Conclusions

 Adolescence is a time of identity struggles.

Akeelah Anderson is conflicted; not only is she struggling with the notion of who she is, her identity, she must also address her ethnic identity and the intersection of the two. A bright girl who naturally enjoys and excels at academics, Akeelah’s environment and its culture dictate and exemplify just the opposite. This picture of adolescence, of the struggle for identity, represents one of the hallmark theories of adolescent development as espoused by Erik Erikson: personality development, or identity formation, occurs as one successfully resolves a series of psycho social crises or adjustments (Snowman, McCown, & Biehler, 2012). Through the resolution of the conflict between her environment and her self, Akeelah begins the process of identity formation that continues through the teen years and hopefully ends in a sense of psycho social well-being (Snowman, McCown, & Biehler, 2012).

In particular, Akeelah is exploring alternatives to her current situation (Snowman, McCown, & Biehler, 2012) of poor school performance by choosing to take part in the various spelling bees. She is testing out different versions of her self and seeing if they bring recognition and acceptance from those who count, a process thought by Erikson to be crucial to identity development (Snowman, McCown, & Biehler, 2012). Ultimately, this “smart” version of her self does bring support, recognition and widespread acceptance from her family and community, thus helping Akeelah to resolve the conflict of self and environment and move on to the next crisis of identity formation. Other components of identity stressed by Erikson are acceptance of one’s appearance and knowledge about where one is going (Snowman, McCown, & Biehler, 2012); Akeelah appears to have no issues or crises about her appearance at this time and the resolution of her smart vs. environment crises provides her with a clearer path to her future (i.e. doing well in school). Further aiding her identity development are the secure attachments to influential individuals (as cited in Snowman, p. 34) she is developing through participation in the spelling bees. Akeelah’s ethnic identity, while seemingly at odds with her individual identity, doesn’t appear to change throughout the story as she remains tied to and supported by family, friends, and neighbors. Recent reviews by Meeus (2011) of research done in the early 21st century indicates that ethnic identity often remains the same during individual identity development. This seems true for Akeelah who while acculturating to the “successful academic” environment seems to have remained successfully bonded with her ethnic environment.

Akeelah’s question of “Who am I?” is further supported by the work of James Marcia (Snowman, McCown, & Biehler, 2012) who developed the notion of four processes for managing the tasks of establishing a sense of identity, all of which focus on the presence or absence of crisis and commitment.: crisis refers to instances of choosing among alternatives while commitment refers to the degree of personal investment expressed (as cited in Snowman, McCown, & Biehler, p. 32). Again, Akeelah is testing out the “smart” version of her self and also appears to be very committed to its success as evidenced by her perseverance and hard work. More recent longitudinal research reviewed by Meeus (2011) indicates that there is no empirical proof for the supposition that exploration precedes commitment in the formation of identity. According to Marcia’s model of identity formation (Snowman, McCown, & Biehler, 2012), Akeelah appears to be in the third stage or status, Moratorium, where the crisis is partially experienced and the person has given some thought to identity-related issues (Snowman, McCown, & Biehler, 2012) although in some ways she seems more mature and closer to the final stage known as Identity Achievement, an achievement that, in reality, is reached by very few middle-schoolers (Snowman, McCown, & Biehler, 2012).

References:

Snowman, J., McCown, R., & Biehler, R. (2012). Psychology applied to teaching. (13 ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning

Meeus, W. (2011). The study of adolescent identity formation 2000–2010: a review of longitudinal research, Journal of Research on Adolescence, DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-7795.2010.00716.x


Support systems are important during adolescent development although friends take precedence over adults

After watching Akeelah and the Bee it can be concluded that Support Systems (e.g adults, friend, communities), are important during adolescent development although sometimes friends take precedence over adults. This is first evidenced in the beginning of the movie by Akeelah’s actions she is skipping class with her friend Georgia and although she is smart she tries to act like she is not. Snowman McCown & Biehlar (2012) state that the desire to conform reaches a peak during middle school years, early adolescents find it reassuring to dress and behave like others and they are likely to alter their own opinions to conform with those of the groups. Upon her first meeting with Dr. Larabee, Akeelah is late, rude, and has a nonchalant attitude characteristic of young black girls in her neighborhood. She asks him questions like “aint you got a job?” Dr. Larabee tells Akeelah that she uses ghetto talk to fit in with her friends. Although Akeelah is smart, she pretends that she is not and speaks improperly using a limited vocabulary even though she knows more intricate and proper words.This is an example of a behavior that she believes will help her fit in. Adolescents feel pressure to conform. They are expected to eradicate their own way of being (Nieto 2010). Akeelah is smart and enjoys learning but because of the beliefs her peers share, she tries to erase who she is. Another example of when friends take precedence of adults is when Akeelah coerces her sister into borrowing their mother's car to take her to a friend's birthday party in Woodlawn Hills. Akeelah knows her mother does not want her going out there but because she wants to fit in with this new group, she defies her mother’s rules.

Although there are incidents where Akeelah makes her decision based on her friends, there are also just as many incidents where she bases her decisions on the adults and community. Akeelah experiences Yosso’s (2005) community cultural wealth because she has social capital and familial capital. Akeelah experiences  social capital which is the networks of people and community resources. These peer and other social contacts can provide both instrumental and emotional support to navigate through society’s institutions. Akeelah receives adult support through her principal Dr. Welch and her mentor/teacher Dr. Larabee. Dr. Welch is a pivotal part in Akeelahs adolescent development because he responsible for Akeelah meeting Dr. Larabee. Dr. Larabee is a very influential part of Akeelah's life because he teaches her manners, the importance of hard work, and the significance of setting goals. When Akeelah is on the news for winning the regional spelling bee the whole community stands behind her because they are proud to have neighborhood recognized for something positive. They become invested in her success and help her learn words to ensure that she wins the bee. Through the support of her community, Dr. Welch, and Dr. Larabee, Akeelah comes to the realization that she is perfect the way she is and feels loved.

References:
Nieto, S. (2010). The light in their eyes: Creating multicultural learning communities. (10th Anniversary ed., pp. 101-154). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Snowman, J., McCown, R., & Biehler, R. (2012). Psychology applied to teaching. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Yosso, T. (2005). Whose culture has capital?: A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69-91



Friendships are crucial to the development of the adolescent
Near the end of the movie, Akeelah and the Bee, there is a scene at the hotel in Washington, D.C. on the night before the Scripps National Spelling Bee in which Akeelah and several other children are relaxing with popcorn and sodas. Only one of the students, Dylan, is missing and that is because his father will not allow him to stop studying for the spelling bee. Akeelah knocks on his hotel room door and invites him to join her group but as he is not allowed, she hands his father a soda and says, "For Dylan" in a gesture of friendship and camaraderie.

Throughout the movie, Akeelah and the Bee, we see Akeelah interacting with her school friends, and we see her make new friends both in her community and outside of her community. As the movie progresses, Akeelah meets people she would perhaps not have known if it were not for competing in the spelling bee. The first of these people is Dr. Larabee, her mentor and, later, her friend. She meets Javier who befriends her almost immediately and Dylan Chu who takes much longer to warm up to her.

In the article, Relationships Among Adolescents' Perceptions of Friends' Behaviors, Academic Self-Concept, and Math Performance, the authors state that social-cognitive theory and peer-emulation theory leads us to believe that adolescent's self image and school performance are related to the beliefs they perceive their friends hold. (Jones, Audley-Piotrowski and Kiefer, 2012, p. 19) Georgia initially cheers Akeelah on to compete in the spelling bee and Javier supports her success even though he is competing against her in the championship. Akeelah sees throughout the competition process that her new friends value intelligence and education. Research has shown a correlation between adolescent friends and school performance. (Jones, et. al, 2012, p. 19) We see Akeelah try harder to study over the summer before the regional spelling bee and again before the national spelling bee. In Psychology Applied to Teaching, Snowman discusses the influence that peers have on academic performance. (Snowman, 2012, p. 100) Her friend Georgia begins to value education more and decides on the flight to Washington that she no longer wants to be a flight attendant; she wants to be a pilot instead. It is clear in that scene that the values Akeelah have come to hold dear are also positively influencing her best friend. This takes place in accordance with peer emulation theory, that "students' academic self-concept should relate to their perceptions of friends' academic behaviors." (Jones, et al, p.20) In the movie, Akeelah and the Bee, this is clearly the case. The friends, Akeelah, Georgia, Javier and Dylan to an extent, influence each other in positive ways that enhances each student's self-concept and is crucial to their ongoing social development.

References:

Jones, M.H., Audley-Piotrowski, S. R. and Kiefer, S.M. (2012). Relationships Among Adolescents' Perceptions of Friends' Behaviors, Academic Self-Concept, and Math Performance. Journal of Educational Psychology (104)1, pp. 19-31.

Snowman, J., McCown, R., & Biehler, R. (2012). Psychology applied to teaching. (13 ed., pp. 01-141). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.