Education Commons^™

Counterstories Of High School Black Males And Their Experiences Of The Mainstream Curricula, Kayla Turner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is an inquiry into the experiences Black males have with the current high school curricula. Theoretically drawing on critical race theory (Bell, 1992; Delgado, 1995; Dixson & Rousseau, 2006; Ladson-Billings, 2009; Solórzano & Yosso, 2001, 2004), I explore how high school Black males’ suggestions and ideas can be used to shift the current curricula to a curricula that is more culturally sustaining. I challenge deficit research on Black male learners by focusing on the educational successes of Black males. Methodologically, I utilize counterstorytelling (Delgado, 2017; Solórzano & Yosso, 2002) to illustrate the experiences of three academically successful high school …

Pipeline To The Casket: Counter-Stories Of Black K-12 Teachers In Georgia Against The Decision To Arm Teachers, Latoya D. Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Across the country, policies that allow teachers to carry guns in K-12 schools have become more prevalent. Despite opposition from teachers, parents, and other stakeholders, conservative-minded lawmakers, supported by the National Rifle Association, insist without evidence that arming teachers prevents gun violence in schools (Crews et al., 2013; Keller, 2014; Weiler & Armenta, 2014). Additionally, these policies do not consider the effects of systemic racism on the safety and security of Black students. Supporting such policies does not take into account the insights and perspectives of the communities most affected by these types of policies. The purpose of this study …

The Rose Who Grew From Concrete: A Black Female Administrator's Perspective Of The Public School Experience For Black Girls Who Attend A Predominantly White Middle School In Southeast Georgia, Latashia S. Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the educational experiences of Black girls who attended a predominantly White school in Southeast Georgia from the perspective of a Black female administrator. Using Critical Race Theory (e.g. Bell, 1987, 1992, 1995; Delgado & Stefancic, 2001; Solorzano & Yosso, 2001) and Black Feminist Thought (e.g. Hill Collins, 2000; hooks, 1984/2000) as theoretical frameworks and memoir (Angelou, 1969/2009; Hurston, 1996) and fiction (Bell, 1992; Morrison, 1970/1993) as methodology, I explore ways in which Black girls are oppressed when they attend majority White public schools.

Six meanings emerged from this inquiry: (1) Writing my memoir has allowed me to …

Carving My Own Bench By The Road: Examining The Seats Of Power For Black Women Educators Through Playwriting, Dawn C. Whipple

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In my dissertation inquiry, I explore the seats of power held by Black women educators in secondary education public schools in Georgia. Theoretically building upon such works as Black feminist thought (Hill Collins, 2000, e.g., hooks, 1981;), womanism (Walker, 2004; Phillips, 2006), critical race theory (Bell, 1992; Delgado, 1989), and engaged pedagogy (hooks, 1994), I create a play explore the oppression experienced by Black women educators who empower themselves for the benefit of students, in some cases abdicate their power, and in a few instances use their power to oppress others (Freire, 1970). The play is crafted based upon government …

A Study Of Black Teachers’ Perceptions Of The Academic Achievement Of Black Male Students In Elementary Schools In Rural Georgia, Marshall F. Aker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Presently, numerous research studies, articles and reports have shown troubling outcomes regarding the education of Black male students in the United States (Darensbourg, Perez, & Blake, 2010; Lewis, Simon, Uzzell, Horwitz, & Casserly, 2010; Prager, 2011). The performance of Black males on national achievement assessments is lower in comparison to the performance of most other subgroups. The high school graduation rate for Black males in the United States is below most other ethnic subgroups (Schotts Foundation, 2015). Although various strategies are often implemented at the national, state, and local level in attempts to address achievement disparities, these efforts have not …

Young, Gifted, Black, And Blocked: A Critical Inquiry Of Barriers That Hinder Black Students' Participation In Gifted And Advanced Placement Programs, Elizabeth Anne Evans

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This inquiry explores the underrepresentation of Black students in the Gifted and Advanced Placement (AP) Program from the perspective of the student. This study focused primarily on the barriers students perceived that hindered their participation. In addition, I explored the role teachers and guidance counselors play in Black students’ decisions to enroll or drop out of AP classes, and how the history and institution of gifted educations has aid and excluded Black students. Five Black high school students, four male, and one female, were interviewed.

Theoretically, my study was grounded in two distinct inquiries; Critical Theory (Kincheloe & McLaren, 2008) …

African-American Males, African-American Female Principals, & The Opportunity Gap, Jennifer N. Dunbar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the past decade, research has been devoted to bridging the gap in academics and opportunity among African-American males. Missing from the dialogue however, are the voices of African-American female leaders. This voice will not only play an instrumental part in mediating cultural misunderstandings that occur in the classroom, but it will also facilitate a much needed conversation in understanding gender and race by displaying different views on educational leadership. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of the opportunity gap among African-American female principals in Title I schools to raise the presence of their voice …

African American Teenage Males Speak Out: The Influence Of African American Males On The Academic Achievement, Identities, And Lives Of African American Teenage Males, Otha J. Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the influence of the presence of or lack for African American males on the academic achievements, identities, and lives of five African American teenage males who live in middle Georgia, a predominately White rural area. Theoretically, I draw upon the works of Derrick Bell (1987, 1992, 1999), Pedro Noguera (2003, 2008), Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic (2000, 2012), Gloria-Ladson Billings (2001, 2003, 2009, 2013) and William F. Tate (2006), Cornel West (1993, 2001, 2008), Carter G. Woodson (1933, 2010), W. E. B. DuBois (1903, 1996), and others on critical race theory and William Watkins (2005, 2006) on …

The Voices Of Reason: Counterstories Of The Urbanization Of A Suburban Black School In Georgia, Shana Hunt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This inquiry explores the discrepancy of educational opportunities in a Black suburban public school near Atlanta, Georgia. Predominately Black suburban schools in the South have become increasingly similar to Black urban schools. Both Black urban and suburban schools have become places of complacency for teachers and students. There is an incessant fluctuation of teachers and an increase in low expectations for academic success in Black suburban schools. Both Black urban and suburban schools have limited funding while White schools, many times less than ten miles away, experience the benefits of magnet programs, cutting-edge technology and rigorous curricula. Many Black suburban …

Institutional Factors Contributing To The Under-Representation Of African American Women In Higher Education: Perceptions Of Women In Leadership Positions, Kimberly Ann Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

he purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine the lived experiences of African American women who have obtained senior leadership positions in Predominantly White Higher Education Institutions. Data were collected through open-ended, phenomenological-oriented interviews with 12 African American women holding senior level positions in both academic and student affairs in the north and southeast parts of the United States. This study focused on the perceived institutional barriers that have contributed to the under-representation of African American women in higher education senior administration and strategies that were used to overcome perceived barriers. Critical Race Theory was used as a …

Stitched From The Soul: An Auto/Biographical Inquiry Into One Black Woman Administrator's Voice And Vision, Sonya D. Jefferson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Author's abstract: This study is an auto/biographical inquiry into my voice and vision as a Black woman administrator. I explore the lives of four generations of Black women in my family. Each of these women -- Hattie C. Wilcher (my great grandmother), Connie W. Duggan (my mother), Danielle R. Lowe (my daughter), and I -- have studied and/or taught in public schools in the U. S. south. I explore how my family narrative parallels community and historical narratives and contests the meta narrative in existing literature. I explore these narratives through the lenses of Critical Race Theory and Black Feminist …