Educating Black Male Students, Breaking the Deficit Cycle

• In Event: Educating Black Male Students: Breaking the Deficit Cycle

Abstract

This paper addresses the disparities in Black male student participation in higher education by exploring several pervasive myths that have been espoused as rationales for the continued low enrollment and engagement of this group. A Critical Race Theory (CRT) framework is used to challenge assumptions and offer new insight regarding low collegiate enrollment and engagement as an outcome of various structural inequities—i.e. teacher propensity to pathologize Black male students in their early school experiences, education tracking that locks Black males into substandard classes and ineffective classroom learning environments. In this paper, we pay particular attention to counter stories by analyzing the myths, presuppositions, and meta-narratives spurred by the “common” culture (Delgado, 1995). Our social world, with its rules, practices and assignments of prestige and power is not fixed (Delgado, p. xiv); therefore we attempt to deconstruct the current meta-narratives that proliferate the extant literature with counter stories in the hopes of breaking the cycle of deficit model thinking among current and future researchers, faculty, staff and other educational stakeholders. It will conclude with recommendations for individuals within and outside of educational contexts to assist in not only debunking the identified myths, but also for improving the current and future educational status of Black male student in the academy.

Authors

• Demetrees Lee Hutchins, Indiana University

• Robin L. Hughes, Indiana University - Indianapolis