School of Education releases report on black male college success

This year, the Graduate School of Education is adopting an optimistic approach to examining student achievement.

Earlier this month, the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education — which was recently launched by GSE — released a report entitled “Black Male Student Success in Higher Education: A Report from the National Black Male College Achievement Study.”

In the study, GSE professor and founder of the center Shaun Harper studied black male undergraduate students who succeeded in college through their involvement as campus leaders and were on track to graduate on time.

Harper interviewed 219 black males from universities and colleges in 20 different states.

“Instead of pursuing common questions like why students did so poorly or why they graduated in so long, I thought it was important to interview students who were actually doing well in college,” Harper said.

Among other findings, the study observed that an important factor contributing to black male student achievement is having a strong base of family and peer support.

Penn students — particularly members of the black male community at Penn — have responded positively to the study’s release.

College junior Justyn Williams, who attends meetings of Penn’s Black Men United with Harper, said he could relate to the questions posed in the study.

“In high school, I’ve had experiences with counselors who would tell me that it would not work out, but I had a strong family support system which helped me get to where I am today,” Williams said.

Williams particularly appreciated Harper’s emphasis on asking “where things went right” as opposed to studying the factors that lead to underachievement and low performance.

“People would always ask me about the barriers I’ve overcome, and not about the positive things which led me to this point,” he said. “In life, there are always going to be challenges, but it feels good to have people ask you what have you done from a positive stance and to leave it up to you to share what obstacles you’ve overcome.”

College junior Haywood Perry explained that the study was especially meaningful to him “in an institution with precious few African-American male professors.”

Perry added in an email that Harper’s research redefines success for black males at Penn by highlighting that “success is accepting that not everything will go as planned, summoning the strength to define one’s own path and sharing lessons learned along the way.”

Wharton senior Triston Francis, the former president of the Black Wharton Undergraduate Association, said he understood the value of the study, as there has been too much emphasis placed on the negative factors underlying black male achievement in education.

“Research on why black men don’t do well on campus does little to help anyone, whereas circulating this type of research allows students to go to college with knowledge that makes them feel a lot more comfortable,” he said.

Francis explained that the emphasis on negative factors adds pressure to incoming black students, creating a subconscious fear “that maybe we’re not up to par or doing as well as other classmates when it definitely may not be true.”

Francis added that he hopes the study will inspire students to stop hesitating to use the resources Penn has to offer.

“During my time at Penn, I’ve taken advantage of the Penn Tutoring Center, Counseling and Psychological Services, Wharton Undergraduate Advising and the Writing Center, in addition to other campus resources,” he said. “Overcoming that hesitation has been a major reason behind all that I have achieved while at Penn.”

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