This article provides a partial observation of a multi-tiered academic retention program with leadership and mentoring components aimed at providing academic and social support for high-achieving undergraduate students of color at a predominantly White university. As postsecondary institutions are faced with sustaining students, the development,…

This study uses a theoretical framework rooted in stereotype threat theory to investigate the perceptions and experiences of high-achieving African American students at an urban elementary school that had implemented a test-centered curriculum. The investigation utilized data from six focus group interviews conducted with a purposefully selected…

There is growing need to showcase the agency and determination of African American parents seeking equitable educational opportunities for their children, given that their narratives defy mainstream stereotypes of passivity, disinterest, and lack of effort. In this article the authors investigate the early role of parents in fostering sustainable…

Original narratives from six high-achieving African American junior high school students discussing their goal-setting and goal-pursuit processes in light of being Black youth in America are presented. The study purpose was to begin the work of identifying the substance of productive behaviors among the most frequently noted population of…

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that influenced the college choice process for high-achieving, low-income African American students, and to understand the effect of the Gates Millennium Scholarship on their college choice. Drawing from the Gates Millennium Scholar Tracking Database, a College Choice Survey, and the Integrated…

Robert Hill (1972) identified strengths of Black families: strong kinship bonds, strong work orientation, adaptability of family roles, high achievement orientation, and religious orientation. Some suggest these strengths sustain the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of Blacks. This study used narratives and survey data from a…

According to the "acting White" hypothesis, African American students who do well in school are negatively sanctioned by their peers, leading them to withdraw future academic engagement. No study to date has tested the entire causal process posited by the hypothesis. This article uses the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, nationally…

Leadership development has long been considered an important outcome of higher education, but the patterns of leadership development among students of color have not been widely studied. This article develops a theory of leadership as an outcome of engaged learning. Findings from this study of high-achieving, low-income students of color include:…

Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten cohort (ECLS-K) were used to examine the relationship between cultural capital transmission and reading achievement within a nationally representative sample of 5th grade African American males. Logistic regression techniques were used to examine several differences between high- and…

A multi-site case study analyzed the college preparatory processes of nine African American high achievers attending a well-resourced, suburban high school and eight academically successful African Americans attending a low-resourced urban school. Students at both schools experienced barriers, that is, racial climate and a lack of resources, that…

Attempts to define "effective," as used in the term "effective schools"; discusses the findings and outcomes of effective schools research and describes criticisms of such research; evaluates problems and strengths of research on school effectiveness. Draws from author's own study of three high achieving black schools in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.…

In order to identify the relationships between the attitudes and perceptions of peer pressure and the academic achievement of academically able male adolescents, this study compares the school attitudes of high achieving and low achieving Black male youth. (EF)

Based on the recollections of high-achieving young adults, concludes that while the major influence of memorable teachers is on academic competence and performance, the characteristics perceived as having had notable influence are interpersonal skills and affective qualities. (GC)

Effects of a 10-week civil rights curriculum and a 2-week field trip through the South on the reflections of students about their ethnic identities were studied with 35 high-achieving black and Hispanic-American high school students. Results suggest that ethnic identity can be increased through such interventions. (SLD)

A study is conducted to explore the differences in self-concept, academic behavior and self-reported personal experiences between high-achieving and under-achieving African heritage student in one urban high school in Massachusetts. It is found that African American student academic achievement depends on family, self-concept and cultural history.