High school guidance counselors have extraordinary influence in steering Black males to college or to the streets.
Black males have chronically been in the lower percentiles of students qualifying for entry to four-year institutions as compared to other ethnic and gender groups. There are a myriad of axiomatic factors such as a lack of opportunities to learn because of less qualified instructors and advanced course offerings, institutional racism, and incongruent cultural backgrounds that have contributed to this quandary. Yet, the role guidance counselors play in this matter has been significantly understudied and severely underestimated.
In Omar Cook’s (2007) dissertation, “African-American Males’ Reflections on Their Preparation and Access to Post-Secondary Opportunities: The Impact of Counselors’ Activities, Interactions and Roles in Urban Schools,” he found that counselors may be more than passive gatekeepers as suggested by previous scholars, playing a more assertive role in funneling Black males away from college altogether or into the California community colleges. Moreover, the study suggests that non-Black counselors showed an unwillingness to consistently provide unequivocal, adequate and sufficient college-related pedagogical practices, options, pathways, and services to African-American males. This is evidenced in the following quotes by two participants of the study:
“Her race (Caucasian) was a factor. None of the counselors put much priority behind Black students. I think it was just an assumption that we were not interested in education beyond high school.”
“Her race (Caucasian) was a factor. I think she had a little bit of bias and favoritism with White kids. She communicated more with them by asking more questions and going in-depth with options and benefits regarding college stuff. We only had “in and out” sessions that were very limited in communication regarding college and personal inquiries.”
