Weighing In: Elementary-Age Students and the Debate on Attitudes toward School among Black Students

Abstract

Many of theprevailing theories concerning the relatively lowacademic performance of African American students tend to center on the attitudes of adolescents. Much less research attention has been paid to the attitudes ofyoungerstudents. As a result, the image of black adolescents -who, like mostAmerican adolescents, exhibitoppositional attitudes -hascometo represent much of what we know and takefor granted about blackstudents as a group. The findings of this study, basedon data collected in an ethnographic studyof twoall-black elementary schools, suggest that black children begin school very muchachievement-oriented and engaged with theprocess ofschooling. These findings provide evidence that the school experience plays a significant role in the development of attitudes toward school.Perhaps the most pressing concern in education today is the persistence of the black-white test score gap. There is no shortage of attention to this topic in the popular or academic press and in the media.

Is it Too Late Baby? Pinpointing the Emergence of a Black-White Test Score Gap in Infancy

“…Additionally, Tyson (2002) performed an ethnographic study into the oppositional culture hypothesis looking at younger, elementary aged students. Her sample included middle-and high-income Black students, thus her study is not generalizable to students of all ages and class backgrounds.…”

“…First, Tyson (2002) demonstrates that young children in elementary school have generally been shown to be eager to learn and like to show off what they are good at. Second, because babies are arguably too young to understand the subtleties of their status and racial differences and the potential negative sanctions they may or may not receive for scoring highly on a test of infant development, these explanations for a race gap in test scores are not relevant to this analysis.…”

“…Though there is an appealing logic to this argument, the empirical evidence on whether mother's paid employment is detrimental to children's cognitive development is mixed. Whereas Coleman's (1988) argument relates only to time constraints of working mothers, Waldfogel et al (2002) expands the possible theoretical mechanisms linking mother's work behavior and child development by assessing four hypotheses: (1) stress and fatigue due to working may make for a less nurturing home environment, (2) working mothers may be less likely to breastfeed-and breastfeeding has a positive effect on children's development, (3) non-maternal childcare may be damaging to the children, and (4) unobserved differences between working mothers and nonworking mothers may be the explanation for the relationship. The first and second explanations are most akin to Coleman's argument.…”

Schooling Behaviors or Prior Skills? A Cautionary Tale of Omitted Variable Bias Within Oppositional Culture Theory

“…First, in a study of two all-black elementary schools, Tyson (2002) found that schooling experiences-particularly early achievement outcomes-play a central role in developing schooling behaviors. She noted that "children's negative statements about school reflected a desire to avoid further experiences of failure" (p. 1184).…”

“…It is important to note that three of the behavioral measures were reported by teachers: disruptive, effort, and attentive. Numerous studies have found that school personnel place greater emphasis on regulating black children's than other children's behavior (see, e.g., Delpit 1995;Ferguson 2000;Lewis 2003;Morris 2005;Tyson 2002Tyson , 2003. For example, while Ferguson (2000) found that school personnel view the dress and behavior of black boys as recalcitrant and oppositional and exert strict control over them, Morris (2005) found that white and Asian American children are viewed as nonthreatening relative to black children.…”