Dr. John Ogbu
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Nigerian-American Anthropologist
Major figure in the application of
anthropological theories and methods to
problems related to minority education in
the United States and abroad.
Named one of “four intellectual giants of the
20th century” by Eminent Educators:
Studies in Intellectual Influence
Background and Schooling
Born in 1939
Umudomi, Nigeria
Schooling
Hope Waddell Training Institute
Methodist Teacher’s Training
College
Princeton University Theological
Seminary
University of California, Berkeley
Bachelor of Arts, Anthropology (1965)
Masters, Anthropology (1969)
Doctorate of Philosophy, Anthropology (1971)
Professor from 1970 to his death
Voluntary vs Involuntary
Minorities
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Voluntary minorities: groups of immigrants who chose to come
to the United States, and their descendants
Irish, German, Asian-Americans, etc.
Involuntary minorities: descendants of groups of persons who
found themselves in the United States, or under United States
jurisdiction, against their will
African-Americans, Mexican-Americans
Ogbu argued that, "involuntary minorities" often adopted an
"oppositional identity" to the mainstream culture in response to
a glass ceiling imposed or maintained by white society on the
job-success of their parents and others in their communities.
Therefore, he reasoned, some non-whites "failed to observe the
link between educational achievement and access to jobs."
“Acting White”
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1986 study (with Signithia Fordham) which
concluded that some African American
students in a Washington, D.C., high school
did not live up to their academic potential
because of the fear of being accused of
"acting white”
It was concluded that these students'
cultural attitudes hindered their own
academic achievement and that these
attitudes are too often neglected by parents,
educators and/or policymakers.
African American
Vernacular English
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Known by non-linguists as Ebonics
In 1996, Ogbu played a prominent role in the debate
about the utility of African American Vernacular
English
Ogbu encouraged teachers to become familiar with
and to make use of this vernacular in helping African
American students transition to traditional English
The Next Generation:
An Ethnography of Education in an Urban
Neighborhood
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In 1968, he had begun his doctoral fieldwork in
Stockton, California in a neighborhood called
Burgherside trying to discover why some children,
especially minority children, performed poorly in
school.
His dissertation was published in 1974 as "The Next
Generation: An Ethnography of Education in an
Urban Neighborhood"
The Next Generation
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explores education (schooling) in Burgherside, a lowincome neighborhood in Stockton, California
majority of residents are blacks and Mexican-Americans they make up about 92% of the elementary school
population.
study explores the reasons for many children from the
neighborhood failing in public schools.
goal was to study how the people in Stockton, including
Burghersiders, conceptualize their educational system
and their place in it, and how these conceptualizations
influence the way they behave within the institution.
research covered the following groups in Stockton: (a)
Burghersiders; (b) residents of adjoining neighborhoods
attending the same junior and senior high schools with
Burghersiders; (c) organizations and leadership
representing the interests of the subordinate minorities
in the wider community; (d) school personnel; (e)
taxpayers, principally the middle-class Stocktonians and
the organizations they formed to assist with "problems"
of Burghersiders and similar groups.
Findings
Belief system of minorities
confirms
White institutional
barriers, etc.
confirms
Low status
occupations, low
wages, etc.
High rate of school
failure
justifies
Washington, T.A. (2008)
Findings
Belief system of whites
(dominate class)
confirms
Intellectual,
cultural inferiority
or “subordinate
minorities”
Low status
occupations, low
wages, etc.
confirms
High rate of school
failure
justifies
Washington, T.A. (2008)
Findings
causes
Practice that ensues
School Failure
adaptation as a
coping mechanism
Mistreatment
by dominant class
because of school
failure
causes
School failure
justifies
Washington, T.A. (2008)
References
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Ogbu, John U. (1974). The next generation; an ethnography of
education in an urban neighborhood [by] John U. Ogbu Academic
Press: New York.
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John Ogbu. (2009, May 26). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Retrieved 12:30, May 26, 2009, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Ogbu&oldid=292
426446
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Washington, Tracy Amanda. (2008). The next generation: An
ethnography of education in an urban neighborhood. Powerpoint
Presentation.