The researchers gathered data through face-to-face interviews with sixteen African-American boys over the course of a three-month period during the childrens'2002-2003 academic school year. This was a very limited sampling, albiet with a very specific focus group. All of students were regular education students between the ages of eight and thireen years old. (Wilson-Jones & Caston, 2004, p.1)

The study asked what influenced this group of student's success and commitment to school? The interviewers concluded that the collective societal influence of school and home was key in fostering the children's desire to learn. While other factors were also influential, such as the relative literacy level of the primary caretakers of the child, overall peer and parental attitude to learning, and the willingness to foster such learning in social as well as individual classroom environments played a key factor in student success. The study was said to reinforce findings of the...
[ View Full Essay]