The Achievement Gap Initiative
at Harvard University
 
 

Text Box: The third present the authentic male as non-academic.Appearance and BelongingUniversity of Michigan’s Daphna Oyserman shared evidence that physical similarity to one’s racial-ethnic in-group has a bigger impact on academic attainment for boys than for girls. She finds that dark skin-tone is a protective factor for African American boys in inner-city Detroit. Appearing Latino is a protective factor for Latino boys. Images of Possible SelvesOyserman also presented findings from an experiment on how enriched images of “possible selves” enhance school engagement. She finds that while youth value education, they may believe that behaviors required to achieve academically conflict with behaviors needed to fit in socially. Her experiment tested ways that enhanced images of possible selves can improve academic achievement. Text Box: the more they agree that hip hop music plays an important role in their lives. The same is not true for non-blacks. His results highlight the influence of hip hop culture on identity formation and expression for black youth. For example, the more important hip hop is in their lives, the more black youth (across all SES levels) agree that their behavior style sometimes could be described as “acting ghetto,” which can be disruptive in school classrooms. Messages in the LyricsTravis Gosa, doctoral candidate at Johns Hopkins, presented evidence about the extent of anti-achievement messaging in hip-hop developed from his content analysis of 30,000 lyrics between 1981 and 2005. He finds three main types of achievement-related messages. The first are negative messages about the value of education for getting ahead. The second argue that teachers and schools should not be trusted. Text Box: In June, the AGI convened over one hundred and fifty researchers, practitioners, funders and activists for two days to discuss recent research related to “Structures, Cultures and Achievement gaps.” This year’s conference focused on various cultural and structural forces that affect student Text Box: achievement levels and gaps. Presenters representing a range of academic disciplines and universities delivered twenty-five presentations over the two days. They shared new findings across an array of topics including race and social fit, hip-hop and youth culture, parenting and social supports, college and Text Box: “More than 60% of black youth agree with the statement that it is hard for young black people to get ahead because they face so much discrimination.” —Cathy Cohen Text Box: 2007 Research Conference Highlights Text Box: AGI CONFERENCE MATERIALSPresentations, videos and papers are available on the web at www.agi.harvard.edu Text Box: Black Youth Beliefs about Race, Politics and SexUniversity of Chicago’s Cathy Cohen presented recent results from her Black Youth Project--a research project that explores attitudes of African American youth, ages 15-25, on race, politics and sex. Upon discovering that their views on sex, work and education are typically rather conservative, Cohen explores why the same black youths’ behaviors often do not align with their mostly conventional aspirations. She finds that most black youth in her large, nationally representative sample perceive that they Text Box: face discrimination on the basis of race, and that about half feel the government treats immigrants better than African Americans. Cohen suggests that black youths’ feelings of being devalued culturally and “locked out” of opportunities structurally may explain some of the misalignment between their aspirations and behaviors. Music and IdentityConference participants viewed Byron Hurt’s provocative documentary “Beats and Rhymes.” The film challenges viewers to think critically about hip hop music content and its impact on black male identity. Hurt’s critique of dominant themes in the music--such as hypermasculinity, violence, misogyny--culminate in a call for hip hop messages that offer a “broader vision of manhood” for young black males.Hurt’s documentary provided context as AGI Director Ron Ferguson discussed findings that self esteem is higher among young black males and females, Text Box: school cultures, teacher quality, and school reform. AGI Director Ron Ferguson opened the conference with a summary of last year’s conference research. The 2006 Research Conference Summary paper that he delivered is available on the AGI website. Text Box: Page #
Copyright © 2008 The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Photos (top left and right) by Kevin G. Reeves for the Shaker Heights City School District