Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Education Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Education

Community-Based Literacy Learning Spaces As Counterhegemonic Figured Worlds For African American Readers, Melanie M. Acosta, Shaunté Duggins Dec 2018

Community-Based Literacy Learning Spaces As Counterhegemonic Figured Worlds For African American Readers, Melanie M. Acosta, Shaunté Duggins

Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts

Community-based literacy learning spaces are crucial to the enduring African American pursuit of literacy. This article reports findings from a study exploring the impact of a community-based literacy tutoring program for African American readers in grades 3-5. Findings also report on ways the community literacy site was similar to historic African American figured communities. Mixed methods analysis revealed significant improvements in decoding, and counternarratives that existed with the figured community cultivated by community volunteers. Taken together, both highlight the powerful role communities’ can play in promoting African American student success. Recommendations for community organizations, teacher educators, and literacy researchers are …


Moving Beyond The College-Preparatory High School Model To A College-Going Culture In Urban Catholic High Schools, Ursula S. Aldana Apr 2014

Moving Beyond The College-Preparatory High School Model To A College-Going Culture In Urban Catholic High Schools, Ursula S. Aldana

Journal of Catholic Education

A college-going culture has been found to improve academic outcomes for underrepresented high school students (Allen, Kimura-Walsh, & Griffin, 2009; Stanton-Salazar, 2010). The research on Catholic high schools shows their college-preparatory environment ability to produce successful outcomes for African-American and Latino students (Bryk, Lee, & Holland, 1993). This study examines two urban Catholic high schools and how they construct opportunities for low-income Latino and African-American male students. The year-long study draws from 1) ethnographic field notes; 2) interviews with students and staff; 3) survey and 4) student data. Data suggests that although both schools focused on preparing students for college, …


Over-Representation Of African-American Students In Special Education: The Role Of A Developmental Framework In Shaping Teachers' Interpretations Of African-American Students' Behavior, Valerie Maholmes, Fay E. Brown Jan 2002

Over-Representation Of African-American Students In Special Education: The Role Of A Developmental Framework In Shaping Teachers' Interpretations Of African-American Students' Behavior, Valerie Maholmes, Fay E. Brown

Trotter Review

The authors draw on the findings of gestalt psychology to demonstrate how teachers' views of African American learning styles and behavior can determine whether these will be pathologized or supported by the educational system. The disproportionately large numbers of African American youth incorrectly assigned to special education courses indicate a lack of clarity in disability criteria and indicate also the use of a "deficit model" or perceptual lens through which teachers assign negative meanings to the behavior of African American students. Case examples of language used by teachers in describing randomly selected students illustrate teachers' deficit-based focus on student behavior …


Why Makik Can "Do" Math: Race And Status In Integrated Classrooms, Jacqueline Leonard, Scott Jackson Dantley Jan 2002

Why Makik Can "Do" Math: Race And Status In Integrated Classrooms, Jacqueline Leonard, Scott Jackson Dantley

Trotter Review

This case study reports on the small group interactions and achievements of Malik, an African American sixth grader, who attended a Maryland elementary school in 1997. Student achievement was measured by the Maryland Functional Mathematics Test (MFMT-I), which was given on a pre/post basis. Students' scores on the MFMT-I were analyzed using the ANOVA. The analysis revealed a significant difference (F = 3-330, p < .05) between the scores of Caucasian (M = 342.12) and African American students (M = 323-56). However, Malik's MFMT-I score rose from 293 to 353. A passing score is 340. This study examines Malik's interactions to ascertain what factors influenced his achievement. The findings are that Malik had a positive attitude about mathematics and a strong command of mathematical and scientific language. Recommendations are that teachers become cultural brokers to help all children learn the "language" of mathematics and encourage all students to become self-advocates to overcome negative social dynamics in small groups.