Purpose: The purpose of this interpretive case study is to examine the assumptions underpinning one Upward Bound program to understand how the program attempts to increase educational opportunity for poor urban youth and how this approach plays out in the lived experiences of three young men who participate in the program. Research Design: This study of an Upward Bound program was conducted at a large urban university in the Northeast. Based on the methodological framework of interpretive interactionism by Norman Denzin (1989), this interpretive case study was conducted over an entire academic year. Formal and informal interviews, observations, and document analysis were used to gather data to understand the phenomena being studied in-depth. The conceptual lenses of Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum frame the analysis of this study, revealing the logic and limits of focusing on achievement alone to increase educational opportunity for impoverished youth. Findings: The director of “College Access Initiative” believes that this program can increase educational equity and opportunity for impoverished youth by: a) emphasizing an ethic of rugged individualism, b) insisting that the young men focus on the future, and c) immersing students in an intense academic and test preparation program. The findings of this study reveal that this academic approach to expanding educational opportunity for the young men was not sufficient for increasing their freedom to focus on academic achievement or to stay in the program. Conclusions: These findings suggest an urgent need for coordinating academic support programs with other social, economic, and human service agencies serving poor communities if we are to enhance real opportunities to achieve for impoverished youth.
Adelman, C. (2000). Urbanicity and census division in the educational fate of disadvantaged students: Better targeting for outreach programs. In H. Oesterreich (Ed.), College preparation challenge (pp. 35-64). New York: State University of New York Press.
2.
Altbach, P. G., & Lomotey, K. (Eds.). (1991). The racial crisis in American higher education. New York: State University of New York Press.
3.
Anderson, N. (2006). Hostile takeover: Antiunionism and the neoliberal politics of urban school reform in New York. Working USA: Journal of Labor and Society, 9(2), 225-243.
4.
Anyon, J. (2005). Radical possibilities: Public policy, urban education, and a new social movement. New York: Routledge.
5.
Barnes, A.S. (1992). Retention of African-American males in high school: A study of African-American male high school dropouts, African American male seniors and White male seniors. New York: University Press of America.
6.
Brighouse, H. (2000). School choice and social justice. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
7.
Cahalan, M.W., & Curtin, T.R. (2004). A profile of the Upward Bound program: 2000-2001 . Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education.
8.
College Board. (1999). Reaching the top: A report of the national task force on minority high achievement . Retrieved January 13, 2008, from http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/cb/race.html
9.
Crocco, M., & Costigan, A.T. (2007). The narrowing of curriculum and pedagogy in the age of accountability: Urban educators speak out. Urban Education, 42, 512-535.
10.
Cuyjet, M. (1997). Helping African American men succeed in college . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
11.
Dance, J.L. (2002). Tough fronts: The impact of street culture on schooling. New York: Routledge.
12.
Deneulin, S., Nebel, M., & Sagovsky, N. (Eds.). (2006). Transforming unjust structures: The capability approach. New York: Springer.
13.
Denzin, N. (2002). Interpretive interactionism. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
14.
Dillon, S. (2006, March 26). Schools cut back subjects to push reading and math. New York Times. Retrieved January 12, 2008, from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/06/26/education.
15.
Eckholm, E. (2006, March 23). Plight deepens for Black men, studies warn. New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2008, from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/20/national/20black-men.html
16.
Education Trust. (2004). Education watch: Achievement gap summary tables. Retrieved January 15, 2008, from http://www.edtrust.org
17.
Feagin, J., Vera, H., & Nikitah, I. (1996). The agony of education: Black students at White colleges and universities. New York: Routledge.
18.
Fordham, S., & Ogbu, J.U. (1986). Black students' school success: Coping with the burden of "acting White." Urban Review, 18(3), 176-206.
19.
Freire, P. (1995). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum.
20.
Guinier, L., & Torres, G. (2002). The miners canary: Enlisting race, resisting power and transforming democracy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
21.
Haycock, K. (2001). Helping all students achieve. Educational leadership. Retrieved July 28, 2004, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/ed_lead/200103/haycock.html
22.
Hochschild, J.L. (1996). Facing up to the American dream: Race, class and soul of the nation. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
23.
Hopkins, R. (1997). Educating Black males: Critical lessons in schooling, community and power. New York: State University of New York Press.
24.
Larson, C.L., & Murtadha, K. (2002). Leadership for social justice. In J. Murphy (Ed.), The educational leadership challenge: Redefining leadership for the 21st century. NSSE yearbook (pp. 134-161). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
25.
Lincoln, Y., & Guba, E. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
26.
Madhabuti, H. (1990). Black men: Obsolete, single, dangerous?Chicago: Third World Press.
27.
McElroy, E.J., & Arnesto, M. (1988). Trio and Upward Bound: History, programs, and issues-Past, present and future. Journal of Negro Education , 67(4), 373-380.
28.
McNeil, L. (2001). Contradictions of school reform: Costs of standardized testing. Journal of Educational Change, 2(1), 75-78.
29.
Mishel, L., Bernstein, J., & Boushey, H. (2003). The state of working America. Ithaca, NY: Economic Policy Institute.
30.
Moore, M.T. (1997). A 1990s view of Upward Bound: Programs offered, students served, and operational issues. Washington, DC : Mathematica Policy Research.
31.
Myers, D., Olsen, R., Seftor, N., Young, J., & Tuttle, C. (2004). The impact of regular Upward Bound: Results from the third follow-up data collection. Washington, DC: Mathematica Policy Research.
32.
Myers, D., & Schirm, A. (2000). The impacts of Upward Bound: Final report for phase I of the National Evaluation Project. Plainsboro, NJMathematica Policy Research.
33.
National Commission on Excellence in Education. ( 1983). A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform . Washington, DC: Author.
34.
National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness. (2007). Homelessness in Manatee County. Bradenton, FL: Author.
35.
Nettles, S.M., Mucherch, W., & Jones, D.S. (2000). Understanding resilience: The role of social resources . Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 5(1-2), 47-60.
36.
Nozaki, R., & Shireman, B. (2001, September 6). The effectiveness of college preparation programs. Chronicle of Philanthropy, 13(22), 49-50.
37.
Nussbaum, M.C. (1999). Sex and social justice. New York: Oxford University Press.
38.
Nussbaum, M.C. (2000). Women and human development: The capabilities approach. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
39.
Powell, T. (2005). Gear up, Trio officials mobilize support to save college-access programs. Black issues. Retrieved January 12, 2008, from http://www.diverseeducation/com
40.
Ricour, P. (2006). Capabilities and rights. In S. Deneulin, M. Nebel , & N. Sagovsky (Eds.), Transforming unjust structures: The capability approach (pp. 17-26). New York: Springer.
41.
Rothstein, R. (2004). Class and schools: Using social, economic, and educational reform to close the achievement gap. New York : Teachers College Press.
42.
Rumberger, R.W. (2001, January). Why students drop out of school and what can be done. Paper presented at the Dropouts in America conference, Cambridge, MA.
43.
Scheurich, J.J., Skrla, L., & Johnson, J.F. (2000). Thinking carefully about equity and accountability . Phi Delta Kappan, 82(4), 293-299.
44.
Sen, A. (1992). Inequality reexamined. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
45.
Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. New York: Knopf.
46.
Sen, A. (2004). From income inequality to economic inequality . In M. C. Henry (Ed.), Race, poverty and domestic policy (pp. 59-82). New Haven, CT : Yale University Press.
47.
Shapiro, J.P. (1979). Accountability-A contagious disease?Forum for the Discussion of New Trends in Education, 22(1), 16-18.
48.
Shapiro, J.P. (2006). Ethics and social justice within the new DEEL: Addressing the paradox of control/democracy. International Electronic Journal for Leadership in Learning, 10(32). Retrieved January 17, 2008, from http://www.ucalgary.ca/%7Eiejll/
49.
Shujaa, M.J. (1994). Too much schooling, too little education: A paradox of Black life in White societies. New York: Africa World Press.
50.
Snow, C.E., & Biancrosa, G. (2003). Adolescent literacy and the achievement gap: What do we know and where do we go from here?New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York.
51.
Swail, W.S., & Perna, L.W. (2002). Pre-college outreach programs: A national perspective . In W. G. Tierney & L. S. Hagedorn (Eds.), Increasing access to college: Extending possibilities for all students (pp. 15-34). New York: State University of New York Press.
52.
Suarez-Orozco, M.M., & Suarez-Orozco, M. (1995). Transformations: Immigration, family life, and achievement motivation among Latino adolescents. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
53.
Taylor, C. (1994). Multiculturalism: Examining the politics of recognition . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
54.
U.S. Department of Education. (2001). The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001). Retrieved January 12, 2008, from http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html
55.
Walker, M., & Unterhalter, E. (2007). Amartya Sen's capability approach and social justice in education. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
56.
Wilson, J.W. (1978). The declining significance of race: Blacks and changing American institutions. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
57.
Wilson, J.W. (1987). The truly disadvantaged: The inner city, the underclass and public policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
58.
Wilson, J.W. (1996). When work disappears: The world of the new urban poor. New York: Vintage.
59.
Wolff, E. (2006). Top heavy: A study of the increasing inequality of wealth in America. New York: Twentieth Century Fund Press.
