Internalized Racism and African American College Students: Implication for Academic Achievement

• In Event: Critical Race Analysis of Internalized Racism Across the K–12 Educational Pipeline

Abstract

Problem
As the previous study reflects, Students of Color experience injustice as it relates to schooling and academic success. Specific to African Americans and higher education, only 42% graduate within six years (US Department of Education, 2009). To make matters worse, studies have shown that African American undergraduate students average a difference of .30 to 0.50 grade points below their white counterparts (Massey, et. al., 2003; Vars & Bowen, 1998). Although there are many causal factors that contribute to the academic struggles of the group, research must begin to more thoroughly examine the impact of racism on the academic success of African Americans students in colleges and universities. This study examines the influence of internalized racism on the academic self-concepts of African American college students, and the implications this has on their opportunities to achieve. Academic self-concept is defined as the importance of school to an individual, and feelings of competence in relation to school (Bong & Clark, 1999). The hypothesis of the study is that internalized racism can depress academic self-concept. As a result, this can have many important implications for how students engage with their academic environments.

Theoretical Framework
This paper has been developed through the theoretical lenses of CRT and internalized racism, which are explained above.

Methods and Data Sources
117 African American undergraduates from three public universities in California were sampled. 100 students from all three institutions were administered the Cross Racial Identity Scale (Vandiver 2000), as a means to measure internalized racism; and the Academic Self-Concept Scale (Reynolds 1988) as a measure of academic self-concept. Additionally, one of the three institutions was selected as a case study site, in which three focus groups were held. Seventeen students participated in the focus groups, with an average of six students in each group. For the quantitative data, multiple regression analysis was used to examine whether internalized racism predicts academic self-concept. The focus groups were designed to collect in-depth data on internalized racism and academic self-concept. Using grounded theory, the focus group data were coded for emergent themes (Glaser & Strauss, 1976).

Results and Scientific Importance
The results of the study revealed that internalized racism depresses academic self-concept. It was also found that internalized racism contributes to self-defeating behaviors, causing students to not participate in class discussions or even attend classes. This research project enhances our understanding of internalized racism and its relationship to the academic experiences of African American undergraduates.

Author

• Robin Nicole Johnson-Ahorlu, University of California - Los Angeles