Education Commons^™

Hope's Voice: Listening To Urban Youth, Michael Stephen Roth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For several decades, there has been a large gap between the achievement scores of urban youth of color and their white counterparts. This achievement gap persists despite the efforts of educators and policymakers to close it. This descriptive study examined the perceptions of urban youth of color regarding their role in school and the support and barriers they encountered related to academic achievement in school.

Duncan-Andrade (2009) compares schooling in underserved communities to growing roses in concrete. He argues that the conditions of life for urban youth of color are in themselves oppositional forces. He writes that hope is required …

It's About Access: How The Curricular System And Unequal Learning Opportunities Predict The Racial Test Score Gap In Mathematics, Floyd Cobb Ii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This mixed methods study investigates how the design of the curricular system of one Colorado school district contributes the racial test score and racial college preparedness gaps in mathematics. The researcher examined this issue through a mixed methods design using Critical Race Theory (CRT) as the overarching theoretical framework supported by Yosso's (2002) Critical Race Curriculum. For the quantitative portion of the study the researcher utilized the theory of opportunity to learn (OTL) to test the impact of differential access to advanced mathematics content on test score outcomes on the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) and the Colorado ACT (COACT). …

Perceptions Of Race And Academic Success In An Affluent Suburban Middle School, Robyn Ashley Duran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Public school districts across the nation are organizing to eradicate the racial predictability of academic achievement between African American and Hispanic children and their White and Asian peers, (Ferguson, 2001). This phenomenological study was designed to better illuminate the phenomenon of the racial achievement gap in an affluent educational setting. The story of race and academic achievement was told through perceptions held among minority and non-minority parents in an affluent educational setting.

Parents are a large piece of the bedrock which determines the academic success of all students. The role of the parent is particularly important in shaping the academic …

"Courageous Conversations": Rural South Georgia Teachers Reflecting On The Role Of Race And Racism In The Education Of Rural South Georgia Students, Lawanda P. Gillis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Author's abstract: The requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has forced school systems throughout the United States to consider the achievement gap between White students and non-White students, which had not previously been a factor in determining school success for federal and state funding. However, acknowledging the gap is not enough. Schools must move beyond acknowledging the gap to developing strategies to close the gap. A professional development course entitled Courageous Conversations About Race, written by Curtis Linton and Glenn E. Singleton was taught to thirty-seven teachers in a rural South Georgia school system. Eight of …