Minority Student Voices, Article Critique Example

Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Students Speak Out

Introduction

The paper is not stated to be peer reviewed, nor blind reviewed. It does not state it to have come from a journal source of any kind. However, it is for the special interest group Talent Development of Students Placed at Risk, which is under the American Educational Research Association (AERA). The AERA was founded in 1916 and was created with the intent to improve the educational process (“American Educational Research Association”, 2010). They do this by encouraging scholarly research related to education and evaluation. The paper was also presented to the AERA, stated in the title page.

Summary

The paper is about minority students who are participating in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) Programs. It focuses on the insights and perceptions of these students enrolled in these courses. AP and IB programs are designed to increase competitiveness in college admissions (Klopfenstein, 2003).  Minority students are greatly under-represented in AP and IB programs. The aim of the paper is to give voice to those minority students part-taking in these programs set in urban areas. The paper showed a sample 27 students of ethnic minority are set in two different high schools, located in areas which are low in income. The paper examines the students’ feelings towards what the AP and the IB programs have to offer.

Review and evaluation

The research question is evident in the paper. It goes into detail on the purpose of the study which is to dig deeper in the AP and IB programs, to evaluate what the minority students participating in the classes have to say. Because these minority students have been underrepresented in such classes, interviewing these minority students might unfold new and important information about the benefits of AP and IB classes, also their levels of standards, when it comes to urban school settings from low income environments.

The purpose of study of the paper is clearly stated as to investigate the perceptions of minority adolescents in their experiences in participating in the AP and IB programs. The objective of the paper is to narrow their focuses to just minority students and hear their voices on the assumption that the school environment may need to adapt better to facilitate their learning needs. This includes all teachers and administrator behaviors towards the issue as well. It is to see if the school offers a nurturing learning environment to facilitate the talents of these young individuals. The research questions are as follows: 1.) “What are gifted minority students’ perceptions of their experiences of AP and IB classes in urban high schools? and 2.) What factors seem to contribute to feelings of comfort, satisfaction, and achievement success for gifted minority students in AP and IB programs in Urban settings?” (Kyberg, 2007).

The article is very well organized. The samples were stated well at the start of the paper, and we are shown 27 students samples coming from two different schools from urban settings and low income environments.

The theoretical framework of the article is said to be set within the discipline areas of talent development among students at risk. This means that minority students may not be getting equal opportunities as compared to students from suburban school settings with a higher socio-economic status. The framework is said to facilitate the understanding through the interaction between the researcher and the data sources, which is the minority students. The article is very logically organized and easy to follow. It is set up in a way where the researcher walks you through the paper, and does not jump to any conclusion where she does not leave room to explain.

Methodology

The methodology is clearly stated in the article. It is a case study done to analyze students perceptions of the AP and IB programs, she used research conducted in the past which involved survey questions and interviews. This is done in the qualitative method. This was done so that the researcher can dig deeper into the participants’ experiences. The researcher used an iterative process to analyze the data. She states to have sensitized themes which were drawn from literature of the minority adolescence which informed the initial selection of codes. She stated to have used a comparative method of study for her paper. Findings were interpreted from perspectives of multiple story-tellers.

Timeline: The timeline in this study was not accurately stated. The researcher did not provide information on what school year the study was conducted during, nor how long the duration of the study lasted for. This is the reason why the paper was not peer reviewed. The researcher could have gathered information which was conducted over a period of three to four years, to get different perceptions of students who enroll during different times. With this information from previous studies, she may analyze if there are any changes in the schools system, or if the school took any matters to action regarding the quality of learning in the AP and IB courses.

Accuracy: The data from the study was not actually conducted by the researcher, she states that the data was collected from a larger study. She was reporting studies which were conducted in the past and analyzing them with significant literature reviews. This data was taken from two different high schools located in metropolitan areas where ethnic diversity in students is rampant. Because the study did not actually conduct its own research, the accuracy may be slightly off or outdated. For the accuracy of the research to be valid, the researcher should have conducted her own study.

Interpretation: The interpretation of the data the researcher collected fell into three different contexts of experiences. These were: a.) the instructional context, b.) the individual context; and c.) the social context. These were to determine the students’ experiences based on how they were taught, the influence of those around them and their own expectations of themselves as a participant of the AP and IB programs. These questions were answered by the researcher and she provided some explanation for them, yet she mostly just stated the views and contexts in the students’ responses.

Logistical argument: The researcher shows that minority students from AP and IB classes are very willing to learn, and they have a thirst for more knowledge and understanding. These gifted and talented students willingly take part in these classes believing that it will improve their education. She backed this up by stating that the previous studies gathered information claiming that the students feel this towards AP and IB classes through valid interviews.

Counter argument: AP and IB programs are found to be conducted at a pace which is not challenging enough for students, and this gets the students bored with their studies. This was proven by her research on studies based on first hand information from students in AP and IB classes.

Final results: The interpretation of data showed that there was an under-representation of minority students in AP and IB classes for a multitude of reasons. Also, the analysis of data shows that students are eager and motivated to learn, they enjoy their classes and find them worthwhile. However, there are findings which suggest that though the students are prepared to learn, the instructional strategies are not fit for them.

Conclusion

The researcher could have done better by using her own data to draw conclusions for her paper. This would broaden the scope of her study for better understanding of the research problem. With primary sources of information, she can create a better hypothesis for her study and enhance the impact of her research paper. The researcher did not conduct her own studies, yet she used research conducted in the past. These studies were first hand interviews of minority students participating in AP and IB classes. To broaden her scope of study and delve into the understanding of the topic, she could have conducted interviews of non-minority students and compared them with the answers minority students gave. This could establish the claim of unequal opportunities for minority students participating in AP and IB classes. The paper presents a very important topic which has been overlooked for a number of years. Since minority students are under-represented in AP and IB classes, their opportunities are not as equal as those who have full access to these programs (Ndura, Robinson, & Ochs, 2003).

References

American educational research association. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.aera.net/AboutAERA.htm

Klopfenstein, K. (2003a). Advanced placement: do minorities have equal opportunity? Economics of Education Review, 23(2), 115-131.

Kyburg, R.M. (2007). Minority student voices: advanced placement and international baccalaureate students speak out. American Research Association,

Ndura, E., Robinson, M., & Ochs, G. (2003). Minority students in high school advanced placement courses: opportunity and equity denied. American Secondary Education, 32(1),