Education Commons^™

Race, Resilience, And Resistance: A Culturally Relevant Examination Of How Black Women School Leaders Advance Racial Equity And Social Justice In U.S. Schools, Tonya Evette Walls

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This culturally relevant qualitative examination of the leadership of Black women educational leaders (BWEL) committed to advancing a social justice leadership agenda within the contested spaces (Stovall, 2004) comprising United States (U.S.) P-12 schools, employs an African centered emancipatory methodology (Kershaw, 1990, 1992; Tillman, 2002), situated in a conceptual framework grounded in the research on applied critical leadership (Santamaria, 2013). It examines, highlights, celebrates, and makes transparent, the unique leadership of BWEL. Engaged to rebuke the silencing and marginalization of women educational leaders of color in the educational leadership discourse, this study bridges engages a multiple case study approach, phenomenological …

The Schooling Experiences Of African American Males Attending Predominately White Independent Schools, Dana Adams Coleman

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation seeks to examine the schooling experiences of African American males attending predominately White independent schools in California. Using Critical Race Theory as a theoretical framework and the factors contributing to schooling experiences, this qualitative research explores the role of student self-perception, teacher expectations, and parent involvement as contributing factors to participants overall schooling experiences. Utilizing counterstorytelling as a means of capturing the rich narratives shared by the participants, data analysis included holistic content coding based on themes that emerged from narrative examination. Findings indicate how parent involvement became the overarching critical component that was most significant in positive …

Lifespan Communication And Career Development Of Black Teachers: A Socio-Ecological Approach, Veronica Whinnett Hurd

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

This thesis unlocks the lifespan story of nine Black participants as they reflected on the communicative practices that guided their career journey towards becoming a teacher. Through the lens of Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) socio-ecological development model, the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem were examined to understand the content of career-related memories and with whom or what the communicative experiences occurred with across the participants’ lifespan. This study also takes an in-depth look at how the content of the memories evolved across Erikson’s (1964) childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood developmental periods, and the influence of the proximal and distal socio-ecological environments …

Ball Is Life: Black Male Student-Athletes Narrate Their Division I Experiences, Eno Attah Meekins

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on the experiences of Black male student-athletes in Division I sports and used critical race methodology to present counter narratives. These narratives highlighted successes and heightened awareness about the needs and concerns of an extremely important, but often silenced, population. The purpose of this research was to examine the experiences of Black male student-athletes in the Division I revenue-generating sports of basketball and football. This study examined how Black males perceived the effectiveness of the NCAA supports in place for their academic success, degree attainment, and postcollegiate leadership and career opportunities. This dissertation also sought to understand …

Verbal -S Productions In The Structured Writing Samples Of Variable Aae-Speaking Fourth-Grade Students With And Without Language Impairment, Jacklyn High Felton

Doctoral Dissertations

Researchers in speech-language pathology and ethnolinguistics have worked to gain knowledge about typical and atypical language patterns of African American children who are identified as African American English (AAE) dialect speakers. Much progress had been made, but limitations in this field of knowledge have persisted, especially for AA children who demonstrate variable use of AAE, presumably through the process of assimilation in the school setting. Therefore, more information is needed to provide diagnostic markers for deviations in typical language development for variable AAE-MAE speakers. Prior empirical research has found that third- and fourth-grade AAE-speaking children with typical language development overtly …

African American Teacher Recruitment: A Case Study In Oregon, Deborah Miller Allen

Dissertations and Theses

The public school teacher population of the United States is predominantly White, while the demographics of P-12 student population continue to grow increasingly diverse. Across the nation, there has been a call for the recruitment and retention of culturally and linguistically diverse teachers. The state of Oregon passed the Oregon Educator Equity Act, originally called the Oregon Minority Teacher Act, in 1991, and with recent renewed attention, the preparation of more culturally and linguistically diverse teachers in the state has gained prominence. Refocused consideration to the lack of diversity in the teaching workforce is overdue, as evidenced by the low …

The World Watches: How Media Coverage Of American Police Violence Influences The Perspectives Of South Louisiana's Community Members, Jahi J. Mackey

Capstone Collection

Police violence towards African Americans in the United States have gained greater international attention in this decade due to social media and increased media coverage. Alton Sterling’s death in Baton Rouge in the summer of 2016 resulted in local pushes for criminal and racial justice reform. However, international community members were largely absent from both community dialogue and action. Keeping this in mind, my research question is as follows: To what extent does media coverage of American police violence impact the perspectives of south Louisiana’s international community members with regards to African Americans and American society. Through qualitative research methodology, …

Black Matter, Kahlil Irving

Graduate School of Art Theses

History as we know it, is inherited. Racism, fascism, white supremacy, and Eurocentric dominance have been presented as normal and acceptable within our society for many years. This has allowed police officers to execute Black American’s and not be acquitted for their horrendous crimes. As an activist I want to challenge the status quo. As an artist I am interested in investigating how I can present ideas embody or reflect contemporary issues and concerns. Using different colors can aggressively change how an object is perceived. Historical objects hold many important.

I explore many mediums, but an anchor material that I …

The Implications Of A University Of Louisville First Year Experience Course On Student Success Outcomes Based On Race And Gender., Nadine C. Petty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Extant research has shown that across U.S. institutions, the first and second years of college are the most precarious because of high attrition rates. To address this, many colleges and universities implement First Year Experience (FYE) interventions with hopes of increasing first year GPA, retention rates, and overall college success. Over 90% of colleges and universities either offer or make these FYE interventions mandatory for their first-year/first-time freshmen. There is a large body of research regarding the association of FYE interventions and student outcomes, but the findings are mixed. Extant literature also does little to focus on FYE student outcomes …

Measuring Racial Competence In Athletic Academic Support Staffs, Aquasia Thornhill

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Critical Race Theory, a theoretical framework that has been gaining much recognition in sport literature, is a useful and beneficial tool in discussing race and racism. To better understand the context in which academic support staff appreciate the functionality and significance of race, the present study measures the racial competence of athletic academic support staffs. This research study explores the need to integrate a model such as Critical Race Theory that promotes “racial competency” among academic support staffs working closely with student-athletes of color, and measures Color-Blind Racial Attitudes that may have effects on the types of interactions individuals are …

Examining The Phenomenon Of Dropping Out Of High School Through The Perspectives And Experiences Of The African American Male, John L. Colbert

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We expect all students to achieve and succeed in school, yet current data shows that 23.6% of African American students in Arkansas drop out of school (Bailey & Dziko, 2008). The African American male high school dropouts are much higher than the number of male dropouts from other ethnic groups. As the researcher reviewed the current data about African American dropouts, it was the impetus behind this study. Although many have discussed and written about African American male dropouts in educational forums, essays, short stories, dissertations, and even movies, few have captured the experiences of the African American males in …

Her-Story: Black, Middle-School Girls Exploring Their Intersectional Identities, Crystal Latanya Edwards

Theses and Dissertations

While intra-racial-group comparisons have lead scholars to argue that Black girls are succeeding academically and therefore require less explicit focus in educational research, there is little literature that focuses on the ways that Black girls’ experiences in formal educational spaces shape their emotional wellbeing and sense of intersectional identity—specifically, from their own perspectives (Paul, 2003; Townsend, Thomas, Neilands, and Jackson, 2010). In recognizing this relative invisibility, my research redirects focus to obstacles that typically go relatively unnoticed and unaddressed. Utilizing focus groups and diary/follow-up interviews as methods, I explore the subjective experience of Black girls within the educational context. Placing …

An Examination Of African American Male Students’ Perceptions Of Academic Success And Their Experiences At The Community College, Shashuna Jenean Gray

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

The focus of this research is the perceptions of academic success held by African American male students attending a community college. Community colleges often serve as the gateway for unprepared, at-risk students. However, this group of students frequently fails to persist and matriculate even after six years of attendance. Understanding the perceptions of academic success within two defined groups of students, pre-enrollment and probationary, would allow community college leaders to efficiently allocate resources to ensure high levels of engagement within the college classroom.

Master's Tools And The Master's House: A Historical Analysis Exploring The Myth Of Educating For Democracy In The United States, Timothy Scott

Doctoral Dissertations

Over the past forty-years, neoliberal education reform policies in the U.S. have spurred significant resistance, often galvanized by claims that such policies undermine public education as a vital institution of U.S. democracy. Within this narrative, many activists call to “save our schools” and return them to a time when public schools served the common good. With these narratives in mind, I explore the foundational and persistent power structures that characterize the U.S. as a means to reveal the fundamental purpose of its public education system. The questions that guide my research include: (1) With an understanding that capitalism, white supremacy, …

On My Grind: Freestyle Rap Practices In Experimental Creative Writing And Composition Pedagogy, Evan Nave

Theses and Dissertations

My work is always necessarily two-headed. Double-voiced. Call-and-response at once. Paranoid self-talk as dichotomous monologue to move the crowd. Part of this has to do with the deep cuts and scratches in my mind. Recorded and remixed across DNA double helixes. Structurally split. Generationally divided. A style and family history built on breaking down.

Evidence of how ill I am.

And then there’s the matter of skin. The material concerns of cultural cross-fertilization. Itching to plant seeds where the grass is always greener. Color collaborations and appropriations. Writing white/out with black art ink. Distinctions dangerously hidden behind backbeats or shamelessly …

A Theory Of Veteran Identity, Travis L. Martin

Theses and Dissertations--English

More than 2.6 million troops have deployed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Still, surveys reveal that more than half feel “disconnected” from their civilian counterparts, and this feeling persists despite ongoing efforts, in the academy and elsewhere, to help returning veterans overcome physical and mental wounds, seek an education, and find meaningful ways to contribute to society after taking off the uniform. This dissertation argues that Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans struggle with reassimilation because they lack healthy, complete models of veteran identity to draw upon in their postwar lives, a problem they’re working through collectively …

The Relationship Between Mainstream Radio Music, Vulgar Lyrics, And Race And The Impact On The Criminal Black Male Stereotype., Deangelo K. Brown

School of Criminal Justice Theses and Dissertations

The criminal Black male stereotype, cemented in early American literature, has been perpetuated in movies, TV shows, and now on mainstream radio. For this study, Billboard song lyrics were analyzed for three main themes—violence, misogyny, and drugs/alcohol. Billboard song rankings are based on digital download sales, radio airplay, and Internet streaming. The researcher found that the songs played on hip hop and rap genre radio stations con-tained lyrics that strongly correlated with the three themes. The researcher also examined whether a relationship existed between artist’s race and lyrics about violence, misogyny, and drugs/alcohol. Black artists comprised 48% of the artists …

The Reflection And Reification Of Racialized Language In Popular Media, Kelly E. Wright

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

This work highlights specific lexical items that have become racialized in specific contextual applications and tests how these words are cognitively processed. This work presents the results of a visual world (Huettig et al 2011) eye-tracking study designed to determine the perception and application of racialized (Coates 2011) adjectives. To objectively select the racialized adjectives used, I developed a corpus comprised of popular media sources, designed specifically to suit my research question. I collected publications from digital media sources such as Sports Illustrated, USA Today, and Fortune by scraping articles featuring specific search terms from their websites. This experiment seeks …

The Spaces Between Us: A Queer<=>Intersectional Analysis Of The Narratives Of Black Gay International Students, Bryan S. Hubain

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The experiences of international students along the lines of race and ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and nationality are virtually unknown. This study utilizes experience-centered narrative inquiry to explore the experiences of Black gay international students, and how they are racialized and sexualized in American higher education. Using a Queer and Intersectional framework, this study highlighted power structures and processes that continue to marginalize Black gay international students in the U.S. and in their home countries. Their narratives reflected significant moments or events that were important to them and how they understand their identities and realities. This study provides a strong foundation …

Exploring The Leadership Experiences Of Minority Women In A Black Greek Letter Sorority, Ashley Nichole Jennings

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative phenomenological research study was designed to explore and reveal the lived experiences of minority women in Black Greek Letter Sororities and their understanding of sorority membership and leadership development following graduation. Data collection was completed using two qualitative streams: online questionnaire and one-on-one interviews. This study will contribute to the discussion of leadership development for Black Greek Letter Sorority members. More specifically, this study focused on the role that a Black sorority has in developing minority female leaders as they matriculate and develop within higher education and simultaneously in the sisterhood. This research study provided suggestions on opportunities …

Teachers' And Parents' Perceptions Of Special Education Referral For African American Students, Darlene Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Patterns of representation of African Americans in K-12 special education programs vary across the United States. A school district in Arizona has a 13% African American population, yet the African American special education representation is 17%. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to generate an understanding of the processes related to special education referral and assignment of African American elementary students as perceived by 7 teachers and 6 parents in the school district. Inductive analysis including open, axial, and selective coding led to the categorization of three themes: complexity in the referral process, inadequate teacher-parent communication and lack …

A Qualitative Exploration Of African American Students' Perceptions Of And Experiences With On-Campus Police, Rishawnda Lenett Archie

Masters Theses

This study examined African American students' perceptions of and experiences with police officers with particular emphasis on campus police in order to determine whether these perceptions and experiences could impact their college experience. Participants were seven African American students from urban areas who attended a midsize university in the rural Midwest during the fall 2017 semester, and who had some interaction with law enforcement. Data was collected from one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Questions were structured to elicit participants' direct or indirect prior experiences with police officers, their perceptions of police officers and campus police, and tacit impact that these experiences and …

Elementary Teacher Knowledge Of And Practices For Teaching Reading To African American Students, Camille Jacqueline Little

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

State standardized tests results indicated that between 2012 and 2016, fewer African American students at a rural, Title I elementary school met state standards in reading compared with other racial/ethnic groups of students. A gap in practice existed because the school and district had not conducted studies to understand teacher knowledge and practice as they related to teaching reading to African American students. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to address the problem and gap in practice by exploring elementary teacher knowledge and understanding of the learning needs in reading among African American students. Tomlinson's theory of differentiated …

Spiritual Leadership: Achieving Positive Health Outcomes In African-American Christian Churches, Cynthia Bracey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, African-American residents are an underserved population with evidence of higher health disparities than those associated with any other race, contributing to escalating health care costs. Despite the absence of health promotion and wellness training, pastors in predominately Black churches accept the responsibility for addressing more than the spiritual needs of their church members. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory research study was to explore the perspectives of African-American Christian pastors on giving health guidance and their lived experiences as health promotion advocates. A total of 10 African-American Christian pastors were voluntarily recruited from 3 southern …

The Campus Ministry And The African American College Students' Experience: A Case Study, Tania Lacora Ward

Masters Theses

African Americans surpass other ethnicities in their level of spiritual and religious engagement (Johnson, Elbert-Avilla, &Tulsky, 2005). This is particularly true for African American college students. This engagement though, may be especially important in providing African American students a path to academic success. According to Donahoo and Caffey (2010) "African American students remain committed to church involvement and religious practice, in part, due to the range of individual benefits and supports that those opportunities provide" (p. 79). This study investigated the role of spirituality in African American college students' achievement; to understand how and why they become involved, and how …

An Analysis Of Black Undergraduate Students' Social Activism Through Social Media Usage, Tayla Richards

Masters Theses

Social media has become a tool for college students to engage in social activism. Black undergraduate students is one population that actively utilize social media's impact as illustrated through recent activist movements and demonstrations within university communities. This study sought to explore and analyze the ways that Black undergraduate students utilize social media platforms in general and for activism. The researcher conducted one-on-one interviews with three Black undergraduate students and analyzed their posts on each of their frequently used social media platforms in order to study how their personal narratives were connected to their social media use.

Results showed that …

Factors For Academic Success Among African-American Men: A Phenomenological Study, Samuel R. Williams

Doctoral Dissertations

Academic success among African men has increased but many African-American men continue to fall behind the academic achievements of their Caucasian male counterparts. African-American men who achieve academic success have been marginalized in research that primarily focuses on reporting deficit or negative factors that hinder and not promote academic growth. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify environmental, social, and socioeconomic factors that were perceived to contribute to the academic success of African-American men in secondary and post-secondary institutions. The researcher used the Ecological Model of Human Development (EMHD) to identify factors and which systems had the greatest …

Access To Higher Education For Black Men: A Narrative Perspective, Kayla R. Branch

Masters Theses

A college degree is important because it provides opportunities for graduates to become educated in a field of study that they can start a career in. There is a large underrepresentation of Black male students in higher education. This lack of representation reflects the lack of professional Black men in our society and limits the number of Black role models these men have can look up tot. The purpose of the qualitative study is to identify what influences Black men to attend college and what challenges they may face getting admitted to college. It also examined how these men transition …

An Exploration Of The Factors That Contribute To The Success Of African American Professionals In Stem-Related Careers, Yolande Kristine Alexander Nealy

Wayne State University Dissertations

ABSTRACT

AN EXPLORATION OF THE FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE SUCCESS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN PROFESSIONALS IN STEM-RELATED CAREERS

by

YOLANDE KRISTINE ALEXANDER NEALY

May 2017

Advisor: Maria M. Ferreira

Major: Curriculum and Instruction; Science Education

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

This study examined factors that contribute to the success of African American professionals in STEM careers. Data were collected through a survey from 40 participants and in-depth interviews with eight of them. The survey was used to explore the participants’ educational experiences from elementary school through college and on their STEM-related careers, whereas the individual interviews were used to gain insights …

Queens Speak - A Youth Participatory Action Research Project: Exploring Critical Post-Traumatic Growth Among Black Girls Within The School To Prison Pipeline, Stacey Michelle Ault

Doctoral Dissertations

A gap exists in both research and practice when it comes to issues related to girls within the school-to-prison pipeline. Girls are also often ignored in the educational literature about trauma. Educators tend to take a deficit approach toward youth experiencing trauma and often reinforce trauma through discriminatory and exclusionary disciplinary practices. Using a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) methodology centered in the lives of Black girls, with an intentional focus on their agency and growth, this study educated, coached, and supported a research team called Queens Speak. The primary purpose of this qualitative study was to elevate the voices …