Education Commons^™

Transformation Zone Schools And School Change Processes: Experiences Of Families, Jesse Strong

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

AbstractFor many years schools located within concentrated areas of poverty in an urban school county in south Florida have experienced alarmingly high teacher turnover rates and alarmingly low academic performance scores. In 2015, in a lauded exposé printed by the Tampa Bay Times, five schools, all of which would go on to become part of the Transformation Zone initiative, were featured in a series of articles, entitled The Failure Factories (Fitzpatrick et al., 2015). The purpose of this study was to explore how school policy and process changes enacted from these articles may have affected those students and families. Historically, …

School Finance, Race, And Reparations, Preston C. Green Iii, Bruce D. Baker, Joseph O. Oluwole

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

In this article, we explain why and how school finance reform should be a part of a reparations program for Black Americans. This article proceeds in six parts. Part I explains how Black-white school funding disparities occurred during the separate-but-equal era. Part II discusses how these funding disparities have occurred in the aftermath of the Brown decision. Parts III and IV explore why school desegregation and school finance litigation, respectively, have failed to remedy these gaps. Part V lays out a reparations framework that state legislatures could adopt to provide restitution to schools and taxpayers harmed by state policies creating …

African American Freshman Students’ Perceptions Of Student Persistence At A Historically Black College, Callie Taylor Herd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study was the low retention of African American freshmen at a private Historically Black College. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to learn what factors influence an at-risk freshman student’s decision to persist or leave college so that interventions related to positive change can be proposed. Tinto's student integration model and Bean’s causal model of student attrition were the conceptual frameworks that grounded this study. The research question focused on African American freshman students’ experiences that influenced their ability to persist. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 12 purposely selected participants representing first-year students …

A Name Change May Be A Start, But It Is Not Enough, Leah D. Williams

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

Since the broadcast killing of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers on May 25, all levels of government, and institutions of every kind, have scrambled with breakneck speed to confront their own ties to America’s most deeply entrenched demons: White supremacy and systematic racism. Washington and Lee has certainly not been exempt from this reckoning. A majority of its faculty and student body have already passed resolutions calling for the removal of Robert E. Lee’s name from the university. As a direct descendent of those enslaved by the school, I commend these resolutions; yet, I strongly offer that a …

White Saviors, Brandon Hasbrouck

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

It is time for Washington and Lee University to drop both George Washington and Robert E. Lee from the University name. The predominantly White faculty at Washington and Lee recently announced that it will petition the Board of Trustees to remove Lee from the University name. This is the first time in Washington and Lee’s history that the faculty has drafted such a petition. It is worth exploring why the faculty has decided to make a collective statement on Lee now and why the faculty has not included a demand to drop Washington in their petition. The answer is simple—it …

Learning From Their Journey: Black Women In Graduate Health Professions Education, Marcia Lynne Parker

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

While numerous efforts have been made across different educational contexts aimed towards increasing demographic diversity in STEM education, career decision-making content related to the potential pursuit of health professions education has failed to reach all students. Thus, there is a need for a more consistent and targeted sharing of information, including from the graduate level (where students must meet detailed requirements for specific healthcare disciplines), down to the community college and high school levels where students often make life-changing career-direction decisions without sufficient information to inform these decisions. At the other end of the spectrum, the conventional learning experiences in …

Motivation Towards Success: A Qualitative Comparative Case Study Illustrating The Differences In Motivating Factors In Achievement Between Low Ses High Achieving And Low Achieving African American High School Females, Ashanti C. Friels

Theses and Dissertations

For years educators have made attempts to explain the effects of poverty on student achievement. Many have set out to explore methods for better helping students with limited resources succeed academically, thus bridging the achievement gap between these students and their financially stable counterparts. The ultimate combination of poverty and race/ethnicity define major sources of disadvantage in educational outcomes (Maruyama, 2003). Viewing this from a racial standpoint places African American students at the receiving end of low achievement as a result of low socioeconomic status.

The missing thread that could potentially pull this together exists among the population of impoverished …

Gifted And Unserved: Evaluating The Effectiveness Of The Promise Scholar Program On Reducing The Racial Segregation Of Gifted Education, Reby Helland

Ed.D. Dissertations in Practice

There is a crisis in gifted education across our nation. Gifted programs are disproportionally identifying and servicing middle-class White students while systematically ignoring minority students. The Promise Scholar Program was developed by the Kent School District as a method to tackle the underrepresentation of minority students in their gifted education program. This elementary talent development model places promising minority students into gifted classrooms, exposing the participants to advanced and accelerated curriculum. This study sought to determine the effectiveness of this program as way to increase the identification of minority students for gifted education. Through the analysis and comparison of student …

Suburban Leaders Who Have Made A Difference: Jose Torres, José M. Torres

José M. Torres

This week we are featuring Dr. Jose Torres, the president of Aurora-based Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. Torres was superintendent of Elgin Area School District U-46 from 2008 to 2014 and has served in various leadership roles, including regional superintendent/area instruction officer in Chicago Public Schools, and as the only superintendent on the Federal Equity and Excellence Commission of the United States Department of Education. Torres was one of three educators nationwide to receive the 2014 Dr. Effie H. Jones Humanitarian Award from the AASA, the school superintendents association.

Education, Crystal C. Gray

Eddie Mabry Diversity Award

Education is a spoken word poem that explores many aspects of the African American struggle within (self-knowledge). It starts with an African American college student who is disappointed with the lack of courses about her culture. Most curricula in the United States tend to be from a Eurocentric perspective, leaving out a multitude of information about people of color. All groups of people of color have unique experiences, however, African Americans have the most known (or perhaps I should say, unknown) history. The standard explanation of their existence is often limited to the start of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, when …

Home-Based Parent-Child Therapy In Low-Income African American, Caucasian, And Latino Families: A Comparative Examination Of Treatment Outcomes, Brittany L. Gresl, Robert A. Fox, Alicia Fleischmann

Robert Fox

This study examined parent and child treatment outcomes for a home-based Parent-Child Therapy (PCT) program for 66 children from families living in poverty. African American, Caucasian, and Latino families were examined to determine if an evidence-based program would produce similar results across different ethnic groups. The results showed that caregivers across the three ethnic groups reported improved child challenging behavior, increased positive parent-child interactions, improved parental expectations, higher levels of nurturing, and less reliance on verbal and corporal punishment as a form of discipline. Practical implications for these results are discussed.

Trait Emotional Intelligence, Perceived Discrimination, And Academic Achievement Among African American And Latina/O High School Students: A Study Of Academic Resilience, Nick R. Abel

Nick R. Abel

The goal of academic resilience research is to identify factors and processes which lead to academic success among groups of students generally found to be at-risk, including those of African American and Latina/o descent. The present study investigated a possible risk factor (perceptions of discrimination), a possible protective factor (emotional intelligence), and the role of gender in predicting academic achievement (as measured by high school GPA) in a sample (N = 79) of African American and Latina/o high school students attending one high school in Minnesota. Through the use of multiple regression, neither emotional intelligence nor perceptions of discrimination was …

A Grounded Theory Of The Influence Of Black Greek-Lettered Organizations On The Persistence Of African Americans At A Predominantly White Institution, Donald Mitchell Jr., Ph.D.

Executives, Administrators, & Staff Publications

For decades, scholars have documented that predominantly White institutions (PWIs) are not fully meeting the needs of African American students, as these students have reported social isolation, discrimination, and low social integration (Feagin, Vera, & Imani, 1996; Fleming, 1984; Harper, 2013). While the experiences of African American students at PWIs have been well documented, further research on best practices to retain and graduate African American students at PWIs is needed. One particular area where further research is merited concerns African Americans’ involvement in Black Greek-lettered organizations (BGLOs).

A Systematic Review Of Research On Successful African American Students In Mathematics: Implications For Seminole High School, Trung Vong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to synthesize the counter-narratives of mathematically successful African American students. The gap in educational achievement between African American and White students is well documented in the United States, especially in mathematics education. Although Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test scores have increased for both groups at Seminole High School, the gap has remained over 30% for nearly a decade. Most research on this topic has focused on the reasons why African American students fail to achieve. Various individual, social, and organizational factors have been suggested. However, a growing body of research has highlighted the stories of …

The Role Of Invitational Theory On Minority Student Enrollment In Advanced Placement Courses, Jason Mcdonald

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The number of students enrolling in Advanced Placement (AP) classes has been increasing in Florida and across the nation over the last decade. However, this trend is not happening for traditionally underserved groups of students such as African Americans, Hispanics, and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. These minority groups are underrepresented in AP classes, while Asian and White students are overrepresented. This trend is alarming because there are qualified minority students who have a great chance of being successful in AP classes according to AP Potential data. For some reason though, these qualified minority and low income students are nevertheless …

Comprehension Of Science Text By African American Fifth And Sixth Grade Students: The Effects Of A Metalinguistic Approach, Karen Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Scientific literacy has been at the forefront of science education reform for the past 20 years, particularly for students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds (Lee et. al., 2005; Pearson, Moje & Greenleaf, 2010). The ability to extract meaning from text is an important skill. Yet many students struggle with effectively comprehending what they read, particularly in content areas of science, math and history. According to the National Assessment Educational Progress (NAEP, 2013) report, adolescents are not acquiring advanced literacy skills needed to succeed in the workplace and academic setting. Literacy experts have called for the use of disciplinary …

Home-Based Parent-Child Therapy In Low-Income African American, Caucasian, And Latino Families: A Comparative Examination Of Treatment Outcomes, Brittany L. Gresl, Robert A. Fox, Alicia Fleischmann

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

This study examined parent and child treatment outcomes for a home-based Parent-Child Therapy (PCT) program for 66 children from families living in poverty. African American, Caucasian, and Latino families were examined to determine if an evidence-based program would produce similar results across different ethnic groups. The results showed that caregivers across the three ethnic groups reported improved child challenging behavior, increased positive parent-child interactions, improved parental expectations, higher levels of nurturing, and less reliance on verbal and corporal punishment as a form of discipline. Practical implications for these results are discussed.

The Influences Of Race And Gender On The Leadership Of African American Female Principals Of Predominantly White Elementary Schools, Shauna Angelina Carter

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

No abstract provided.

Trait Emotional Intelligence, Perceived Discrimination, And Academic Achievement Among African American And Latina/O High School Students: A Study Of Academic Resilience, Nick R. Abel

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

The goal of academic resilience research is to identify factors and processes which lead to academic success among groups of students generally found to be at-risk, including those of African American and Latina/o descent. The present study investigated a possible risk factor (perceptions of discrimination), a possible protective factor (emotional intelligence), and the role of gender in predicting academic achievement (as measured by high school GPA) in a sample (N = 79) of African American and Latina/o high school students attending one high school in Minnesota. Through the use of multiple regression, neither emotional intelligence nor perceptions of discrimination was …

The Great Migration: Charter School Satisfaction Among African American Parents, Monica Almond

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

This study addresses the reasons that African American students are disproportionately enrolled in public charter schools by surveying parents of African American charter school students at a small public charter middle school in California. The researcher utilized a quantitative research design by collecting survey data from 71 charter school parents. The findings indicate the following reasons that African American parents remove their students from traditional public schools: their desire for a safer schooling environment, higher expectations for their students, individualized attention, and a college-going atmosphere. Recommendations are made for traditional public school leaders to consider the implementation of these practices.

A Comparison Of Students' And Parents' Mathematics Attitudes And Achievement At A Private Historically Black University, Kristopher Childs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research was to compare students’ and their parents’ mathematical attitudes using the Attitudes Towards Mathematics Instrument (ATMI). The sample consisted of 476 newly-enrolled students and 263 parents attending the New Student Orientation and Leadership program at a private historically black university. The sample was predominantly African American, with 96% of the students and 95% of the parents identifying themselves as African American. The ATMI total score and subscale scores of self-confidence, value, enjoyment, and motivation were explored to determine if there was a relationship between the mathematics attitudes of students enrolled at a private historically black …

The Relationship Among African American Students' Sat Reasoning Test Scores And Participation In Advanced Placement Courses In One Large Urban School District In A Southern State In 2010-2011, Donald E. Fennoy Ii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to provide insight into the relationship of Advanced Placement (AP) participation on closing the achievement gap between African American students and other ethnic/racial groups (White, Hispanic, and Asian) in a large urban school district in a southern state. Two major issues were considered: (a) the impact of high school student Advanced Placement participation on SAT Reasoning Test scores and (b) the correlation between increased high school student Advanced Placement participation and closing the academic achievement gap between African American and other ethnic/racial groups. A significant difference was found to exist in the mean SAT …

A Work In Progress: The Lived Experiences Of Black Male Undergraduates At One Predominantly White University, Wayne D. Lewis, Steven Thurston Oliver, Jennifer L. Burris

Kentucky Journal of Higher Education Policy and Practice

This exploratory study examines the lived academic and social experiences of current black male undergraduate students, including their perceived barriers and their strategies for persistence and achieving success. Study participants included black male undergraduate students at one predominantly white, four-year, public research university. Data collection methods included two focus group interviews with a purposeful sample of 12 undergraduate, black male students. Students reported that explicit and implicit messages of racial hatred have contributed to a general campus atmosphere of discomfort for black male students. The students described an environment where they continually encounter racial micro aggressions and prejudice. Students reported …

African American Eighth-Grade Female Students' Perceptions And Experiences As Learners Of Science Literacy, Sharan Renee' Crim

Middle-Secondary Education and Instructional Technology Dissertations

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (2000) reports an achievement gap between male and female students and majority and minority students in science literacy. Rutherford and Ahlgren (2000) describe a scientifically literate person as one who is aware that science, mathematics, and technology are interdependent human enterprises with strengths and limitations; understands key concepts and principles of science; is familiar with the natural world and recognizes both its diversity and unity; and uses scientific knowledge and scientific ways of thinking for individual and social purposes. The purpose of this qualitative case study research was to investigate African American eighth grade …

Reaching For The Stars: Examples Of African American And Latino Imsa Graduates, Marti Guarin

Examples of Student Diversity

Searching for the secrets in the heart of the atom, or in the genetic code that makes each of us unique, IMSA's African-American and Hispanic alumni are extending the frontiers of science. They are achieving and contributing in many fields, engineering Illinois products, researching disease, teaching Illinois students, and improving Illinois technology.

The vignettes give an extended look at several alumni, and the snapshots give a glimpse of more. Here our underrepresented alumni tell how IMSA prepared them for academic and personal life, and gave them opportunities to develop tools for success.

Series Editor Cathy Veal, Vice President for Advancement, …

African American Student Code-Switching In Freshman English Composition, Melanie A. Lewis

Master's Theses

Digitized thesis