The Educational Aspirations Of Black And White Youth

First published in 1986. Forty five percent of black women have at least one child by the time they are turn twenty compared to 19 percent of white women. Eight-six percent of the births to black teens occurred to unmarried mothers compared to 30 percent among whites. Research shows that teenage childbearing has negative medical, social, and economic consequences and that women who first gave birth as teenagers are more likely to raise their families in poverty. In Choice and Circumstance the authors explore tree factors underlying the racial differences in the incidence of early childbearing; information about sex, pregnancy and contraception; need for family planning and abortion services; and motivation for postponing parenthood, including aspirations for schooling, employment plans and desire for children within marriage. They consider which teens postpone sex and pregnancy and why, and whether the kinds of motivation necessary to prevent early pregnancy vary by race in the United Sates, perhaps explaining the race differences in early childbearing.

Understanding the causes of the racial achievement gap in American education—and then addressing it with effective programs—is one of the most urgent problems communities and educators face. For many years, the most popular explanation for the achievement gap has been the “oppositional culture theory”: the idea that black students underperform in secondary schools because of a group culture that devalues learning and sees academic effort as “acting white.” Despite lack of evidence for this belief, classroom teachers accept it, with predictable self-fulfilling results. In a careful quantitative assessment of the oppositional culture hypothesis, Angel L. Harris tested its empirical implications systematically and broadened his analysis to include data from British schools. From every conceivable angle of examination, the oppositional culture theory fell flat. Despite achieving less in school, black students value schooling more than their white counterparts do. Black kids perform badly in high school not because they don’t want to succeed but because they enter without the necessary skills. Harris finds that the achievement gap starts to open up in preadolescence—when cumulating socioeconomic and health disadvantages inhibit skills development and when students start to feel the impact of lowered teacher expectations. Kids Don’t Want to Fail is must reading for teachers, academics, policy makers, and anyone interested in understanding the intersection of race and education.

Improving educational attainment and raising employment rates among disadvantaged groups are key targets for the current government. This report shows that for one important group - disabled young people - these goals are far from being achieved. The report analyses nationally representative data to show that parental background is more important than disability status in shaping young people's aspirations; despite high aspirations, educational and occupational outcomes are significantly worse for disabled young people and the gap between disabled and non-disabled young people's experiences widens as they get older. The report argues that while mainstream and comprehensive education may have succeeded in raising aspirations for disabled young people, this has not been translated into real opportunities in early adult life. It also highlights the need for a new direction in careers advice and welfare to work programmes. Frustrated ambition: The education and employment of disabled young people is essential reading for academics, policymakers and practitioners with an interest in the role aspirations play in education and employment.

Child and Youth Care across Sectors aims to reflect the changing field by capturing a diverse array of themes and issues through an inclusive framework. In Volume 2, the contributors continue the discussion on sectors and contexts of child and youth care, with an emphasis on giving space and voice to different ways of thinking about and describing the field. Focusing on acknowledging and confronting the complex issues within child and youth care, this new volume includes groundbreaking chapters on pertinent topics from homelessness to immigration, antiracism, African-centred praxis, and Indigenous ways of being. Expanding from the first volume, this text explores additional settings of child and youth care, including hospitals, schools, day treatment programs, and the complicated youth criminal justice sector. As the field of child and youth care continues to evolve, this timely and thought-provoking text will be vital for students, scholars, and practitioners in child and youth care, in Canada and abroad. FEATURES: - Incorporates discussions on Canada’s northern provinces and territories,specifically Labrador and Nunavut, in child and youth care contexts and regions typically neglected in the field - Includes chapters centering Indigenous ways of being and thinking, written by Indigenous scholars