Women in Education - Research Paper Example

Postsecondary education generates both individual and social benefits. Individuals who have earned a bachelor’s degree not only have a better access to employment (and a wider range of opportunities) but also earn substantially more than those with less education. Attending college also enriches students’ lives in other ways that are longstanding and, indeed, extend to their offspring. (National Center for Education Statistics, 2002, p.19) The statement above well represents the values of our society concerning the higher education and its importance for the occupational outcomes in the future. Despite the fact that the majority believe that pursuing a higher education is a key to successful and promising future, not all of us seek this path thinking it an option for life success. This is particularly true for African Americans and African American females in particular. African Americans still remain an underrepresented group within the educational system of almost any level these days. For example, at highly selective colleges white students were 5 times as likely as African American students to get enrolled, as well as 2 or 3 times as likely to be admitted as their black peers (Huffington Post, 2012). At college, African American student graduation rate is at a dismally low level: 42 per cent. In contrast, this figure for students who are white is 20 per cent above: 62 per cent. This data is true for both male and female college populations, although recent research shows that black women outperform black men at college. The situation is even worse at the post-graduate and doctoral levels. Stephanie Evans, the author of research “Women of Color in American Higher Education”, provides the following statistics: the number of black female faculty members was 2 per cent at the turn of the 21st century; after almost a decade, there were still so few of them in academia (Evans 131). In this paper, I argue that black women remain underrepresented in the higher education due to historical reasons, disparities in academic preparation due to unequal access to curriculum, income disparities, prejudice towards black women academic potential, stereotyping by professors and students, isolation and alienation, social pressure, lack of Black role models and lack of mentoring support. The fact that for centuries African Americans had been prevented from getting any education at all and from pursuing higher education at white institutions has played a significant role in lack of higher education aspirations in black people. Gardner (1992) found that higher education aspirations in black students depended on their parents’ expectations (McKeemer 17). Further, Coleman (2001) found that lack of self-motivation and parental involvement was one of the factors that influenced the decision of an African American student to pursue higher education (McKeemer 20). In a recent qualitative study of gender and racial inequities that exist among college students, Rachelle Wrinkle-Wagner (2010) found that female college students of African American background are often approached with the question whether Black people, too, can do this (i.e. study in a college). Indeed, the culture of pursuing a college degree is quite young: Evans (2007) reports that “the first successful Black applicants to the University of Florida would not be accepted until the late 1950s, more than a century after its founding in 1853” (Evans 135). Yet, the number of black students and faculty has traditionally remained low: among 5, 810 members of tenured faculty in the Florida State University System only 157 were black women (the number of black male faculty was 258), as of 2004 (Evans 135). Disparities in academic preparation due to unequal access to curriculum have played a significant role in preventing African American females from having college-bound aspirations. Caroline Simard argues that starting at the K-12 level, school students that come from minorities are more likely to be studying in school districts which lack certain resources. For example, Simard says, schools in poorer districts are “lacking resources for a rigorous computer science curriculum.” (Simard 2). Ironically enough, “When schools in disadvantaged areas do have the equipment, they often lack the curriculum that will provide the technical skills necessary for college completion.” (Simard 3). The reason described above is closely related to the income disparity issue. Not only does generally lower socio-economic status of black students prevent them from getting better academic preparation, but it also acts as the major economic factor in barring African American females from entering the college. Specifically, lack of money was found to be the major factor that influenced whether African American students decided to pursue higher education in the study by Coleman (2001) (Coleman in McKeemer 20). Similalry, parental income was found to be a significant factor that influenced the decision of black students to go to college. Lasker (1994) found that those African American students whose parents’ income was higher were more likely to attend a 4-year college (Lasker in McKeemer 18). Psychological and social factors are thought to have a growing importance in influencing the decisions of black female students as to their higher education. There are a few of them. First of all, stereotyping by college professors and peers and prejudice about black women’s academic potential are rather discouraging. Wrinkle-Wagner reports that at a class discussion among predominantly white peers, a black female student was spotlighted as she had to face her white counterpart who said, “Black people are lazy. They are not going to go ahead in this world. That is why they are just sitting here in the same spot”. (Wrinkle-Wagner 81). The teacher, in his/her turn, remained silent and did not make an attempt to disprove the white girl’s stereotyped statement. Also, Wrinkle-Wagner reports another case when a black female student was constantly neglected her right to express her thoughts. Sitting at the back, she raised her hand to attract the instructor’s attention but he kept ignoring her. When at last after class he asked why nobody wanted to say anything and the black female student said she did and reminded him that she was waving her hand to be listened to, he simply replied, “I just didn’t notice.” (Wrinkle-Wagner 85). Being spotlighted and subject to stereotyping makes many black female students suffer. Claudia, a psychology major, said, “There were moments in my classes where I wanted to kick [the White students]…So I try not to look at White people and just like them for what they are saying. Because ultimately you are an adult when you are in college…So I have learnt to look past that. White people” (Wrinkle-Wagner 83). This pressure of stereotyping may be quite discouraging, but may also motivate black female students to work harder to establish themselves as positive black female role models (Wrinkle-Wagner 82). Next, an important obstacle is isolation and alienation felt by African American female students at predominantly white campuses. The belief that others feel negative about their socio-cultural group results in low self-esteem, lack of identity development, lower coping abilities, and discouragement in black female students (Constantine, Donnely, & Myers in Patton & McClure 42). Wrinkle-Wagner reports that very often, on campuses, white and black students stay apart and do not mingle: “Black talk to whites and the whites talk with whites… you have these cliques of people you are talking to” (Wrinkle-Wagner 72). The racial separation leaves black female students feeling so black as if they were alone (Wrinkle-Wagner 72). Living with white roommates is often a negative and painful experience for black female students. Michelle, in Wrinkle-Wagner’s study, reports that it was very hard to live with white roommates because they would often mock at her. For example, when watching BET (Black Entertainment Television) for rap music, white girls would make such comments as “What about WET?” Having asked what was WET, Michelle heard, “White Entertainment Television.” Her reaction was like “What, we can’t have one channel?” She says it was hard living with that. Because one could rarely see African Americans on television, Michelle liked watching BET - at least there was one channel, while all other channels were actualkly WET, Michelle says. White roommates’ comments made her marginalized not just in college, but in what was meant to be her home (Wrinkle-Wagner 71). Simard, too, writes about frequent cases of isolation which haunt women of minorities, “In small schools, universities, or companies, men and women of color are often the lone African-American, Hispanic, or Native American in their organization (…) They may feel isolated or left out, causing them to be less engaged and less motivated to continue studies or remain within their institutions. Women from underrepresented minority backgrounds are especially isolated.” (Simard 4) Lack of black role models for female students of African American background may prevent them from pursuing higher education. Coleman (2001) observed that lack of role models along with lack of parental involvement plus stereotyping was an important social factor that barred African American young people from pursuing a higher education (McKeemer 20). Similar influence of the lack of adequate role models on black students decision to enter a college was revealed by Washington & Newman (in McKeemer 26). Scarcity of mentoring is a negative factor that discourages female African American students from pursuing further education. Patton concludes that mentoring is truly a vital component in the undergraduate, graduate, and professional experiences of black females. The role of a female black mentor, a member of the faculty, reminds that of a mother for black students. Without a mentor, black female students find it hard to overcome everyday problems and counter daily challenges. On the contrary, black female students who had an African American female mentor reported that she could understand numerous challenges that students faced, since she had had similar situations before. Such mentor was reported to be unlikely to misinterpret black female students’ emotions and was able to see their perspectives (Patton 523). Mentorship, therefore, is seen as a way of black students’ empowerment: they feel they can take a lot from their mentor’s personal experience as an African American in a predominantly white university (Patton 527). In addition, Simard observes, mentoring is a chief determinant of retention of women and of underrepresented minorities in engineering and computer science (Simard 4). In summary, the key factors that contribute to the fact that black females are underrepresented in colleges and universities today may be divided into historical, economical, social, and psychological. Historically, African Americans had been denied the right to get higher education, which contributed to lack of higher education tradition in African American families. Socially, African American female students face the problem of exclusion, isolation, and alienation as a result of racial disparity and white people’s prejudice. Psychologically, they find it difficult to confront mockery and stereotypes they face in the predominantly white campus community; also, they feel discouraged to study because they lack psychological and professional support from mentors and lack aspirations to follow their role models. Economically, black female students often come from low-income families, which means they simply cannot afford higher education. Works Cited Evans, Stephanie. “Women of Color in American Higher Education.” Thought & Action, Fall, 2007. Web. 7 July 2011. McKeemer, Taneshia. What Effect Does “Second-Generation Discrimination” Have on African American Males’ Pursuit of Higher Education? ProQuest, 2006. Print. Patton, Lori. “My Sister's Keeper: A Qualitative Examination of Mentoring Experiences among African American Women in Graduate and Professional Schools.” The Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 80, No.5, 2009, pp. 510-537. Print. Patton, Lori & McClure, Michelle. “Strength in the Spirit: African American College Women and Spiritual Coping Mechanisms.” The Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 78, No.1, pp. 42-54. Print. Simard, Caroline. “Obstacles and Solutions for Underrepresented Minorities in Technology.” Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. n.d. Web. 7 June 2013. < http://anitaborg.org/files/obstacles-and-solutions-for-underrepresented-minorities-in-technology.pdf>. Winkle-Wagner, Rachelle. The Unchosen Me: Race, Gender, and Identity. JHU Press, 2010. Print. Read More