Advancing Black Male Student Success From Preschool Through Ph.D.

J. Luke Wood, Shaun R. Harper

• Publisher: Stylus Publishing
• Year: 2015
• eBook ISBN: 9781620361863
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Higher Education

Advancing Black Male Student Success presents a comprehensive portrait of Black male students at every stage in the U.S. education system: preschool and kindergarten; elementary, middle and high schools; community colleges and four-year postsecondary institutions; and master's and doctoral programs. Each chapter is a synthesis of existing research on experience, educational outcomes, and persistent inequities at each pipeline point. Throughout the book, data are included to provide statistical portraits of the status of Black boys and men. Authors include, in each chapter, forward-thinking recommendations for education policy, research and practice.Each chapter is a synthesis of existing research on experience, educational outcomes, and persistent inequities at each pipeline point. Throughout the book, data are included to provide statistical portraits of the status of Black boys and men. Authors include, in each chapter, forward-thinking recommendations for education policy, research and practice.Most published scholarship on Black male students blames them and their families for their failures in school. This literature is replete with hopeless, pathological portrayals of this population. Through this deficit thinking and resultant practices, Black boys and men have continually experienced disparate outcomes. This book departs from prior scholarship in that the editors and authors argue that much is done to Black male students, which explains their troubled status in U.S. education. In addition to the editors' expertise on the topic, the authorship cast includes several scholars who are among the most respected thought leaders on Black male students in education.

1

Expanding High-Quality Early Care and Education for Black Boys

David J. Johns

The nearly 20 million young Americans under the age of five have their entire lives before them. They have opportunities to be whatever their hearts desire and the chance to influence the world in unknown ways. But by the time they have entered kindergarten, for many, this opportunity has already been stymied. In the United States, low-income and minority children begin kindergarten at an academic disadvantage. In 2006, only 28% of Black 4-year-olds were proficient at letter recognition and 55% were proficient at number and shape recognition, compared with 37% and 73%, respectively, for White 4-year-olds (Aud, Fox, & KewalRamani, 2010). That these gaps are present so early in life indicates that providing high-quality, early learning opportunities in kindergarten may be too late to equitably benefit to these children.

During the critical first years of a child’s life, nature and nurture contribute to the cognitive, social, and emotional foundation upon which all future learning and development will be built. This highly complex process—in which a child’s experiences at home, in child care, and other early care and education settings, along with his or her interactions with other caring adults, communities, and society more generally—shapes how that child comes to understand his or her place within the world. For low-income Black boys in particular, we must optimize opportunities early on to close achievement gaps and to ensure that they are prepared to begin elementary school ready to learn.

Students who begin elementary school without access to high-quality early learning programs and support services have a tendency to remain behind throughout their academic careers. This gap has significant ­implications for the life trajectory of so many low-income and minority students. The groundwork for high school completion, postsecondary success, career success, viable employment, and positive contributions to society is laid in the earliest years of a child’s life. Access to high-quality early learning opportunities, for Black boys especially, can be the difference between a pathway that leads to the White House and one that leads to the jailhouse. Beyond the moral imperative to provide all children with the skills needed to be successful in school and in life, research shows that investments in high-quality early learning programs for children from birth through age five include a return of $2.50 to $17.00 for every $1.00 invested. Children who receive quality early learning services are less likely to become adults who live in poverty, require social services, or spend time incarcerated. Quality early learning investments are an economically sound choice for our nation.

For no other community of individuals is the importance of access to ­high-quality early childhood education and child care opportunities more essential than for Black boys. Nobel laureate economist James Heckman underscores the importance of ensuring that Black boys, especially low-income Black boys, have access to quality early learning opportunities. He states,

Because of the dynamic nature of the skill formation process, remediating the effects of early disadvantages at later ages is often prohibitively costly. Skill begets skill; learning begets learning. Early disadvantage, if left untreated, leads to academic and social difficulties in later years. Advantages accumulate; so do disadvantages. (Heckman & Masterov, 2007, p. 447)

Additionally, Rashid writes, “It should also be noted that many low-income African American children are enrolled in preschool settings that are less likely to expose them to practices associated with social, emotional, and academic gains. Indeed as it currently exists, the education of young Black children, boys in particular, is largely a national disgrace” (Rashid, 2013, p. 30). To be sure, there is much work to be done to ensure that many more Black boys have access to high-quality early education programs and related support services for children and families.

For generations, Black boys and men have occupied the lowest rungs of almost any quality-of-life indicator used to assess health, well-being, and success across myriad sectors. For example, Black males have extremely high rates of homicide and rising rates of suicide. They are also less likely to have health care coverage. Black men have the lowest rates of employment of any racial group in the United States. In the education realm, nearly 80% or more of Black public school students in the fourth, eighth, and 12th grades are unable to read or do math at grade level (Children’s Defense Fund, 2011), and according to the 2012 Schott 50-State Report on Black Males in Public Education, the overall 2009–2010 graduation rate for young Black men in the United States was only 52%. The graduation rate for young Black men in 14 states is below the national average (Schott, 2012). These enduring and unnerving trends begin during the early years, when Black boys are unable to take full advantage of quality early care and education programs and services. Without such early interventions, we should expect young boys of color, who have not had access to high-quality, early learning opportunities, to continue to face education and employment challenges (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, 2010). We will not solve the employment and educational crises facing Black boys and men until we ensure that all Black boys have access to high-quality early care and education programs and services.

Because too many Black boys are denied access to the types of experiences that lead to good schools; accredited colleges and universities; and high-skill, high-wage employment opportunities, it should come as no surprise that Black boys are underrepresented in these spaces. Here, I discuss the opportunities that high-quality early care and education programs provide for children and the challenges that parents and families of Black boys face in attempting to access such programs and services.

Early Education and Care Programs and Support

Unlike the “public education system”—a phrase commonly used to refer to state systems of coordinated federal- and state-funded kindergarten through 12th-grade programs and activities—there is no single system for “early learning.” Early care and education is an umbrella term frequently applied to the range of primarily community-based programs and supports that prepare expectant parents to care for themselves and their young children; provide child care opportunities that enable parents to work; provide children with the skills, experiences, and relationships needed to be successful in elementary school and later in life; and provide preschool opportunities that focus on cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development to ensure that young children successfully transition into kindergarten.

Two overriding factors affecting early learning opportunities are cost and availability. To be sure, high-quality early care and education opportunities are expensive. Consider, for example, the cost of having the necessary number of qualified adults to ensure a low adult-to-child ratio in center-based child care programs. When children are newborns and infants, more care is required. Retaining professional early care and education practitioners and providing them with professional development is costly. In too many communities where there are significant concentrations of low-income Black boys, these costs can be prohibitive, forcing program operators to neglect professional development or close the program altogether. In addition to the cost associated with a skilled workforce (primarily indicated by experience, credentials, and training) are the expenses associated with ensuring healthy and safe environments, small class sizes, and low adult-to-child ratios, each of which has been linked to improved learning and development outcomes. Likewise, implementing early learning standards that are developmentally and linguistically appropriate (ideally aligned with the curriculum that students will encounter as they continue along the educational continuum); providing screening, referral, and support services for children with developmental delays or disabilities; and providing other supports for children and families add to program costs as well. In addition to these central costs are the costs associated with providing nutritious meals and providing full-day, full-year care. In what follows, I explore cost and availability as they relate specifically to child care, Head Start, and prekindergarten programs and services. We must take advantage of opportunities to improve access and reduce costs in ways that will increase the educational and life choices and chances for young Black boys.

Child Care

In the United States, more than 11 million children under the age of five are in some type of child care arrangement each week (Laughlin, 2010). On average, children of working mothers spend 35 hours a week in child care, many with multiple care arrangements to enable parents to work during both traditional and nontraditional working hours (National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, 2006). These facts become important when one considers that less than 40% of Black children live with two parents and nearly one in two Black children live solely with their mother, compared with fewer than one in five White children (Children’s Defense Fund, 2011). Thus, child care becomes an essential work support for the parents, and it also provides opportunities for young children to develop foundational skills in the areas of vocabulary, letter-word recognition, spelling, and pattern and color identification. For parents, particularly single parents who need a place for their children while they work to support the family, child care is critical.

The work of Jack Shonkoff at the Harvard Center on Developing Children and others underscores the belief that quality child care provides children with early opportunities to develop and sharpen foundational skills (Vandell et al., 2010). High-quality care provides opportunities for children to be screened for developmental delays or disabilities. Developmentally appropriate instruction can bolster intellectual, linguistic, social, and emotional skills and behaviors, including positive health and development more generally. This point is especially true for low-income, disadvantaged students. However, too few boys of color have access to the types of programs and providers who have the skill and experience to assist in the development of preliteracy and prenumeracy skills. The implications for these missed early opportunities are significant. Consider, for example, that Black babies at 24 months old scored significantly lower than White babies on the cognitive assessment administered as part of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (Halle et al., 2009). These gaps are only widened when Black boys miss out on quality early learning opportunities. Moreover, failed opportunities to develop foundational skills or to be identified for needed supports contribute to statistics such as the following: Black and Hispanic males constitute almost 80% of children and youth in special education programs, and Black male students are 2.5 times less likely to be enro...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Tables and Figures
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• An Imperative for Readers
• 1. Expanding High-Quality Early Care and Education for Black Boys
• 2. Making Relationships Work
• 3. Black Boys in Middle School
• 4. Black Male High School Students
• 5. Black Male Collegians in Community Colleges
• 6. Understanding the Unique Needs and Experiences of Black Male Subgroups at Four-Year Colleges and Universities
• 7. Black Men in Master’s Degree Programs
• 8. Improving Attainment, Experiences, and Career Outcomes Among Black Male Students in Doctoral Degree Programs
• Appendix
• About the Editors and Contributors
• Index
• Also available from Stylus
• Back Cover