Education Commons^™

The Digital Divide Through The Lens Of Critical Race Theory: The Digitally Denied, Stacy Gee Hollins

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine African American community college students’ availability to technological resources and how that availability affects their success. In this study, technological resources include access to the internet, software, hardware, technology training, technology support, and community resources. This study included six community college professors and six African American community college students enrolled in a Midwest community college. A major tenet of Critical Race Theory, storytelling, was used to give voice to students who lack sufficient access to technological resources referred to as the digitally denied. Data from this study can create an …

A Hidden Culture Of Carelessness: A Comparative Qualitative Study Of Gender Inequality And Its Implications For African American And South African Black Women Higher Education Administrators, Dawn S. Singleton

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and compare the lived and career experiences of Black women higher education administrators in the United States and South Africa. This comparative study elucidated the women’s experiences while giving voice to Black women, whose experiences and status are often further marginalized under new managerial practices. This research used the theoretical lenses of intersectionality and carelessness, a new managerial practice within higher education, to uncover the challenges, opportunities, and contexts experienced by these women within gendered, racialized organizational structures and practices. A major finding of the research is that Black women shared …

Dreams Deferred: A Critical Narrative Analysis Of African American Males In Pursuit Of Higher Education, Martinique Starnes

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

Many studies have been conducted on the achievement gap between Caucasian and minority students (Bankston & Caldas, 1998; A. Brown & Donnor, 2011; Howard, 2008; O’Conner, Lewis, & Mueller, 2007; Osborne, 1999), as this gap has been a persistent problem for decades. However, despite more students of color gaining access to institutions of higher education, there is still a severe gap in college graduation rates (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2011), with African American males being the least likely group to be found on college campuses (Dunn, 2012), and thus, possessing the lowest college graduation rate. St. Peter Claver …

Sacred Spaces: A Narrative Analysis Of The Influences Of Language And Literacy Experiences On The Self-Hood And Identity Of High-Achieving African American Female College Freshmen, Michelle Flowers Taylor

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

Late-adolescent African American students face unique difficulties on their journey to womanhood. As members of a double minority (i.e., African American and female) (Jean & Feagin, 1998), certain limiting stereotypes relevant to both race and gender pose challenges to these students. They must overcome these challenges in order to excel within the various and changing environments they move through on a daily basis (hooks, 1981, 1994). Within the context of social justice, this dissertation provides insight into the role that language and literacy practices play to help enable the positive and affirming development of self-hood of African American college freshmen. …

Experiences Of African American Female First Generation College Students, Ashley Green

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenology study was to gain a better understanding of the experiences of African American, female, first generation college students attending a large, predominantly White research university and to understand what motivates them. The major research question guiding this study was: How do African American, female, first generation college students (in good academic standing) describe their college experience? The researcher asked the participants to discuss their challenges, how they responded to challenges, sources of motivation, and factors that contributed to their success in college.

Through individual, face to face, interviews with 10 African American, female, FGC …

Good To Great: A Case Study Of An African American Literacy Coordinator’S Role In Transitioning A School From Dependence On A Scripted Reading Program To Balanced Literacy, Kimberly A. Chase

Dissertations

This study considers the change process and the impact of race on the implementation process as a Literacy Coordinator transitioned an elementary school from Open Court to balanced literacy. A retroactive case study was used to examine the Literacy Coordinator’s actions and decisions, teachers’ perspectives, and the effects of race on the implementation. Findings suggested that the roles of the Literacy Coordinator involved duties that pull from the specific responsibilities of a reading specialist, literacy coach, reading educator, and an administrator. Furthermore, teachers reported a change in their practices and beliefs due to participation in the implementation process. Finally, findings …

Exploring Trends In Disproportionality Of Emotional Disturbance Classification After The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (Ideia), Ghirmay Alazar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this study was to systematically investigate the trends of disproportionate representation of African American students in special education when compared to Caucasian special education students in emotional disturbance category as well as the trends in disproportionality of emotional disturbance classification after the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA). African American students in special education are disproportionately represented when compared to Caucasian special education students but uncertainty persists regarding the nature and the extent of the problem (Aud et al., 2010; Countinho & Oswald, 2002; Skiba et al., 2006, 2008). This study employed a mixed methods multiple …

Psychosocial Factors And The Persistence Of Underprepared, African American Community College Students, Denise Michelle Mccory

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study examined a problem at a large community college in the Midwest United States, where African American students experienced poor developmental education outcomes and low degree completion. Those outcomes had negative effects on the institution and the surrounding community. This qualitative case study was framed in Astin's theory of involvement, which attributes students' behaviors, whether productive or unproductive, to their levels of motivation. Purposeful sampling was used to select 20 African American students who successfully completed the developmental education sequence. The participants were interviewed to determine how psychosocial factors impacted their decisions to persist through their courses. The data …

Social Inequality: Cultural Racism As A Predictor Of Collegiate Academic Success, Natasha L. Ball

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The economic sustainability of an area is largely dependent on the education level of its population, yet little is known about the role cultural racism may play in academic success. The purpose of this correlational study was to evaluate the theory of cultural racism, defined as, the establishment of cultural institutions by whites/Europeans to the detriment of non-white people, as it relates to academic success at the college level. Data were collected from 100 participants from 3 predominately African American high schools in the Atlanta, Georgia area to explore whether the presence of cultural racism existed from the perspective of …

A Mixed Method Study Of Diagnostic And Adaptive Functioning Challenges In African American Preschool-Aged Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders, Douglene Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are known to experience performance and participation challenges, with early diagnosis being critical for improved outcomes. Children from ethnic minority backgrounds tend to receive their diagnoses later, even when symptomatology is similar. This mixed methods study explored symptom severity, functional difficulties, and age at diagnosis for ASD and to describe the functional challenges encountered by preschool-aged children with ASD of African American descent. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health along with the Model of Human Occupation were the theories used for this study to conceptualize functional challenges and other potential factors. Research …

Health-Related Beliefs Among Low-Income African American Women And Their Perceptions About Obesity, Cenora Kimberly Akhidenor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The aim of this study was to explore the health-related beliefs and perceptions of low-income African American women regarding obesity. Phenomenology served as the conceptual framework for this study. African American women, especially those in low-income brackets, have been shown to weigh more than women of other racial/ethnic groups. The consequences of these high rates are increased risks of developing chronic health disorders, such as type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The study sample consisted of 7 low-income obese African American women, ranging in age from 20 to 62, who resided in the Pacific Northwest. Recruitment for participation occurred via …

From With–In The Black Diamond: The Intersections Of Masculinity, Ethnicity, And Identity–An Epistolary Autoethnographic Exploration Into The Lived Experiences Of A Black Male Graduate Student, Vincent Tarrell Harris

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

From With-In The Black Diamond: (Black Diamond) autoethnographically explores the lived experiences of a Black male who navigates his way through a predominately white higher education institutions while existing within marginalized spaces related to his gender, ethnicity, and identity. Black Diamond uses epistolary writing techniques to explore question research question: 1. How has a Black Gay male graduate student studying Higher Education negotiated his way to and through predominately white higher education institutions? In order to support the answering of this question I will argue that the most influential reasons higher education literature rarely addresses controversial topics related to GLBTQ …