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ERIC Number: EJ970963
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Jul
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1477-8785
EISSN: N/A
Oppositional Culture and Educational Opportunity
Lewis, Christopher
Theory and Research in Education, v10 n2 p131-154 Jul 2012
The most common lay explanation for the racial gap in educational achievement in the US is the "oppositional culture hypothesis", which holds that Black students tend to undervalue education and stigmatize their high-achieving peers, accusing them of "acting White". Many believe that, insofar as this hypothesis is true, Black underachievement is unproblematic from the perspective of justice, because Black students are simply not "taking" the fair opportunities presented to them. This article offers a systematic critique of the normative aspects of this view and some conceptual clarifications regarding the nature of opportunity. (Contains 13 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 - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A