This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Bergin, D. A. Articles by Cooks, H. C. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Academic Competition among Students of Color

An Interview Study

The University of Toledo, David.Bergin{at}utoledo.edu

Helen C. Cooks

The University of Toledo

Forty-one relatively high-achieving students of color were interviewed about the competition for grades that they felt in their high schools. Students of color are particularly interesting with regard to competition because they have sometimes been portrayed as rejecting academic achievement. The students reported competing for grades. They generally thought competition was beneficial. Students commented that they focused on grade point average to help them improve their grades and monitored the grades that other students were receiving. They made almost no comments about competition leading to learning or mastering skills. Their responses are interpreted in light of motivation research that suggests that academic competition and social comparison can lead to maladaptive motivational orientations.

Urban Education, Vol. 35, No. 4, 442-472 (2000)
DOI: 10.1177/0042085900354004


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. W Stinson African American Male Adolescents, Schooling (and Mathematics): Deficiency, Rejection, and Achievement Review of Educational Research, January 1, 2006; 76(4): 477 - 506. [Abstract] [PDF]