Kimberly Scott
Presents Her Research
on African American and Latina Girls' Collectivism

by Nancy Southerland

“Roosevelt reeling!” “Roosevelt buildings judged unsafe.” “After a day of turbulence, Regents oust the school board in Roosevelt.” These are some of the headlines describing Roosevelt--the only district in New York currently operated by the State Education Department. During the 2001-2002 academic year, Dr. Kimberly Scott (Assistant Professor of Foundations, Leadership and Policy Studies at Hofstra University) became the sole researcher allowed access to this publicly scrutinized predominantly African-American setting (89% African-American; 11% Latino). Interested in examining how sixth-grade African-American and Latina girls make sense of their educational experiences in a State-operated district, she gained access to two of Roosevelt’s elementary schools. Black Feminist Theory shaped the contours of this multi-method study. A modified version of grounded theory analysis allowed four themes to emerge. Her presentation at CCCS’ regional seminar focused on the theme of belongingness.

Referring to girls’ desire to feel kinship with other girls, the sense of belongingness depended upon the individual school context. In one school, Davis Michael Elementary School (DM), the school climate emphasized student autonomy, female empowerment, female group interdependency, and Afrocentricity. Among all three of DM’s sixth-grade classrooms, the girls located in this context tended to place great value on establishing and maintaining a strong female network, had a strong sense of their future academic and professional aspirations, and were motivated to oppose the negative reports of Roosevelt with their own academic and social accomplishments. Importantly, the teachers in DM held very high expectations with a “no nonsense” attitude that focused on the girls’ academic, social, and cultural development.

The second school resembled a typical (urban) school setting. That is, Carter Elementary School’s climate encouraged individuality. Among this setting’s three sixth-grade classrooms, the Carter’s girls believed friends were important just as their DM correlates. However, rather than identifying peers as members of a formidable collective, Carter participants characterized their relationships as fragile dyadic or triadic associations. With a much greater concern on their present-day cultural happenings, the Carter girls had difficulty articulating future goals. Additionally, the girls felt disempowered by the negative press coverage. The teachers in this school did little to address these or other social and cultural concerns.

Variance between the schools did not affect student achievement or perceived social skills. In light of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation currently sweeping this nation, these findings proffer various questions about achievement, social development, and teacher qualifications for Black and Latina female students in this State-controlled district. Now in Year Three of a longitudinal project, Dr. Scott anticipates continuing her pursuit of these and other areas of interest until the girls graduate from Roosevelt’s High School.

For more information about this seminar, please contact Dr. Kimberly Scott
or Nancy Southerland at (856) 225-6741.



Center for Children and Childhood Studies • Camden, NJ 08102
(856) 225-6741 • Email • Copyright information

Last updated April 20, 2004