Husain Lateef, an assistant professor at the Brown School, has been awarded a two-year, $49,821 grant from the Brady Education Foundation to study the influences of Afrocentric cultural strengths in Black youth education.
The Brady Education Foundation, which works to close educational opportunity gaps based on race, ethnicity, and income, will fund Lateef鈥檚 research on how Afrocentric socialization experiences may impact academic achievement among Black adolescents.
鈥淓ducational achievement affects every aspect of a young person鈥檚 life,鈥� Lateef said. 鈥淚n the U.S., Black youth are among the least likely ethnic-racial groups to graduate from high school, limiting their access to the benefits associated with academic success. Burgeoning research suggests that Afrocentric cultural socialization (ACS)鈥攖he transmission of beliefs and values rooted in African heritage鈥攎ay have a significant role in the educational success of Black youth.鈥�
Lateef鈥檚 study aims to develop an empirical measure for ACS, laying the groundwork for future research into its relationship with educational success. The research will start by analyzing existing measures and consulting a panel of experts, then proceed with cognitive interviews with Black adolescents to identify items for the new measure. In the second phase, Lateef will evaluate the psychometric properties of the scale to establish its reliability, validity, and consistency across samples.
Lateef will serve as the principal investigator for the study, which could offer new insights and interventions to support educational success for Black youth across the country.