Digital Commons Network^™

Exploration Of Privilege And Preschool Teachers’ Demographics Associated With Teachers’ Self-Efficacy In Culturally Responsive Classroom Management, Katherine Madison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Every child in America is entitled to a free public education; however, racial disparities in academics and discipline continue to grow in America’s school system (Glock et al., 2019; Muñiz, 2019). These racial disparities begin in preschool, following the students throughout their school years. African American students, specifically African American males, are three times more likely than their Caucasian peers to be suspended in preschool (CRDC, 2016; Musu-Gillette et al., 2016). Suspension at an early age correlates with students entering juvenile detentions, prisons and incompletion of schooling (Love, 2014; Meek & Gilliam,2016; Muñiz, 2019). Culturally responsive teaching and classroom management …

Learning The Language Of America: A Descriptive Phenomenolgical Study Of Black American Racial Conscientization., Kyee A Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This transcendental phenomenological dissertation is an examination of the lived experience of Black American Racial Conscientization (RCZ). Worded differently, this descriptive phenomenological study investigated how Black Americans learn to perceive racial oppression and the various means by which they resist it. Fourteen in-depth interviews from within the epoché were conducted. The sample was heterogeneous with respect to age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, educational attainment, career path, martial and parental status, sex, home and current state, and religious affiliation. The sample was homogeneous regarding citizenship status and gender identity. Data explication manifested 97 different codes that were then grouped into five situated …

Putting Colorism On Trial Intraracial Colorism And Its Impact On Crime Trajectory Among African Americans., Shaderica Ta'shawn Sibley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the impact of experiences of colorism on the crime trajectory of African Americans. It is qualitative in nature and utilizes semi-structured interviews with incarcerated African American people. As previous research has shown the painful impact of colorism on its victims, this study ultimately seeks to unearth if that pain translates into crime commission and trajectory. The primary purpose of this research is to contribute to the existing body of research that seeks to support “colorism healing” in the African American community. If this indicates that colorism contributes to crime trajectory, such an outcome would have practical implications: …

Exploring The Impact Of The Achievement Gap On Shame And Resilience In African American College Students, Brittany R. Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The achievement gap refers to the stark difference that occurs between racial or gender groups, as one group performs significantly higher than the other. An achievement gap has the propensity to produce psychological distress, as well as buffering techniques that are necessary for survival and success. Growing research shows that African American college students experience unique levels of trauma, shame, hardship, macro, and micro-aggressions, suggesting that these students learn to self-preserve as early as 10 years old. This study used a Pearson correlation, Independent T-Test, and a Moderated Multiple Regression to explore the impact of the achievement gap on shame …

“Dialogical Offense:” A Postcolonial Womanist Deconstruction Of The Colonial Experience Of African American Women Through U.S. Institutional Apparatus Known As Criminal Justice Policy, April Michelle Woodson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Black female experience in the United States is a colonized existence. This project’s analysis is specific to the North American U.S. geographic space and is not a diasporic project. Black women suffered from the greatest increase in the percentage of inmates incarcerated for drug offenses in the 1980’s and 1990’s which is the period of criminal justice policy formation and implementation on which this project is focused.

This project is uniquely situated in the overlap between womanist ethics and postcolonial feminist imagination and extends scholarship in both discourses by showing that there is an interwoven line between the colonial-to-contemporary …

Black Minds Matter: A Phenomenological Inquiry Examining The Prevalence Of Racial Trauma Among Black Doctoral Students, Jazmyne Markeeva Peters

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Systemic and institutionalized racism is endemic to life in the United States and contributes to the daily marginalization of Black people. While the negative psychological and physiological effects of racism have been well-documented, the notion that racism can be experienced as a trauma is a newer theory. Racial trauma has been understudied and underappreciated, though it is a theory that clinicians should incorporate when working with Black clients and other clients of color. Exploring the ways in which Black doctoral students attending a predominantly White institution (PWI) have experienced racism is an essential contribution to the existing racial trauma literature. …

Fatal Attraction : Intimate Partner Violence Among Black Lgbtq Relationships., Amberli A. Seay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social workers play a pivotal role in intervening in instances of intimate partner violence. It is imperative that social work intervention education is relevant, competent and inclusive. In this study, a content analysis is conducted on the true-crime documentary series, Fatal Attraction. Fatal Attraction targets Black audiences and sheds light on Black victim-survivors and perpetrators of intimate partner violence (IPV). The documentaries in this series act as a resource to understanding representation and treatment of Black LGBTQ. The following research questions are explored and discussed: 1. To what degree are Black LGBTQ victims and perpetrators of IPV represented in media? …

The Black Experience And Responses To Anti-Black Racism, Samaiyah Jahaan Jones Scott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I focus on aspects of the Black experience concerning African American responses to anti-Black racism in the United States. The ideas I examine allow me to further the dialogue concerning quintessential questions pertaining to anti-Black racism that arise from the Black experience in America that are now reformulated to help African Americans respond to current forms of anti-Black racism. Have Black intellectuals historically accepted shared responsibility for racism? Do contemporary shared responsibility models hold African Americans responsible for anti-Black racism? Is national minority status a viable response to anti-Black racism? In each chapter, I enter the respective …

Telling Our Stories: Exploring The Path Toward Successful Mathematics Degree Attainment At An Under-Resourced Predominantly Black Institution, Lauren E. Mckittrick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The under-representation of Blacks in mathematics related professions stems from an American educational system of inequity. Many Black students, including a substantial proportion of those who enroll at Predominantly Black Institutions, attend elementary and secondary schools in under-resourced districts with limited access to quality teachers and rigorous, culturally-relevant instruction that would adequately prepare them for college attainment in mathematics.

The primary research question guiding this study was: What are the challenges and opportunities associated with building and sustaining a successful mathematics degree program at an under-resourced Predominantly Black Institution? Concurrently, this interpretive case study examined and documented the experiences of …

Teacher Bias In Elementary School And The Factors That Aid It., Camara Uras Douglas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines teacher bias in elementary school through a thorough investigation of prior research focused on this topic, along with historical accounts of African American education. The basic question of the thesis is: To what extent does teacher bias affect the educational experiences of African American students and lead to a persistent educational gap between African Americans and whites? The study found that teacher bias of African American students does exist particularly those from low-income neighborhoods. Moreover, the biases are based on certain assumptions that can be traced to the historical discrimination of African American in education, as well …

Delinquency : A Trajectory Analysis Of African-American Males., Wyatt Brown 1985-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The initial goals of this study include locating and identifying the taxonomic groups mentioned in Moffitt's (1993) (i.e. life-course persistent offenders, adolescent-limited offenders) using data from the National Longitudinal Survey 1997 (NLSY97). Further, this study compares the social demographics with the predictions of Moffitt (1993,1994) as her theory describes race, particularity those of African-American offenders. This study also examines the role of parental and peer relationships and their effect on the offender disparity among the typologies defined by Moffitt (1993). This study explores one hypothesis: there is a relationship between social bonds, particularly peer association and admittance into Moffitt's (1993) …

Roses That Grew From The Concrete: A Critical Investigation Of The Intersection Of Race And Gender On The Lived Experiences Of African American Male Senior Student Affairs Officers At Predominately White Institutions, Rahmon S. Hart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite past efforts to address the racial disparities that exist in the higher education workforce, African American male Senior Student Affairs Officers (SSAOs) are dramatically underrepresented at predominately White institutions of higher education (PWIs). The lived experiences of this unique group of African Americans have been ignored in the empirical literature. The main research question that guided this study was the following: How does the intersection of race and gender influence the experiences of African American male SSAOs at PWIs? A particular focus of this research was to gain a better understanding of how African American male SSAOs experience and …

African American Males And Issues Of Fatherhood: An Examination Of The Sweat Lodge As A Psychosocial And Spiritual Intervention, Jay E. Darr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The emasculation of African American men is illustrated by disparities in the criminal justice system, education, employment, income, and health care, which has an impact on an African American man's ability to be a father. Researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners have struggled with establishing sustainable programs that address the complex issues that face African American men, especially when they have children (Martinson & Nightingale 2008). The emergence of the Sweat Lodge as an intervention for Native Americans has had some promising results (Cohen, 2003; Edwards, 2003, Noe, Fleming & Manson 2003; Smith, 2005). However, there is limited research on the Sweat …