Minority Learning Surveyed

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools was just one of 15 districts chosen nationwide by the MSAN for the fall 2000 study.

"I think it debunks some of the myths and assumptions people have about African-American and Hispanic students," said Nettie Collins-Hart, assistant superintendent for instructional services.

Results across the participating systems are consistent with one another. "It's amazing how similar results are across the districts," said Superintendent Neil Pedersen.

Because the 15 districts chosen are primarily suburban with many located in university towns, Ronald Ferguson, a lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, warns against generalizing the survey results to all minorities or school districts.

Ferguson provided an analysis of the results.

Results show that in both Chapel Hill and other districts there is little disparity among races and ethnic groups in how important students think their friends believe it is to "study hard to get good grades."

In Chapel Hill, 90 percent of black students reported that their friends think it is important to study hard to get good grades, while 92 percent of white and Asian students and 87 percent of Latino students responded similarly.

"The big deal here is that there's really no difference in racial and ethnic minorities," said Ferguson.

But despite likenesses across racial and ethnic groups, the study showed there are disparities in available resources and skill mastery.

According to the study, white and Asian students are more likely to have access at home to resources like books and computers. Also, black and Hispanic students are less likely to understand teachers' lessons.

"In many ways I think that's been an uncomfortable thing to talk about -- that there is a gap," Collins-Hart said.

The survey also showed there are significant differences among racial groups in academic motivation. In Chapel Hill, 17 percent of black students said they work hard because of teacher demands while 55 percent said they work hard because of teacher encouragement.

"I think this really points out the importance of the student-teacher relationship, especially for minorities," said Mary Ann Hardebeck, Chapel Hill High School principal.

Pedersen said he wants to put the findings to good use in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area. "I think we have not fully digested and made use of the data we've gotten," he said. "We're trying to increase our cultural proficiency."

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.