Discussions and research related to the salience of Black male
student needs and development in relation to their general success
and well?being is well?documented in many fields. Indeed, many
studies have found that healthy masculine identity development is
associated with a number of positive outcomes for males in general,
including Black males. In school counseling literature, however,
this discussion has been relatively absent-particularly regarding
those students living in urban contexts. Indeed, research devoted
to the study of Black males in the school counseling literature
focuses almost exclusively on race and issues associated with its
social construction with only cursory, if any, attention given to
their masculine identity development as a function of living in
urban communities and attending urban schools. Based on this lack
of information, it is probably a safe assumption that intentional,
systematic, culturally relevant efforts to assist Black males in
developing healthy achievement and masculine identities based on
their unique personal, social, academic experiences and future
career goals are not being applied by school counselors concerned
with meeting students' needs. School counselors are in a unique
position, nonetheless, to lend their considerable
expertise-insights, training and skills-to improving life outcomes
among Black males-a population who are consistently in positions of
risk according to a number of quality of life indicators. Without
knowledge and awareness of Black males' masculine identity
development in urban areas, coupled with the requisite skills to
influence the myriad factors that enhance and impede healthy
development in such environments, they are missing out on
tremendous opportunities which other professions appear to
understand and, quite frankly, seem to take more seriously. As
such, this book proposes to accomplish two specific goals: 1.
Highlight the plight of Black males with specific emphasis on the
ecological components of their lives in relation to current school
culture and trends. 2. Encourage school counselors to give more
thought to Black male identity development that takes into
consideration differential experiences in society as a whole, and
schools in particular, as a function of the intersection of their
race, as well as their gender. The first rationale for this book,
then, is to highlight the plight of Black males with specific
emphasis on the ecological components of their lives in relation to
current school culture and trends (e.g., standards?based
accountability practices) in urban environments. However, I
recognize the role of school counselors has never been fully
integrated into educational reform programs. As such, their
positions are often unregulated and determined by people in
positions of power who do not understand their training,
job?specific standards and, thus, potential impact on the lives of
Black male students. As a result, their vast potential to develop
strong interventions designed to address the myriad racial and
masculine factors that serve to enhance and impede Black males'
academic achievement is often unrealized. Therefore, the second
reason for this special issue is to include the scholarship of
professional school counselors and counselor educators with policy
change in mind. Scholars will be invited to contribute manuscripts
that explore race, masculinity and academic achievement in relation
to the role of school counselors. This is designed to encourage
school counselors and counselor educators to give more thought to
Black male identity development that takes into consideration
differential experiences in society as a whole, and schools in
particular, as a function of the intersection of their race, as
well as their gender.
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