THE EFFECTS OF THE BLACK EXPERIENCE ON BLACK CHILDREN IN TRANSITION FROM A NURTURING ENVIRONMENT TO A SUSTAINING ENVIRONMENT

This study examined the question: Do black children entering kindergarten suffer a loss of self-esteem and internal locus of control as a result of the unique stress associated with the transition from a minority culture to incongruent majority culture?;A sample of 42 kindergarten students and their parents served as subjects. The sample included children from both the black and white races. The parents were administered a nurturing scale at the beginning of a school semester; while the children were administered a locus-of-control scale and self-concept scale both at the beginning and ending of the semester. It was hypothesized that there would be negative change in the direction of these variables during the time studied. The study concentrated only on the self-esteem and sense of locus of control of the students.;The literature suggested that blacks suffer an unusual amount of stress when entering school because of the demand that they make a transition from the nurturing environment of the black home and community to the culturally incongruent sustaining environment of the school. It further suggested that because of the cultural differences between the nurturing environment and the sustaining environment blacks must live in two cultures and develop two sets of coping skills.