Thirty-Year Retrospective on the Learning Styles of African American Children

Abstract

This article is a review of the literature related to the cognitive, learning, behavioral, and cultural styles of African American children. This is an assessment of the progress that has been made since 1982 when my first book was published. Several flaws in the creation of the science that undergirds learning styles research related to African American children are identified. First of all, a precise definition of what we are studying is not there. Second, the instruments have not been created to measure the target constructs. Third, we need to collaborate on an interdisciplinary basis to create the science to support culturally appropriate instructional practices and child and classroom management procedures. Fourth, the problems with inadequate science have been compounded by imprecision in the measurement of social class as pertains to the achievement of African American children.