John Ogbu has studied minority education from a comparative
perspective for over 30 years. The study reported in this
book--jointly sponsored by the community and the school district in
Shaker Heights, Ohio--focuses on the academic performance of Black
American students. Not only do these students perform less well
than White students at every social class level, but also less well
than immigrant minority students, including Black immigrant
students. Furthermore, both middle-class Black students in suburban
school districts, as well as poor Black students in inner-city
schools are not doing well. Ogbu's analysis draws on data from
observations, formal and informal interviews, and statistical and
other data. He offers strong empirical evidence to support the
cross-class existence of the problem.
The book is organized in four parts:
*Part I provides a description of the twin problems the study
addresses--the gap between Black and White students in school
performance and the low academic engagement of Black students; a
review of conventional explanations; an alternative perspective;
and the framework for the study.
*Part II is an analysis of "societal and school factors"
contributing to the problem, including race relations, Pygmalion or
internalized White beliefs and expectations, levelling or tracking,
the roles of teachers, counselors, and discipline.
*"Community factors"--the focus of this study--are discussed in
Part III. These include the educational impact of opportunity
structure, collective identity, cultural and language or dialect
frame of reference in schooling, peer pressures, and the role of
the family. This research focus does "not" mean exonerating the
system and blaming minorities, nor does it mean neglecting school
and society factors. Rather, Ogbu argues, the role of community
forces should be incorporated into the discussion of the academic
achievement gap by researchers, theoreticians, policymakers,
educators, and minorities themselves who genuinely want to improve
the academic achievement of African American children and other
minorities.
*In Part IV, Ogbu presents a summary of the study's findings on
community forces and offers recommendations--some of which are for
the school system and some for the Black community.
"Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb: A Study of Academic
Disengagement" is an important book for a wide range of
researchers, professionals, and students, particularly in the areas
of Black education, minority education, comparative and
international education, sociology of education, educational
anthropology, educational policy, teacher education, and applied
anthropology.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
