Education Commons^™

Examining Motivators That Influenced African American And Latinx Students To Degree Completion Of A Doctoral Program, Travis L. Stokes

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to provide an investigation of the motivators that influence African American and Latinx students to complete a doctoral program. There are numerous studies that show data on low enrollment and retention of this population. Further, there is ample evidence of attrition, but there is a need to hear their voices share the experiences of successful doctoral graduates from this population.

The researcher posited systemic racism in education caused low enrollment and graduation rates among African American and Latinx students. Then, an interview protocol was developed to elicit responses regarding what caused the persistence to complete …

An Exploration Of A Researcher-Instructor Partnership In Implicit Racial Bias Awareness And Mitigation In College Stem Classrooms, Jacqueline Johnson Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

Seventy-six percent of all minority students who enter college with declared majors in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) do not graduate with STEM degrees. Black students represent 40% of minority attrition from STEM. Implicit racial bias was indicated as a contributor to the challenges faced by Black students. The purpose of this study was to explore whether a researcher-instructor partnership brought awareness to and the potential for mitigation of implicit racial bias in course delivery and instructor interactions with Black students in STEM classes. A case study design was used over three phases to gather survey, observational, and interview …

Roots And Webs And Nets And Branches And Bulletin Boards And Banners And Newsletters And Mutual Aid Text Threads And Kin And Caretakers And Porches And Poems Of Today And Spaces Of Survival, Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo

Theses and Dissertations

As I welcome Richmond, VA into my family, I find myself needing to make roots and webs and nets and branches that ground me, that place myself as a Black, queer, mixed race, artist, activist, educator, storyteller, and cultural worker in this city. I am called to the streets before I am called to my studio. I question what it means to be a part of an institution that is slowly eating this city up. I become a story collector. I need to know where I am and whose land I now call home.

Doctor-Patient Communication: The Experiences Of Black Caribbean Women Patients With Diabetes, Rosanne Paul-Bruno

Theses and Dissertations

This applied dissertation was designed to examine the verbal and non-verbal communication experiences of Black Caribbean diabetic women patients with their doctors, in order to provide a better understanding of the essential aspects of doctor- patient communication and their experiences as they managed their condition. Black Caribbean women have been disproportionately impacted by medical conditions such as diabetes. It has been a documented fact that minorities experience disparities in the health care system at different levels and doctor-patient communication is no exception. Poor doctor-patient communication has been known to hinder patients’ health outcomes, and therefore warrants such studies to increase …

Respect And The Role It Plays In Explaining The Disproportionate Number Of African-Americans Incarcerated, Tina B. Craddock

Theses and Dissertations

This was a quantitative research study that examined the roles respect and self-esteem play within the African American population. There is no disagreement among social scientists that there is a disproportionate number of African Americans incarcerated. This study attempts to offer one possible explanation. This was a quasi-replication of a study conducted nearly two decades ago using African American adolescent males between the ages of 14 to 18. This research study identified a sample population consisting of African American males and females between the ages of 18 and 50. A cross-sectional analysis was utilized using convenience sampling. The research instruments …

Motivators And Barriers To Health Behaviors In African American Women, Teresa M. Depratt

Theses and Dissertations

Women who identify as African American are at particularly high risk of developing obesity and associated health concerns such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancers. Eating healthfully and engaging in a minimal amount of physical activity are known to be both preventative and curative. Based on review of research, this study investigated potential constructs of Motivators and Barriers to health-supporting behaviors as they are perceived in African American women. The study also constructed a novel scale, Motivators and Barriers to Health Behaviors (MBHB), which intended to capture some constructs of each domain via two surveys. Also of interest was if …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Institutional Factors Influencing African-American Male Involvement In Undergraduate Student Organizations, John Mark Davenport

Theses and Dissertations

Students attending colleges and universities who have purposeful opportunities to interact with peers and faculty about educational matters and who are challenged with consistent encouragement report higher levels of satisfaction with their collegiate experience and have higher persistence rates than students who do not receive these opportunities (Kuh et al., 1991; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991; Schroeder & Mable, 1994). In higher education, African-American males are neither retained from admission through graduation at a rate comparable to majority students nor African-American women (AASCU, 1988; ACE, 2008; Harper, 2012). In this study I set out to determine which institutional factors influence African-American …

Listen. I Have Something To Say! A Critical Inquiry Into The Educational And Socio-Cultural Context Of African-American Male Student Achievement In An Urban School Setting, Patricia P. Watson

Theses and Dissertations

There is a general awareness that a substantial gap exists between the educational achievement of the White and African-American populations in our nation. Several prominent researchers have attempted to address this issue of the achievement gap. Kinjufu (1985), with his seminal work on the fourth-grade failure syndrome, Noguera (2008), Ferguson (2001), Tatum (1997), Payne (2005), and Gordon and Gordon (2006) all point to issues of race and income. Leary (2005) offers a theory of multigenerational trauma; Fordham and Ogbu (1986) present their theory of oppositional culture; while Sewell (1998), Gurian (2005), Kozol (1991), and Sax (2007) suggest that the gap …

A Cultural Lens Into The Story Underneath: A Resource Guide Of African American Art, Artists And Culture For Art Education, Valerie Graves

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study is to create a qualitative resource guide of African American culture, art, and artists for an art education curriculum. This project encompasses four main themes to reflect an area of African American culture via a work of art created by an African American artist. These themes are, Family with the sub themes African American Male, Matriarch, and Children; Spirit with the sub themes Faith, Spirituality, and Inspiration; Identity with the sub themes Artist’s Voice, Triumph, and Hope and Vision; Community with the sub themes Ancestors, Social Issues, and Cultural Voice. These themes constitute …

Institutional Quilombos? Black Studies In Brazil And The United States, Dalila Negreiros

Theses and Dissertations

The literature on Black Studies, Afro-Brazilian Studies and Comparative Race Relations between Brazil and the United State has been dedicated to the study of Black activism and education. However, there is a gap in comparative studies focused on Black Studies units in the United States and Afro-Brazilian studies in Brazil. The dissertation “Institutional Quilombos? Black Studies in Brazil and the United States” investigates how Black Studies centers and departments in Brazil and the United States exist, survive and act politically as educational and anti-racist spaces in six different institutions: the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee; Harvard University; Temple University; the …