Noah Williams
Malcom X College
Introduction to Sociology 201 OQW
Professor Grabczynski
18 March 2024
Define Topic
A study on meeting the socio-emotional needs of Black and Latin(x) youth in our Public Schools, a phenomenon of applying resources to combat racism and inequality.
Literature Review
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Black Emotions Matter: Understanding the Impact of Racial Oppression on Black Youth's Emotional Development: Dismantling Systems of Racism and Oppression During Adolescence.
1
“Lack of Access to Emotional Support Through Schools
Related to the presence of law enforcement in Black adolescents' schools, is the lack of access to trained school emotional support staff (e.g., counselors, psychologists, social workers). According to data from the 2015–2016 federal Civil Rights Data Collection, among schools that serve mostly Black students, 20.7% had a greater number of law enforcement or security staff on school grounds than emotional support staff; this is in comparison to only 2.5% of schools that serve mostly White students (Harper & Temkin, 2018). As such, Black adolescents attended schools with greater law enforcement presence than emotional support staff presence at 3 times the rate of White adolescents (Harper & Temkin, 2018). Initiatives such as "Counselors Not Cops" (Mann et al., 2019) speaks to how this interrelation between lack of emotional support staff and overreliance on law enforcement in schools is evidence of the ways in which schools are structured to criminalize Black students instead of meeting their developmental and emotional needs. In the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) report on the presence of law enforcement and mental health professionals in schools (Mann et al., 2019), standard school recommendations were to have at least one social worker and one counselor for every 250 students in a school and one psychologist for every 700 students in a school. Yet, 90% of public schools do not meet these recommendations. Thus, schools are not equipped to handle the emotional needs of its students, and the lack of support is felt most intensely for Black adolescents among whom we have described are most vulnerable to having less supportive and positive relationships with teachers and are disproportionately targeted by school law enforcement.”
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Social and Emotional Needs of Emergent Bilingual High School Students: Perspectives of Teachers, School Counselors, and School Social Workers.
2
“While the connection between social and emotional competencies and learning outcomes have persuaded many states to set educational policies requiring social-emotional learning (SEL) initiatives, there are insufficient data which speak to the unique needs of emergent bilingual learners EBLs and ethnic minority students. This is not to say that EBLs and ethnic minority students do not benefit from universal SEL programs and evidence exists that they do (Taylor et al., [84]). For example, elementary school-aged Spanish speakers who participated in an SEL program (The Tools of the Mind) showed improvements in self-regulation (Barnett et al., [ 3]). The Responsive Classroom SEL intervention showed improved reading achievement, greater closeness between teachers and children, better pro-social skills, and more assertiveness for students whose background included low-income, low maternal education, single-parent status, and home languages other than English (Rimm-Kaufman & Chiu, [65]). However, despite these promising indications, ethnically and linguistically diverse students still have different life experiences, both in school and out of school, which influence not only their well-being and academic outcomes, but to what degree SEL initiatives respond to their needs (Garner et al., [28]). Equally important, EBLs are also at disproportional risk for dropping out of high school and not pursuing post-secondary education (Office of English Language Acquisition, [54]; Oseguera, [56]), thus it is important to understand the needs of youth beyond their early educational experiences.”
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Mexican American Urban Youth Perspectives on Neighborhood Stressors, Psychosocial Difficulties, and Coping: En Sus Propias Palabras.
3
“Results indicate that interventions that promote active coping strategies to supplement avoidance may also diminish externalizing problems. Researchers studying experiential therapeutic interventions have observed improved decision-making and problem solving skills in a sample of youth engaging in pro-social activities (Kallander and Levings [31]). This form of intervention uses activity engagement to improve emotional well-being. Included activities might involve wilderness trips, theater groups, or writing to facilitate positive encouragement and highlight youth potential. Ultimately, at-risk youth learn to apply positive lessons across various adverse contexts to reduce externalizing and internalizing behaviors (Karabanow and Clement [33]).
Several clinical implications can be derived from the results. First, given the high rates of violence exposure, it is essential for mental health clinicians to view low-income urban youths' internalizing and externalizing symptomatology through a trauma lens in order to accurately assess and treat their distress. Often hidden, posttraumatic stress can cause behavioral difficulties as well as internal stress in the form of depression and anxiety (Deane et al. [15]). Second, the active coping and cognitive restructuring (i.e., reframing) that was practiced by the lower-risk group supports the finding that culturally competent evidence-based interventions, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, should be a first line treatment when working with urban minority youth (Huey and Polo [29]). Finally, maximizing social supports by providing access to appropriate mentors and/or supportive peers should be a focus of the work with low-income urban youth.”
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Perceptions from Newcomer Multilingual Adolescents: Predictors and Experiences of Sense of Belonging in High School.
4
“Network of Support
Second, this study revealed that newcomers built an intricate web of support from peers, staff, and families that contributed to their sense of belonging so that school felt like a second family or second home. The "International Academy (IA) IA is where students get to know and learn about a lot of cultures, languages, and the most important thing: they will have friends from other countries. Also, students can learn English and other languages easily" (Ben, a 17-year-old eleventh grader from the Ivory Coast). Ben's observation highlights the network of international peers, friends, and staff who support their academic journey. Alexis, an 18-year-old twelfth grader from Guatemala, shared that students learn about themselves through experiences at school. The school "es como una familia, porque te ayudan, te dan apoyo, te hacen sentir que sos importante para ellos, te dan atención, respeto, cariño y todo.
[School is like a family, because they help you, they give you support, they make you feel that you're important to them, they give you attention, respect, affection, and everything.]" (David, a 17-year-old tenth grader from Honduras). When discussing how students provided support in L1, students shared that they explained, clarified confusion, took the initiative of helping others, called and texted peers to get them into virtual classes, and made friends while helping each other out.
Opportunity to Participate
Third, the opportunity to participate in activities, experiences, and practices in and out of high school fostered belonging. School structures that students referenced as opportunities were grouped into four categories: future preparation, tailored and extensive course offerings, during- and after-school activities, and resources. Experiencing these opportunities and activities together helped students belong and feel included, accepted, and valued.
Emotional, Linguistic, and Physical Safety
Fourth, emotional, linguistic, and physical safety and security were embedded within almost every interviewee's comments. Feeling safe is a basic human need (Maslow, [45]). If a student does not feel safe, belonging cannot occur. Feeling emotionally safe to share your feelings, linguistically safe to make mistakes with language, and physically safe and secure from danger were foundational components of a rich school environment where newcomers feel like they belong.
Acknowledgment and Recognition
Lastly, students appreciated recognition of hard work, a celebration of successes, and feeling valued, seen, and heard. Goodenow's ([27]) definition directly addresses how feeling valued and encouraged by others defines school belonging. Acknowledgments of hard work along with a difficult life transition reinforced student value and showed that they are seen, heard, and appreciated. This recognition ranged from Honor Roll Assemblies and awards to personal words of advice and praise, to asset-based recognition and interaction with native speakers.
Many of the statistical results contradicted hypotheses about factors within a student's life experience that may have affected their sense of belonging at school. Others shed light on the phenomenon of a student's journey through their instructional program. Knowledge regarding the complexities of students' transition into adolescence, a new language, a new country, a new school community, and, for 64%, a new family structure, provides insight into how school culture and programming may impact and support feelings of belonging, rather than variables that can predict belonging. These findings led to recommendations to foster belonging directly from students.”
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Hypothesis
A parallel correlation exists between the more socio-emotional support resources available and accessible to our Black and Latin(x) youth in our Public Schools and the odds of upward mobility (attending higher education, finding potential careers, and receiving higher earnings).
Research Design
The approach needed for this type of research study needs to be qualitative. I would propose a grant for research using the case study population of Chicago students and families who attend public schools, are in neighborhoods that are overwhelmingly Black or Latin(x), whose school population is reflective of said neighborhoods, and are in grades 5 – 12. (N)
The independent variable would be using different neighborhood schools (X1) for the study population (N) and the number of social workers accessible to the students (X2).
A dependent variable would be to measure the completion of an academic goal (High School Diploma, G.E.D., High School equivalency, associate degree, bachelor's degree.) (Y1), retention of attendance (Y2), and academic success among students measured by G.P.A. (Y3), whether said Students work in their desired career within two years after receiving their high school diploma, associate or bachelor's degree (Y4), {optional dependent variable: disclose finances earned after two years at any career. (Y5)} The control would be to use Chicago Public School's average for the number of social workers to student ratio (Z*) while maintaining the constraints of the studied population (N)
Evaluation/Analysis
The study will be conducted over eight years. The population studied (N) would participate by self-notifying researchers of the results (Y1-5)
[Students reporting completion of academic goals (High School Diploma, G.E.D., High School equivalency, associate degree, bachelor's degree) (Y1). Student's attendance at the beginning and end of a school year (on a semester-to-semester basis for college students) (Y2), Students G.P.A. (Y3), and whether said students work in their desired career within two years after receiving their high school diploma, associate or bachelor's degree (Y4), {optional dependent variable: disclose finances earned after two years at career. (Y5)}]
An incentive for participation would be that the participants would receive monetary gains through gift cards. A bonus incentive would be given if, after receiving their high school diploma, associate degree, or bachelor's degree and working in their desired career, they disclose their financial earnings from their career after two years, if applicable.
Some benchmark indicators would be whether the initial 5th graders retained attendance, achieved their high school diploma, G.E.D., or high school equivalency, and how well they performed over the eight years. Another benchmark indicator is whether the initial 12th graders immediately attended college after high school, retained attendance, and met their academic goal (associate degree/bachelor's degree) within six years.
Conclusion
There is no question that our youth are the most invaluable population, essential to a better life in the future. However, too often, the needs of this population are not met. Sadly, this is even more so the case for our Black and Latin(x) communities where allocation of funds and other systemic issues are present. To combat the generational systemic problems, Education and Paying Jobs are still valuable instruments to alter the destiny of these ethnic minorities. For that to happen, we must first meet the needs of these young people now. More resources and intervention models like more school social workers, more school counselors/psychiatrists, and more social-emotional learning expert aids would be a step in the right direction to empower and provide lasting assistance to communities in need. Once these young folk achieve a certain amount of success and stability, they may be empowered to aid the same communities where they received assistance. More studies still need to be done to show the implications of more socio-emotional resources in our city and nation's Black and Latin(x) communities.
Based on empirical evidence from case studies around the United States, it is safe to say that everyone benefits from this kind of research, and the manifest and latent functions are more than likely to be positive.
Work cited
• 1Lozada, F. T., Riley, T. N., Catherine, E., & Brown, D. W. (2022). Black Emotions Matter: Understanding the Impact of Racial Oppression on Black Youth’s Emotional Development: Dismantling Systems of Racism and Oppression During Adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence (Wiley-Blackwell), 32(1), 13–33. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12699
• 2Vera, E., Heineke, A., Schultes, A., & Daskalova, P. (2022). Social and Emotional Needs of Emergent Bilingual High School Students: Perspectives of Teachers, School Counselors, and School Social Workers. Journal of Educational & Psychological Consultation, 32(4), 416–453. https://doi.org/10.1080/10474412.2021.2018657
• 3Deane, K. C., Richards, M., Bocanegra, K., Santiago, C. D., Scott, D., Zakaryan, A., & Romero, E. (2020). Mexican American Urban Youth Perspectives on Neighborhood Stressors, Psychosocial Difficulties, and Coping: En Sus Propias Palabras. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 29(6), 1780–1791. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01683-3
• 4McInerney, K. (2023). Perceptions from Newcomer Multilingual Adolescents: Predictors and Experiences of Sense of Belonging in High School. Child & Youth Care Forum, 52(5), 1041–1072. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-022-09723-8
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