Shifting the Discourse: An Exploration of Academic Success Among African American High School Seniors from "Single"-Mother Homes

Background and purpose: Most research on African American students has explored the causes and consequences of academic failure. This fixation on negative outcomes has perpetuated deficit views of African American student achievement. Consequently, far less is known about the successful academic outcomes of African American students, generally, and those from single-mother homes, specifically.  This study helps fill this knowledge gap by building on the small body of emerging literature that highlights African American student achievement. Even more meaningful is that this study includes the perspectives of both students and their single mothers.

The purpose of this study was to explore academic success as perceived and experienced by African American high school students and their single mothers. Specifically, this study aimed to understand the factors and underlying processes that contribute to the successful academic outcomes of African American students in single-mother homes. It is also focused on the ways in which students and their single mothers make sense and give meaning to their academic success, and the contexts in which their academic experiences occur. 

Methods: This qualitative study utilized a narrative inquiry approach that used in-depth, semi- structured interviews for data collection. The sample of seven African American high school seniors (four girls, three boys) and their single mothers were selected using purposeful sampling.  Participants came from five high schools located in a major metropolitan area in the southeastern United States. They were recruited via posted flyers on social media and emails sent to high school principals, teachers, counselors, and friends.  Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysis occurred in two stages. The first stage, narrative analysis, used poetic transcription techniques to create found poems for each of the individual participants. The second stage, analysis of narratives, identified themes across participants’ narratives.

Findings: Data analysis revealed protective factors contributing to success included students’ inherent drive toward success, a deeply invested mother, and assistance from social-relational supports. The potential barriers to academic success were described as “challenges of the streets,” and the responsibilities associated with single parenting. The influence of family structure on academic success involved students being motivated to “go harder” and mothers acting strategically. Lastly, findings related to how social structures can support the academic success of Black students from single mother homes included participants’ expressing the need for “a community that has our back” and a recognition of their success.

Conclusion and Implications: Findings highlight the centrality of mothers in the academic success of their children.  It also illuminates the role of community supports in facilitating the achievement of Black students from single mother homes.  To work effectively with Black students and Black single-mother families, social workers must center their voices, knowledge, and experiences. Problem solving, program development, and community building that facilitate school success requires social workers to actively engage Black students and their families. They must be viewed as experts in their own lives.