Authors: Melissa Jonson-Reid; Larry Davis; Jeanne Saunders; Trina Williams; James Herbert Williams

Source: Children and Schools, Volume 27, Number 1, January 2005 , pp. 5-14(10)

Publisher: National Association of Social Workers

Abstract:

School performance among African American youths continues to be a major concern. The promotion of self-esteem remains a major focus of school-based intervention programs designed to improve children's academic performance and behavior. Empirical data suggest that academic self-efficacy rather than self-esteem is the critical factor for school success, but few studies have examined self-efficacy and self-esteem with an African American population. Furthermore, although school social workers tend to focus on nonacademic factors that inhibit student performance, little is known about how these factors may be associated with academic self-efficacy. This article explored cross-sectional relationships of various factors to academic self-efficacy. Findings suggest that strategies that build a student's belief in the importance of education may do more to increase academic self-efficacy among African American youths than would a focus on self-esteem. Implications for school social work practice are discussed.

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Keywords: ACADEMIC SELF-EFFICACY; AFRICAN AMERICAN YOUTHS; SCHOOL COMPLETION; SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK

Document Type: Research article

Publication date: 2005-01-01

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• Children & Schools publishes professional materials relevant to social work services for children. The journal publishes articles on innovations in practice, interdisciplinary efforts, research, program evaluation, policy, and planning. Topics include student-authority relationships, multiculturalism, early intervention, needs assessment, violence, and ADHD. Children & Schools is a practitioner-to-practitioner resource.
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