The Effect of Cultural Preferences for Different Cultural Contexts on the Math Performance of African American Middle School Students

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

Abstract

The objective of the proposed study is two-fold. First, we seek to identify if communal- or vervisitic-learning preferences exist among Black middle school students. The second purpose of this investigation is to indicate if there is a relationship between these cultural predilections and the math performance of the student’s who value them.
This study is grounded in the theoretical framework of integrity-based strategies posited by Boykin and Ellison (2009). This ethos encourages educators to build on students’ social and cultural assets so that students may achieve in ways that are meaningful to them (Boykin & Ellison, 2009). Two Afro-cultural themes that improve Black student academic performance are communalism, defined as a predisposition toward the fundamental interdependence of people, and verve, explained as a special receptiveness to high levels of sensate stimulation (Tyler, Boykin, Boelter, & Dillihunt, 2005).
The proposed study will utilize a within-subjects design to address the extent to which performance is influenced when learning conditions match participants’ cultural preferences. The independent variable, learning condition, will have three levels: communal, verve, and control. The dependent variable will be the participant’s math performance. To operationalize the communal condition, participants will learn a math lesson while working in groups of four. To operationalize the verve condition, participants will learn another math lesson with background music. To operationalize the control condition, participants will learn a third math lesson without any cultural intervention.
Math ability, communal preference, and verve preference will be measured for each participant. We will use student achievement and preference scales to divide each group by a ‘High’ or ‘Low’ distinction. Regardless of group designation, every participant will be taught three math lessons, each with a separate learning condition focus: communal, verve, and control learning condition. After each condition, the participants will complete a math test to assess their educational attainment. Data are currently being collected.
Middle school has been noted as a particularly vulnerable period for youth as marked by declines in achievement (NCES, 2006). However, most of the research that considers the cultural assets of African-American students to improve their academic achievement has only studied elementary school children. Therefore, we would like to extend the findings of this body of literature to include middle school students.
Further, researchers have confirmed persistent disparities in mathematics achievement between White middle-class males and African Americans (Secada, 1992; Lee, 2004). Several curriculum reforms and professional development initiatives have been launched to make school mathematics more culturally relevant for diverse students (Campbell & Rowan, 1997). Nonetheless, a recent analysis of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data nationwide reported that the achievement gap between Whites and ethnic minority students stabilized during the last two decades and even widened in some subject areas, including mathematics (Lee, 2004). Although, how educators can accomplish equity in their mathematics classrooms still remains unclear, we hope that through direct consideration of students’ cultural preferences, we will provide an answer.

Author

• Adrian Wayne Bruce, Howard University