A Motivational Intervention for African American Boys Labeled as Aggressive. (March 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Graham, Sandra; Taylor, April; Hudley, Cynthia
• Is Part Of: Urban education. Volume 50:Number 2(2015:Mar.)
• Page Start: 194
• Page End: 224
• Publication Date: 2015-03
• Subjects: Black males -- minority academic success -- motivation -- urban education -- academic achievement -- elementary school -- intervention; Education, Urban -- Periodicals; Enseignement en milieu urbain -- Périodiques; Éducation; Milieu urbain; Périodique électronique (Descripteur de forme); Ressource Internet (Descripteur de forme); 370.91732
• DOI: 10.1177/0042085914549364
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0042-0859

Abstract

A 12-week, 32-lesson afterschool intervention was conducted with third- to fifth-grade urban African American boys classified as aggressive. Grounded in attribution theory and organized around the construct of perceived responsibility in self and others, the intervention focused on increasing both social skills and academic motivation. Participants ( N = 64) were randomly assigned to an intervention or no-treatment control group. Boys in the intervention group showed an increase in social skills and academic motivation skills and were rated by their teachers as more cooperative and academically persistent. The implications of the findings for the design of interventions in urban schools are discussed.