Promoting students’ belief in their academic abilities is key to curbing African-American high school dropout rates

Instead of solely fostering high schoolers’ self-esteem to curb African-American dropout rates, school social workers and educators should focus on the students’ academic self-beliefs, says a school social work expert. “There is little evidence showing a link between feeling good about oneself and academic achievement, particularly with African-American youths,” says Melissa Jonson-Reid, Ph.D., associate professor at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. “School social workers need to focus on programs that promote a student’s belief in their academic abilities and the importance of education, such as study skills training and mentoring.”