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ERIC Number: EJ889291
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Apr
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0038-0407
EISSN: N/A
Rethinking the Attitude-Achievement Paradox among Blacks
Downey, Douglas B.; Ainsworth, James W.; Qian, Zhenchao
Sociology of Education, v82 n1 p1-19 Apr 2009
Blacks offer positive responses to a wide range of survey questions gauging attitudes toward schooling, yet perform less well in school than do whites. The credibility of blacks' attitudes is a central issue among competing explanations for this paradox. In this article, the authors assess questions about the validity of blacks' pro-school attitudes with the National Education Longitudinal Study. Two findings prompted the authors to rethink the paradox. First, a key reason for doubting blacks' pro-school attitudes--that they fail to predict achievement--does not generalize to the national data. Second, rather than challenge the credibility of blacks' pro-school attitudes, the results reveal minimal differences in attitude-achievement associations between blacks and other minority groups. These patterns have implications for thinking about whether blacks resist schooling. (Contains 5 tables and 10 notes.)
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A