Men of the House: Using Athletics to Transform Urban African American Boys into Men

Background: The Men of the House (MoH) initiative fosters the transformation of male high school student-athletes from “boys” to “men” by developing strong socioemotional, physical, and academic health. This initiative was implemented at one of the most disadvantaged and low-performing high schools in Pittsburgh with an all African American cohort of 8^th-11^th grade football players (N = 36). Students in the program establish goals for nine initiative components including conflict resolution, financial literacy, dating violence, and accountability. The focus on student athletes seems logical given the literature suggesting that positive and close student-teacher relationships encourage better classroom learning—if students feel safe and secure through the relationship with their coach, it is possible that this environment will be especially conducive to setting and reaching goals both on and off the field. Importantly, research suggests that benefits of student-teacher relationships which may be especially pronounced among high-poverty students (Murray & Malmgren, 2005); as such, the student-coach relationship may be a particularly powerful way to intervene given the quantity of time spent together, inherent mentoring aspect of coaching, and respect afforded to coaches by student-athletes.

Method: Academic and attendance data were collected for each student in the MoH program during the second (baseline) and third quarters of the 2015-2016 school year. The sample was comprised of each male on the high school football team. The majority of students were in 9^th and 10^th grade while a smaller percentage was in either 8^th or 11^th.

 

Each student was required to complete a “life plan” which established goals for each portion of the program. As part of the mental health program, students were required to participate in a bi-weekly or monthly support groups focusing on emotion regulation, social skills, life skills, social justice, enrichment, engagement, health/nutrition, academic support, and postsecondary plans.

 

Results: After roughly 4 months, results suggest that students in the MoH program are attending school more regularly and achieving better academic grades. More specifically, 52% of students missed fewer days during the third quarter as compared to baseline, with students missing an average of 1.51 fewer days. Among students who missed fewer days of school, several cut down on their absenteeism by 50% or more, missing an average of 5.69 (SD = 3.43) fewer during the third quarter. Moreover, 4 of the 5 students who had missed 10+ days during the baseline quarter missed fewer than 10 days during the target quarter. With regards to academic outcomes, 13 of 21 students (~62%) with data at both time points improved their overall GPAs. 9 of these students improved their baseline GPA by as much or more than half of a standard deviation unit.

Implications: These preliminary findings suggest that male African American student-athletes in a high-poverty, low-performing high school benefit off the field from an initiative taking place on the field. It is especially worth noting that these findings are after four months. This study will be expanded to include a comparison group as well as an examination of potential mediators and moderators.