Promoting sisterhood: The impact of a culturally focused program to address verbally aggressive behaviors in Black girls

• Published in: Psychology in the schools Vol. 55; no. 1; pp. 50 - 62
• Main Authors: Aston, Candice, Graves, Scott L., McGoey, Kara, Lovelace, Temple, Townsend, Tiffany
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley-Blackwell 01-01-2018; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Academic staff; African Americans; Aggression; Aggressiveness; black girls; Cultural Awareness; culturally focused program; Curricula; Curriculum; Discipline; disproportionate discipline; Disproportionate Representation; Empowerment; Ethnic Stereotypes; Females; Gender identity; Girls; Intervention; Juvenile justice; Program Effectiveness; Racial Bias; Racial Identification; School based intervention; Sexual Identity; Siblings; Student Empowerment; Teachers; verbal aggression
• ISSN: 0033-3085; 1520-6807
• DOI: 10.1002/pits.22089

New estimates report that Black girls are facing an educational crisis with regard to disproportionate disciplinary practices and academics. To date, there has been very limited research with regard to school‐based interventions that have been designed to help Black girls explore both their cultural and gender identity. This is problematic because Black girls are constantly faced with the task of disproving negative characterizations (i.e., angry, loud, and aggressive) and advocating for equitable treatment from teachers and school administrators. These negative characteristics often translate to lower academic expectations, harsher punishments, and juvenile justice involvement. To address this problem, a single‐subject study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of implementing an 8‐week cultural‐empowerment program based on the Sisters of Nia curriculum. Results based on visual analysis, percentage of nonoverlapping data, and Tau‐U all show that the Sisters of Nia intervention led to a significant reduction in verbally aggressive behavior for all four participants. These findings serve as further support to incorporate culturally based interventions at the school level.