Analyzes the discourse styles, including linguistic practices, of African-American students at an urban high school. Concludes that students use Ebonics or Black English as the norm against which students evaluate other speech practices and that students construct standard English as a vernacular, a discourse to be disrespected…

Discusses whether white male teachers can be positive role models for at-risk black male youth and concludes that they can if they are men of integrity who are willing to take on the risks associated with being a dedicated teacher. (SLD)

Females had significantly higher attitude and competency scores on the Abbreviated Career Maturity Inventory, completed by 114 female and 187 male African-American high school students. Educational plans were consistent with occupational expectations; 90% females and 74% males preferred careers requiring degrees, and 89% females and 86% males…

This report is a review of development education and the black and ethnic minority communities in Great Britain. The development education movement in the United Kingdom has been based on producing resources, training, and support to the deliverers of education, whether teachers, youth workers, or community organizers. A feature of the movement…

Reports on a study of resilience leading to academic success among 20 African American urban disadvantaged high school seniors. Data suggest their success was largely due to supportive family, interaction with concerned educators, and the development of the personality traits of perseverance and optimism. (SLD)

Using oral-history techniques, examines the culturally relevant pedagogy of eight recently retired African-American teachers and explores the roles they played as they worked with African-American students in an urban school district. These teachers were committed to academic achievement, but also understood the importance of working with students…

School counselors working with Ebonics-speaking youth must assume the role of consultants to, and collaborators with, teachers and students toward increasing and improving students' use of Standard English without depreciating their culturally-based dialect and improving the teacher/student relationship in the language-learning process.…

Examined how race and class influenced the lives of six African-American high school seniors at a predominantly White, elite, independent secondary school. Interaction of the dominant habitus with the individual habitus of these students results in a form of symbolic violence students are willing to endure for the advantages of attending the…

Draws on quotes and ethnographic material from many studies to illustrate some of the parenting strategies that help inner-city African American youth overcome risks and achieve success. Groups strategies that are: (1) youth-monitoring; (2) resource-seeking; and (3) in-home learning. (SLD)

The primary objective of this paper is to present the outcome of an evaluation of the effect of the implementation of a learning community on the academic performance and academic involvement (attendance) of 50 urban African American freshmen who had been identified as at highest risk for academic failure. The learning community, the…

Focuses on the limitations of traditional standardized psychoeducational assessments for Ebonics speakers and describes alternative measures that may yield more accurate results for these students. Also highlights the implications of traditional and nontraditional assessment approaches for test developers, evaluators, educators, and students.…

This study examined the relationship between self-concept variables and academic achievement in 72 African American inner-city high school students. The self-concept variable of particular interest was racial self-concept, those perceptions about the self that develop as a result of racial identity. The hypothesis that racial and global…

Reports on an investigation of the out-of-school literacy practices of two African American urban high school students. Conclusions are drawn about the complex and productive ways these youths use literacy practices in their social environments. Implications are made for instruction using youth culture as a bridge to writing development. (SLD)

Explores the causal nature of the association between grade repetition and later adolescent problem behaviors for 197 retained and 204 promoted African-American sixth and seventh graders in two urban middle schools. Regression analyses imply that retention reduced rebellious behavior in school and increased attachment to school. (SLD)

Presents an ethnographic portrait of class as it unfolds with race and gender in a black high school and community. Uses a cultural and relational framework to explore how students play between classes in ways that impact structural analyses of class and their implications for public policy. Contains 72 references. (Author/SLD)