Achievement and Expectations of Immigrant, Second Generation, and Non-immigrant Black Students in U.S. Higher Education

Research on academic achievement contrasting Black immigrant, second generation, and non-immigrant students as distinct groups is surprisingly sparse in the higher education literature.  This study examined Black immigrant and second generation undergraduates from Africa and the Caribbean and non-immigrant Black American undergraduates, using the contrasting lenses of segmented assimilation theory and cultural ecological theory. Results for academic achievement favored second generation students, consistent with cultural ecological theory, while findings concerning expectations were more consistent with segmented assimilation theory.  However, findings were moderated by gender in complex ways.  This research indicates the need for more comprehensive theories of immigrant student achievement and motivation that incorporate consideration of the context surrounding both emigration from the home country and immigration to the host country

Reconstructing modern and Pliocene (c. 5.4-2.4 Ma) decadal climate variations in the paleoenvironments of the Middle Atlantic Bight using isotope and increment sclerochronology

Ocean characteristics on geologic timescales are poorly understood, have varied in the past, and are critical to understanding how the ocean may respond to future human-induced climate change. Recent climate studies have identified that environmental variations in the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) are related to larger global climate variations throughout the Late Cenozoic such as the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation pattern and ocean-atmospheric teleconnections. Modern physical oceanographic studies in the MAB using the modern instrument records show high interannual variability with longer, multi-decadal warming trends. The goal of this investigation is to reveal annual to multi-decadal variations in sea surface temperatures of the MAB during the Pliocene (5.4-1.8 Million years ago (Ma). This investigation employs isotope and increment records from marine bivalves as proxies for ocean bottom temperature in conjunction with a basic understanding of the modern physical oceanographic flow model along the Atlantic continental shelf. In the present study, live-collected bivalves from the MAB and fossil bivalve shells from Pliocene deposits along the US Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain (MACP) were used to estimate oceanic conditions (seawater temperature, salinity, etc.) and ocean/atmosphere internal oscillations that currently dominate the basin. Sclerochronologic and stable isotope analyses were used to study this problem. Using the growth increments and isotope records of the modern Hemimactra as a comparison, Pliocene surf clams were employed to estimate paleoecologic and paleoclimatologic conditions along with the MACP. Pliocene surf clams documented annual increment marks and oxygen isotope ratios indicating greatly reduced seasonality, similar to the modern S. s. similis, but with similar average temperatures relative to modern SST at the same latitude. Since the surf clams present within the Pliocene MACP represent the short-lived species (~ 5 years old), in order to investigate multi-decadal variations during the Pliocene new bivalve proxies were explored. Large and abundant MACP bivalves, Glycymeris americana and Panopea reflexa were identified as having annual growth increments and significant longevity. Ages of fossil shells were comparable to extant species G. glycymeris (~100 years) and were used to reconstruct regional SST and a spectral analysis of past NAO. Oxygen isotope values were consistent with previous bivalve studies.Doctor of Philosoph

Faculty Change from Within: The Creation of the WMSURE Program

Underrepresented students have less knowledge of research experiences available on campus and are less likely to feel supported by faculty than represented students. To address these issues and increase the number of underrepresented undergraduate researchers, faculty at the College of William & Mary created the William & Mary Scholars Undergraduate Research Experience (WMSURE). Community based and participatory research methods were used to work with students in developing research questions and in collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data about their academic and personal experiences. This led to the development of academic and research advising services, workshops, faculty education, and research funding to support underrepresented students. This article evaluates the program. Results suggest that the WMSURE program has increased research opportunities and feelings of support on campus

Linguistics and race: An interdisciplinary approach towards an LSA statement on race

In order to work towards greater racial justice within linguistics, the challenge remains for linguists to develop a cohesive theory of and approach to race and racial analysis in linguistics that is influenced by researchers of different methodological approaches and racial backgrounds. A formal LSA statement on race will provide linguistic researchers with a framework for studying race and will also serve as a method of intellectual and social inclusion in linguistics. We draw on interdisciplinary expertise in related fields, including psychology, sociology, anthropology, education, and ethnic studies, to examine how scholars from neighboring disciplines have formally conceptualized and dealt with race and racial classification strategies. Points of convergence as well as divergence are articulated, drawing insights that may advance work related to race within and beyond linguistics

Understanding the influence of race/Ethnicity, gender, and class on inequalities in academic and non-academic outcomes among eighth-grade students: findings from an intersectionality approach

Socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and gender inequalities in academic achievement have been widely reported in the US, but how these three axes of inequality intersect to determine academic and non-academic outcomes among school-aged children is not well understood. Using data from the US Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Kindergarten (ECLS-K; N = 10,115), we apply an intersectionality approach to examine inequalities across eighth-grade outcomes at the intersection of six racial/ethnic and gender groups (Latino girls and boys, Black girls and boys, and White girls and boys) and four classes of socioeconomic advantage/disadvantage. Results of mixture models show large inequalities in socioemotional outcomes (internalizing behavior, locus of control, and self-concept) across classes of advantage/disadvantage. Within classes of advantage/disadvantage, racial/ethnic and gender inequalities are predominantly found in the most advantaged class, where Black boys and girls, and Latina girls, underperform White boys in academic assessments, but not in socioemotional outcomes. In these latter outcomes, Black boys and girls perform better than White boys. Latino boys show small differences as compared to White boys, mainly in science assessments. The contrasting outcomes between racial/ethnic and gender minorities in self-assessment and socioemotional outcomes, as compared to standardized assessments, highlight the detrimental effect that intersecting racial/ethnic and gender discrimination have in patterning academic outcomes that predict success in adult life. Interventions to eliminate achievement gaps cannot fully succeed as long as social stratification caused by gender and racial discrimination is not addressed

Proximal Peer-Level Effects of a Small-Group Selected Prevention on Aggression in Elementary School Children: An Investigation of the Peer Contagion Hypothesis

Examined peer contagion in small group, selected prevention programming over one school year. Participants were boys and girls in grades 3 (46 groups, 285 students) and 6 (36 groups, 219 students) attending school in low-resource, inner city communities or moderate resource urban communities. Three-level hierarchical linear modeling (observations within individuals within groups) indicated that individual change in aggression over time related to the average aggression of others in the intervention group. The individual child was “pulled” toward peers’ mean level of aggression; so the intervention appeared to reduce aggression for those high on aggression, and to make those low on aggression more aggressive. Effects appeared to be magnified in either direction when the child was more discrepant from his or her peers. From these results we derive a principle of “discrepancy-proportional peer-influence” for small group intervention, and discuss the implications of this for aggregating aggressive children in small group programs.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44593/1/10802_2005_Article_3568.pd

Developmental Issues in School-Based Aggression Prevention from a Social-Cognitive Perspective

Contemporary research on the development and prevention of aggressive behavior in childhood and adolescence emphasizes the importance of social-cognitive factors such as perceptual biases, problem-solving skills, and social-moral beliefs in the maintenance of aggression. Indeed, school-based social-cognitive intervention approaches have been identified as best practices by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, because child age is an important covariate of both intervention effectiveness and social-cognitive ability, school-based prevention program designers should keep in mind a number of issues identified through developmental research. In this paper, we review the social-cognitive model of aggressive behavior development as applied to prevention programming. We then discuss some of the ways in which the broader developmental research base can inform the design of aggression prevention programs.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45098/1/10935_2005_Article_5.pd