Critical Examination of Urban Middle School African American Males: Motivation and Engagement

• In Event: Facing Current Issues in Urban Education: Race, Class, and Gender

Abstract

Objectives or Purpose
Excel Academy is a middle school that attempts to defy the odds with a college-preparatory mission entrenched in high expectations and designed around the seven values of the African American tradition of Kwanzaa. Our inquiry is informed by the assertion that motivation and engagement flow from responsive and relevant pedagogies and curricula, while disengagement is a sign that these ideals have yet to be realized. We proceed, therefore, by scrutinizing the four complexities complicating efforts to achieve academic and social excellence among African American males attending Excel Academy.
Theoretical Framework
This appraisal proceeds on the premise that motivation (a will to pursue and apply knowledge) and engagement (focused energy, attention, and effort toward excellence) among underserved learners are complicated endeavors best understood only when a series of instructional and sociocultural
complexities are effectively illuminated and reconciled. Research on motivation and engagement among African American males is useful in understanding and countering the damaging misconceptions concerning their perceived lack of motivation. To better appreciate the needs of African American male learners, one must note the contradictory experiences of individuals who are both male (generally privileged) and Black (generally penalized).
Data Source
Excel Academy for Boys (pseudonym) is located in a major urban center in the Southwestern region of the United States where the local dropout rate for underserved learners menacingly hovers at nearly 60 percent. State achievement data for the 2007–2008 school year at Excel Academy suggest demonstrated academic growth among African American male learners. But prior studies (James, 2010; James & Lewis, 2009) revealed several disconnects between a culture of excellence and the reality of teaching and learning.
Conclusions/Scholarly Significance
Four distinct but interrelated and complex themes emerged during the Excel Academy case study: (a) expectations dissonance, (b) disguised engagement, (c) differential engagement, and (d) expectations overload (James, 2010). Each is vital to understand motivation and engagement among African American male youth. Framed in motivational and engagement literature on African American male learners, we make the case that motivation and engagement flow from responsive and relevant pedagogies and curricula, while disengagement is a sign that these ideals have yet to be realized. The four complexities at Excel Academy—crucial to promoting an environment that motivates African American male students—include expectations dissonance, disguised engagement, differential engagement, and expectations overload. We hope these innovative practices and recommendations for change help educators to reconsider motivation and engagement among African American males. When educators fail to recognize and respond to these complexities, cultures of excellence and high expectations may have the paradoxical effect of generating the disengagement they seek to prevent. Often, what may look like African American males disengaging or quitting is likely a discursive dance between a culture of great expectations and the absence of legitimate curricular support.

Author

• Marlon C. James, Texas A&M University - College Station