This thesis was written as part of a process to secure funds to develop a Vocational Education Entrepreneurship Workshop for African American students attending the Provisional Accelerated Learning Center (PAL), a local community based organization which assist high risk individuals to gain vocational education and Graduation Equivalen Diploma (GED)

A comparison of white and colored schools in Rusk county found that educational opportunities for colored students was unequal. A plan for improving the colored schools of the county is set forth.

Patterns of representation of African Americans in K-12 special education programs vary across the United States. A school district in Arizona has a 13% African American population, yet the African American special education representation is 17%. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to generate an understanding of the processes related to special education referral and assignment of African American elementary students as perceived by 7 teachers and 6 parents in the school district. Inductive analysis including open, axial, and selective coding led to the categorization of three themes: complexity in the referral process, inadequate teacher-parent communication and lack of shared knowledge, and inadequate teacher training. A key finding was parents' dependency on teachers for placing children in special education without the requisite knowledge to ask questions or make critical choices for their children. Parents' powerlessness and lack of knowledge may contribute to the overrepresentation of African American children in special education programs in the district. Findings may be used to educate parents and train teachers in the processes of referral and assignment of students to special education programs.

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This study is concerned with the problem of identifying the nature of and the similarities and differences among the attitudes of three ethnic groups (Mexican-Americans, Blacks, and Anglos) toward vocational education.The purposes of the study were threefold. The first was to determine the attitudes toward vocational education that prevail among Mexican-American, Black, and Anglo students who attend a vocational/technical high school. Secondly, the purpose was to determine the attitudes toward vocational education that prevail among Mexican-American, Black, and Anglo students who attend regular academic schools. The third purpose was to compare the attitudes toward vocational education of students who attend a vocational/technical high school with those of students who attend regular academic high schools.

The problem of this study was to determine the effect of academic self-concept, student aspiration, intellectual achievement responsibility, and certain other personal factors on the attendance patterns of selected ninth grade students, and to develop from data on all factors a typical profile of conditions likely to result in high absenteeism and make recommendations for initial steps in remediation. As a result of the statistical analysis and subsequent retention or rejection of the null hypotheses, the significant findings of this study may be summarized as follows. (1) Ninth grade attenders are significantly younger than non-attenders. (2) Attenders had more siblings than non-attenders. (3) Attenders are significantly more involved in school organizations than non-attenders. (4) There is a higher frequency in suspensions among non-attenders. Based on analysis of the findings of this study and within the limitations of the population described in the procedure section, the following conclusions were formulated. (1) Students who have been retained, started school later, or for some reason are older than their classmates, are more likely to attend school irregularly.(2) Educators cannot expect to find the major causes of student absenteeism to be academic self-concept, intellectual achievement responsibility, or student aspiration. (3) Family size may be an important consideration for educators to investigate when working with school non-attenders. (4) School attenders can be expected to be actively involved in the co-curricular elements of the school program. (5) Higher rates of student suspensions are more likely to increase attendance problems rather than reduce them. (6) How students use their time outside the school day is not likely to be the crucial factor in school attendance. (7) While students often complain about schedules, teacher selection, and proximity of friends, it is not likely that changes in these factors would influence student attendance.

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The current study investigated the role of racial identity dimensions (racial centrality and private regard), academic identity, and parent socialization (specifically, academic and ethnic/racial socialization: cultural socialization and preparation for bias) in promoting success among a diverse sample of Black students. The study aimed to examine how parent socialization and academic identity mediated the relationship between racial identity dimensions and academic achievement. Data was collected nationwide from 685 Black students through an online survey conducted in Spring 2022. Path models were employed to explore the relationship between racial identity dimensions and academic achievement. To account for contextual factors, the analyses incorporated academic identity and parent socialization (academic and ethnic/racial socialization, including cultural socialization and preparation for bias) as mediators, while gender was considered as a moderator. However, the mediation analyses did not yield statistically significant results, highlighting the need for further research to investigate the nuanced relationship between these factors. In addition to the path models, supplementary analyses were conducted, including bivariate correlations and exploratory factor analyses of the scales used: Identification with Academics (IAS, Osborne, 1997), Identification with School Questionnaire (ISQ, Voelkl, 1996), Education Socialization Scale (ESS, Bempechat et al., 1999), and Parent Ethnic/Racial Socialization (PERS, Hughes & Chen, 1999). The results of the exploratory factor analyses and subsequent evaluation of psychometric properties revealed inconsistencies between the factor structures suggested by previous studies and the current study for the Identification with Academic, Identification with School Questionnaire, and Education Socialization Scale. This suggests the need for further refinement and validation of these measurement instruments. However, the exploratory factor analysis of the Parent Ethnic/Racial Socialization scale aligned with existing literature, indicating its appropriateness for use with Black students. Bivariate correlation analyses demonstrated small-to-moderate relationships that were consistently observed across most variables. Academic identity demonstrated a strong and significant correlation with private regard and a moderate and significant correlation with racial centrality. GPA demonstrated a moderate and significant correlation with academic identity and private regard and a small but significant correlation with racial centrality and parent academic socialization. Students who endorse a stronger academic identity and racial identity (private regard and racial centrality) are more likely to have better academic outcomes, including higher GPA. Furthermore, the findings related to parent academic socialization suggest that parental support and engagement may continue to have some influence on the academic performance of Black students, even in adulthood. The implications of the findings were such that fostering a strong academic identity and a positive racial identity contributed to better academic outcomes for Black students. Further, the findings highlight the sustained influence of parental support and engagement on the academic performance of Black students, even as they transition into adulthood. This underscores the significance of ongoing parental involvement throughout a student's educational journey. / School Psychology

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No description available.