Cultural Considerations in Motivation: Can Communal Learning Contexts Positively Impact African-American Students’ Efficacy Beliefs?

• In Event: Building on Student Assets: Talent Development Approaches to Motivation and Achievement

Abstract

The Triple Quandary (Boykin, 1986) is a theoretical perspective that moves beyond a one-dimensional cultural outlook on African-Americans to a multidimensional cultural self-schema model. It describes three realms of experience that cultivate African-Americans cultural self-schemas: mainstream, minority, and Afro-cultural, which must be simultaneously negotiated by African Americans throughout their development.

Researchers taking a cultural-integrity perspective (e.g. Delpit, 1995; Hurley, Boykin, Allen, 2005; Tyler et al., 2008) view the African-American student as situated in a culturally-rich family and community environment from which he or she has access to traditional Afro-cultural assets that he or she can recognize, embody, value, discredit, ignore, or simply be unaware of. In schooling, the cultural-integrity perspective draws upon cultural assets that are part of the socialization process in students’ homes and communities during the learning exchange.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact that a cultural-integrity rich learning context (high communal learning) has on students’ self- and collective-efficacy beliefs, and performance. Self-efficacy emphasizes the individual as primarily responsible, while collective-efficacy is similar to communalism in emphasizing shared responsibility. This study contributes to prior research on cultural learning contexts (e.g., Albury, 1993; Coleman, 1998; Hurley, Boykin & Allen, 2005) by considering that these culturally rich environments may stimulate self- and collective-efficacy beliefs in the process of boosting student performance. It is hypothesized that communal learning contexts impact both self- and collective-efficacy beliefs but will have a stronger impact on collective-efficacy beliefs for African-American students.
A pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design is employed using a between subjects 2 (learning context: high versus low communal) x 2 (race/ethnicity: African-American versus White students) x 2 (gender: male versus female) factorial design. Students (n=160) are randomly assigned to a learning context in race homogenous groups of four. Efficacy beliefs and performance measures are taken pre- and post-manipulation and the manipulation of learning context occurs during a mathematics task study session. Group- and student-level characteristics are measured and controlled for (e.g., sense of belonging and cultural orientation).

Descriptive analyses are conducted to obtain means, standard deviation, and bivariate correlations for all the variables. A series of hierarchical regression models will be conducted to test predictions. In the first step the demographic information is entered; next, the cultural orientation variables (e.g., communal orientation), and gender, and race are entered as predictors. Self- and collective-efficacy and mathematics task performance serve as the dependent variables.

Results of this study provide empirical evidence of one process by which cultural learning environments can positively impact African-American middle school students’ mathematics performance. Findings help educators and researchers better understand different motivational needs across race and gender by considering the role that culture plays in motivation. Further research is necessary to understand the complexity of the role of culture in motivation, and how by taking a cultural-integrity approach, students from a range of cultural backgrounds can have more positive experiences in school related to learning and achievement. Traditional and new motivational theories must consider the role of culture in the achievement motivation of underrepresented students, particularly, African-American students.

Author

• Jennifer O. Burrell, Howard University