Based on qualitative interviews with 20 college-aged Black males who graduated from one single-sex public charter school, this study investigated how students made meaning from their secondary school experiences and college preparation. Using relational trust as the theoretical framework, I looked specifically at the students’ perceptions and relationships with their school counselor. Findings revealed that the school counselor’s investment in students helped them see and envision their possibilities, increased their access to critical postsecondary information and opportunities, and enhanced their motivations and aspirations toward college success. This article discusses recommendations for future research and practical suggestions for school counselors.
AllenQ. (2017). “They write me off and don’t give me a chance to learn anything”: The positioning, discipline, and resistance of Black male high school students. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 48(3), 269–283. https://doi.org/10.1111/aeq.12199
2.
American School Counselor Association. (2019). ASCA National Model: A framework for school counseling programs (4th ed.). Author.
3.
BhattacharyaK. (2017). Fundamentals of qualitative research: A practical guide. Routledge.
4.
BroomsD. R. (2017). Black otherfathering in the educational experiences of Black males in a single-sex urban high school. Teachers College Record, 119(12), 1–46.
5.
BroomsD. R. (2019). “I was just trying to make it”: Urban Black males’ sense of belonging, schooling experiences, and academic success. Urban Education, 54(6), 804–830. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085916648743
6.
BroomsD. R. (2020a). “I didn’t want to be a statistic”: Black males, urban schooling and educational urgency. Race Ethnicity and Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2020.1803821
7.
BroomsD. R. (2020b). Preparing Black males for collegiate success: Exploring Black males’ experiences in precollege summer programs. In WashingtonA. R.GoingsR.HenfieldM. S. (Eds.), Creating and sustaining effective K-12 school partnerships: Firsthand accounts of promising practices (pp. 23–44). Information Age.
8.
BroomsD. R. (2021). Stakes is high: Trials, lessons, and triumphs in young Black men’s educational journeys. SUNY.
9.
BrykA. S.SchneiderB. (2002). Trust in schools: A cored resource for improvement. Russell Sage Foundation.
10.
ButlerK. (2003). Helping urban African American high school students to excel academically: The roles of school counselors. The High School Journal, 87(1), 51–57.
11.
CareyR. L. (2018). “What am I gonna be losing?” School culture and the family-based college-going dilemmas of Black and Latino adolescent boys. Education and Urban Society, 50(3), 246–273. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013124517713112
12.
CareyR. L. (2019). Imagining the comprehensive mattering of Black boys and young men in society and schools: Toward a new approach. Harvard Educational Review, 89(3), 370–396. https://doi.org/10.17763/1943-5045-89.3.370
13.
DavisJ. E. (2003). Early schooling and academic achievement of African-American males. Urban Education, 38(5), 515–537. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085903256220
14.
Farmer-HintonR. L.AdamsT. L. (2006). Social capital and college preparation: Exploring the role of counselors in a college prep school for Black students. Negro Educational Review, 57(1/2), 101–116.
15.
FreemanK. (1997). Increasing African Americans participation in higher education: African American high-school students’ perspectives. The Journal of Higher Education, 68(5), 523–550. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.1997.11778996
16.
GlaserB. G.StraussA. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Aldine.
17.
HinesE. M.HarrisP. C.HamD. (2014). Creating a college-going culture for African American males in middle school: A blueprint for school counselors. In MooreJ. L.IIILewisC. W. (Eds.), African American male students in PreK-12 schools: Informing research, policy, and practice (pp. 217–241). Emerald Group.
18.
Hipolito-DelgadoC. P.LeeC. C. (2007). Empowerment theory for the professional school counselor: A manifesto for what really matters. Professional School Counseling, 10(4), 327–332. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X0701000401
19.
HollandM. M. (2015). Trusting each other: Student-counselor relationships in diverse high schools. Sociology of Education, 88(3), 244–262. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038040715591347
20.
HuertaA. H.McDonoughP. M.AllenW. R. (2018). “You can go to college”: Employing a developmental perspective to examine how young men of color construct a college-going identity. The Urban Review, 50, 713–734. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-018-0466-9
21.
JettC. C. (2019). “I have the highest GPA, but I can’t be valedictorian?”: Two Black males’ exclusionary valedictory experiences. Race Ethnicity and Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2019.1599341
22.
JohnsonP. D. (2016). Somebodiness and its meaning to African American men. Journal of Counseling & Development, 94(3), 333–343. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12089
23.
LoveB. L. (2014). “I see Trayvon Martin”: What teachers can learn from the tragic death of a young Black male. The Urban Review, 46, 292–306. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-013-0260-7
24.
NelsonJ. D. (2016). Relational teaching with Black boys: Strategies for learning at a single-sex middle school for boys of color in New York City. Teachers College Record, 118(6), 25–47.
25.
OwensD.SimmonsR. W.IIIBryantR. M.HenfieldM. (2011). Urban African American males’ perceptions of school counseling services. Urban Education, 46(2), 165–177. https://doi.10.1177/0042085910377430
26.
RhodenS. (2017). “Trust me, you are going to college”: How trust influences academic achievement in Black males. The Journal of Negro Education, 86(1), 52–64. https://doi.org/10.7709/jnegroeducation.86.1.0052
27.
Schott Foundation for Public Education. (2015). Black lives matter: The Schott 50 state report on public education and Black males. Author.
28.
TillmanL. C. (2002). Culturally sensitive research approaches: An African American perspective. Educational Researcher, 31(9), 3–12.
29.
ToldsonI. A. (2008). Breaking barriers: Plotting the path to academic success for school-age African-American males. Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.
30.
WashingtonA. R. (2015). “It’s like he’ll be there for you”: Middle school African American males’ stories of effective professional school counselors. Journal of African American Males in Education, 6(2), 1–16. https://jaamejournal.scholasticahq.com/article/18467
31.
WashingtonA. R.HenfieldM. S. (2019). What do the AMCD multicultural social justice counseling competencies mean in the context of Black Lives Matter?Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 47(3), 148–160. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmcd.12138
