Regardless of widespread instructor information of traditionally Black faculties and universities, most highschool college students stay unfamiliar with HBCUs and barely obtain counselor steerage about attending them, based on a brand new research launched by the United Negro School Fund, (UNCF).
The research, titled “Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges,” surveyed almost 150 college students, lecturers, and faculty counselors throughout seven excessive faculties within the Northeast, Midwest, and West areas. It discovered that whereas 67% of lecturers and 60% of counselors reported being educated about HBCUs, over 60% of scholars mentioned they have been both by no means acquainted or solely barely conversant in these establishments.
The disconnect turns into extra pronounced when analyzing counselor interactions with college students. Greater than half of surveyed students-53%-reported that their faculty counselors by no means or hardly ever urged attending an HBCU, whereas 54% mentioned counselors by no means or hardly ever offered assets about HBCU attendance.
“The pivotal position of Okay-12 faculties in shaping college students’ faculty aspirations and preparedness can’t be overstated,” mentioned Dr. Meredith B.L. Anderson, co-author and director of Okay-12 Analysis and Advocacy at UNCF. “Lecturers and faculty counselors carry appreciable affect in guiding college students via the school software course of.”
The research revealed significantly low HBCU consciousness amongst Hispanic and white college students, with 83% and 80% respectively reporting little to no familiarity. Roughly half of each Black and multiracial college students shared comparable ranges of unfamiliarity.
Amongst college students who expressed causes for not planning to attend an HBCU, 58% cited merely not understanding a lot about these establishments. In distinction, solely 14% of scholars planning to attend an HBCU mentioned they have been inspired to take action by a faculty counselor or instructor.
The analysis additionally uncovered regarding proof of instructor bias relating to minority college students’ post-secondary pathways. Some educators expressed deficit-based views about college students of colour, questioning their motivation, educational skill, or monetary capability for faculty.
Nonetheless, the research recognized optimistic correlations between sure instructor practices and advocacy for minority pupil success. Lecturers who commonly reviewed faculty knowledge to determine achievement gaps and promoted honest insurance policies for all college students have been extra more likely to assist rigorous coursework and better training alternatives for college students of colour.
Co-author Ashlyn Thomas, analysis and engagement supervisor at UNCF, mentioned that “intentional pupil knowledge evaluate amongst lecturers and different faculty workers can be a essential means to make sure college students are on the trail to post-secondary success.”
The report provides a number of suggestions for top faculties and districts, together with offering extra publicity to HBCU scholarships and monetary assist alternatives, coaching lecturers to evaluate pupil knowledge for achievement gaps, and interesting faculty workers in anti-bias coaching.
For HBCUs, the research recommends distributing monetary assist info on to excessive faculties, sharing educational assist assets with native communities, and supporting Okay-12 faculties with anti-bias coaching for workers.
“We consider the findings of this research will contribute to dismantling obstacles surrounding increased training and perceptions of HBCUs and construct bridges between faculties, communities and HBCUs to boost faculty entry for all Okay-12 college students,” mentioned Dr. Tia Dolet, co-author and founding father of Thirdspace Collective Consulting.
UNCF yearly awards greater than 11,000 scholarships totaling over $62 million to college students attending varied faculties and universities, together with its 37 member HBCUs. The group has raised greater than $6 billion since its founding in 1944 to assist pupil entry to increased training.
