Lack of Role Modeling

Definition and Relevance

A role model is a person whose behavior in a particular role is imitated by others. It is important
to understand that role models are from whom children pick up certain behaviors. Therefore, we
must pay attention to who our children are learning from.

Causes

Living in inner-city.

Young people growing up in an inner-city environment are often faced with violence, poverty,
and illiteracy. Despite their hope to do so, very few individuals make it out of this environment.
Many of those who do make it out find themselves back where they had started due to their
inability to function well in any outside environment.

Home Dysfunction.

Abuse.
Children growing up in the inner-city can be exposed to abuse at home, as well as abuse
in their community. This fosters lack of self-esteem, and one’s own belief in her or she’s ability
to succeed. Without any positive role models in this scenario, the affect can be deadly.

Lack of Teachers.

There is a lack of male teachers to serve as positive role models for students. Particularly, there
is a lack of black male teachers to serve as positive role models for black students; however,
white male teachers also have the power to be role models for black male students. Although
educators are predominantly female, there is a lack of female teachers in certain fields. This
causes fewer female students to pursue careers in a chosen field because women are severely
underrepresented in specific fields.

Impact

If students do not have any positive role models in their lives to look to, there is the possibility
that they will consider individuals to be their role models that could be considered negative role
models. Negative role models can boost a young person’s motivation by guiding them towards
strategies for avoiding failure. These avoidance strategies often include coping mechanisms,
which are often drugs or alcohol. Idolizing the wrong people can also foster wrong ideas about
what is right and wrong. For example, many black students idolize rappers and professional
athletes. Many of these individuals have publicly failed drug tests, abused alcohol, and behaved
violently. Without positive role models in certain areas of their lives, students may also be less
likely to pursue careers in certain fields.

Responses

It is extremely important to help the youth grow in a way that helps them gravitate toward
positive role models. To foster this growth, adults should teach children that failure is necessary
for success, encourage children to participate in initiative-building activities (ones that they
chose themselves to give them internal rewards), and talk with the youth about inspirational
heroes from movies or books. These heroes often can show children how to overcome a variety
of challenges and establish this growth mindset at a young age.

It is also important to note the impact of same-gender and same-ethnicity role models in schools.
Black students with black teachers as role models ultimately have had higher test scores, female
students with female teachers are twice as likely to take other courses in that certain subject and
take on average 2.5 more credits than other female students, and male students with male
teachers as role models take 12.9 more subsequent credit hours and were more likely to major in
that subject taught by the male role model. Teachers serving as role models also need to practice
what they preach by modeling better behavior inside and outside of the classroom. Bonding with
students helps to diminish and sometimes eliminate stereotypes.