This article studies the relationship between perceptions of school belonging, educational aspirations, and academic self-efficacy among forty African American Male students.  The article mentions the achievement gap between White students and African American students.  Research shows that the gap has increased in the past ten years with African Americans accounting for 14.7% of the dropout rate, twice the rate of White students.  But, research also shows that lower-income and minority students often attend underfunded schools, with limited course offerings and under qualified and inexperienced teachers.  

            This study tests African American males’ psychological sense of belonging, academic self-efficacy and educational aspirations.  Psychological sense of belonging is defined as students’ feelings of being welcomed, valued and respected by others in the community.  Research indicates that this sense of belonging has a strong influence on education, including higher grades, academic motivation and high school completion.  Academic Self-Efficacy is a student’s confidence in their ability to succeed academically.  And lastly, educational aspirations refer to early impressions of one’s own academic abilities and the highest level of educations they wish to obtain.  All these aspects were tested in the study.

            Two hypotheses were used during this study.  The first stated that perceptions of school belonging would be positively related to self-efficacy among a sample of African American male 9^th and 10^th graders.  The second stated that measures of perceptions of school belonging and indicators of educational aspirations would positively predict academic self-efficacy scores. 

            The method for this study included forty African American males from a small African-American school in a large Southeastern city.  Students completed a demographic questionnaire, including questions such as grade level and family income, a Psychological Sense of School Membership Scale (PSSM), which was an eighteen item questionnaire that measures sense of belonging in a school, and an Academic Self-Efficacy scale which measures abilities compared to other students their age as well as future plans. 

            Findings were very interesting.  For example, 10% of students expected to earn just a high school diploma, 7.5% expected to earn a bachelor’s degree, 60% expected to earn a master’s degree and 22.5% intended to earn a doctoral degree.  This shows African American males are academically motivated.  The first hypothesis was not supported, but the results did indicate that the most important aspect in perceptions of school belonging were that these students felt they were the recipients of direct, targeted invitations to participate in school programming, both academic and extracurricular.

            This article presents many implications for school counselors.  School counselors must build a sense of community within their school for all nationalities.  They must create a learning environment that supports academic, career and social success of all students.  School counselors could also invite groups of African American males or individuals to discuss their school experiences.  This way, they will receive one on one attention, and will receive guidance on how to participate in school activities and will learn to feel comfortable speaking to a counselor in a time of need.  It is also important for school counselors to have a great sense of knowledge in regards to the African American culture, and to develop a relationship with each student.  If students feel understood and valued, they will do better in school and obtain help when they need it, whether it is academically or socially.  This article was very interesting and presented great ideas for school counselors as well as a better understanding of certain cultures within our society.

Holcomb-McCoy, C. (2007) Transitioning to High School: Issues and Challenges for African American Students. Professional School Counseling, v10, n3, 253-260.

There are many developmental challenges facing students during their adolescent years and can make the process of transitioning from middle school to high school difficult. The transition from middle school to high school has been found bring on increased stress levels, decreased self-esteem, declined academic performance, and heightened risk for maladjustment. Another source of anxiety during the transition period for students is the importance from peers of fitting in and belonging. The transition brings a new environment, new rules and behaviors for the student. The effects of the transition are determined by the students ability to cope and deal with the change to the new environment.

There have not been many studies that looked at the effects of the transition from middle school to high school for African American students. Evidence does suggest that minority students have a hard time with this transition. Students academic performance and their perception of themselves was largely influenced by their teachers. One study found that minority students who graduated from high school and those that dropped out of high school, both had decreased grade point averages following the transition from middle school to high school. These changes in performance may be linked to more than just the adolescent development; it may be affected by the experiences, academic and social environments. There are five challenges that African American adolescents face: stereotyping, scarcity of positive role models, lack of culturally competent schools, ethnic identity development, and emotional/behavioral reactions to discrimination.

In the school setting, African American males in school settings have been stereotyped as hostile, volatile, academically inferior, and emotionally disturbed. The negative stereotypes can be internalized, which undermines the students’ incentive to achieve. A factor that can have an impact on the academic success of African American students is the presence of a positive role model. The media and many communities and schools are lacking appropriate African American role models. In the media most African Americans suffer from substance abuse, delinquency, incarceration, homicide, low academic achievement, unemployment, poverty. A lack of cultural congruence with minority students and their families can also influence the transition from middle school to high school. Researchers have argued that schools perform a social disservice by creating self-doubt in their African American students, by perpetuating existing social inequalities and by their depreciation of African American culture and accomplishments. African American students start to explore their identity by considering who they are and what makes them unique individuals. This can be complicated by the mixed messages they receive about their identity. African American parents don’t socialize their children regarding racial issues and prejudice; this exposes the children to racial stress.

Implications for School Counselors:

African American students know the importance of education but can struggle to meet the academic demands and challenges of high school. Counselors need to provide academic support programs for African American students transitioning into high school; this could be in the form of tutors and study skills courses. A mentoring program may help provide a positive role model for African American students. Counselors should provide resources to help the African American students manage the stress and demands of the transition. The resources should help provide motivation, goals, transitioning into the new environment and problem solving skill (to help them work through stereotyping and discrimination). Counselors also need to help African American students see the importance of education. This can be done by focusing on their strengths, and working with African Americans in the community to assist in mentoring and guiding the student.