“Our Biggest Challenge Is Stereotypes”: Understand Stereotype Threat and the Academic Experiences of African American Undergraduates

• In Event: Roundtable Session 124
  In Roundtable Session: The Continuing Significance of Race in Black Education

Abstract

Through the Ford funded Diverse Learning Environments Project, undergraduates were sampled from seven post-secondary institutions across the country. The goal of the project was to identify factors that impact degree completion of students from various racial and ethnic groups. Of all student groups, African American undergraduates from separate campuses were the only group to identify stereotypes and stereotype threat as major barriers to their academic achievement. This paper uses focus group data to highlight their experiences and how stereotype threat impacts their academic lives. Additionally, the paper draws from research on stereotype threat interventions, and includes recommendations on how institutions can address stereotypes on campus to protect students

Author

• Sylvia Hurtado, University of California - Los Angeles