Examining the Impact An Evaluation of the Call Me Mister Program

Examining the Impact: An Evaluation of the Call Me Mister Program

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Introduction

The Call Me Mister Program, short form for the Mentors Instructing Students toward Effective Role Models, is an institution-based program geared towards providing more teachers from a wider background, particularly the more underrepresented minority groups such as Hispanics and African Americans (Nixon, 2013). The lack of enough male teachers in the country is especially reflected within the minority groups, some of who did not initially have requisite opportunities to pursue worthy education. As stressed by the program administrators in different states, the program is especially focused towards promoting greater participation of African American scholars, since this particular group is significantly underrepresented compared to other groups (Martin, 2011). The success of this program has been the subject of several researches, most of which have focused on the background and rolling out phases, and justification for the enactment of the program, progress and current status (Nixon, 2013). However, Nixon (2013) noted that many more researchers have given the issue of minority representation a more general look, incorporating their analysis of the Call Me Mister program amongst other similar programs in the country. However, the current study is particularly concerned about the impact that the program has had with regard to the goals set at the inception stage.

At this point it is essential to outline how this program has been rolled out nationally. A birth child of the Clemson University of South Carolina, the Call Me Mister program was rolled in the year 2000. At the time, only four institutions participated: Clemson University, Benedict College, Claflin University and Morris College (Nixon, 2013). As of February 2013, twenty colleges within South Carolina had taken up the program, while more colleges in some other eight states had joined in. Initially, the program was intended to see more African Americans join the elementary school to teach at this level (Lee, 2011). This followed an observed lack of adequate representation of this group at the elementary level of teaching despite the growing diversity of the schooling population (Kunjufu et al, n.d.). Different institutions of higher learning offer varying sums of money per academic semester to program participants as stipends for sustenance when on program mission. At the same time, participants are required to meet specific GPA scores, on top of being required to be accomplished scholars or pursuing university studies at the undergraduate or post-graduate levels (Nixon, 2013; Ahmad & Boser, 2014).

Background and Justification

By 2010, African Americans constituted only 2% of all teachers in the country, against a total 12.2% African Americans in the country (Nixon, 2013). This indicates a huge disparity between the two figures – it is apparent that some other racial groups enjoy a higher ration of teachers compared to their actual population. For instance, Whites (who constitute 63% according to the 2010 population census) comprise 87% of the teacher population in the US (Nixon, 2013; Martin, 2011). On the ground, this inequality means that persons from minority groups, especially the African Americans complete a fraction or the whole of their academic lives without meeting teachers/ lecturers of African American descent. This is the inequality that the Call Me Mister was instituted to address. Evidently, a trade-off between racial background and employment into teaching positions is a reality in the current setup.

Unfortunately, the current setup does not provide the best environment for African Americans to study in. Research shows that students from the minority groups are unable to relate well with environments that are predominantly White, including where teachers/ instructors are not exclusively White (Martin, 2011). This paints a picture to the effect that since no more schools retain the old, backward policies of “Whites only”, every teaching institution should have teachers of all racial backgrounds represented in the country at the moment. Research has been carried out to document the successes of the program. Part of the successes of the program can be attributed to the increased success of African American students in the academic fields compared to their past performance. Specific success has been noted amongst students of the minority groups who have had mentors from their respective racial groups (Ahmad & Boser, 2014). Therefore, it is paramount that research into the quantification of the successes of the program is carried out. This study investigates the impacts of the program, in a manner that has not been done before. I will examine the academic progress of African American students in schools where mentors from the program have had contact with students, against the performance of students of majority racial groups.

The Research Problem

However, the results and the praise that the program appears to have gained do not correspond with the reality on the ground. For once, the onset of teachers of color in our institutions must have had some impact on the performance of White majority students. Having been used to environments where teachers are predominantly White means that these students could have taken a dip in their performances. What about the African American students? Has the program really led to an improvement in student grades over time? Evidence of higher retention rates of African American students remains unclear, largely because it is not straightforward whether African American mentors have led to higher retention rates of students of their descent within the education system. This far, the auditing done to the program appears to give a weak picture of its status. This lack of proper auditing of the Call Me Mister program will continue to present a picture that closes avenues for challenge and further betterment. This setting must be challenged, and more diverse views allowed into the program. While my research aims at providing a fair picture of the status of the program, I hope that I will provide authentic results and new dimensions that will open up the program to more varied methods of scrutiny in future.

Deficiencies in the Evidence

As noted above, the evidence available towards the achievements of the Call Me Mister program is largely in its support, and the methodologies employed so far seem to favor presentation of advantages over disadvantages. This research takes the deliberate position that the program is faced with many weaknesses, not just in rolling out, but also in the way it contributes to students’ grades where rolled out already. For instance, does the program provide equal opportunities for all majority and minority groups? How does the program safeguard against eroding the gains already accumulated by the White majority without necessarily presenting undeserved advantages to this group? These pertinent questions remain unanswered. Equally, the theoretical framework within which the program is founded lacks intervention through such popularly strong and deterministically effective frameworks as the life course theory, the critical race theory and so on.

Further reflection shows that there has not been prioritization of the kind or extent of efforts needed to roll out the program nationally. For instance, good documentation could present more funding options and intervention by the government which would shift the financial burden born by the educational institutions to the government. So where is the weak link? The weakness again lies in the provision of credible evidence that could influence government decisions and present the advantages of the program to the whole nation. Again, the way in which cultural interaction and integration are taught to the mentors is not clearly outlined in the program’s long-term plan. Lastly, the despite this program being launched to respond to the plight of boys in the more White-staffed schools, there is no clear research to show why boys of African American descent deserve the intervention more than the girls. These pieces of weaknesses could not have gone unnoticed, and this could be the reason why some potential stakeholders have not yet shipped in.

Audience

The importance of this research underlines reason why it nets a wide audience. Racial inequality is a national problem that affects the image of the country. More so, it affects the self images of individuals belonging to the minority groups, including their ability to remain within the education system till completion of basic or college education. Secondly, the four academic institutions of South Carolina where inception of the program occurred are a steady party of interest since they would like to keep track of the progress of their birth child at any time. Whether this program is adopted nationally, it would, in fact, be necessary to recognize the role played by Clemson University, and perhaps station the headquarters there. The management of the university must be considering this position and that highlights their position as the number one interest group. All institutions of higher learning would be viable avenues to coordinate the progress of the program nationwide. It is therefore worthy recognizing that as much as all universities and colleges must have learnt about the program and many even considered adopting it, they must be interested in knowing the progress of the program. The government and several of its institutions, including the Department of Education are among the obviously interested party. In line with this last interest group’s interests, foreign governments and policy formulators would like to capture the best the US government or its institutions succeed in implementing.

Definition of Terms

Important terms and phrases used in the study are highlighted and defined below.

The Call Me Mister Program (Mentors Instructing Students toward Effective Role Models): This is a program set up by Clemson University alongside three other South Carolina universities in 2000 to bring onboard more African American male teachers into the elementary schooling system for the purposes of inspiring more students from the group into academic excellence.

Minority groups: Racial-ethnic groups within the US other than the Whites. Examples include the Asian Americans, African Americans and Hispanics.

Majority group: This group is usually used to refer to Whites since they occupy a significantly large section of the population. In line with this assertion, this study identifies Whites as the lone majority group. Further, a distinction is drawn to distinguish White Hispanics from Non-Hispanic Whites.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impacts of the Call Me Mister program – to highlight some of the impacts associated with investment into the program. To highlight these impacts, I will assess the effectiveness of the program in sustaining the intention for which it was intended at inception, and the impacts it has had on other students who experience change of balance when African American male teachers and mentors enter into systems that were initially largely dominated by White teachers. These aims will be evaluated across the following criteria:

Test whether the student performance of African American students in schools where the Call Me mister program has been rolled out has improved significantly compared to the time period immediately before the program initiation.

Compare the performance of White students before and after the launch of the program.

Seek if there is a relationship between the number of mentors introduced in a school and the overall change in performance of the African American students.

Seek whether a significant relationship exists between the performance of White students and the number of African American mentors in any particular elementary school.

Seek for region-specific performance improvement, based on region’s and consequently school’s total enrolment of African American learners

Seek for region-specific performance improvement, based on the location of the school and the length of time the program has been operational in the particular institution.

Examine whether the performances of boys ranked more favorably against those of girls in the same classes after going through the program.

Literature Review

Theoretical Framework

This research study uses the life course theory (LCT) as a framework to examine the impacts of the Call Me Mister program. In context of the current study, the LCT is a framework through which the entry of life changing events into the lives of individuals can be examined alongside such factors as environmental setup and its influences, the relevance of historical events on the current lives of individuals, and the influence that interdependence with other members of the society has on current and future decisions (Mus & Eker, 2011). There are five principles of the LCT applicable to this study.

Interplay between Historical Times and Human Lives. This principle is founded on the premise that the historical background of the individual is an influential factor of who they are today, and what we observe them do (Mus & Eker, 2011). In light of the current study, it is the African Americans’ history that should be viewed as an influence on their academic achievements and how they relate with and view teachers of White descent in their schools. This principle forms the basic background from which we can examine the current number of African American male teachers, and the status of the African American elementary school male learner and the dilemma he faces in institutions in which he lacks role models he can clearly relate with, especially those he considers to be of his descent.

Timing of Lives. This principle asserts that certain behaviors are closely related to the biological, social and physiological age of the individual, and that this impacts the change an important event has on the lives of individuals (Stansbury & Victor, 2008). It is estimated that the earlier a child’s life path (for instance, altering who they think they are and influencing what they think they can achieve) should happen in their formative years (Mus & Eker, 2011). This places the necessity of implementing the Call Me Mister program on the much younger generations, especially kids at the elementary school. Obviously, African American boys in the elementary school who need this intervention but cannot get it are bound to take a relatively less assured path towards academic excellence.

Human Agency. The principle insinuates that the actions that people take at any point in their lives have implications on their future life trajectories (Stansbury & Victor, 2008). These choices are partly influenced by the opportunities presented to the individual prior to making the decisions (Mus & Eker, 2011; Stansbury & Victor, 2008). For instance, if a child is presented with the opportunity to believe that they can perform like a role model they know, the boost in confidence will almost certainly see them more determined to perform well in school. This forms part of the thinking behind the Call Me Mister program, but is hardly ever acknowledged so.

Diversity in Life Course Trajectories. This principle stresses the impact of cohort variations, gender, and social class among other factors on the path that an individual’s life takes (Stansbury & Victor, 2008). For instance, many African Americans are considered to be relatively poorer than their White colleagues (Henfield, 2013), which places members of the two groups in different social classes. Stansbury and Victor (2008) noted that such classifications have implications on how the group generally views life events. We can imagine a child growing up seeing and believing that her parents are poor because they are Black would be less likely to work towards getting as rich as members of the more distant White community. This trend is also adaptable to the educational path of the Black child.

Developmental Risk and Protection. This principle focuses on the risks and protection factors that certain environments offer (Stansbury & Victor, 2008). Practically, these factors affect the life trajectories of the individual. Risk factors include being brought up in an environment that actively inhibits success, exposure to violence and diseases, and other factors capable of undermining ones belief in academic excellence. Protection factors are any actions or measures that actively inhibit manifestation of the risk factors. These factors usually come as interventional measures (Mus & Eker, 2011). One such factor is the introduction of mentors for the African American male children, who statistics show as being more prone to joining criminal gangs, dropping out of school early, and underachieving in school.

Synthesis of Findings

By 2008, 16.9% of teachers in all public schools in the country were form minority groups. However, this figure presents a sharp contrast to the 44% documented population of students from minority groups (Martin, 2011). Lee (2011) provided further details of the face of disparities in academic achievements of students of color and their White colleagues. According to him, 70.7% of Asian Americans had at least an associate degree, compared to Whites’ 49% and a further disparaging 30.3% of African Americans. To that effect, Littles Bowers and Gilmer (2007) observed that the US education policy has not been effective in ensuring retention of African American students. Further research shows that only 25% of all teachers in the country are male, a figure that worsens to 10% at the elementary level (Johnson, 2008).

Johnson (2008) underscored the implication of these low numbers of male elementary teachers, noting that the current situation undermines the democratic, equality, and egalitarian principles mandated to schools for propagation. Worse still for the system, the country is experiencing a high turnover of elementary school teachers. In the state of California, the state government has endeavored to retain these teachers by offering salary supplements to their salaries (Achinstein, Ogawa & Sexton, 2010). Ahmad and Boser (2014) noted that racial diversity is not yet achieved as far as employment of elementary teachers in the US is concerned. This racial imbalance in employment is contributes to underachievement of students of color. The researchers further acknowledge that students of color need models of their own racial background to inspire them to academic and professional success.

Evidence shows that students of color perform better when taught by teachers from their ethnic backgrounds (Ahmad & Boser, 2014). Regarding employment trends by the government, Gallavan (2013) noted that negligible difference has been observed in addressing the disproportionate ratio of African American teacher-student ration over the last 30 years. Notably, this period encompasses the fourteen years since inception of the Call Me Mister program. The researcher further notes that several socio-cultural factors inhibit potential success of White teachers with African American learners. Particularly, the researcher identifies the lack of will to work with multi-culturally sensitive classes as an obstacle to increasing success of learners of color. Acknowledging that empathy is variously defined in different research articles, Johnson (2008) acknowledged that many researchers have established that most White teachers lack empathy while handling African American learners. African American male learners were the poorest performing lot in our institutions up to 2012 (Henfield, 2013). Baghurst et al. (2014) noted that in order to bridge the gap in the African American teacher-learner ratio it is essential to sustain such programs as the Call Me Mister, and explore ways to utilize them nationally.

Nature of Further Research

Further research into the Call Me Mister program and the overall success in bridging the gap between the number of African American elementary teachers and learners should focus more on providing the audience with reliable statistics that present opportunities for replication. So far, most research has gone into theoretical discussions of the status of the problem. This methodology is void of hard statistics to support the success of the programs. This could be the reason behind the observed low responsiveness of the education department towards endeavoring to promote equitable employment of all racial groups. Furthermore, since there has been “enough” emphasis on qualitative research (which has the obvious advantage of being able to narrate actual events, situations and occurrences) into the impacts of the Call Me mister and related programs, it is essential that further research shifts to more quantitative approaches. The main advantage of quantitative research is the ability to present easy-to-relate-with statistics, which make the method more effective and understandable. More so, researchers can opt to adopt mixed-methods approaches, which employ both qualitative and quantitative methods.

Strengths and Shortcomings in Design of Previous Research

Cohort studies have previously been employed to interrogate the successes of programs similar to the Call Me Mister. The method is especially strong since cohorts provide essentially related narrations that easily shape a research and provide direction for presenting arguments in the research. However, the effectiveness of a study is also measured in terms of the ability to provide hard facts to readers at a glance. Statistical methods present this option, and they should be the new front for exploration of the impacts and performance of the Call Me Mister and related programs.

Critique of the Literature

As a precursor to beginning this research, I undertook to study the nature of literature on the Call Me Mister program. Remarkably, no literature criticizing this program was identified. Thjis implies that previous research has presented discussions in the form of monologues. This is partly unhealthy since no hard facts are presented to support the uni-dimensional discussions. Perhaps, this is the basis of the lack of rigorous evaluation of the program. However, as evidenced in the synthesis of findings above, all is not well in the education sector. The Call Me Mister program cannot be as effective as stated by several researchers including Achinstein et al. (2010), Baghurst et al. (2014) and Medford, Knorr and Cook (2013) yet more research underpins the inequality between teacher-employment for different racial groups. Further analysis shows that there lacks a suitable theoretical framework within which to address this issue. In response to this, my research intends to confine the evaluation of the Call Me Mister within the life course theory. Of course, adopting a more quantitative approach calls for greater utilization of mathematically recognizable variables. Some of the possible variables include performance (scores of students), numbers of student mentors in schools, and length of time since introduction of the Call Me Mister program in the particular institution.

Research Questions

Based on the aims outlined in the study purposes section, I will examine the following research questions in this study:

Have the performances of African American students improved significantly after the introduction of the Call Me Mister program?

Have the performances of White students improved/ deteriorated significantly after the introduction of the program?

Does the number of mentors (MISTERs) introduced in a school relate to the performance of African American students under the mentorship program?

Does the number of MISTERs introduced in a school have an impact on the rate of improvement or deterioration of the results of the White students?

Do schools located within regions with higher African American populations benefit more or less from introduction of the program’s MISTERs?

Do schools within regions that enrolled to the program tend to have better performances by African American students?

Do the performances of girls outshine those of the boys before undergoing the mentorship? How do the results of girls and boys compare after boys undergo the mentorship?

References

Achinstein, B., Ogawa, R. T. & Sexton, D. (2010). Retaining teachers of color: A pressing problem and a potential strategy for “hard-to-staff” schools. Review of Educational Research. 80(1): 71-107.

Ahmad, F. Z. & Boser, U. (May 2014). America’s leaky pipeline for teachers of color: Getting more teachers of color into the classroom. New York: Center for American Progress.

Baghurst, T., Murray, E., Jayne, C. & Carter, D. (March 2014). Leadership and management skills of junior college athletic directors. The Sport Journal. ISSN: 1543-9518.

Gallavan, N. P. (2013). Continuing the conversation: Sociocultural factors that contribute to the overrepresentation of Black males in special education. ARATE Electronic Journal. 4(2).

Henfield, M. S. (2013). Culturally responsive education for African American males: Merging theory, research, and practice. Interdisciplinary Journal of Teaching and Learning. 3(3): 132-203. ISSN: 2158-592X.

Johnson, S. P. (2008). The status of male teachers in public education today. Education Policy Brief. 6(4).

Kunjufu, J., Shelby, A., Potier, D., Lora, D. & Johnson, R. (n.d.). Educating the African American and Latino male child. Hip Hop Street – Curriculum.

Lee, J. M. (2011). The educational experience of young men of color: A review of research, pathways and progress. The College Board , Advanced Placement Program, AP, SAT. NY: Advanced Placement Program.

Littles, M. J., Bowers, R. & Gilmer, M. (2007). Why we can’t wait. A case for philanthropic action: Opportunities for improving life outcomes for African American males. A Report for the Ford Foundation. New York: The Ford Foundation.

Martin, J. (2011). Best practices in minority teacher recruitment: A literature review. Connecticut: Connecticut RESC Alliance.

Medford, L., Knorr, R. & Cook, M. (2013). Men missing from the PK-12 classroom – A discussion of research-based explanations. SRATE Journal. 22(2): 14-21.

Mus, E. & Eker, A. (2011). An analysis of life course theories. Turkish Journal of Police Studies. 13(3): 147-166.

Nixon, A. (2013). New book tells story of Clemson’s Call Me MISTER program. The News Stand. Retrieved from newsstand.clemson.edu/mediarelations/new-book-tells-the-story-of-clemsons-call-me-mister-program/. (Accessed: 19th June, 2014).

Stansbury, J. M. & Victor, B. (2008). Whistle blowing among young employees: A life-course perspective. Journal of Business Ethics. 85: 281–299.