“This School Helps A Lot”: Personal Agency Among Black Youth Within a Supportive School Environment

We collected field observation notes, accessed student demographic data, and interviewed sixteen Black high school youth (50% male; Mage = 16.1) to explore experiences that contributed to their personal agency within a supportive school. Students were recruited from a public academy school that was designed to support youth who are disadvantaged due to environmental and structural barriers. Findings revealed that participants strived to pursue academic goals to create a better life for themselves and their families. Their expression of behaviors and attitudes associated with personal agency (e.g., choice/decision making, self-regulation, self-advocacy, self-efficacy), including their capacity to cope with emotional challenges, helped them in their pursuits. Moreover, the support they received from teachers, family members, peers, and community mentors, as facilitated by school personnel, was integral to their expression of behaviors and attitudes associated with personal agency. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.