Uncharted territory: Speculations on some positive effects of desegregation on white students

Conclusions On the basis of analysis of the desegregation of one particular school, this paper has suggested some ways in which desegregation may be beneficial to white students. This analysis suggests that under certain circumstances desegregation can lead to beneficial changes in the school programs available, as well as to an increase in the utilization of outside resources which more than offsets additional costs linked to the desegregation process. Further, experiences in desegregated classrooms may also lead to some reduction in the almost automatic unreasoning fear many white children have of blacks, was well as helping whites develop the ability to work effectively with out-group members. The purpose of this analysis is not to argue that desegregation must go forwardbecause it helps whites or even that the benefits of desegregation always outweigh the costs for individual students, black or white. Rather, my aim has been to explore some previously uncharted territory and to suggest some hypothesis that further research can explore more fully.This paper was presented at the Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Boston, April 1980.The research on which this paper is based was funded by the National Institute of Education Contract 400-76-0011. Other expenses relating to its preparation were covered by grant 1R01 MH31 602-01 from the National Institute of Mental Health. However, all opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and no endorsement by NIE or NIMH is implied or intended.     

MARKETISATION AS A STRATEGY FOR DESEGREGATION AND REDRESS: THE CASE OF HISTORICALLY WHITE SCHOOLS IN SOUTH AFRICA

This article examines the process of desegregation in historically white schools in South Africa. It is argued that reforms within these schools can be understood as an example of the marketisation of education. The article commences with a consideration of the relevance and scope of such an approach. Exponents of marketisation in South Africa (as elsewhere) have claimed that the introduction of market forces can help to increase "choice" for the consumers of education. It is also suggested that it can act as a means of redressing past inequalities. These arguments are critically considered in relation to the experiences of black pupils both within the schools themselves and within the wider educational system. It is argued that a marketised approach towards desegregation may have increased choice for whites and for a minority of blacks, but has not increased choice for blacks as a whole. Nor has it served as an efficient mechanism for the redistribution of educational resources. Although the article is critical of many aspects of the marketisation process, it is acknowledged that some of the policies associated with marketisation are compatible with the creation of a more equitable and efficient education system.     

Cowan,Whiteness, Resistance to Brown,and the Persistence of the Past

In this paper, I examine the use of litigation as a strategic tool of resistance for thwarting school desegregation. Utilizing Cowan v. Bolivar County Board of Education as a case study, I argue that, despite losing the constitutional right to racially segregate public schools according to an explicit white supremacist doctrine, whites in Bolivar County, Mississippi, were successful in stemming the impending tide of social change associated with school desegregation through litigation. Litigious resistance not only provided southern whites with a racially moderate epistemology for undermining school desegregation regionally, but their legal challenges to school desegregation also laid the groundwork for non-southern white animus toward all federal education policies that promoted racial inclusion.     

School and Neighborhood Friendship Patterns of Blacks and Whites in Early Adolescence

This research examined the school and neighborhood friendships of 292 black and white children who attended an integrated junior high school. Most students reported having a close other-race school friend, but only 28% of the sample saw such a friend frequently outside of school. Reports of an interracial school friendship that extended to nonschool settings were significantly more common among black students than whites and among children who lived in integrated neighborhoods rather than segregated ones. Race differences in reported friendship behavior were also found on other friendship variables. Compared to whites, blacks reported more extensive neighborhood friendship networks but indicated that they talked to fewer friends during the school day. In addition, the study replicated prior findings that white girls report more peer social support than white boys but failed to find a gender difference in peer support among blacks. The discussion emphasizes the importance of the school/nonschool ecology and the need for further comparative study of white and black children's friendship patterns.     

Blurring Public and Private: The Pragmatic Desegregation Politics of an Elite Private School in Atlanta

The school desegregation narrative often references historically white public schools as sites of massive resistance and historically white private schools as segregationist academies. Yet some historically white elite private schools or independent schools, such as The Westminster Schools (plural in name only), established in 1951 in Atlanta, Georgia, chose to desegregate. Such elite institutions, which have served as one catalyst for the creation and maintenance of social and cultural capital, became more accessible after Brown v. Board of Education through a combination of private and public decisions galvanized by larger social, political, and federal forces. Westminster's 1965 decision to consider all applicants regardless of race was emblematic of the pragmatic desegregation politics of Atlanta's city leaders during the civil rights movement and a national independent school agenda focused on recruiting black students. Drawing on institutional, local, regional, and national archival records and publications, this article examines the import of schools like Westminster to civic and business leaders, to the politics of race and desegregation occurring in large cities, and to the range of educational opportunities available in metropolitan areas. This examination yields an analysis of the leadership and politics of a southern historically white elite private school that black students desegregated in 1967.     

The Effects of Busing and School Desegregation on Majority and Minority Student Dropout Rates

Abstract

This study evaluates the effects of school desegregation by court-ordered busing on the subsequent dropout rate of majority and minority students. Using before and after busing measures of dropout rates, school records and personal interviews, this research finds majority dropout rates are not affected by desegregation procedures. While the dropout rates of bused minority students appear to be identical to those of non-bused minority students, large disparities between minority rates in various bused sectors indicate highly uneven educational experiences of bused minority students. School socio-economic composition and the expectations of teachers concerning student behavior are used to analyze the disparities, with the conclusion reached that the more favorable expectations of teachers at higher socio-economic climate schools produce lower minority student dropout rates. Desegregation produces a positive benefit for this most crucial dimension of minority student educational accomplishment, when the school to which the minority student is bused is one where teachers' expectations are positive and supportive.     

Interaction of race with other variables on achievement in school

This study was concerned with academic performance in black and white children and the interactions of race with other variables on school achievement. Subjects were 334 blacks and 637 whites in grades three to six. Data consisted of general background information and grade equivalent scores on the California Achievement Tests. They were analyzed using multiple re- gression analysis of variance. Results indicated that blacks scored lower than whites and fell farther behind as they progressed from grade to grade. Significant interactions were revealed for sex, social class, family structure, and teachers. Means for black children were generally less variable than for white children.     

Metropolitan school desegregation and parent and student attitudes: A longitudinal case study

This study examines changes in the attitudes of parents and students coincident with desegregation in a new single unified school district, with reassignment of both suburban white students and inner-city minority students. Data are presented for the year immediately preceding desegregation implementation and for three years following implementation. The final sample presented includes only those parents and students for whom complete data were available for each of these four years. A repeated measures analysis of variance was used to examine overall changes in racial and educational attitudes across time and to determine the differential impact of several intervening variables, including race, sex, child's grade level at the time of desegregation, which of five former school districts the families were in prior to desegregation, and the parents' perceived social status. Overall changes were found for several parent and student attitudes, largely during the first year of desegregation implementation. Several of the intervening variables were also significantly related to attitude changes, notably race and child's initial grade level.     

An Explanation for School Failure: Moving Beyond Black Inferiority and Alienation as a Policy-Making Agenda

Numerous authors identify a white supremacist ideology that shapes the educational opportunities for racially diverse students. We contend that this ideology informs educational policy and hampers the likelihood that racially diverse populations can achieve success at levels similar to students of European descent. In this paper we define the white supremacist ideology as it informs education policy and practices. Three examples from the United States are then used to illustrate the influence of such an ideology. These examples include the creation and protection of racially segregated schooling; desegregation policies; and the current uses of school report cards. We conclude with the relevance of this discussion to educational debates in Great Britain and South Africa, and recommendations to minimise the influence of this ideology on education policy and school reform efforts.     

Effects of School Organizational Structure on Interracial Friendships in Middle Schools

Abstract

This study examined the effect of school organizational structure on interracial friendships among middle school students. Students evaluated a white friend and a black friend on a modified semantic differential scale and reported the number of their other-race friends. Responses of students in two team-structured schools were contrasted to those of students in three traditionally structured schools. Multivariate analysis revealed that the organization of a school affects number of other-race friends and that whites with even "some" black friends are more positive in their perceptions of blacks than are those who report having "almost no" black friends. Variations in the nature and extent of contact between white and black students in schools does affect the racial attitudes of whites. Black students rated white and black friends the same regardless of the organizational structure of the school.     

Do parents,teachers, and psychoeducational evaluators agree in their perceptions of the problems of black and white emotionally disturbed children?

The aim was to examine the agreement among parents, teachers, psychologists, and educational diagnosticians in their perceptions of the problem behaviors of emotionally disturbed children. The sample of 194 emotionally disturbed boys and girls included 129 whites and 65 blacks. The use of measures of relationship showed that there was significantly greater consensus among the raters in perceptions of white than of black children; agreement was particularly poor between parents and teachers of black youngsters. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Authoring Student Voices on College Preparedness: A Case Study

African American students continue to attend college at much lower rates than their white, Asian, and Latino counterparts. Although researchers have examined this issue from a multitude of vantage points, the voices of students—particularly students of color—have been limited in this research. Using a counter-storytelling narrative approach, this study examines what urban African American high school students identify as the critical factors affecting their educational trajectory and college-going prospects. Findings from the current study reveal that students identified inadequate resources, tracking, lack of AP courses, and poor teachers as factors that influenced their high school to college transition. This study provides much needed insight into the discourse on school reform from the most important constituent in schools—the students.     

Building spaces of hope with refugee and migrant-background students

Within the Australian context, research into schooling experiences of refugee and migrant-background students has tended to focus on developing English language proficiency with little attention given to initiatives that contribute more broadly to students’ social and educational resources. Whilst not denying the significance of English language acquisition, this paper explores strategies, implemented at one school, designed to enhance social, cultural and educational outcomes for refugee and migrant-background students. We draw on a relational view of space informed by Foucault and Lefebvre, and Fraser’s theorisation of justice, to explore the school context, connections to students’ life-worlds, moving beyond trauma and teachers as knowledge producers. Findings suggest that contextualised forms of knowing and practices can work to build connections and educational resources for refugee and migrant-background students. Where human spatiality, including as this relates to schools, produces advantages and disadvantages, we conclude in arguing for further research that incorporates the perspectives and voices of refugee and migrant-background students and their teachers.     

The two worlds of school: Differences in the photographs of black and white adolescents

A growing body of literature indicates that the socialization experiences of blacks causes them to focus onpeople stimuli while Whites learn to focus onobjects. If so, these differences may impact on school performance. This study sought to determine whether the photographs of school taken by black and white adolescents attending three middle schools would reflect race differences in people vs. object orientation. And they did. Moreover, the analyses of the photographs revealed significant race differences in who were included within them, type taken, where they were taken, and the themes they represented. Black students were found to have less affective attachment to school, including teachers, than did whites. Implications for educators are drawn from these findings.     

高校社团与城中村小学第二课堂的教育融合路径研究

高校社团是非常活跃的教育力量,是锻炼大学生社会实践能力的阵地。针对城中村小学生源结构多元、生源质量偏弱、专业教师缺乏等不足,高校社团应发挥自身积极优势,从提供师资、活动资源等方面参与并服务城中村小学第二课堂活动。     

What really influences minority attendance? Sequential analyses of the high school and beyond sophomore cohort

While the factors that influence college minority student attendance have been the subject of recent study, there remain unresolved questions about how different factors influence college attendance decisions of applicants from historically disadvantaged backgrounds. In particular, there is ambiguity about whether blacks are more or less likely to attend than whites and what factors might improve their attendance rates. This study uses two sets of logistic regressions to identify the factors that can promote minority attendance: a set that examines attendance by all high school seniors in the high school class of 1982 and a set that examines attendance by college applicants in this class. Consistent with prior research on student access, three factors are identified that can potentially improve college attendance by minority students: (1) improved academic preparation in elementary and high school; (2) increased aspirations for higher levels of educational attainment; (3) increased levels of financial aid. Public interventions that would improve any of these factors for minority high school students are likely to improve minority participation rates.     

The transition to junior high school: a longitudinal study of self-esteem, psychological symptomatology, school life, and social support

This research examined the psychological well-being of 159 white and black students during the transition to junior high school. Adjustment patterns were found to be complex and highly differentiated. Self-esteem was unchanged from the end of sixth through the middle of seventh grades, rising by the end of seventh grade. Girls reported an increase in depressive and other symptoms over time relative to boys. Perceived quality of school life plunged. Peer social support increased only for blacks of high academic competence. Although there were no race differences on overall self-esteem, multivariate analyses of symptom data revealed that blacks reported greater distrust of the environment than they reported negative internal states, whereas whites reported the opposite pattern. The discussion emphasizes the developmental and ecological context of the transition.     

The Consequences of School Desegregation in a Kansas Town 50?Years After Brown

This article examines the legacy of segregation and desegregation in the town of Parsons, Kansas. We argue that school desegregation, the goal of which was to increase access and equalize educational opportunities for African Americans, did not have that desired affect. Fifty years after the closing of the all-Black Douglass School, Parsons’ citizens had not openly acknowledged the effects this event had on the African American community. Three generations later, African American student achievement still lags behind that of White students. These unresolved issues have contributed to a number of losses in the Black community, including loss of Black teachers and loss of talented Black young people. We use theories of social capital and cultural capital as a framework to illustrate how White, middle class students had greater access to school resources, and to identify the social and cultural resources within the Black community that the school district could build upon, such as strong leadership and a sense of resolve and resiliency.

Does desegregation matter? A comparative study of school-based social capital for university-bound minority students in segregated and desegregated school contexts of Hong Kong

Despite national policies, de facto school segregation for racial/ethnic minority students in the West and East has continued to deepen. In Hong Kong, the segregated school system was abolished in 2013, while from 2004 reformed School Places Allocation Systems encouraged minority students to choose mainstream primary and secondary schools. However, de facto ethnicity-based school segregation continues to prevail. Most minority students in the mainstream system are stuck in low-status schools where they face discrimination and institutional exclusion. This has led many of them to retreat to a limited number of schools that have traditionally catered for minority communities. Such segregation calls forth scholarly attention to the paradoxical correlation between the physical mixing of diverse students and equality of educational opportunity, especially equal access to post-secondary education (PSE)—a key for minority youth to function in the competitive labour market. This study employed the theory of school-based social capital (SBSC) and compared the ways in which PSE-relevant institutional resources and support were rationalised and enacted by staff in de facto segregated and desegregated school contexts. Case studies of two secondary schools lead us to argue that desegregation is only effective when institutional structure, culture and agents empower minority students through access to instrumental resources and support for the pursuit of PSE. The findings confound the desegregation policy and call for structural/institutional interventions to ensure instrumental SBSC is accessible to PSE-bound minority students in all schools, and thus increase the effectiveness of school desegregation.     

Academic pressures and the black adolescent

This study examined the relationships among social class, race, and academic pressure in an inner city public high school. Previous research outside the inner city on U.S. and English high school students, who were predominantly white, has yielded four major factors: parental stress, peer stress, importance of school, and fear of failure. The primary purposes of this study are (1) to measure academic stress in an inner city setting, (2) to observe differences and similarities between blacks and whites and between middle- and lower-class adolescents, and (3) to determine if the four previously observed factors would be as pertinent for this sample as they were for previous samples. Race differences were observed on 4 of 10 factors with blacks indicating significantly more pressure than whites. A race by class interaction was observed on one factor and no significant differences were observed on the five remaining factors.