Who is Whistling Vivaldi?:
How Black Football Players Engage with Stereotype Threats in CollegeWhitney Nicole Griffin Chair of the Supervisory Committee:Professor Clayton Cook Educational PsychologyResearch has shown that the threat of negative stereotypes can have pernicious effects on the decision-making thoughts and behaviors for those who are targets (Steele, 2011). When college students and professors subscribe to stereotypes that student-athletes enter college based solely on their physical abilities rather than their academic and intellectual capabilities, targets of the stereotypes may experience identity dissonance that exacerbates their decisions, behaviors, and ultimately their academic performance. In light of the impact of negative stereotypes on student-athlete performance, the purpose of this dissertation was to conduct a phenomenological, qualitative study that examined how Black male football players engage and cope with negative stereotypes at a predominantly White institution (PWI). Data was collected and analyzed from semi-structured interviews with 10 Black male football student-athletes employing grounded theory methodology to examine how they experience, are affected by, and respond to negative stereotypes.Empirical results elucidate various strategies employed to engage with stereotype threat.Thematic categories include responses that exacerbated, habituated to, or mitigated the stereotype encounter. The current study investigates the successful coping strategies Black football players currently use. Emergent themes gained from this inquiry helped the researcher 4 identify specific harbingers for interventions that would inculcate Black male student-athletes with tools to mitigate negative stereotypes that may undermine their performance in college and all areas of life. Implications are further discussed for postulating an institutionalized workshop series designed to teach effective coping mechanisms for all Black athletes.
The same working memory and reading and writing achievement phenotypes (behavioral markers of genetic variants) validated in prior research with younger children and older adults in a multi-generational family genetics study of dyslexia were used to study 81 adolescent and young adults (ages 16 to 25) from that study. Dyslexia is impaired word reading and spelling skills below the population mean and ability to use oral language to express thinking. These working memory predictor measures were given and used to predict reading and writing achievement: Coding (storing and processing) heard and spoken words (phonological coding), read and written words (orthographic coding), base words and affixes (morphological coding), and accumulating words over time (syntax coding); Cross-Code Integration (phonological loop for linking phonological name and orthographic letter codes and orthographic loop for linking orthographic letter codes and finger sequencing codes), and Supervisory Attention (focused and switching attention and self-monitoring during written word finding). Multiple regressions showed that most predictors explained individual difference in at least one reading or writing outcome, but which predictors explained unique variance beyond shared variance depended on outcome. ANOVAs confirmed that research-supported criteria for dyslexia validated for younger children and their parents could be used to diagnose which adolescents and young adults did (n=31) or did not (n=50) meet research criteria for dyslexia. Findings are discussed in reference to the heterogeneity of phenotypes (behavioral markers of genetic variables) and their application to assessment for accommodations and ongoing instruction for adolescents and young adults with dyslexia.
The purpose of this study was to explore how NCAA Division I athlete STEM graduates viewed their undergraduate experiences with members of the campus community such as academic advisors, other athletes, faculty, nonathlete students, and coaches. Using several interpretive frameworks, this study found that stereotypical assumptions, whether positive or negative, were conditional upon the athlete's gender. Moreover, male athletes reported feeling a level of acceptance from campus members, although this same experience was eventually interpreted as token or conditional acceptance, largely because they were subjected to salient athlete microaggressions and considered exceptional but not entirely accepted by the academic community. The study also discovered that athletes who pursued degrees in STEM fields engaged in in-group stereotyping of other athletes, and some were aware of the social significance of race and intersectional identities in shaping the quality of their college experiences. These findings have implications for faculty, student affairs professionals, and others who frequently interact with college athletes and are committed to creating more equitable educational environments.
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