critical thinking - Share the Wealth PE Conference

Gang Risk Factors and Academic Readiness
—Dismantling Deficit Thinking via Developing a
Critical Consciousness
Share the Wealth
Physical Education Conference
January 24, 2014
Drs. James Martinez, Jeremy R. Tost,
& Sonya L. Sanderson
Valdosta State University
Purpose of Study
To determine whether gang risk factors and
gang membership are related to academic
readiness for eighth graders
The data came from a public middle school:
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Title 1 status
Urban profile school
Gangs that are not predominantly intergenerational
Research Questions
1. What are the major risk factors for gang
membership?
2. What is the relationship of these risk factors
to 7th grade performance and academic
readiness for the eighth grade?
Martinez, J., Tost, J., Hilgert, L., & Woodard-Myers, T. (2013). Gang
Membership Risk Factors for Eighth-Grade Students. Nonpartisan
Education Review / Articles, 9(1).
http://npe.educationnews.org/Review/Articles/v9n1.htm
Essential Questions
& Ticket out the door
Developing a Critical Consciousness:
1.
What is the difference between Deficit Thinking and Critical
Thinking?
2.
Can everyone access critical thinking / analytical tools?
3.
How do we go about teaching critical consciousness within
a setting that is fundamentally uncritical?
What is deficit thinking?
What is deficit thinking?
What is deficit thinking?
What is deficit thinking?
Deficit thinking is a failure to recognize the role that
social capital plays in academic performance.
Terrible three:
1. neo-hereditarianism
2. the “culture of poverty paradigm”
3. cultural and environmental deficits
(Valencia, 2010)
What is deficit thinking?
The opposite of deficit thinking
is Critical Thinking
Critical Thinking in this context is the examination of power and
positionality and the acknowledgement of privilege and access.
What is critical thinking?
Employing critical thinking is in critique of :
Deficit thinking
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being / pretending to be colorblind
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blaming the victim and not the system
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thinking “at-risk students” rather than “at-risk schools”
What is critical thinking?
Employing critical thinking is in critique of :
Abstract liberalism
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names (streets/parks, month)
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places (holidays, museums)
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things (sports, entertainment)/visual characteristics
(lips, eyes, food),
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hyphenated ethnics
(e.g., Mexican-American, American-Mexican)
Critical Race Theory (CRT)
CRT emphasizes, but is not limited to:
1. Racism as the usual way society operates, and the everyday
experience of most people of color in this society (e.g., color-blind
notions of equality)
2. Racism serving a useful purpose for large segments of society, and
thus is difficult to remedy
3. Race as a socially constructed concept
4. Intersectionality, that is, no person has a single, easily stated identity
5. Hegemony as the domination of the ruling class and unconscious
acceptance of that state of affairs that keeps systems of racism in place.
(Delgado & Stefancic, 2001)
Systems:
Sociopolitical / Sociocultural
Critical thinking is a critique of abstract
liberalism and deficit thinking
Examining 4 levels of oppression
• Individual (covert/overt)
• Institutional
• Societal
• Civilizational
(Scheurich & Young, 1997)
*See Matrix of Oppression/Opportunity (last page of handout)
The Matrix of Oppression
Definition of Gangs
In this study, a street gang is “any durable
street oriented youth group whose involvement
in illegal activity is part of its group identity”
(Klein & Maxson, 2006, p. 4)
This nominal definition applied is based on the
consensus of the eurogang program of more
than 100 American and European researchers
and policy makers from more than a dozen
nations
(Klein & Maxson, 2006)
Measures
Predictors / Risk Factors: (excluded individual risk)
1. Peer risk (PR)
2. School risk (SR)
3. Community-Neighborhood risk (CNR)
4. Family risk (FR)
Student achievement / Academic Readiness:
5. Grade point average
6. Demographic information
7. Promotional standardized test scores
Participants
407 eighth-grade students in one large, suburban
middle school:
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56% Female, 44% Male
77% Free or reduced-price lunch
42% Hispanic
35% African American
11% Asian/Pacific Islander
8% Other
4% White
Research Question 1 Finding
What are the major risk factors for gang
membership?
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The results indicated that an increase in
Community-Neighborhood Risk was associated
with a decrease in joining a gang.
The results did not support previous research that
risk factors contribute to youth gang affiliation and
membership.
Peer Risk, School Risk, Family Risk and
demographic variables were non-significant.
Research Question 2 Finding
What is the relationship of these risk factors to 7th
grade performance and academic readiness for the
eighth grade?
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The results indicated a decrease in academic
readiness for both Hispanic students and gang
members.
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The results support previous research that gang
risk factors relate to lower academic performance.
Gang Risk Factors Model
Risk Marker, not Risk Factor
Hispanic is NOT a risk factor, but a “risk
marker,” a proxy for other proven risk
factors – low performance in school,
living in poverty, and social
disorganization.
Cammarota, 2008; Klein & Maxson,
2006; Moore & Cook, 1999; Yosso &
Garcia, 2007
Risk Marker, not Risk Factor
It is important to understand the difference between risk factors
and risk markers to:
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demystify the common view of traditional gangs as racially
and ethnically segregated (Miller, 1992)
effectively confirm that a gang member’s race or ethnicity is
restricted to and in reflection of the demographics of that
community (Howell, 2000; National Youth Gang Center,
2002, 2009) as is the case in the current study (40.0%
Hispanic)
highlight the fact that one-third of all youth gangs have a
significant mixture of racial and ethnic groups (Moore &
Cooke, 1999)
Critical Race Theory & Risk
Markers
The configuration of a youth gang is reflected in the demographics of that
community.
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Gang members are White in predominantly White
neighborhoods, African American in primarily African American
residencies, and so forth
(Esbensen & Lynskey, 2001)
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Stereotypes of gang members as inner-city, Black and Hispanic
males from low income, single-parent homes are too limiting and
outdated.
(Klein, 1995; Howell, 2010; Moore & Cook, 1999)
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Parents with low paying salaries or low educational achievement
are not sole factors associated with gang involvement
(Klein, 1995; Howell, 2010; Moore & Cook, 1999)
Critical Consciousness
A critical Consciousness:
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requires critical thought about power / privilege and demands a
vision of justice beyond the rhetoric of abstract liberalism
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provides a unique opportunity to engage in a meaningful dialogue
placed in the context of the Matrix of Oppression/Opportunity
(Hill-Collins, 2003)
Critical Consciousness
After review of our study on Gang Risk Factors and Risk Markers in light
of The Matrix, a Critical Consciousness allows one the opportunity to
“see”:
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the uneven social landscape [positionality]
how people often experience oppression & privilege simultaneously
(Hill-Collins, 2003; Hughes, 2012)
Critical Consciousness & Positionality
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In the U.S., we experience privilege & penalty simultaneously, so
critical thinking during analyses of teaching, learning, policy &
practice is crucial to navigating The Matrix of oppression
(Hill-Collins, 2003)
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Thinking partially involves naming how our uneven social
landscape [positionality] in The Matrix makes our critical
consciousness varied, developing over time in fits & starts
(Hughes, 2012)
Who has Critical Consciousness?
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Some argue that the oppressed have a more accurate view of the social
formation as a result of their location within the social structure (Matsuda
1995; McCann & Kim 2003).
Most tend to side with Patricia Hill-Collins (2003) who argues that oppression
is not absolute. Therefore, knowledge is not absolutely privileged.
Power, Privilege & Positionality
When working with friends, family, students, colleagues and the
community at large, acknowledgement of power, privilege and
access helps to:
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Learn “from/with” and not “about” cultures
Challenge/change the structure(s) of oppression
Improve Student Achievement
create feeling of Legitimacy and Inclusion
yield Higher Retention, Graduation Rates
Produce more Well Rounded learners
(Hughes & Martinez; Lambeth & Martinez, F-2014)
Where are you?
EQ’s & Ticket out the door
Developing a Critical Consciousness:
1.
What is the difference between Deficit Thinking and Critical
Thinking?
2.
Can everyone access critical thinking / analytical tools?
3.
How do we go about the work of teaching critical
consciousness within a setting that is fundamentally
uncritical?
What do you know that you didn’t know this time last week?
EQ’s & Ticket out the door