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Shaping Black Boys: Exploring School Construction Of Masculinity And The Impact On Black Male Scholastic Perceptions Toward Academic Achievement And Schooling, Kisha V. Jenkins

Dissertations

African American boys face unique challenges. They are more likely to be suspended or expelled from school than any other racial group (Losen, 2015). Equally disturbing, African American male students are largely suspended for more subjective and ambiguous reasons such as appearing “threatening or disrespectful” (Verdugo, 2007, p. 60). Research on teacher bias in the classroom has indicated that “African American males are generally viewed as possessing characteristics incongruent with academic success (e.g., laziness), valuing athletics over academic accomplishments, and having a propensity toward aggression and violence” (Thomas & Stevenson, 2009, p. 162). These issues experienced by African American males …