National survey identified home environmental characteristics that differentiated low-achieving African-American eighth graders with low academic expectations from those with unrealistically high expectations. Family influence differed among groups. Low achievers with high expectations came from homes with greater parental involvement, higher…

Studies 12 black women in solo status positions in academia. Solo status is being the only member, or one of a small number, of a sex or racial group or both, in the workplace. As double solos, these women felt they had to outperform majority group counterparts. Common perceptions of barriers and facilitators are discussed. (SLD)

Urban secondary school students (n=1,064) were administered the Dean Alienation Scale to determine differences in feelings of alienation among African Americans, Caucasians, and Latinos, as well as sex and age differences. Higher levels of alienation reported by African Americans and Latinos and by males in all ethnic groups are discussed as a…

A study of the effects of gender, race, and participation in the Chapter 1 program on the achievement gap between students in grade 3 (mandated busing year) and grade 4 (after termination of busing) for 434 students in Norfolk (Virginia) indicates declines in achievement test score for both African-American and white students. (SLD)

This paper investigates the psychometric properties of the African Self-Consciousness (ASC) Scale in a noncollege heterogeneous population of 147 African Americans to determine the reliability and validity of the ASC Scale. Based on analysis of the scale's reliability, factor structure, and construct validity, the study shows the ASC Scale to be a…

Examines research on racial bias, focusing on the discretionary decision-making junctures of the juvenile court system. Research and statistics continue to suggest that the public, the police, the prosecution, and the jury all treat blacks more unfairly based to a large extent on race. (SLD)

Contends that students should gain three benefits from any history curriculum: knowledge, skills, and an enthusiasm for further study. Asserts that social studies textbooks leave out important, interest-building information. Describes classroom projects using census data and the origin of blues music as examples of social history activities that…

Describes the structure and content of a four-week minicourse on the Vietnam War at the University of Mississippi. Explains how the course raises questions about the equal distribution of the burden of war. Provides tables and charts comparing military draft and casualty statistics for African-American and white soldiers during the war. (CFR)

Peer preferences and perceptions of 258 African-American and 401 White third through fifth graders (313 males and 346 females) attending either majority White or majority African-American classrooms were studied. Racial minority status is associated with peer rejection of girls but not boys. Results support the subjective culture hypothesis. (SLD)

In the last five years the number of master's and first professional degrees earned by African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans has increased substantially, but concern persists that the trend is not sustainable without affirmative-action policy. While minority enrollment has not declined overall, it has decreased in some…

Temple University (Pennsylvania), an urban institution, is seeking to raise academic standards and is aggressively recruiting suburban students, finding that local high schools are not of high quality. Some critics feel the institution is abandoning the black population and is recruiting white students who are more likely to be better prepared…

Uses matched data from the restricted-use National Educational Longitudinal Survey and the Common Core of Data to hierarchically model the simultaneous influences of family/peer and educational institutional processes on the Black-White gap in achievement among high school students. Suggests strong linkages between family/peer group attributes and…

Examined the perceptions of 70 urban and suburban African-American students regarding the influences on their decision making to participate or not participate in higher education. Findings show the importance of racial and cultural considerations and highlight the need for studying students' perceptions. (SLD)

The president of a historically black college provides his personal perspective on the evolution of race and affirmative action issues in higher education in the United States within the context of broader social change and activism. Continuing problems and successes in the movement toward cultural diversity in higher education are examined. (MSE)

Sociometric surveys were completed at third grade for a low-socioeconomic status, urban sample of African-American youth, and delinquency data were gathered at grades 6, 8, and 10. For boys, the additive effect of childhood peer rejection and aggression predicted more serious delinquency, whereas for girls only aggression predicted more serious…