Black Students’ Psychological Responses to Ethnic-Specific Textbook Representations

• In Event: Conceptualizing Black Consciousness Within Motivation Research

Abstract

Textbooks have been historically mis-educative in the way they represent Black people. By presenting Black people in non-agentic and inferior contexts of victimhood as opposed to contexts of achievement and competence, these materials instill in Black students an ideology of inferiority (Woodson, 1933). How Black students make sense of themselves and their potential in response to their education (Black X Consciousness) is crucial to examine, with implications for their motivation, engagement, and identity development (Carter, 2008; Ford, 1995; O’Connor, 1997). However, empirical research on the psychological effects of various representations of Black history and culture in educational materials is limited (Grice & Vaughn, 1992). This paper aims to fill this gap proposing a theoretical framework for Black students’ motivation to engage ethnic-specific texts that is based on social psychological theories.
The work begins by providing background on the history and the current state of representation of Black people in textbooks (El Haj, 2006; Epstein, 2001; Sleeter, 2011). It then summarizes the main findings from previous studies that have examined the impact of ethnic-specific content on Black students’ cultural knowledge, self-concept, self-esteem, racial pride, and critical consciousness (Dupuis & Walker, 1988; Flores, 1998; Godina, 1996; Johnson, 1971; Miller, 1982; Roth, 1969; Yawley & Blackwell, 1974). It also identifies limitations and challenges of these studies, such as the lack of attention to the quality and context of representations and the diversity and complexity of Black students’ experiences and perspectives. This implicates the need for a model as well as corresponding studies that leverage critical race mixed methodological approaches for examining Black students' experiences with Black identity representations in textbooks.
The theoretical framework presented builds upon foundational social psychological theories (Bandura, 1977; Bandura, 1997; Festinger, 1954; Tajfel & Turner, 1979) to explain how different types of representations of Black people in educational materials may influence Black students’ psychological responses. The framework suggests that representations that portray Black people in contexts of achievement and competence, rather than inferiority and victimization, hold potential to empower and inspire Black students by enhancing their self-efficacy, motivation, aspirations, and identification with their ethnic group. The framework also proposes that representations that acknowledge oppression and struggle but also emphasize resilience and joy (Author, 2019; King & Swartz, 2014), may foster Black students’ critical consciousness and agency by situating their challenges in a systemic rather than individualistic perspective.
The paper concludes by discussing some of the implications and recommendations for future research and practice based on the theoretical framework. It argues that more empirical studies are needed to test the validity and applicability of the framework, as well as to explore the nuances and variations of Black students’ psychological responses to different representations across different contexts and levels of education.

Author

• Joseph Burey, University of Minnesota