In this chapter, the authors use Black Feminist Thought (BFT) to examine the mathematics education and the educational attainment of African American females in a matrilineal line that spans five generations. A cross analysis of school experiences, from a maternal great-great-grandmother to her great-great-granddaughter, reveal a portrait of…

Disparities in educational attainment among population groups have characterized the United States throughout its history. Education is sometimes characterized as the "great equalizer," but to date, the country has not found ways to successfully address the adverse effects of socioeconomic circumstances, prejudice, and discrimination…

From 1959 to 1964, approximately 1,700 Black children in Prince Edward County, Virginia were denied schooling, due to the county leaders' decision to close schools--a defiant response to federal racial desegregation mandates stemming from "Brown v. Board of Education" (1954, 1955). Yet from one of the most extreme cases of injustice in…

Using data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, this study examines the association between high school socioeconomic segregation and student attainment outcomes and the mechanisms that mediate those relationships. The results show that socioeconomic segregation has a strong association with high school graduation and college enrollment.…

Sixty years have passed since the pivotal 1954 Supreme Court case of "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas" and almost fifty years have elapsed since the Higher Education Act of 1965. The Brown decision dismantled public segregated schools in many parts of the country, especially in the South, and racial access in schools…

In education, reform tends to follow cycles, often bouncing from one extreme to another without considering the possibility of incorporating multiple perspectives simultaneously. Policies aimed at helping more underrepresented students enter college and complete degrees have bounced from one pole to another, embracing access as the primary goal…

Despite moderate gains in equal educational opportunities over the past 60 years, low-income students of color continue to lag behind their middle-class, White peers. This is particularly true for first-generation Latina/o students who: (a) have the highest K-12 drop-out rate than any other ethnic group in U.S. schools; (b) are underrepresented in…

National survey data from 594 African American college students were analyzed using descriptive and multivariate statistical techniques to measure the impact of diversity on educational outcomes. Two research questions guided the present study: (a) How do interactional diversity experiences affect learning and development outcomes for African…

The desegregation of Southern schools following the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown decision was perhaps the most important innovation in U.S. education policy in the 20th century. This paper assesses the effects of desegregation on its intended beneficiaries, black students. In Louisiana, substantial reductions in segregation between 1965 and 1970…

American schools, resegregating gradually for almost two decades, are now experiencing accelerating isolation and this will doubtless be intensified by the recent decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. In June 2007, the Supreme Court handed down its first major decision on school desegregation in 12 years in the Louisville and Seattle cases. A…

The Illinois High School Class of 2002 is part of the third generational wave of American students following the landmark Supreme Court decision in "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka," which outlawed segregation in public education. This longitudinal study allows the authors to examine the long-term impacts of this monumental…

The goals of this chapter are threefold. The first goal is to examine the scientific attainment of African Americans in the post-"Brown" era. The term scientific attainment is used here to describe more broadly mathematics and scientific achievement as measured in trend studies, academic coursework, and degrees. A second, related goal is…

Charts the forward and backward movements of African Americans in education since the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, noting both obstacles and success factors that have shaped the black educational experience at elementary, secondary, and higher levels. Influences on black students' achievement and college attendance are described.…