ABSTRACT
U. Bronfenbrenner’s ecology of human development is an example of how the integration of parent, child, other social institutions, and the environment impacts the developing child. This chapter focuses on empirical research on family factors that promote academic success for African American youth grounded in the framework of theories. Studies focusing on children’s development and ultimately youth academic success have frequently examined academic achievement in an ecological, cultural capital, or culture of poverty, theoretical framework. M. B. Spencer’s phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory, an expansion of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model, provides a theoretical framework that is concerned with African American adolescents living in high-risk environments. M. Bowen family systems theory is an example of how the interplay between anxiety and differentiation of self offers differing but complementary theories that add more clarity to forces impacting a child’s life course, whether cognitive or social-emotional development.
