I (Don't) Hate School: Revisiting Oppositional Culture Theory of Blacks' Resistance to Schooling

This study provides an extensive test of Ogbu's oppositional culture theory that accounts for student maturation over time. Using data from the Maryland Adolescence Development In Context Study (MADICS), I test the proposition that blacks resist school more than whites, and that this difference grows with age. Analyses were conducted across 24 outcomes and revealed two major findings with implications for the study of race and school achievement. First, five major tenets of the theory were not supported, which challenges the existence of a pervasive oppositional culture among black Americans. Second, maturation after grade 7 had minimal impact on white-black differences on the outcomes. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for sociological theory and educational policy.

Duke Scholars

Author Angel Luis Harris Sociology