Providing African-American Students Access to Science and Mathematics. Research Report #2.

Overview & Synopsis

This review examines African American students' access to science and mathematics education, their status and achievement in these fields, factors influencing achievement, and strategies to address the current situation. African Americans are highly underrepresented in the scientific and technical fields. This situation should be corrected because the nation will need increasing numbers of citizens in these areas, because it is in the interest of the African American community to have their community represented in these important fields, and because greater representation will address social inequity. Statistics on black students' performance in mathematics indicate that they are the poorest performers of any group. This situation may be influenced by historical, psychosocial, institutional, behavioral, cognitive, and cultural factors. Proposed solutions to the problems of minority underrepresentation in science and engineering include structural reform of the public school system; Afrocentric education; intervention programs; increased roles for black colleges and universities; black self-help and community programs; and collaborative models involving the government, business, education, and community. Seven graphs are included. (Contains 36 references.) (JB)