0.8 Mirci, p., loomis, c., & Hensley, p. (september 2011). social  (Page 10/19)

The following statements from Jose, Maria, and Tyrone were representative of the perceptions of the participants in terms of negative self-attributes and, consequently, their feelings/sense of powerlessness. According to Jose,

I didn’t see myself as a learner but a failure. Being labeled “at risk” confirmed me being a failure. As I fell further and further behind and no matter how much I struggled to understand and succeed, my failures ended with me giving up on myself. I tried to avoid the teachers who were negative with me because they made me feel stupid and there was nothing I could do to change their minds.

Maria and Tyrone emphasized their lack of self-esteem, failure, and their sense of hopelessness. Maria stated: “I identified myself as being someone who couldn’t succeed academically. I was not smart. Being identified as “at-risk” confirmed I wasn’t a learner.”

Tyrone echoed similar feelings as he said:

As I fell further and further behind and realized no matter how much I tried and struggled I couldn’t succeed. I felt as if I lost my identity. I was surrounded by negativity and hopelessness. I began to think of myself as a loser and it hurt so much inside me.

Jaime stated that his perceptions of his self-attributes, as a member of a school community, impacted his identity,

I gave up after I started failing my classes. I felt stupid and that I did not belong. I was not important to my teachers. I also believed that I was not as advantaged as others because I was labeled “at-risk” by the teachers.

The shift in self-beliefs regarding attributes changed when participants transferred to a continuation high school with a positive culture; nevertheless, changes in perceptions of oneself did not occur rapidly. Peter connected the change in his self-belief to experiences of succeeding gradually: “I began understanding and continued succeeding such that I had to challenge my previous view of myself as a failure.” Beth stated: As I ceased being overwhelmed, I began to feel better about myself and one day I realized I was a successful learner. Tyrone indicated that being in an environment where he wasn’t labeled as at-risk impacted his view of self: “I found that I was able to stop worrying about being labeled. As I realized the label placed on me didn’t define me and this was important. I became more confident.” Arturo commented on how his shift in self-perception impacted his motivation: “I felt positive and confident. If finally felt that I was successful at school. I was motivated to pursue my dream of earning my diploma was going to be a reality.”

Being labeled at-risk influenced negative self-attributes. Over time the label of at-risk students has tended to place the blame on the individual student and away from institutions in society that fail to support student success (Wishart, D., Taylor, A.,&Schultz, L., 2006). Lightfoot and Gustafson (2009) found that the labels of disability impacted the individuality of children: Labeling obscures “the way in which the same students have potential or talents and resources that may be hidden by these labels of risk“(p. 121). Life circumstances involving the family, community, student, illness, poverty, and prejudice such as racism are all factors that may contribute to students struggling in school. All participants indicated that they felt something was wrong with them and within them and that the labeling just confirmed it .