Helping them to achieve: African American boys perspectives on factors related to their academic achievement

Although the experiences of African American male students in urban school settings are well-documented, the personal perspectives of elementary-aged African American males concerning the factors related to their academic achievement in these settings are sparse. Equally sparse in the literature are the academic achievement experiences of elementary-aged African American male students in urban school settings that are atypical of the negative school characteristics specific to these settings.;Consequently, this qualitative study explored the factors that contributed to or hindered the academic achievement experiences of 10 fifth-grade African American males at an urban elementary school using an exploratory study approach. Person-to-person interviews, a focus group, student journals and archival records (i.e. student cumulative record folders, report cards and ATS data) were utilized as data collection procedures so the personal experiences and perspectives of the participants could be freely shared.;Study findings indicate that African American boys who are negatively impacted by the factors identified within the literature require additional assistance from their schools in order to improve their achievement outcomes. Additional school assistance with peer-related issues and concerns are particularly important if African American boys are to heighten their achievement outcomes within these settings. Urban schools that are not impacted by the negative school characteristics that may typify other urban school environments should focus upon creating school structures which would support African American boys severely impacted by the factors identified in the literature.