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Abstract
Although Black boys throughout the African diaspora are dropping out of high school in alarming rates, little is known about how educational identity and attainment is shaped by the intersection of race and gender in the high school environment. Utilizing an ecological and intersectionality theoretical lens, this study draws on data gleaned from semistructured interviews with Black male and female adolescents in their first year at a public high school in Bermuda (N = 35, mean age = 14.3). Findings indicated that the girls committed twice as many disciplinary infractions as the boys. However, girls’ disciplinary problems were less likely to interfere with their academic performance because they were perceived, by both boys and girls, to be more educationally focused, better behaved, and they were more likely to seek out social-emotional support when needed. This study contributes to our understanding of the higher drop-out rates among men of African descent and points to the important role that gender stereotypes and school-based adults play in determining educational identity and attainment.
Keywords education/school, gender, stereotypes, African diaspora, adolescence, qualitative
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Author Biography
Monique M. Jethwani is a developmental psychologist and full-time lecturer in the social enterprise administration department at the Columbia School of Social Work (CSSW). She teaches classes on adolescent development and program evaluation and is also an affiliate of the Center for Research on Fathers, Children, and Family Well-Being at CSSW and the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education at New York University. Her research examines gender, racial, and economic inequalities in schools and the associations between school climate and developmental outcomes. She has conducted qualitative and quantitative school-based research and evaluation studies throughout the United States and in Bermuda and India.
