There has been a paucity of research on the educational experiences of young Black women in U.S. K–12 education. Although both Black male and female students experience constrained opportunities to learn, the popular and academic conversation has almost unilaterally focused on the plight of Black boys and men. Drawing on critical race theory, this meta-ethnographic literature review synthesizes what is currently known about the advantages and obstacles young Black women encounter within public schooling contexts given their marginalized racial and gender identities. The data were drawn from a careful systematic search of electronic databases, key journals, books, and the reference lists of key articles, which yielded 37 sources for review. The analysis revealed that school officials positioned young Black women to be undisciplined in their academic habits and unequivocally misaligned with school norms. As such, they were viewed as unapproachable, unteachable, and ultimately fully responsible for the limited academic opportunities they experienced. On the other hand, young Black women spoke of themselves as highly ambitious and driven learners. They felt unfairly handicapped in their pursuit of educational and occupational success at the hands of school officials who misconstrued their identities, and given institutional policies that targeted them and failed to meet their needs. The review discusses implications of these varied perspectives in viewing the school experiences of young Black women and offers future directions for study and practice.
AkomA. A. (2003). Reexamining resistance as oppositional behavior: The Nation of Islam and the creation of a Black achievement ideology. Sociology of Education, 76, 305–325. doi:10.2307/1519868
2.
*Archer-BanksD. A.Behar-HorensteinL. S. (2012). Ogbu revisited: Unpacking high achieving African American girls’ high school experiences. Urban Education, 47, 198–223. doi:10.1177/0042085911427739
3.
BlakeJ. J.ButlerB. R.LewisC. W.DarensbourgA. (2011). Unmasking the inequitable discipline experiences of urban Black girls: Implications for urban educational stakeholders. Urban Review, 43(1), 90–106. doi:10.1007/s11256-009-0148-8
4.
*BrickhouseN. W.LoweryP.SchultzK. (2000). What kind of a girl does science? The construction of school science identities. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37, 441–458. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1098-2736(200005)37:5<441::AID-TEA4>3.0.CO;2-3
5.
*BrownA. F. (2011). Descendants of “Ruth”: Black girls coping through the “Black male crisis.”Urban Review, 43, 597–619. doi:10.1007/s11256-010-0162-x
6.
*CameronM.TaggarC. E. (2005). “Adging up” to “beef on sight”: A qualitative study of the perceived causes of interpersonal conflict and violence among African-American girls in an urban high school. Journal of School Violence, 4, 75–93. doi:10.1300/J202v04n02_05
7.
*CarterP. L. (2005). Keepin’ it real: School success beyond Black and White. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
8.
*CarterS. P. (2006). “She would’ve still made that face expression”: The use of multiple literacies by two African American young women. Theory Into Practice, 45, 352–358. doi:10.1207/s15430421tip4504_9
9.
CarterP. L.WelnerK. G. (Eds.). (2013). Closing the opportunity gap: What America must do to give every child an even chance. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
*CousinsL. H. (1999). “Playing between classes”: America’s troubles with class, race, and gender in a Black high school and community. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 30, 294–316. doi:10.1525/aeq.1999.30.3.294
13.
CrenshawK. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43, 1241–1299. doi:10.2307/1229039
DeCuirJ. T.DixsonA. D. (2004). “So when it comes out, they aren’t that surprised that it is there”: Using critical race theory as a tool of analysis of race and racism in education. Educational Researcher, 33(5), 26–31. doi:10.3102/0013189X033005026
16.
DelgadoR. (1989). Storytelling for oppositionists and others: A plea for narrative. Michigan Law Review, 87, 2411–2441. doi:10.2307/1289308
17.
*EgglestonT. A.MirandaA. H. (2009). Black girls’ voices: Exploring their lived experiences in a predominately White high school. Race/Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary Global Contexts, 2, 259–285.
18.
EricksonF. (1986). Qualitative methods in research on teaching. In WittrockM. C. (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (pp. 119–161). New York, NY: Macmillan.
19.
*Evans-WintersV. E. (2005). Teaching black girls: Resiliency in urban classrooms. New York, NY: Peter Lang.
20.
Evans-WintersV. E.EspositoJ. (2010). Other people’s daughters: Critical race feminism and Black girls’ education. Journal of Educational Foundations, 24(1/2), 11–24.
21.
FergusonA. A. (2000). Bad boys: Public schools in the making of Black masculinity. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
22.
*FordhamS. (1988). Racelessness as a factor in Black students’ school success: Pragmatic strategy or pyrrhic victory?Harvard Educational Review, 58(1), 54–85. doi:10.17763/haer.58.1.c5r77323145r7831
23.
*FordhamS. (1993). “Those loud Black girls”: (Black) women, silence, and gender “passing” in the academy. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 24(1), 3–32. doi:10.1525/aeq.1993.24.1.05x1736t
24.
*FordhamS. (1996). Blacked out: Dilemmas of race, identity, and success at Capital High. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
25.
Frazier-KouassiS. (2002). Race and gender at the crossroads: African American females in school. African American Research Perspectives, 8(1), 151–162.
26.
*GholsonM.MartinD. B. (2014). Smart girls, Black girls, mean girls, and bullies: At the intersection of identities and the mediating role of young girls’ social network in mathematical communities of practice. Journal of Education, 194(1), 19–33. doi:10.1177/002205741419400105
27.
*GibsonG. A. (2015). Education vs. schooling: Black adolescent females fight for an education in the 21st century. In CollinsC. F. (Ed.), Black girls and adolescents: Facing the challenges (pp. 199–210). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.
28.
GillbornD. (2015). Intersectionality, critical race theory, and the primacy of racism: Race, class, gender, and disability in education. Qualitative Inquiry, 21, 277–287. doi:10.1177/1077800414557827
29.
*GrantL. (1984). Black females “place” in desegregated classrooms. Sociology of Education, 57, 98–111. doi:10.2307/2112632
30.
*GranthamT. C.FordD. Y. (1998). A case study of the social needs of Danisha: An underachieving gifted African American female. Roeper Review21, 96–101. doi:10.1080/02783199809553938
31.
GregoryA.ClawsonK.DavisA.GerewitzJ. (2016). The promise of restorative practices to transform teacher–student relationships and achieve equity in school discipline. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 26, 325–353. doi:10.1080/10474412.2014.929950
32.
HallH. R.SmithE. L. (2012). “This is not reality . . . it’s only TV”: African American girls respond to media (mis) representations. The New Educator, 8, 222–242. doi:10.1080/1547688X.2012.697014
33.
*HenryA. (1998). “Invisible” and “Womanish”: Black girls negotiating their lives in an African-centered school in the USA. Race Ethnicity and Education, 1, 151–170. doi:10.1080/1361332980010202
34.
Hill-CollinsP. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. New York, NY: Routledge.
35.
*HollandM. M. (2012). Only here for the day: The social integration of minority students at a majority White high school. Sociology of Education, 85, 101–120. doi:10.1177/0038040712440789
36.
*HonoraD. T. (2002). The relationship of gender and achievement to future outlook among African American adolescents. Adolescence, 37, 301–316.
37.
*HorvatE. M.AntonioA. L. (1999). “Hey, those shoes are out of uniform”: African American girls in an elite high school and the importance of habitus. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 30, 317–342. doi:10.1525/aeq.1999.30.3.317
38.
HowardT. C. (2003). Culturally relevant pedagogy: Ingredients for critical teacher reflection. Theory Into Practice, 42, 195–202. doi:10.1207/s15430421tip4203_5
39.
*HubbardL. (1999). College aspirations among low-income African American high school students: Gendered strategies for success. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 30, 363–383. doi:10.1525/aeq.1999.30.3.363
40.
*HubbardL. (2005). The role of gender in academic achievement. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 18, 605–623. doi:10.1080/09518390500224887
41.
*Ispa-LandaS. (2013). Gender, race, and justifications for group exclusion: Urban Black students bussed to affluent suburban schools. Sociology of Education, 86, 218–233. doi:10.1177/0038040712472912
42.
JamesV.MarreroI.UnderwoodD. (2010). Branching out and coming back together: Exploring the undergraduate experiences of young Black women. Harvard Educational Review, 80(1), 61–74.
Ladson-BillingsG.TateW. F. (1995). Toward a critical race theory of education. Teachers College Record, 97(1), 47–68.
45.
Ladson-BillingsG. (2009). “Who you callin’ nappy headed?” A critical race theory look at the construction of Black women. Race Ethnicity and Education, 12, 87–99. doi:10.1080/13613320802651012
46.
*LeiJ. L. (2003). (Un)Necessary toughness? Those “loud Black girls” and those “quiet Asian boys.”Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 34, 158–181. doi:10.1525/aeq.2003.34.2.158
47.
*LimJ. H. (2008). The road not taken: Two African American girls’ experiences with school mathematics. Race Ethnicity and Education, 11, 303–317. doi:10.1080/13613320802291181
48.
MajorC. H.Savin-BadenM. (2010). An introduction to qualitative research synthesis: Managing the information explosion in social science research. New York, NY: Routledge.
49.
MarableM. (1992). Black America. Westfield, NJ: Open Media.
50.
*MarshK. (2013). “Staying Black”: The demonstration of racial identity and womanhood among a group of young high-achieving Black women. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 26, 1213–1237. doi:10.1080/09518398.2012.731536
51.
MontecinosC. (1995). Culture as an ongoing dialog: Implications for multicultural teacher education. In SleeterC. E. (Ed.), Multicultural education, critical pedagogy, and the politics of difference (pp. 291–308). Albany: State University of New York Press.
52.
*MorrisE. W. (2005). “Tuck in that shirt!” Race, class, gender, and discipline in an urban middle school. Sociological Perspectives, 48(1), 25–48. doi:10.1525/sop.2005.48.1.25
53.
*MorrisE. W. (2007). “Ladies” or “Loudies”? Perceptions and experiences of Black girls in classrooms. Youth and Society, 38, 490–515. doi:10.1177/0044118X06296778
54.
*MurphyA. S.AcostaM. A.Kennedy-LewisB. L. (2013). “I’m not running around with my pants sagging, so how am I not acting like a lady?” Intersections of race and gender in the experiences of female middle school troublemakers. Urban Review, 45, 586–610. doi:10.1007/s11256-013-0236-7
55.
NoblitG. W.HareR. D. (1988). Meta-ethnography: Synthesizing qualitative studies. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
56.
NogueraP. A. (2009). The trouble with Black boys: And other reflections on race, equity, and the future of public education. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
57.
*NunnN. M. (2018). Super-girl: Strength and sadness in Black girlhood. Gender and Education, 30, 239–258. doi:10.1080/09540253.2016.1225013
58.
*O’ConnorC. (1997). Dispositions toward (collective) struggle and educational resilience in the inner city: A case analysis of six African-American high school students. American Educational Research Journal, 34, 593–629. doi:10.2307/1163351
59.
*O’ConnorC. (1999). Race, class, and gender in America: Narratives of opportunity among low-income African American youths. Sociology of Education, 72, 137–157. doi:10.2307/2673226
60.
*O’ConnorC.MuellerJ.LewisR. H.Rivas-DrakeD.RosenbergS. (2011). Being Black and strategizing for excellence in a racially stratified academic hierarchy. American Educational Research Journal, 48, 1232–1257. doi:10.3102/0002831211410303
61.
*PringleR. M.BrkichK. M.AdamsT. L.West-OlatunjiC.Archer-BanksD. A. (2012). Factors influencing elementary teachers’ positioning of African American girls as science and mathematics learners. School Science and Mathematics, 112, 217–229. doi:10.1111/j.1949-8594.2012.00137.x
62.
RichardsonE. (2009). My ill literacy narrative: Growing up Black, po and a girl, in the hood. Gender and Education, 21, 753–767. doi:10.1080/09540250903117082
63.
RollockN. (2007). Why Black girls don’t matter: Exploring how race and gender shape academic success in an inner city school. Support for Learning, 22, 197–202. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9604.2007.00471.x
64.
SchillingT. A. (2008). An examination of resilience processes in context: The case of Tasha. Urban Review, 40, 296–316. doi:10.1007/s11256-007-0080-8
65.
SmithW. A.AllenW. R.DanleyL. L. (2007). “Assume the position . . . you fit the description.”The American Behavioral Scientist, 51, 551–578. doi:10.1177/0002764207307742
66.
SolorzanoD. G.YossoT. J. (2002). Critical race methodology: Counter-storytelling as an analytical framework for education research. Qualitative Inquiry, 8(1), 23–44. doi:10.1177/1077800402008001003
67.
TownsendT. G.ThomasA. J.NeilandsT. B.JacksonT. R. (2010). I’m no Jezebel, I am young, gifted, and Black: Identity, sexuality, and Black girls. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 34, 273–285. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.2010.01574.x
68.
TysonK.DarityW.Jr.CastellinoD. R. (2005). It’s not “a black thing”: Understanding the burden of acting White and other dilemmas of high achievement. American Sociological Review, 70, 582–605. doi:10.1177/000312240507000403
69.
*West-OlatunjiC.ShureL.PringleR.AdamsT.LewisD.CholewaB. (2010). Exploring how school counselors position low-income African American girls as mathematics and science learners. Professional School Counseling, 13, 184–195. doi:10.5330/PSC.n.2010-13.184
70.
Winkle-WagnerR. (2014). Having their lives narrowed down? The state of Black women’s college success. Review of Educational Research, 85(2), 171–204 doi:10.3102/0034654314551065
71.
WinnM. T. (2010). “Betwixt and between”: Literacy, liminality, and the celling of Black girls. Race Ethnicity and Education, 13, 425–447. doi:10.1080/13613321003751601
72.
YossoT. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8, 69–91. doi:10.1080/1361332
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
