The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore what 4th-grade teachers could learn about African American students’ knowledge of social studies content through children’s drawings and to understand what they communicated through visual texts. This study was grounded in social semiotics and critical race theory (CRT). Social semiotics allowed for close readings of children’s drawings and interpretation of teachers’ interests in using art as an assessment tool. CRT challenges applying the experiences of White people as the standard by which others are measured. CRT was used to analyze structural barriers, such as high-stakes standardized testing, as primary in determining what students knew. Research questions were as follows: (a) When teachers are instructed in how to read images structurally and semantically, what do they learn about their low achieving African American students’ understanding of a social studies text through their drawings? (b) How do teachers understand and talk about images through the lens of sign systems? (c) How do low-achieving African American students demonstrate social studies content knowledge in a written assessment compared to how they demonstrate content knowledge in a visual representation of a social studies text? The setting was in an urban elementary school and the study involved 4 teachers and 7 students from their collective classes. Analysis of data included constant comparative analysis and visual discourse analysis (VDA), including student drawings and teacher/student interviews. Three findings emerged from teacher data analysis. Teachers varied in their beliefs about art as a communicative system; teachers intentionally studied their children’s visual texts differently after professional development; teachers intentionally integrated visual arts as a part of assessment in social studies. Two key findings emerged from student data analysis: Students visually represented key concepts in social studies in their visual texts and they found art to be a “fun” way to demonstrate social studies learning. The significance of this study offers insight into other communicative systems-art and specifically drawings—as a viable way to assess students’ knowledge and skills in content areas.

Attrition in online learning is a problem that faces many institutions of higher education that are turning to online programs as cost-effective means by which to bring about fiscal viability. There is a strong demand for online learning options by students due to the flexibility they afford to be able to work and study while also caring for a family, as well as economic benefits such as a quick and affordable degree. However, many of the reasons that students choose online learning end up being a catalyst for lack of completion, especially among underserved populations. While there is much research currently available on persistence in higher education and much available regarding online learning, there is a dearth of research on the lack of persistence of African-American students in online learning programs. This research was originally designed to take a grounded theory approach to investigating the factors affecting college completion among African Americans with a specific focus on online learning. Due to a small participant response rate, a phenomenological data analysis methodology was employed instead. This study examined participants' recollections of their experience as students in an online undergraduate program, focusing on their reasons for leaving. Forty-nine African-American students who had left their undergraduate online program at New England College were invited to participate in this study. Ten responded and six semi-structured interviews were completed focusing on the question, "Why did you choose to leave the program?" Four themes emerged: (a) lack of integration; (b) personal issues; (c) discomfort with technology; and (d) age. The findings were congruent with current research in online learning attrition and not culturally specific. Recommendations resulted from the data analysis in three major areas: (a) inclusive course development; (b) faculty training; and (c) student support. These recommendations should be considered by faculty and administrators in order to develop more inclusive online learning programs that maximize the success of all students.

The literature on multiculturalism and career counseling (Harro, 2010) has extensively documented the role and influence of environments such as school in the perpetuation of behavioral attitudes like discrimination and racism. Indeed, researchers suggested that early racial discrimination experiences in school may lead African Americans to believe that their education will not benefit them because of the many perceived racial barriers associated with professional careers and employment success (O’Hara et. al., 2011). Due to effects of such experiences, African American students are likely take the path of academic underachievement and low participation in higher education. It is, therefore, of great importance that rehabilitation, school, and college counselors understand the effects of racism on the lives of African Americans. More important, the effects of stress related to the potential experiences of racism on the attainment of a vocational or career goal should be understood. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore whether there is a relationship between race- related stress and the occupational planning and confidence of African American college students in a predominantly White institution. Results of the present study suggest that participants of the present study are on their way of demonstrating elements of self-efficacy (Lent, Brown, &Hackett, 2000), by the fact that the majority of them have already selected a major area of study. This may suggest that the process of career selection is well on its way from career selection to career confidence or implementation. It is noteworthy the number of majors selected and how many of them are in careers of high demand like engineering. Results from the present study also suggest that participants perceive race related stress variables in the domains of cultural and institutional racism, as having a moderate association with their career importance. This may be interpreted as African American students who participated on this study perceive that stress experienced due to issues related to cultural and organizational racism are an important factor that should be considered when choosing a career. Data also suggests that race-related stress does not affect the career confidence of African American students who participated on this study. As a group, participants of this study do not seem prepared to or have made a plan for achieving a career path as indicated by the lower scores and negative correlations in the Career Planning area. This is an important finding and although out of the scope of this study, lack of access to resources like career counseling or guidance may be an indicator or potential explanation for this finding. Although sample size was one of the limitations of this study, future research should try to replicate this study and further explore the potential relationship between experiencing race-related stress and the selection and implementation of a career plan.

This study was to explore the relationship between race of interviewer, cultural mistrust level and type of problem upon black students' ratings of an initial interview. It was hypothesized that the combination of interviewer's race, mistrust level and the type of problem discussed would significantly influence students' ratings of the interviewer. Initially, 12 4 black students were administered the Cultural Mistrust Inventory (CMI). Based upon CMI scores, participants were divided into groups of high and low cultural mistrust. Next, half of these participants were interviewed by one of five white interviewers and the remainder were interviewed by one of five black interviewers. Within each of these groups, half of the participants were asked to discuss problems with their racial identity and the others were asked to discuss their vocational aspirations. After the session, each subject rated the interviewer on the Counselor Evaluation Inventory, Counselor Rating Form and Counselor Effectiveness Rating Scale.

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This study was an investigation of the beliefs, values, and attitudes of black students which guide their behavior. The cultural factors investigated included: student occupational and educational aspirations; student academic strategies; and people and.forces impacting upon student beliefs. The purpose was to determine if the characteristics of a caste minority, as defined by Ogbu, were exhibited by the black students in a relatively affluent school district. Ethnographic methods were selected for data collection and analysis. Participants in the study were 46 black students attending a small, intermediate school and their teachers, counselors, parents, peers, and significant others. Findings indicate that the black students seem to be part of a modified caste system. They had high occupational aspirations but perceived a "secondary job ceiling", requiring them to be better qualified than whites competing for the same job. Few students who aspired to professional or celebrity careers were aware of the training, discipline, and good fortune needed to achieve their goals, and few of them selected school strategies to promote academic success. Parents spoke of their belief in education but were frequently unable to translate their belief into active support for students. Teachers exhibited a lack of knowledge of the black student culture and attributed black underachievement to cultural deprivation and lack of parental concern. Educational planners must be aware of the difficulties faced by black students in selecting goals and strategies and need to develop and reorient programs to assist black students in crossing cultural barriers. / Ed. D.

Ph. D.

The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore and analyze the nature of and rationale for classroom pedagogical and management strategies used by two effective female, Caucasian teachers who taught predominantly low socioeconomic, African American students. Teachers’ perceptions about the cultural and linguistic differences between low socioeconomic African American students and themselves were studied, as well as how these differences influenced their teaching and management strategies. Ladson-Billings’ (1994) work on culturally relevant pedagogy and Weinstein, Curran, and Tomlinson-Clarke’s (2003) and Brown’s (2003) models on culturally responsive classroom management served as conceptual frameworks for this study. Qualitative data were collected using classroom observations and teacher interviews. Findings from the study indicated that these two teachers built positive, mutually respectful relationships with their students to better understand their students on a personal level, delivered explicit behavioral expectations and classroom lessons, taught students the importance and applicability of lessons, demanded quality student performance, and possessed high expectations for student achievement. Both teachers selected pedagogical and classroom management strategies based on the individual academic needs of the students. Nevertheless, these teachers had difficulty identifying cultural and linguistic differences between themselves and their students. Therefore, cultural and linguistic differences did not directly influence teaching strategies they selected. However, these teachers inadvertently used culturally relevant pedagogical strategies without being aware of their own cultures and their students’ cultures. Finally, these teachers did not understand the important role that students’ cultures play in the classroom. Contrary to the findings of previous research, this study demonstrated that effective Caucasian female teachers do not need to understand the general cultural characteristics of African American students. However, on a specific individual basis, if the Caucasian female teacher understands the child, then she can successfully utilize pedagogical and classroom management strategies that will ensure the child’s academic success.

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