Education Commons^™

Impacting African American Student Achievement In The Middle School Stem Classroom By Teaching Mathematics Through Arts Integration And Design Thinking, Robert Lippert, Tjuannia R. Seals

Dissertations

Middle school is a transitional period in which many students experience content-specific teachers, travel between classrooms, and explore extracurricular activity options for the first time. Historically, African American middle school students have not fared well in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) on standardized assessments, performing significantly below their Caucasian counterparts in mathematics and science. From the beginning of their academic careers, a lack of access to quality teachers, excessive use of direct instruction strategies, and a lack of resources in their school communities, contribute to their overall apathy towards the subject matter and factor into their underperformance. As a …

Pathways To Success For African American Students At Predominately White Institutions: A Qualitative Study Exploring Academic Readiness, Jeffery Jackson

Dissertations

African American students’ completion of post-secondary education is among the lowest of any other subgroup in higher education (Banks & Dohy, 2019; Broom, 2018; Carter- Francique et al., 2015; Cokley et al., 2016; Dulabaum, 2016; Karkouti, 2016; Moragne-Patterson & Barnett, 2017; Strayhorn, 2017). This study focuses on addressing this problem by exploring the academic and social experiences of African American college students who persisted at a regional predominantly White institution (PWI) in the Midwest and secure information that can be used to improve their graduation rates.

To address this issue, this study is designed to explore initiatives and practices that …

Teacher Expectations Of Students In A Predominantly African American School District, Durand Duron Payton

Dissertations

Wong and Wong (2004) reported teachers‟ perceptions could become a self-fulfilling prophecy when addressing the students. According to Haycock (2001) once teachers‟ perceptions had developed, even if they were inaccurate, teachers would begin to act as if their beliefs were factual. By acting as though the beliefs were real, teachers could essentially cause their perceptions to materialize into the expectations of students. The purpose of this study is to explore teachers‟ expectations of students in a predominantly African American school district. Ferguson (1998) had considered the behaviors in which teachers' perceptions of the students‟ impact their expectations towards the students. …

Persistence Among African-American Males In The Honors College, Johnell Roxann Anderson Goins

Dissertations

Retaining African American students, specifically African American males, is an issue that plagues the American higher education system. Research shows that African American male students are the lowest represented group in the gifted studies programs (Ford, 2010). Lockie and Burke (1999); Chen and DeJardins (2010) and Bell (2010a) found that barriers to African American male retention in higher education include but are not limited to the following: financial assistance, the battle of the two-self concept, lack of mentoring/advising, low expectations from faculty, and alienation. In an effort to remove these barriers, institutions have implemented retention strategies such as more faculty …

The Impact Of Teacher Demographics On The Overrepresentation Of African American Males In Special Education In A Coastal School District, Myrick Lamon Nicks

Dissertations

African American students make up 17% of the public school population nationwide. Ironically, 41% percent of students in special education are African American (Kunjufu, 2005). The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of teacher demographics on the overrepresentation of African American males in special education in a coastal school district. Furthermore, this study examined the perception of teachers at different grade levels to see if there was a difference between elementary and secondary teachers’ perceptions. According to the literature, African American males are overrepresented in special education placement throughout the United States’ public school systems. Therefore this …

Gender, Mathematics, Reading Comprehension And Science Reasoning As Predictors Of Science Achievement Among African-American Students At A Historical Black College Or University, Consuella Artiemese Davis

Dissertations

This study investigated predictors that influence the science achievement of African-American non-science majors in a Physical Science class. The population consisted of male and female college students enrolled in Physical Science courses at a historical black college or university (HBCU) located in the southeastern portion of the United States. A personal data information sheet was administered to 120 participants during the Fall of 2008. The personal data information sheet consisted of questions pertaining to the high school courses, students took in math, language arts and science. It also consisted of basic background information. Students also gave written consent for their …