Chapter 10: A Closer Look at Media Influences, Identity Formation, and Educational Policy: Implications for African American Male Students

Expanding learning opportunities for African Americans has been an ongoing discussion among policymakers and a persistent theme within education scholarship. However, amid the widespread use of a variety of educational sorting practices (e.g., academic tracking, ability grouping, etc.); access to such opportunities has never been more challenging for this group of students. Yet, beyond school-based sorting explanations, those within both political and academic spaces—with particular reference to policymakers and educators, respectively—have trouble articulating exactly why learning opportunities are seemingly endless for some, and unavailable to others. Those interested in identifying outside factors that decrease academic self-motivation and inhibit achievement should be cognizant of the profound influence that the media (i.e., television and radio) have in shaping one’s identity. Given that African Americans are the most active media consumers (Gandy, 2001), the present chapter takes a closer look at the relationship between media effects and perceptions of education for this subgroup.