block Sorting Task, administered in 1969, served as a more direct indicator of mother-child interaction. In the tasks, mothers were asked to teach their children to sort blocks by height and by mark in order to examine interactions associated with learning. The analysis indicated that children whose mothers read to them several times a week scored 2.5 points higher on the 1971-72 reading test and almost five points more on the 1973-74 tests. In terms of possible implications for adolescents children and parental influence, this result suggests that while socioeconomic barriers may constrain the possibility of low-income children, they do not preclude many such children from being successful in school and that differences in parents' attitudes and behaviors have large and important long-term effects on childrens' academic performance. In further support of family process rather than socioeconomic status, Ford (1993) cites the related empirical and theoretical research of Slaughter and Epps (1987) and White (1982). Slaughter and Epps (1987) argued that research on the influence of socioeconomic status on educational achievement and attainment of African American students has found relatively weak evidence of its ability to significantly alter achievement. White (1982) found that the correlation between socioeconomic status and achievement is 39 approximately .21 for elementary students and lower (.17) for secondary students. Ford (1993) contends that socioeconomic status alone does not predict African American students' academic performance and based on this rationale, more emphasis should be placed on the achievement orientation of families. She examined various questions regarding African American students' achievement orientation as a function of perceived family achievement orientation and demographic variables. They included the following research questions: (1) How influential are family demographic variables (i.e. primary caregiver, parents' education, occupation, and employment status) and family achievement orientation (parents' values, beliefs, and attitudes) to African American students' achievement orientation?, and (2) To what extent do family demographic variables and family achievement orientation influence African American students' perceptions of social, psychological, and cultural determinants of achievement or underachievement? Her analysis indicated that the family demographic variables contributed little to the sample populations' achievement orientation while family achievement orientation was reported to have greater significant influence. Ford reported these findings to be consistent with Clark’s (1983). Medications Educational motivations are defined as those individual characteristics and beliefs which influence the desire to achieve. These educational motivations have been described as'among the most significant 4O indicators of eventual educational achievement (Eccles & Midgley, 1989; Eccles, Midgley, Wigfield, Buchanan, Reuman, Flanagan, & Mac Iver, 1993; Fordham and Ogbu, 1986; Goodenow & Grady, 1993; Graham, 1994; Graham 8. Long, 1986; Johnson, 1992; Stevenson, Chen, and Uttal, 1990; Weiner, 1990; Whitehead and Smith, 1990). In general, early adolescents are reported to experience a gradual decline in various indicators of academic motivators such as class attendance, school attendance, and self-perception due to the transition from elementary to junior or high school (Eccles & Midgley, 1989; Eccles, Midgley, Wigfield, Buchanan, Reuman, Flanagan, & Mac Iver, 1993; Goodenow & Grady, 1993). More specifically, African American students are thought to perform poorly in school because they are less likely to believe in internal or personal control of outcomes, the belief system theoretically assumed to accompany high achievement-behavior, and they have motivational deficits such as low expectations, feelings of hopelessness, and denial of the importance of individual effort (Asamen & Berry, 1989; Ford, 1993; Graham, 1991 & 1994; Wilson & Banks, 1992). McAdoo (1988) maintains that while African American families have been able to instill positive educational motivations in their children, it has often been difficult for these youths, especially males, to perform successfully in the educational arena due to differences between those characteristics stemming from African American families socialization practices and those attributes expected in the wider society. Wilson and Banks (1992) further explain that the lack of motivation (e.g., feelings of isolation, discburagement, and anxiety) in "FIT 4.5-.1-1u4‘4—u . - \~ e . l 41 African American males in particular is, in part, a result of the inadequacies of some educational systems which provide insufficient resources and achievement opportunities and employ teachers with low expectations. There is some empirical evidence which appears to support these assertions (Ford, 1993; Garibaldi, 1992). Ford (1993) contends that racism and the devalued position of African Americans in society is the primary contributing factor to African American underachievement and that African American children are at the greatest risk of being forgotten in the educational milieu. Her study (1992) found that African American students perceptions of psychological variables such as anxiety, locus of control, isolation, and self-efficacy are the major influences of African American students' motivation to achieve. In addition, family achievement orientations (i.e., students' perceptions that parents consider school important) played the greatest role in positively influencing the students' perceptions of psychological, social, and cultural factors (Ford, 1993). Such findings imply that African American adolescents may not receive the same feedback within the home and school environment. Garibaldi (1992) reached similar conclusions. Among a population of 86,000 African American students (2,250 of whom were male) in a New Orleans urban school district, he found that while parents and children held similar positive beliefs, some African American males (40%) tended to believe that their teachers did not set high enough expectations for them and 60% thought that their teachers should push them harder. 42 Educational motivations such as these have been categorized as personality characteristics which develop as individuals experience their total environments (Johnson, 1992; Graham, 1994). They have been termed a social-motivational construct because they are motivators of individual behavior which develop in the context of individuals interacting with others at home, school, and other social settings. In Graham's (1994) review of research on the educational motivations of African American from the late 19705 to 1990, she noted three major findings. First, as measured by research on need for achievement, or achievement motivation, there is no strong evidence that African Americans lack personality traits associated with motivation. Second, she found that it cannot be concluded that African Americans are more likely than their Caucasian counterparts to endorse extemaVuncontrollable causes for achievement, nor is there evidence that perceived uncontrollability has maladaptive motivational consequences. Lastly, Graham found that both expectancy for future success and self-concept of ability among African Americans remain high even when achievement outcomes indicate otherwise. These conclusions have relative support in theoretical and empirical research (Garibaldi, 1992; Mickelson, 1990; Stevenson, Chen, and Uttal, 1990). Stevenson, Chen, and Uttal (1990) suggest that African American childrens' achievement should be explained using motivational variables such as incentive value of education and the individual's perception of the utility of the academic work rather than those variables dealing with self-concept, anxiety, and attributional patterns. Similar to Graham (1994), they contend that: 43 1) studies have failed to lend empirical support to theories suggesting that African American students' beliefs are any different from other children of color or Caucasian students; 2) African American children' concept of ability are as positive as those of Caucasian children; and 3) the academic performance of African American children could not be attributed to a greater tendency to explain achievement outcomes by external factors such as luck. As previously mentioned, Mickelson (1990) provides some explanation of the inconsistencies between African American achievement efforts and academic outcomes. She points out that although it has been well established that African American youths have positive educational attitudes which have been instilled by their families, their efforts are thwarted by the realities of limited opportunities in society. She argues that while abstract attitudes reflect the more global, dominant ideology that academic achievement will lead to success and upward mobility, concrete attitudes are the diverse realities that people experience in terms of their education being fairly rewarded in the occupational opportunity structure. In terms of understanding educational motivation for African American students, particularly males, it is these concrete attitudes that are important in predicting achievement behavior. Thus, the implication is that the higher the concrete attitudes, the stronger the student's motivation. Mickelson ( 1990) assessed African American and Caucasian students' concrete and abstract attitudes and tested them as predictors of educational achievement. Analysis of variance showed that all students hold both types of attitudes toward schooling. Multiple regressions indicated that concrete rather ~ “I— e o-. -‘J -ch‘a't-u A 44 than abstract attitudes were predictive of achievement. When these concrete attitudes were correlated with students' GPA, there were no discrepancies between African American adolescents' academic performance and attitudes. As stated earlier, Taylor's, Casten's, Flickinger's, Roberts’, and Fulmore's (1994) findings were reported as being consistent with those of Mickelson. Regression analysis in their study revealed that African American public school students' perceptions of the importance of school were significantly related to —- -— —‘ I _ - O..‘ their educational engagement (B :24, p<.05). In addition, African American " public school (B = -.15, p<.05) and Catholic school (B =-.26, p<.01) students' perceptions of discriminatory employment opportunities were negatively associated with their perceptions of the importance of school. These results indicated that the more adolescents perceived unequal employment opportunities, the less importance they attached to schooling, and the less motivated they were in their school work. Based on Graham's (1994) review of research, the bulk of the African American literature has focused on educational motivation constructs of locus of control and need for achievement, which are approaches that place emphasis on the personality traits of individuals. The studies employing these approaches have been criticized for limiting research to motivational comparisons between racial groups (African Americans and Caucasians) and failing to adequately link motivational characteristics to achievement-related behavior (Graham, 1989, 1991,1994) Graham ( 1994) suggests the utilization of 'a more complex approach 45 which is concerned with the self-perceptions of African Americans and incorporates all of the cognitive variables related to achievement strivings. She asserts that studies employing interrelated constructs of causal attribution, perception of control, and expectancy-value in conjunction with African American students' self-perceptions and family socialization processes may be beneficial in uncovering antecedents to motivation. In application of this principle, Ford (1992) uses a 2x2x2 model of achievement motivation produced by three broad indicators of achievement: students' self-reports of grade point average, effort, and teacher feedback each having two levels (high and low). This model incorporates the role of effort and performance as well as the importance function of perceptions. From this model, an exhaustive list using all three criteria of achievement motivation is derived to determine which students were to be categorized as achievers or underachievers. These typological profiles give recognition to individual differences in achievement motivation. In the context of achievement, success and failure are typically attributed to an ability factor that includes both aptitude and acquired skills, an exertion factor that includes immediate and sustained effort, the difficulty or ease of a task, personality, mood, and help or hindrance from others (Graham, 1994, 1991; Weiner, 1985, 1986). Ability and effort, both internal dimensions, are the most salient of these dominant perceived causes. Therefore, in terms of achievement motivation, individuals attach the most importance to their perceived competencies and how hard they try when attempting to explain 46 achievement outcomes. Schultz (1993) examines the theory that achievement motivation will be positively related to minority children' level of achievement performance. Among a sample of 130 fourth through sixth grade African-American and Hispanic children attending an urban elementary school, zero-order correlations indicated that higher achievement motivation was significantly related with better performance levels in math (r=.39) and reading (r=.41). This relationship was independent of the intellectual ability and socioeconomic status of the child. This findings are supported by other studies which report that achievement motivation is an important mediator of differences in minority children' academic performance (Ford, 1992; Marchant, 1991). However, the results of these studies are limited a preadolescent sample of minority children attending urban schools. The relationship between achievement motivation and academic performance may differ with adolescent children. While success for racial/ethnic groups is attained primarily by consistent effort and persistence, African American students, males in particular, face much uncertainty because of the mixed signals they receive in society (McAdoo, 1988; Wilson-Sadberry, Winfield, & Royster 1991; Hale-Benson 1989; Hare, 1987). For example, behaviors associated with motivation that may be viewed as positive for Caucasian males (6.9. aggressive, go-getter) may be perceived negatively for African-American males (e.g., dangerous, needing external controls). Further, African American males may suffer because there is a W; . ,.““l_ 47 preference for the behavioral styles of females in educational settings (Hale- Benson, 1989). In a previously mentioned study, Connell, Halpem-Felsher, Clifford, Crichlow, and Usinger (1995) found that African American males' tendency to , stay in school was positively predicted by school engagement, higher levels of perceived support in the home positively predicted their educational risk behavior, and that higher levels of perceived competence were associated with lower probabilities of males staying in school. Similar to Halpem-Felsher‘s contention (1994), this seems to suggest that those African American males that perceive higher competence and support at home may be more aware of inequitable practices and, consequently, less motivated. Further research on African American adolescent males' perceived parental support and motivation is needed to support this contention. Aspiratims Educational aspirations, defined as desired levels of educational attainment, are also described as significant indicators of eventual educational attainment. While research on motivational constructs indicate an overall, gradual decline among adolescents and reveal unclear findings for African Americans in particular, the recent literature suggests high educational aspirations among African American adolescents (Carter, 1990; Graham, 1994; Hanson, 1994; Hossler 8. Stage, 1992; Jacobs, Karen, & McClelland, 1992; Johnson, 1992; Simmons and Zhou, 1994; Wilson & Wilson, 1992; Wilson- Sadberry, Winfield, & Royster, 1991). In fact, studies have noted that the ‘ '“M min-P “0" ' 48 educational aspirations of African American students from supportive family backgrounds were high regardless of parents' educational level and occupation (Clark, 1983; Wilson-Sadberry, Winfield, & Royster, 1991). However, similar to their educational motivations, literature suggests that African American students' aspirations are not necessarily reflected in academic behavior. Further, research has indicated that there are some differences in educational aspirations by family contexts, gender, and race. One study that relates African American students' aspirations to their academic behavior was conducted to understand the racial, school, and family contexts among adolescents (Simmons and Zhou, 1994). The longitudinal study examined differences between African American and Caucasian adolescents as they move into junior high school and are affected by their families. It was conducted in the Milwaukee public school system following a sample of 512 children (180 African American and 332 Caucasian) from grade six to ten. The researchers found that African American sixth and seventh graders' aspirations are persistent in spite of discrepancies in behavior and declines in their liking of school. Educational aspirations may differ among gender. Hossler & Stage (1992) have found studies on the role of gender in aspirations to be contradictory. While some find gender to be insignificantly related, others found that young women received less family support but have more aspirations toward postsecondary education. In a sample drawn from all students attending 21 high schools in Indiana, 2,497 ninth grade students and their parents were 49 interviewed to test a model of students' educational aspirations and the influences of parents' and students' background characteristics (Hossler & Stage, 1992). Minority students were reported slightly underrepresented (9.6% compared to 10% in the study population) in the subsample, and 49.3% of the students were female. Parents' expectations exerted the strongest influence on students' aspirations throughout the model. Other significant influences were . parents' educational level, student gender,'high school experiences, and “I L.‘A— ‘ student GPA. The model explained 36% of the variance. Females in the study were reported to have higher GPAs, be more involved in high school activities, and have higher educational motivation than males. There were also no reported differences in educational motivations between ethnic groups. However, a more homogeneous population chosen on the basis of gender and ethnicity may have increased the explained variance. Hanson (1994) showed that boys' educational aspirations and expectations exceed girls and the consistency between aspirations and expectations of men is greater than for young women. She used data from the High School and Beyond longitudinal study conducted in 1980 by the National Center for Education, the unrealized educational aspirations and expectations (lost talent) of senior and graduated students were explored. Out of 28,000 seniors interviewed in 1980 and reinterviewed in 1982, 1984, and 1986, the subsample used for this study was limited to those students who responded to all four interviews, who showed some signs of early talent, and who had aspirations for a college degree in 1980. The size and gender and ethnic 50 distribution of this reduced subsample was not reported. Logistic regression analysis revealed that individuals from upper SES are more likely to have higher expectations (.90 as compared to .77 for lower SES youths). Factors affecting the unequal aspirations and expectations of the adolescents differed among males and females. Locus of control, friends' educational values, and standardized math scores were factors found to be significant for females. Mothers' educational expectations, the age at which the students expected to have their first child, and GPA were significant factors for males. Mean scores showed that minorities in the sample had slightly higher aspirations (.39) than Caucasians (.38). It was also found that Caucasian youths were more likely to have reduced educational expectations than minority youths. These findings are questionable because there is a lack of adequate information on the gender and ethnic representation and the results were either partially or poorly reported. The implications of these results are difficult to ascertain. Wilson & Wilson (1992) also used a subsample of the High School and Beyond study to determine which family and school environmental factors significantly influenced adolescents' educational aspirations. A subsample of 2,896 high school seniors were taken from a 1985 sample of the High School and Beyond (HSB) longitudinal study of the National Center for Educational Statistics. The subsample consisted of an equal proportion of males and females, 93.9% Caucasian and 6.1% African American. They found adolescents' educational aspirations to be significantly affected by family environment variables (e.g., parents' educational level, parents' perceived 51 aspirations, parent monitoring of schoolwork, and parents' influence on high school program). Logistic regression results showed males to have higher aspirations when parents aspirations were perceived to be high. Similar to Hanson's (1994) results, they also found that African American adolescent males showed an increased likelihood (47%) of having high aspirations than Caucasian males (38%) and African American and Caucasian females (33%). No significant relationship between adolescent aspirations and gender of the parent were found. In relation to the correlation between African American adolescents aspirations, family background predictors, and achievement, Wilson-Sadberry, Winfield, 8: Royster (1991) found that the educational plans of African American males were three times as important as family socioeconomic status in predicting postsecondary educational attainment (Wilson-Sadberry, Winfield, & Royster, 1991). From a sample of 1,213 African American male seniors enrolled in public high schools, it was found that the majority (66%) of those African American males who completed high school and continued in postsecondary educational attainment were lower economically statused. Wilson-Sadberry, Winfield, & Royster (1991) maintain that family SES is an important predictor in the attainment of African American males' educational aspirations because of the financial and human resources available to support academic success, monitor academic behaviors, and provide continual encouragement. They reported their analyses to be similar to one study ( ) which showed that factors such as'parents' general level of encouragement and 52 concern, student's belief in work ethic, and educational aspirations are twice as important in predicting African-American students performance as variables measuring family background. mm! The research reviewed here emphasizes the importance of African American families’ and school support networks in the development of African I American adolescents’ educational outcomes. African American families have strong educational beliefs and values, and they instill these characteristics in I their children. This socialization process becomes more complex as African American families prepare their children to function within the dual existence of their culture and that of the larger society. The complexity of this dual existence is exemplified in African American students’ (particularly African American males’) diverse educational orientation and achievement. Although African American students may desire to achieve, these aspirations are not always reflected in their academic performance. Also, while educational aspirations tend to be high, the educational motivations of African American students tends to be low. In addition to family support for education, supportive adult networks in schools have been shown to influence African American adolescents’ educational orientations. The research has implied that the successful educational outcomes of African American students is dependent, in part, upon their perceptions of interactions and experiences that occur in schools. Teachers’ expectations and behaviors as well as the disproportionate 53 allocations of African American students (particularly males) in special education classes contribute to differences in educational motivations and aspirations. While there is some evidence that family and school supports are essential to African American adolescents’ educational orientations, some questions still remain. The specific processes of African American families’ which encourage their children to achieve are uncertain. Researchers do not agree concerning which facets of African American families’ environment are more predictive of their childrens’ educational motivations and aspirations. Further, the relationship between African American’s family socialization practices and school support networks has not been clearly established. .40.“. In“. -.r er ‘ CHAPTER III Methods : . IE I D . This study used a secondary analysis of data to describe how African American adolescent males' educational orientations are influenced by their perceptions of their family and school support for education. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sample population and describe the relationship between family background variables and family process variables. Stepwise multiple regression analyses will be used to describe the relationship between the African American adolescent males' educational orientation and influential family factors. W Sample The sample population of 478 African American adolescent male ninth graders in this study is a subsample of a larger study, the Community-Based Profile of Michigan Youth, investigating children, youths, and families in the state of Michigan. The larger study is a collaboration of: Lutheran Brotherhood, a national fraternal benefits society; Search Institute, a non-profit research organization in Minneapolis, MN; and 13,000 Adolescents Speak: Profile of MI Youth in the Department of Institute of Children, Youth, and Families at Michigan State University (Keith & Perkins, 1995). This collaborative study assessed Michigan youths' views of school life, their experiences with religious and other youth-serving organizations, and perceptions of their community. 54 55 Five key elements assessed in the Community-Based Profile of Michigan Youth were: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) External assets: What are the positive influences in our childrens' lives that come from those around them, such as parental support and friendships? lntemal Assets: What are the positive influences in our childrens' lives that come from within, such as personal values and a commitment to help others? Deficits: What are the negative influences in our childrens' lives that inhibit positive development such as poverty or neglect? Pro-social behavior: What are the positive, healthy behaviors in which our children are involved? At-risk behavior: What are the negative behaviors in which our children are involved? The characteristics of the subsample used in this secondary study are described in Table 1. The students ranged from 13-17 years of age. Although the majority of these African American males resided in single-parent homes (52.9%), many lived with both parents (48.7%). More of these students’ parents attained higher than a high school education (50.7%) versus those parents who completed high school (30.1%). The percentage of mothers with college level educations (50.7%) was higher than fathers’ with college level educations (38.2%). The greater portion of the African American students (48.4%) in this 4 ‘ “fill—”hut? 56 sample earned mostly 2.5 to 4.0 grade averages in school, and a smaller group (27.3%) earned 1.0 to 2.5 grade averages. The majority (88.0%) reported that they planned to attain a trade school level or institution of higher education. Instmmentaflcn The Search Institute Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors questionnaire (a 152-item questionnaire) was used, and it is based on self- reports. The survey was conducted in 245 schools/communities, including nearly 90,000 youth in grades 6-12. The present study will use a subsample of the 13,000 Adolescents speak: Profile of MI Youth study which was administered to seventh, ninth, and eleventh grade students from randomly selected communities in 1993. This study is consistent with the control variables of ethnicity (African American), grade level (ninth grade), and gender (males) [N=478; see Table 1]. Validity was suggested through the consistency of patterns within the data and the consistency of findings across several years of using the survey. Reliability was based on the extensive histories of the various measures which include over 35 years of research conducted by the Search Institute as well as other methodological studies. The most recent application of the survey reported by the Search Institute was between September 1989 and September 1991. The reliabilities for the Parent Involvement in Schooling Scale was .74, the reliability for the Positive School Climate Scale was .72, and the reliability for the Achievement Motivation Scale was .59. - ’ ' '—‘.T".‘ZI'TTle.em 57 Q I' II! I"Ii African American adolescents males’ educational orientations and their perceptions of their family socioeconomic status and adult support in the home and schools will be measured based on the concepts presented in the literature. The following sections describe how each construct will be measured. African American male students’ responses to the question, “What is the highest level of schooling your mother completed”, will be utilized to determine African American adolescent males’ perceived socioeconomic status. Those students who have mothers that attained some college education, completed college and acquired some graduate or professional training after college will be grouped as having a higher perceived family socioeconomic status. Those students whose mothers completed high school will be grouped as having moderate levels of perceived family socioeconomic status, and those students whose mothers did not complete high school will be grouped as having a lower perceived socioeconomic status. We African American males’ perceptions of school support will be measured based on their agreement with three statements: (1) My teachers really care about me, (2) My teachers don’t pay much attention to me, and (3) I get a lot of encouragement at my school. Students who agree or strongly agree that their teachers care, that they get a lot of encouragement, and that their 58 teachers do pay attention to them (this question is reversed) will be reported as having high perceptions of school support. Those who either disagree or strongly disagree that their teachers care and that they don’t get encouragement and those who agree or strongly agree that their teachers do pay attention to them will be reported as having low perceptions school support. E 'I S l f E I I' This study will measure family support for education by students’ responses of four questions: (1) How often does one of your parents help you with your school work?, (2) How often does one of your parents talk to you about what you’re doing in school?, (3) How often does on of your parents ask you about homework?, and (4) How often does one of your parents go to meetings or events at your school? Students who respond often or very often will be considered as having high perceived family support for education. Students who respond sometimes will be considered as having moderate perceptions of family support for education, and those who respond seldom or never will be considered as having low perceptions of family support for educafion. E I I' I Dr' I I' This study will measure educational orientations using African American male students’ responses to the following questions and statements: (1) In an average week about how many hours do you spend doing homework?, (2) At school, I try as hard as I can to do my best work, (3) I don’t care how I do in school, and (4) How many years do you think you will go to 59 school? The students’ responses will be reported in three ways. First, those students who indicate that they spend six or more hours doing homework, strongly agree to trying hard to do their best work, strongly disagree to not caring how they perform in school, and want to achieve a trade school education or higher will be reported as having high responses to the four questions. Second, those students who indicate that they spend less than two hours doing homework, disagree or strongly disagree to trying hard to do their best work, strongly agree to not caring how they do in school, and want to quit school as soon as possible will be reported as having low responses to the four questions. Lastly, those students who indicate that they spend three to five hours doing homework, agree to trying hard to do their best work, disagree to caring how they perform in school, and want to finish high school will be reported as having moderate responses to the four questions. QQDILQLILaLiaIzles This study controlled for ethnicity (African American), gender (males), and grade level (91h grade). WM Educational Level of Mother Family Support for Education School Support I v h This variable will be from responses to question #12 on the Search Institute Profiles of Student Life Survey: 60 V12. What is the highest level of schooling your mother completed? (a) Completed grade school or less (b) Some high school (c) Completed high school (d) Some college (e) Graduate or professional school after college (f) Don't know or does not apply E 'l I I r I I' This variable will be from responses to question #5 26, and 27 on the Search Institute Profiles of Student Life Survey: How often does one of your parents...? V25. Help you with your school work (5)Very often (4)Often (3)Sometimes (2)Seldom (1)Never V26. Talk to you about what you are doing in school. (5)Very often (4)Often (3)Sometimes (2)Seldom (1)Never V27. Ask you about homework. (5)Very often (4)Often (3)Sometimes (2)Seldom (1)Never V28. Go to meetings or events at your school? (5)Very often (4)Often (3)Sometimes (2)Seldom (1)Never mm This variable will be from responses to question #3 31, 34, and 35 61 on the Search Institute Profiles of Student Life Survey: V31. My teachers really care about me. (5) Strongly agree(4)agree(3)not sure(2)disagree(1)Strongly disagree V34. My teachers don’t pay much attention to me (Reversed responses) (1) Strongly agree(2)agree(3)not sure(4)disagree(5)Strongly disagree V35. I get a lot of encouragement at my school. (5) Strongly agree(4)agree(3)not sure(2)disagree(1)Strongly disagree D IIII'II'EI I. ID'II' Educational Aspirations Educational Motivation io ir ' n These variables will be from responses to question # 5 on the Search Institute Profiles of Student Life Survey: V5. How many years do you think you will go to school? (a)I would like to quit as soon as possible. (b)l plan to finish high school but I don't think I'll go to college. (c)l'd like to go some kind of trade school or vocational school after high schooL (d)l'd like to go to college after high school. (e)l'd like to go to college and then go on after college to graduate or professional school. 62 Educational Motiygtion These variables will be from responses to question # s 22, 29, 32 and 33 on the Search Institute Profiles of Student Life Survey: V22. In an average week, about how many hours do you spend doing homework? (5) 11 hours or more (4) 6-10 hours (3) 3-5 hours (2) 1-2 hours (1) 0 hours V29. At school I try as hard as I can to do my best work. (5)Strongly agree (4)Agree (3)Not sure (2)Disagree (1)Strongly Disagree V32. It bothers me when I don’t do something well. (5)Strongly agree (4)Agree (3)Not sure (2)Disagree (1)Strongly Disagree V33. I don’t care how I do in school. (5)Strongly agree (4)Agree (3)Not sure (2)Disagree (1)Strongly Disagree W Based on the above review of research it is clear that adolescents' perceptions of family support for educational achievement influence their educational orientation and attainment. While family support for African American males is evident, the specific school support networks and family processes which influence their educational motivations and aspirations remains unclear. The study of the relationship between family support for 63 educational and African American male adolescent educational orientation will focus on the following research questions: 1) What is the relationship between African American adolescent males' perceived family support and educational motivation? 2) What is the relationship between African American adolescent males' perceived family support and educational aspiration? 3) What is the relationship between African American adolescent males’ perceived school support and educational motivation? 4) What is the relationship between African American adolescent males’ perceived school support and educational aspiration? 5) Are African American families’ socioeconomic levels more predictive of African American males’ educational orientation than are families support for educafion? dilemmas H1 African American adolescent males with perceptions of higher family support will report higher levels of educational motivation than African American adolescent males with perceptions of lower family support. H2 African American adolescent males with perceptions of higher levels of family support will report higher levels of educational aspirations than African American adolescent males with lower family support. H3 African American adolescent males with perceptions of higher school support will report higher levels of educational motivation than African American adolescent males with perceptions of lower school support. 64 H4 African American adolescent males with perceptions of higher levels of school support will report higher levels of educational aspirations than African American adolescent males with lower school support. H5 African American adolescents males’ with higher perceived family support will have higher perceived school support than African American adolescent males with lower perceived family support. H6 African American adolescents males’ perceived family support and perceived school support will each be more significant predictors of their educational orientations than mothers’ educational level. Analxs'LLStLategv Alpha reliabilities were done on the educational motivation variable and the independent family and school support variables in the subsample of the population. A reliability analysis of the construct educational orientation was also run to determine whether it can reliably represent students’ combined educational motivations and aspirations. Descriptive statistics were used to obtain frequency distributions, means, variances, and cross-tabulations of the family socioeconomic variable as well as the incidence of reported responses of the independent and dependent variables. Analysis of variances (ANOVA) were run to determine the relationships between the family support variable and the educational motivation and aspiration variables. ANOVAs was also run to determine the relationship between the school support variables and the educational motivation and aspirations variables. The interaction effects of family support and school . l. .—‘I. _—.—_ --. u...“ 65 support on educational motivations and aspirations were ascertained using these procedures. Further, step-wise multiple regression analyses were then conducted to determine the influence of multiple independent variables on educational orientations. The construct educational orientation was examined in a step- wise regression in relation to the influences of the family SES, and family and school support variables. x...- .Mv‘-—_—___— f. CHAPTER IV Results :. _=. n' '. _ .. . .z Izozlqzl ..._ “an”. .. .‘_.|= The frequency distributions of the independent and dependent variables used in this study are reported in Table 2. High, moderate, and low levels were determined based on the means for family support for education, school support, educational motivations and educational aspirations (Isaac & Michael, 1982). As shown in Table 2. ranges above the average levels of family and school support were grouped as low and those below the average range were grouped as high. High levels of educational motivations and aspirations are those ranges above the average, and low levels are those below the average. The majority of the students perceived moderate to high levels of family support (65.3%) and school support (67.1%). These students’ responses indicated that they agreed or strongly agreed to family and school items corresponding to high perceived support. Mothers’ educational levels were moderate (high school graduates) to high (college level education). The majority of mothers (50.7%) had more than a high school education. This is comparable to the national norm which indicates that 67% of African American females graduate from high school and 11% graduate from college (US. Bureau of the Census, 1993). The educational orientations of the most of students in this sample were moderate to high. Educational motivations were moderate to high among 79.1% of the students, and 81.0% had high aspirations. 66 67 I: : oo“:. . .g : . I:.;.._;. d. .g;.;1._;. ; '3. ; - When intercorrelations were run to determine the relationships among the independent variable groups, individual items for family and school support were all highly intercorrelated (p <.001). Therefore, the items for each variable were grouped as lndices. Reliability analysis for family support showed the highest Cronbach (alpha = .73). The school support index had a modest Cronbach (alpha = .58). These results are reported in Tables 3 and 4. Reliabilities were conducted to assess the strength of educational aspirations and motivations both as individual measures as a group. Educational aspirations and motivations were shown to be highly correlated. A reliability analysis of educational motivations showed a modest Cronbach (alpha=.53). However, a stronger reliability was shown for educational aspirations and motivations as a single index (alpha = .59). Therefore, the educational orientation index will be used for further empirical analyses. Refer to Tables 5 and 6 for descriptions of the correlational and reliability analyses. Ana ' . rin : . menu. .12.- : an q. -. l°|-. 0 =1 -. u Hypotheses 1-4 were supported. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significantly higher mean levels of aspirations (p < .05) and motivations (p < .0001) for the African American males with higher perceived family support (See Table 7.). ANOVAs also showed significantly higher levels of aspirations (p < .0001) and motivations (p < .0001) for those African American males with higher school support (See Table 8). 68 Additional analysis of variance statistics were conducted to assess the relationship between family and school support. In support of hypothesis 5, results showed that African American males with higher levels of family support had higher levels of school support. These results are reported in Table 9. SI 'IIII'IB 'El' In support of hypothesis 6, a stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that mothers’ educational level was not a significant predictor of African American males’ educational orientations (See Table 10). However, as shown in Table 10., perceived family and school support were shown to be highly significant predictors of educational orientations. School support was entered first into the equation, as it showed the highest correlation with educational orientations (p < .0001). Family support was entered in step 2 of the equation (p < .001). Together perceived family and school support explained 17% of the variance in levels of educational orientations. A series of regressions were run to show the linkages between the independent variables and African American adolescents’ educational orientation outcomes. Multiple regression equations were used to assess the influence of mothers’ educational level on family and school support. Another multiple regression equation was used to assess the predictive power of mothers’ level of education and family support on school support. These analyses were then related to the regression analysis of all the independent variables as they influenced students’ educational orientations. The results of this regression model are presented in Figure 1. Mothers’ educational level 69 shows a highly significant influence on levels of family support ([2 < .001). However, mothers’ educational level had no significant influence on either school support or educational orientations. Family support is shown to significantly influenced school support (12 <.0001) as well as students’ educational orientations (p < .001). CHAPTER V Discussion E' I' This study focuses on the positive aspects of African American males’ achievement development in attempting to identify their perceptions of supportive family and school environments and its influence on their educational orientations. Much of the findings in this study were supportive of the hypothesized expectations. African American males who perceived higher levels of family and school support showed higher educational motivations and aspirations. This is consistent with the literature. Researchers generally agree that supportive adult networks in the home, school, and community significantly impact African American students achievement related outcomes (Connell, Halpem-Felsher, Clifford, Crichlow, & Usinger, 1995; Garibaldi, 1992; Goodenow & Grady, 1993). The majority of African American students in this study reported moderate to high levels of family and school support. The percentage of those students who perceived high school support were slightly higher than the percentage of those who reported high family support, and, interestingly, school support was more significantly associated with African American males’ educational orientations than family support. While this finding may be due, in part, to the small percentage of missing data for reports of family support, there are few studies which investigate the reciprocal relationship between family and school 70 71 interactions and achievement outcomes for African American males. This study found that perceived family support for education had a direct and strongly significant impact on the students’ perceptions of school support as well as on the students’ educational orientations. Also, the results of this study showed that African American males with higher school support had higher family support. These findings suggest that adult networks in the in the home and school significantly predict African American adolescent males’ educational orientations. Further, the direct and indirect influences of African American families’ support for education stresses the important roles that they play in creating and maintaining positive linkages which facilitate adolescents’ educational development. It also delineates the important role they play in socializing their children to successfully function within two cultures. Consistent with these views, McAdoo (1988) and others (Feagans & Bartsch, 1993; Ryan 8 Stiller, 1991; Wilson & Wilson, 1992) assert that African American students experience more successful educational outcomes when the expectations of family and schools are perceived to be similar and positive. Graham (1994) and others have suggested that comprehensive measures of variables which influence achievement could provide more decisive information on African American students’ academic performance. This study explored the relationship of family and school support to the index of educational orientation as a means of creating a stronger associative model of achievement. While the index showed only a modest reliability, it fosters further exploration of a more complex and comprehensive approach that adequately 72 addresses achievement-related behavior. A tendency of African American students to have high aspirations and low motivations has been reported in the literature. The results of this study are similar. The African American males’ in this study showed moderate to high levels of educational motivations. They also indicated markedly high educational aspirations which exceeded their reports of educational motivations. Fordham & Ogbu (1986 ) suggest that differences such as these in African American adolescents educational aspirations and motivations reflects their negative perceptions of socioeconomic opportunities in the larger society. Although family support was more predictive of educational orientations than mother’s educational level as expected, it was surprising that mother’s educational level had no significant predictive power. Further regression analysis showed that while mothers’ educational level was found to have no direct influence on educational orientations, it showed a strongly significant and direct link to mothers’ educational level and perceived family support. This lends support to studies espousing families’ academically related processes and interactions as more significantly related to African American students’ educational outcomes (Clark, 1988; Datcher-Loury, 1988; Reynolds & Gill, 1994). This finding also supports Ford’s (1993) and Slaughter and Epps’s (1987) implications that empirical findings in the literature has provided relatively weak associations between socioeconomic factors and achievement. The inclusion of other factors (e.g., income) as a measure of socioeconomic status could provide stronger support for this and other findings. Recognizing 73 this limitation, it is tentatively proposed that mothers’ educational level is significant to the extent that it serves as a source of capital from which African American families can draw to more effectively interact with their children. Families’ supportive socialization practices appears to be the key to encouraging educational orientations for the African American adolescent males in this study. These interactive family processes in conjunction with supportive school networks form a necessary partnership from which to build upon and improve educational programs. Considering the disparaging educational outcomes facing many African American males, this study points to specific links within the relationship of these adolescents’ educational orientations and perceived family and school support networks which can be developed to better address their educational needs. imi i f h This study relied upon the self-perceptions of African American males. While it is clear that self-perceptions of students is essential to the study of their ‘ achievement related outcomes, the inclusion of family and teacher perspectives may have provided a more comprehensive understanding of African American males’ educational orientations. Also, the findings of this sample may only be generalizable to African American adolescent males. The use of secondary data limited the degree to which variables in the study could be developed and analyzed. As a result, a broader range of socioeconomic factors that may have influenced the sample could not be examined. Additionally, the relative strength of the indices were controlled by 74 the use of a limited number of questions which were not specifically designed for the constructs examined in this study. Implications This study of African American adolescent males’ educational orientations emphasizes the need for mutually supportive adult networks that enhance and develop their academic acumen. Three areas of research are suggested for future investigations. First, studies of African American male students should focus on the specific processes of support for achievement that exist within their families as socioeconomic factors may be too broad a category from which to draw definitive results. Secondly, as the process of attainment is not an isolated phenomena, the development of a more inclusive measure of African American students’ educational orientations could expand avenues that more effectively investigate factors relating to their successful achievement. Lastly, studies should strive toward investigations that recognize any reciprocal relationships that may exist between the African American students’ families and supportive adult networks in the educational environment. 75 Table 1. E 1 . C] . . mm: 2'2 Mm 812 Child Characteristics Age (Years): 14.8 .78 13-17 Residence/Household Composition # of Children in Adoptive Families 3.2 Live With Both Parents 48.7 Reside with Single Parent 52.9 Parents Divorced or Separated 52.8 Adult Educational Characteristics High School Graduate - Mother 30.1 Some College - Mother 22.8 College Graduate - Mother 21.8 Graduate/Professional - Mother 6.1 High School Graduate - Father 41.1 Some College - Father 16.7 College Graduate - Father 16.3 Graduate/Professional - Father 5.2 Child Educational Characteristics Grade in School: Mostly A & B’s 18.4 Mostly B & C’s 40.0 Mostly C & D’s 27.3 Educational Plans Finish High School/No College 9.4 Go to College 58.9 Trade School 6.9 College and Graduate/Professional School 22.2 76 Table 2. .0 1 Di no .u 0 nor ’ .0 91.2 ,a'v 1-11 um. SD Mother’s Educational Level 4.2 1.44 High: Some College or Higher 50.7 Moderate: High School Graduate 30.1 Low: Some High School or Less 7.9 Family Support For Education: 10.2 3.60 High: (4-8) 34.6 Moderate: (9-11) 30.7 Low: (12-20) 33.2 School Support: 11.2 3.07 High: (4-9) 29.2 Moderate: (10-12) 37.9 Low: (13-20) 31.6 Educational Motivations 14.5 2.65 High: (1620) 38.9 Moderate: (13-15) 40.2 Low: (1620) 19.2 Educational Aspirations 3.9 .94 High: (4-5) 81.0 Moderate: 3 6.9 Low: (1-2) 11.9 ...‘; 1'49- *L'-A 77 Table 3. : 01:..I- 3:113: =1: 0 at .9001 11.. no -9901 Index 1 2 3 4 Family Support (n=478) 1. Help with school work __ .45" .38" .42" 2. Talk about what you’re doing in school __ .59" .34" 3. Ask about homework __ .31“ 4. Go to meetings or events at school __ School Support (n=478) 1. Like school __ .28" .20“ .23“ 2. Teachers really care about me __ .35" .30" 3. Teachers don’t pay attention to me .25" 4. I get a lot of encouragement at my school "Q < .001 - -‘—-‘—‘_ '—“".—-v--..q —_ '-—.': i Table 4. 78 t" Aoool '00 geool Family Support 4 .73 School Support 3 .58 79 Table 5. l3 o :10. :3h33l z“ e is. 1'1: 01:1;0 Index 1 2 3 4 5 Educational Orientations (n=478) 1. Hours spent doing school work __ .20“ .23" .21" .27“ 2. I try as hard as I can to do my best work _ .24" .22" .20" 3. It bothers me when I don’t do something well _ .24” .1 6" 4. I don’t care how I do in school _ .30" 5. Aspiration _ "Q < .001 80 Table 6. Educational Motivations 4 .53 Educational Orientations 5 .59 81 Table 7. A1: '1 —.=.| = 0 A ' -.| Al N I u 01-. 0 =1 0| W EamilLSuanQn Mable if M 512 E Motivation 2, 461 17.363*”* High 2.469 .622 Moderate 2.289 .655 Low 2.038 .687 Aspiration 2, 467 4622* High 2.769 .590 Moderate 2.7619 .589 Low 2.5696 .784 *p_ < .05 "*Q < .0001 "7":"71‘ 1” ‘ “:1 82 Table 8. An: ' - -.l—.l : o A '=.|At:1 3.1111- 0 -1 0: WW SshooLSuaan lariable d! M 5.0 E Motivation 2, 456 32.275*** High 2.586 .580 Moderate 2.333 .620 Low 1.945 .695 Aspiration 2, 458 9.881 *** High 2.829 .508 Moderate 2.771 .591 Low 2.514 .807 "*Q < .0001 “Al-‘4‘...- L 83 Table 9. ;l—.| ' 0 :.I-. : 0 A111 111-. '- - -- 1 -9901.- W School Support Variable :11 M 52 E Family Support 2, 439 2967*“ High 10.348 3.078 Moderate 10.883 2.760 Low 12.306 2.925 "*Q < .0001 84 Table 10. Predictor Variable(s) R2 8 SE t Step 1 .153 School Support 1.013 .119 8.502" Step 2 .177 Family Support .388 .116 3350* School Support .934 .120 7.782" Mother’s Education *p < .001 "p < .0001 85 .29“ .04“: Educafional Orientations Mothers’ . 1 2 ‘ " ‘ Educaflon Baum, Regression Model Predicting the Influences of Mothers’ Educational Level. Family Support, and School Support on Educational Orientations. “ p<.001. “‘ p<.0001. Standard betas are presented. CHAPTER Vl References Airhihenbuwa, C., & Cole, G. (1988). 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