Document Type
Issue Area Three
Abstract
The lack of support and mentoring for people of color in education, both students and staff, is a cause for concern. The statistics and facts are clear regarding the failure and general hopelessness of some people of color in the education process. Nearly 20% of all Black males drop out of high school (Dent, 1989). In addition, "black boys score lower than any other group on standardized tests" (p.55). Also disheartening is the fact that Black males are disproportionately misclassified and placed in classes for the mentally retarded. They are "twice as likely as whites to be placed in special education classes and less than half as likely to be placed in talented and gifted classes" (Dent, p. 55). Figures also reveal that Black males are suspended, expelled and corporally punished more often and for lesser offenses than Whites. According to the U.S. Office for Civil Rights, 5.2% of all Black students received corporal punishment in 1986 while 2.8% of White students did. According to David J. Dent (1989) "One of the first barriers to academic success for many African-American male students is low teacher expectations... Studies have shown that student performance often parallels teacher expectations." Alarmingly, it has been found through research that both White and Black teachers often have low expectations of Black male students. These facts clearly show that Black children, especially males, are often academically disadvantaged in our schools.
Journal Title
Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series
Volume
2
Issue
2
First Page
90
Last Page
94
Publisher
Institute for Educational Leadership, University of Northern Iowa
City
Cedar Falls, IA
Copyright
©1991 Institute for Educational Leadership, College of Education, and University of Northern Iowa
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Learn, Kathleen
(1991)
"Issue Three: Support and Mentoring for People of Color in Education [Learn],"
Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series: Vol. 2:
No.
2, Article 24.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/iel_monographs/vol2/iss2/24
