Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the experiences of African American students enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) high school courses. This study highlighted the relationship between these students and their teachers, significant others, and peers. Methodology. Data were collected by interviewing 6 African American students who were enrolled in advanced courses while attending high school. The participants were 3 African American men and 3 African American women who all attended high schools in San Bernardino County, California. Findings. (a) Teacher interaction: All students interviewed expressed that their teachers had high expectations for the students' academic success; however, the participants perceived that they were treated differently than Caucasian students. All participants recalled incidents where teachers made overtly offensive racial comments in class. (b) Peer interaction: The participants perceived a disconnection from non-African American peers in advanced courses, which caused them to gravitate toward other African American students in class. Participants were accused of "acting White" and felt that there was a perceived pressure to be smart. (c) Family support: Participants perceived support from immediate and extended family members and expressed that they were raised to believe they are intelligent; however, participants perceived their academic success as personally motivated, with no pressure from family. Conclusions. The findings of this study suggest that there are significant challenges that African American students encounter in enrolling and being successful in advanced courses and that the interactions and relationships between teachers and their students are critical in shaping the experiences of African American students in advanced courses. Recommendations. Further research could be done (a) with a larger population to examine the experiences of African American students enrolled in AP or IB courses; (b) to replicate this study with African American students from a different geographical area; (c) to expand this study by researching other ethnicities such as Hispanic or Asian students and comparing their experiences to those of African American students; and (d) to replicate this study with current high school students.