Afrocentric Projects

[ "A partner in the business will not put an obstacle to it." (Ethiopian Proverb)

Wrap up and Multicultural Education charge to Baltimore City Public School System

COMPILED BY

Problem Definition: The UCLA Community Collaborative was founded, in 1999, out of a desire to prepare underserved and underrepresented African-American high school students for competitive college readiness, and it is administered by the UCLA Early Academic Outreach Programs (EAOP). It was the “brainchild” of the former UCLA Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Winston Doby, who sought to address the entrenched inequities in accessing college preparatory resources—particularly underrepresented populations who did not benefit from the outreach services in the School Based Initiative (SBI). The SBI was successful in increasing the admissions of the total population of students of color, but it failed to increase the enrollment of Black students—who comprised the bulk of underrepresented college entrants. Therefore, it was decided that community organizations already serving Black students would be the most expedient avenue to reach this underrepresented population. However, to address increasing college admissions hurdles due to recent policy decisions, the UCLA Community Collaborative will develop a formal organizational structure, and expand our focus to formulate a shared research agenda encapsulating the multiple perspectives of this unique coalition of community organizations partnered with public and private universities. Success in accomplishing our expanded goals calls for all partners to embrace a collective research agenda as the vehicle for preparing underrepresented students for college by developing and documenting this bifurcated service delivery and research model. The UCLA Community Collaborative comprises these university-community partnerships.

Vision of Project EXCEL: The vision of Project EXCEL is to unite community resources in order to motivate and support underrepresented students striving for academic excellence and social responsibility. Through this collective effort, we want to create a social environment that affirms a commitment to productive youth development and community empowerment. Sustaining our vision is the core belief that academic success requires a connection between, parents, community activists, and educators working together, and advocating on behalf of our youth in the quest for educational achievement.

Mission Statement: The mission of the UCLA Community Collaborative is to develop an expansive pool of African American students admissible to the University of California, California State University, local private universities, and other accredited colleges and universities. This mission can best be achieved through the organization and coordination of services provided by these participating community-based organizations and university partnerships. This mission has both academic and social intents in actualizing the vision of Project EXCEL. The academic intents are to: (1) improve academic functioning; (2) increase college admissions-retention-graduation rates among underserved African-American students; (3) and create a college going environment and successful matriculation through a research agenda. The social intents are to: (1) enhance self-esteem and life chances; (2) cultivate leadership development through mentoring; (3) and increase cultural awareness and community empowerment. Using “lessons learned” from the past three years we seek to elevate our partnerships to foster a nurturing environment for maximum youth development.

Target Population: The target population comprises a core group of approximately underserved 280 high school students (scholars) with college-going aspirations. A desired residual effect is the opportunity to offer academic and mentoring support to the participating college “fellows. These students reside within the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

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UCLA Community Collaborative Goals: The goals of the UCLA Community Collaborative have both academic, social, and research implications in addressing African-American student needs and educational priorities.

v Academic Goals- (1) Academic Enrichment; (2) College Entrance Exam Preparation; (3) Academic Advising

v Social Goals- (1) African-American Social Development; (2) Access to College Admissions Information

v Research Goals- (1) Identify “best practices;” (2) Evaluate program effectiveness; (3) Document strategies for collaboration

“Leading Edge” Psychoeducational Service Model: The cornerstone of Project EXCEL is to develop a “leading edge” service model to enhance the academic proficiency of promising African-American high school students and orient them towards college admissions and retention. Students would be immersed in a multi-dimensional program, utilizing the psychoeducational approach. The psychoeducational approach incorporates the affective dimensions of learning and cognitive skills development as the fundamental intervention strategy. Moreover, parents occupy a pivotal role in the psychoeducational approach as co-teachers and nurturers. Aimed at empowering students and parents with educational achievement competencies and networking skills—we hope to glean effective college preparatory strategies for African-Americans that can be replicated.

GOAL 1:

ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT

RESPONSIBLE PARTNER(S):

CSUN-AVAAS

TIMEFRAME:

ONGOING

GOAL 2:

COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAM PREP

RESPONSIBLE

PARTNER(S):

UCLA-YBS

TIMEFRAME:

PERIODIC

GOAL 3:

ACADEMIC ADVISING

RESPONSIBLE

PARTNER(S):

ALL PARTNERS

TIMEFRAME:

PERIODIC

GOAL 4:

COLLEGE ADMISSIONS INFORMATION

RESPONSIBLE

PARTNER(S):

CSPUP-CAAP

TIMEFRAME:

PERIODIC

GOAL 5:

AFRICAN-AMERICAN SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

RESPONSIBLE

PARTNER(S):

LMU-KDMHS

TIMEFRAME:

SPECIAL EVENT

GOAL 6:

PSYCHO-EDUCATIONAL MODEL

RESPONSIBLE

PARTNER(S):

ALL PARTNERS

TIMEFRAME:

ONGOING

SCOPE OF SERVICE:

AVAAS students & all collaborative students

SCOPE OF SERVICE:

YBS students & all collaborative students

SCOPE OF SERVICE:

All students by individual partners

SCOPE OF SERVICE:

CAAP students & all collaborative students

SCOPE OF SERVICE:

King Drew students & all collaborative students

SCOPE OF SERVICE:

Collaborating partners

OBJECTIVE:

Expand academic options

OBJECTIVE:

Cultivate test taking skills

OBJECTIVE:

Offer culturally relevant instruction

OBJECTIVE:

Provide access to resources

OBJECTIVE:

Affirm community connection

OBJECTIVE:

Action research promoting academic excellence

In a bold step forward Project EXCEL will develop “leading edge” psychoeducational services that address the cognitive and affective dimensions of learning.

“Cognitive” Dimensions of Learning Courses- intended to overcome inequities related to college access.

“Affective” Dimensions of Learning Experiences- designed to infuse cultural relevance and knowledge.

The experiences comprise: (1) Summer Leadership Institute; (2) and Community Service Learning.

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Future Implications of Model for Knowledge and Action

While the first years have been spent on framing a “model,” we are at a point, where we can benefit from more disciplined experimentation to identify precisely what practices are effective in early academic outreach that lead to increased access to higher education by African American youth. Each partner brings a fusion of successful academic experiences and commitment to community service that provide lessons learned for the future generation of youth leaders. Thus, creating a nurturing environment for African-American underrepresented students, that instills personal/social empowerment, offers college preparatory resources, connects them to a generally unrecognized legacy of educational excellence, prepares our youth for future leadership—and above all provides the vehicle for these overcoming institutional obstacles is the driving force behind the unique partnerships of the UCLA Community Collaborative.

The Connecting Communities Coalition (CCC) is a work in progress, comprising a statewide initiative by African-American educators, leaders, community-based organizations , and university administrative supporters to "stop the bleeding" of decreasing numbers of students admitted to college, particularly selective universities. Building on individual and collective endeavors (e.g. UCLA Community Collaborative), the CCC will expand the capacity of these organizations in offering college preparatory services in order to increase the numbers-- by the year 2020-- of African-American college applicants. The CCC comprises a multi-level participants in the public and private sectors who have come together to engage in strategic planning, with the intention of collectively implementing action plans developed through consensus of the most promising program practices for African-American students.

To increase the number of African American high school students who are academically competitive

for admission to the highly selective universities (particularly flagship campuses such as the

University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, Berkeley).

f Building a network of community-based organizations (CBOs) who share the unified mission

2) To create a statewide society of learners (from elementary grades through college) who attain the

highest levels of academic achievement, using a peer-to-peer system of academic and personal supports.

As we progress in this new venture, more information will be shared about our specific services and activities.

Purpose of Evaluation: The purpose of the evaluation is to determine the effectiveness of Project PYRAMID in enhancing academic performance, stimulating college aspirations, and creating a interest in the math/science careers. This evaluation will describe, analyze, and determine impacts of the holistic instructional model on tutee performance and parent participation. Math skills acquisition is the primary purpose of the instructional sessions, and will be the main determinant of program success. Achievement values training will also be assessed, as a lasting effect that can be transferred to other academic skills endeavors. The intention is to observe whether students develop an empowerment consciousness about their psycho-social needs in an academic setting, and be able to assemble these resources in a life plan for college admissions and matriculation.

The evaluation plan provides a comprehensive framework for intricate assessment of the project performance and outcomes. Thus the plan incorporates both process and outcome evaluation designs. Utilizing an in-depth analysis of project functioning and intervention impacts, this evaluation will examine what has transpired during the period of project implementation. Incorporating a cultural competency premise, this proposed evaluation will assess intervention strategies used for the development of the instructional model, and the execution of this model during the tutorial process.

Evaluation Goals Evaluation Objectives Process Evaluation Outcome Evaluation

Objectives Objectives

Assess Instructional Identify/Document Monitor Performance Measure Impacts

Model Program Functioning

Achievement/Affective Project Management Determine how project Observe tutorial

Learning Process Staff Development is conducted intervention

Holistic Instructional Process

Cognitive Skills Parent/Family Involvement Describe instructional Determine achievement

Acquisition Program Impacts strategies orientation levels

Document student Determine academic

performance impacts

Document parent Assess viability of

involvement Afrocentric instructional model

Cultural Competency: Cultural competency infusion in the evaluation design is intended to match the holistic design of the Project PYRAMID, and its culturally-based intervention strategies. Choice of qualitative and quantitative data collection is intended to provide a culturally appropriate context for interpreting behavior modalities and statistical findings. Meaningful conclusions depend on the linkage to the African heritage and contemporary African-American community environment. In addition, the program evaluator is trained to utilize cultural styles for communication in exercising sensitivity in observing African-American child development patterns.

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Research Methodology: Case Study

Research methodology will be based on a case study investigation. This method is selected because of the formative stage of the program. In this incipient stage, the program will present its own unique implementation context that is worthy of an individualized analysis. Any significant data patterns observed will be interpreted as indicators for future hypothesis testing. Case studies can be used to "pioneer new ground and often are the source of fruitful hypotheses for further study." (Isaac & Michael, 1990:48) Like all methodologies, there are strengths and weaknesses. The strengths of the case study method is the in-depth assessment of a unique situation or program. It is conducive to the unpredictable events that often occur during a program start-up phase, which could derail the necessary empirical protocols required by other methods. In this evaluation, gaps in the outcome data analysis can become the findings in the process analysis. The major weaknesses of the case study is that it is susceptible to the researcher's viewpoint or other biases. To prevent this from becoming a crucial problem, this study will incorporate a variety of qualitative and quantitative data analysis techniques.

Data Analysis Procedures: Multiple statistical procedures will be used to describe the effectiveness of the intervention and identify variables that correlate with positive outcomes. In addition, several relationships will be examined between correlation of risk and protective factors and selected socio-demographic characteristics. To analyze the findings, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) will be employed to examine both descriptive and inferential aspects of the evaluation. Descriptive statistics will be used to compile a social profile of the sample. Inferential statistics will be provided using correlational and multiple regression analysis to identify linear combinations of variables that are associated with lower levels of risk and higher levels of protective factors by gender and developmental stage. Variations in dosage among participants intervention immersion will be compared and contrasted.

Sampling Strategy: Data collection will be based on the pre-test/post-test design strategy. Pre-/post-test data will be collected from the two intervention sessions during the pilot study, and aggregated as the program profile. This pre-/post-test data will be augmented by a cross-sectional analysis across cohorts for two reasons. One, the cross-sectional analysis will generate a sequence of cohort data from each session. Two, the cross-sectional analysis will measure discrete sequential data sets, and provide information for making corrections midway during the pilot study. Baseline performance profile will be constructed from all participants and parents in each session. At the end of the six-month session exit performance data will be obtained from these two groups. Sampling strategy will be based on self-selection and participation in the program. All participants meeting the requirements of Project PYRAMID will be eligible to participate in the evaluation study. No additional screening criteria will be used.

Tutees and their families will be organized into matched comparison sub-groups. These sub-groups will be defined by the following characteristics: (a) gender; (b) grade level; (c) parent education level; (d) and parent participation level. Matched comparison sub-groups based demographic categories are a vehicle for constructing a "generic control group." Through these matched comparison sub-groups the program impacts can be observed with more specificity. "A variation on constructing a control group by matching is to select a sample of individuals from the same population as the experimental group and to match on some important variables while controlling other relevant differences statistically." (Rossi et.al., 1993:309) "With proper safeguards, the information provided by these and other generic controls sometimes can be used to estimate what would ordinarily happen without an intervention." (Rossi et.al., 1993:321)

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Process Evaluation Approach

The process evaluation will encompass a quantitative and qualitative analysis of program functioning and implementation activities in each project component. Process evaluation can be divided into the following categories: (a) baseline assessments of students achievement levels; (b) baseline assessment of math proficiency levels; (c) periodic monitoring of participation levels and instructional process; (d) overall assessment of program strengths and barriers. (See Process Evaluation Data Collection Procedures chart.)

Process Evaluation Problem: The problem definition focusses on evaluating procedures employed during the course of the intervention activities, and the effectiveness of organizational outputs instituted for the implementation of the instructional model. This information would be used to make program adjustments to refine the model for more effective impact. Key process evaluation question are the following:

Is the program functioning as planned?

What are its accomplishments?

What are the barriers and related problem solving strategies?

What modifications are needed to improve effectiveness of the implementation process?

What are the overall lessons learned about program development and implementation?

Evaluation Instruments: Monitoring instruments will be used to document the cooperative learning group dynamics, instructional activities, and parent/family participation levels. Feedback regarding the effectiveness of the instructional process will be elicited from selected student participants and parents. To document overall program performance a variety of instruments will be used. Utilizing the checklist format, it will assess these categories: (a) program inputs; (b) staff performance; (c) implementation schedule; (d) selection of target population; (e) and intervention relevancy. Focus group interview schedules will be used to obtain participant descriptions about the effectiveness and relevancy of the achievement values training and cognitive development intervention strategies.

Process Evaluation Methodology

Participant observation will be the primary data gathering method for the process analysis, and documenting the effectiveness of the interactional dynamics of cooperative group learning and the instructional format. Observations will be elicited using in-depth interviews, focus groups, and performance check-lists. The intent is to identify specific interaction among tutees, between tutees and tutors, also between tutors and parents in designated program intervals.

Research procedures will be organized around a systematic review of program inputs, outputs, and proximate outcomes. The intent is to document strengths, gaps, resource sufficiency, coordination and continuity.

Outcome Evaluation Approach

Outcome Evaluation Purpose: The outcome evaluation is intended to examine the effectiveness of the intervention strategies, and to assess the direction of impacts in each of the three academic goals. (See Outcome Evaluation Data Collection Procedures chart.) These impacts will be analyzed qualitatively within the context of the implementation environment. Key contextual factors comprise the societal influences, local school realities, and program environment. The outcome evaluation incorporates an holistic framework for examining academic performance, in connection with California educational requirements and parental/family involvement. Consequently, the achievement or non-achievement of project outcomes must be viewed in connection with these wider forces.

Intervention strategies can be devised to increase protective factors, that reinforce productive behavioral attitudes. In addition intervention strategies can be developed to decrease risk factors that generate non-productive behavior performance. The purpose of the outcome evaluation is twofold:

1. To evaluate the effects of the affective learning behavior/achievement values

2. To evaluate the effects of the holistic instructional model intervention strategy on

Research Goals: The goals of the outcome evaluation are also twofold. One, the research seeks to observe the impact of affective learning behavior (i.e. achievement values training) on the learning readiness of the tutees. Two, the goal is to document the cognitive skills development (i.e. achievement-attainment) on math/science skills acquisition. Three, the goal is to identify the impact of the holistic instructional model on academic skills acquisition. The outcome analysis will address these questions:

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Outcome Evaluation Research Design

The evaluation will employ a one group pre-/post-test design, in order to observe outcomes of participant performance. It will not seek to test any hypotheses, nor make generalizations about program intervention to other populations. This is a pilot study and inferences about the data will be solely confined to the participants in this research. However, the results will be analyzed by exploring their implications for similar African-American populations.

African-American youth at the middle school site will receive tutorial intervention in the affective and cognitive aspects of math and science skills acquisition. The dosage of tutorial assistance will depend on the specified need indicated by the individualized assessment-- which will constitute the baseline academic skills level. Participants will receive tutorial intervention through individual and group learning. In addition, baseline and follow-up achievement orientation measures will be administered before and after this intervention to assess if there was a change in learning readiness patterns.

The advantages of this approach is that the pre-test provides a comparison of the before and after performance levels of the same group. "It also provides a control for selection and mortality variables" if the same subjects are exposed to the intervention. (Isaac & Michael, 1990:64) The disadvantages to this approach is that one cannot be sure that the changes in performance observed was solely because of the intervention, as opposed to some other factor. Other disadvantages are possible errors due to participant traits, fatigue, testing effects, instrument defects, statistical fluke, and selection bias. Therefore, one must be cautious in attributing change to intervention impacts.

Independent and Dependent Variable Categories

Outcome analysis will seek to determine the relationship between the independent variable categories within the holistic instruction model and the dependent variable categories of academic skills acquisition. Independent variables comprise the affective learning behavior/achievement values training and cognitive skills development. Dependent variables consist of the learning readiness, math skills acquisition and science skills acquisition.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES DEPENDENT VARIABLES

HOLISTIC INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL ACADEMIC SKILLS ACQUISITION

I. AFFECTIVE LEARNING LEARNING READINESS MATH SKILLS SCIENCE SKILLS

BEHAVIOR/ACHIEVEMENT

VALUES TRAINING

A. Self-Concept A. Dimensions of Learning A. Skill Level A. Skill Level

B. Achievement-Orientation B. School Attendance B. Math GPA B. Science GPA

C. Parent/Family Involvement

II. COGNITIVE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

A. Individualized Educational Plan

B. Culturally-based Curriculum

C. Tutorial Attendance

Contribution to Knowledge & Action

Utilizing networking, professional ties, and commitment to educational equity it is anticipated that this Afrocentric approach to math/science will can be applied in other settings aimed at the academic development of African-American students. It is anticipated that the evaluation results will be disseminated to community organizations, professional associations, and various forms of media. College preparedness and educational excellence are issues that have great import to the community.

An excellent source of information of African and African-American contributions to math and science in both

Also called COLOR After School Program, this website provides a rich array of Afrocentric (& other cultural groups) lesson

SANKOFA African World News Press Newsletter (Pan African Studies Class Project)