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Facilitators and barriers to African American high school students' self‐determination skill expression
Author(s) -
Parker Janise S.,
Amabile Avery,
Oliver Emily,
Garnes Jasmine,
Sarathy Ashwini
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
psychology in the schools
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1520-6807
pISSN - 0033-3085
DOI - 10.1002/pits.22368
Subject(s) - psychology , african american , focus group , expression (computer science) , punitive damages , medical education , perception , pedagogy , social psychology , developmental psychology , sociology , anthropology , medicine , ethnology , neuroscience , computer science , political science , law , programming language
We conducted four focus group interviews with 24 high school youth to examine facilitators and barriers to African American high school students' expression of various self‐determination skills (e.g., choice/decision making, self‐advocacy, goal setting, and attainment etc.). The majority of our research participants were African American, with one student identifying as multiracial (African American and White). Key findings revealed that personal (e.g., desire to graduate from school) and contextual factors (e.g., school counselor and teacher support) influenced the participants' expression of multiple self‐determination skills. We also found that some of the participants' motives for utilizing or not utilizing specific skills were influenced by what they perceived as racist, punitive, and restrictive school practices (e.g., teachers holding negative perceptions about African American students and school counselors restricting their access to advanced courses). Findings from this study support ongoing calls for educators to consider students' cultural backgrounds and lived experiences when promoting their expression of self‐determination skills.