A comparative analysis of family structure and the academic achievement level of African American students in selected North Carolina schools

Mary Elizabeth Johnson Ferguson, Fayetteville State University

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare and analyze the family structure and the academic achievement level of African American students attending selected rural and urban high schools in North Carolina. The purpose was also to compare the difference in the family structure and the academic achievement level of African American male and female students attending selected rural and urban high schools in North Carolina. This study compared and analyzed the family structure and the academic achievement level of African American students from selected North Carolina urban and rural high schools. There were a total of (N=549) African American students whose family structures and academic achievement levels were analyzed and compared to determine whether there was a significant difference in the students' family structure and their academic achievement level. Data was imported into SPSS for data analysis. The research design for this study was quantitative. Students' family structures and academic achievement levels were analyzed using ANOVA to determine the significance among the variables. The study found that the African American female students attending both the rural and urban high schools had significant higher academic achievement levels than the African American male students. The study also found that African American rural high school students residing in one-parent homes performed higher than the African American urban high school students residing in one-parent homes. Additionally, rural high school African American female students, regardless to the family structure had higher academic achievement levels than the urban African American female students. It is recommended that future research be conducted to compare the family structures of one-parent homes headed by males with one-parent homes headed by females to determine if the gender of parents is a factor of students' academic achievements. It is also recommended that this study be replicated into a longitudinal study on the long-term effects of family structure and academic achievement of students from ninth grade to graduation.

Subject Area

African American Studies|Black studies|Secondary education|Individual & family studies

Recommended Citation

Ferguson, Mary Elizabeth Johnson, "A comparative analysis of family structure and the academic achievement level of African American students in selected North Carolina schools" (2009). ETD Collection for Fayetteville State University. AAI3406577.
https://digitalcommons.uncfsu.edu/dissertations/AAI3406577

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