Building on their important findings in The Source of the River, the
authors now probe even more deeply into minority underachievement at the
college level. Taming the River examines the academic and social
dynamics of different ethnic groups during the first two years of
college. Focusing on racial differences in academic performance, the
book identifies the causes of students' divergent grades and levels of
personal satisfaction with their institutions.
Using survey data collected from twenty-eight selective colleges and
universities, Taming the River considers all facets of student life,
including who students date, what fields they major in, which sports
they play, and how they perceive their own social and economic
backgrounds. The book explores how black and Latino students experience
pressures stemming from campus racial climate and "stereotype
threat"--when students underperform because of anxieties tied to
existing negative stereotypes. Describing the relationship between grade
performance and stereotype threat, the book shows how this link is
reinforced by institutional practices of affirmative action. The authors
also indicate that when certain variables are controlled, minority
students earn the same grades, express the same college satisfaction,
and remain in school at the same rates as white students.
A powerful look at how educational policies unfold in America's
universities, Taming the River sheds light on the social and racial
factors influencing student success.