Abstract:

The question of the academic achievement of minority students has been framed in a way that compares them with their suburban White counterparts.The difference in performance between the two, often referred to as the “achievement gap”, has been the focus of scholarly attention as well as the attention of stakeholders in education.The relatively poor academic achievement of urban Black students, a minority group and the focus of this study, is as pervasive as it is intractable. By looking at the question from a novel angle, this study will help to find a permanent solution to this problem as well as extend the literature on Black students with disabilities about whom there is a paucity of scholarly work. Drawing from the approach of positive psychology, the study moves away from the traditional method of focusing on the socio-pathologies of the urban environment of the Black student and focuses, rather, on their academic strengths. Two possible sources of strength were identified: perceived self-efficacy and locus of control. Bandura (1993) defines self-efficacy as the belief one has about one’s ability to perform certain tasks or the degree to which one is convinced of one’s ability to effectively meet the demands of a particular situation. Rotter (1996) defines locus of control as a concern with whether reinforcement is perceived by the individual to be contingent upon his actions or whether it is perceived to be contingent upon capricious forces external to the student. Two instruments, the Self-in-School (SIS) survey and the Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire (IAR) will be administered to two groups of urban Black high school seniors to measure their perceived academic self-efficacy and locus of control respectively. These two groups will consist of students with learning disabilities and their typical peers. Using students of the same background will eliminate the effects of the differences in academic and social environments contained in the traditional approach. Furthermore, it will correct for the often overlooked lack of homogeneity within every ethnic group. Recent studies have drawn attention to the fact that within group differences give a clearer picture of academic achievement than between group differences. The result of the study will show whether the two personality variables – perceived academic self-efficacy and the locus of control – have any influence on the academic achievement of urban Black students and in what direction. This is another gap in literature that this study hopes to fill. The implication will be that by devising appropriate strategies that focus on strengthening and nurturing these positive academic skills, scholars and stakeholders alike will be able to influence the academic achievement of these students in a way that has not hitherto been the case. Equally importantly, they will do this without the unnecessary humiliation of between group comparisons and without having to manipulate the environment to closely resemble that of another group.

Keywords:

Academic achievement, academic self-efficacy, locus of control, positive psychology, students with learning disabilities, urban Black students.