Black principals who are leaders of predominantly Black urban schools experience the challenges of leading in school environments where students experience a higher rate of poverty, violence, and trauma, as compared to their White counterparts. Historically, pre-Brown v. Board, Black principals sought to create learning environments where they focused on a “whole child” approach, not only attending to the academic needs of students but also equally prioritizing their physical, emotional, and social needs as well. A component of a whole child approach is what, in more recent years, is referred to as social-emotional learning (SEL). Black principals today who believe in a whole child, holistic approach express the challenges of employing an SEL approach in environments of high accountability and high demand for behavior consequences. Historically and currently, Black principals operating in an “ethno-humanist” role express a connection with students that motivates them towards a compassionate, culturally responsive, individualized approach with their students. This qualitative study was done through interviews with 10 Black urban school principals to learn more about their beliefs, values, and practices with regards to SEL and Culturally Responsive School Leadership (CRSL). Using a composite narrative case study approach to protect the identities of individual participants, study findings are presented as three major themes representing the articulated beliefs, values, and practices of the study principals: (1) Caring for Students: (2) Caring for Community, and (3) Caring for Self. A discussion of the findings revealed how the participants’ childhood experiences and upbringing informed their leadership practices, grounded in self-awareness and self-care, allowing them to sustain themselves in order to meet the social, emotional, cultural, and educational needs of Black children in urban schools. The study concludes with implications for practice and a proposed framework that bridges social-emotional learning and culturally relevant and responsive approaches to urban school leadership.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2008. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2008. / "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Education Culture, Curriculum, and Change." Includes bibliographical references (p. 134-144).

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceived motivators contributing African American educators' decision to migrate from a suburban school district to an urban school district. The case study approach was used in an effort to capture the participants' voices and the motivators contributing to their decision to migrate to an urban school district after working as an educator in a suburban school district. The findings from this study will contribute to the existing body of literature by providing national policy makers, state policy makers, local school leaders and school district personnel information to create national, state, and local policy initiatives regarding African American educator personnel. The seven informants in this study were members of a large metropolitan area in the state of Texas and the suburban school districts bordering that metropolitan area. Since the enactment of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (2001), the achievement gap has been discussed and studied. However, few studies have investigated African American educator migration from suburban school districts to urban school districts and the strategies used by African American educators to close the achievement gap for African American students who attend those suburban schools left void of African American educators. The interpretational analysis process selected was based on Glaser and Strauss' constant comparative approach to analysis. The constant comparative data analysis generated five major themes of the motivators contributing to African American educator migration: (1) educators migrated to become social change agents, (2) educators migrated for growth opportunities, (3) educators migrated for financial increases, (4) educators migrated due to workplace relationships, and (5) educators migrated due to their perceptions and experiences in their suburban school district. My findings, based on the context of these seven African American educators, suggest that while the school district as an institution is not responsible or accountable for the African American educators migration, it can provide systems of support and initiatives for African America educators to assist them in overcoming the motivators inside of the school walls that contribute to their decision to leave.

Discourse and Disconnect: Black Teachers and the Quest for National Board Certification Paula J. Leftwich ABSTRACT Black teachers have been under-represented proportionate to their presence in the teaching population in both the application for and achievement of certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. This study sought to explore the possibility of a disconnect between the discourses of Black teachers and the discourses of the National Board Certification process. Further, it was designed to investigate the effectiveness of targeted mentoring strategies to increase the participation rate and achievement rate of Black teachers in this complex and lengthy process. Using procedures for the definition and analysis of discourse outlined by Gee, the author dissected document-based and process-embedded data to define the discourse of accomplished teaching embodied in the National Board and its disseminated philosophy and process for identifying and awarding credentials to National Board Certified Teachers. Participant data was gathered using a qualitative research design and a heuristic phenomenological approach. Discourse information gleaned from participant-produced process documents and interview transcripts were analyzed using Gees methods. Field notes and recordings from direct observations were analyzed using Hycners approach for the interpretation of phenomenological data. Deleuze and Guattaris rhizomatic analysis was applied to the overlaid, separate discourses. Specific areas of both congruence and disconnect were clearly identified. Participant checks and inter-rater reviews of data and confirmed the findings and validated the conclusions. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for the findings for the National Board, potential candidates, and advocates for each.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 108-113). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 108-113). Also available on the Internet.

With the declining presence of African-American teachers in the teacher workforce, it is necessary to examine plausible causes for this phenomenon. Previous research suggests that most African-American teachers teach in high minority, high poverty schools. Consequently, they face substantial challenges related to student achievement and social and cultural disparities. No Child Left Behind is an education reform policy designed to bridge the gap between the educational disparities which exist, placing emphasis on teacher accountability and student achievement. The accountability requirements established by NCLB have generated significant pressure for teachers, particularly African-American teachers in struggling schools who must make Adequate Yearly Progress in order to avoid federal sanctions and public labeling as failing schools. Therefore, since African-American teachers often teach in schools most affected by NCLB, an examination of their experiences regarding various aspects of the law and its affect on teacher morale is essential to understanding the far-reaching implications of education reform. The focus of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how NCLB has affected teacher morale for African-American teachers in low-performing middle schools. Specifically, a phenomenological, qualitative method was used to capture their experiences in an effort to uncover the realities these teachers face in the classroom. The overall objective of this study was to develop a richer awareness of what it means to teach in underperforming schools, while seeking academic excellence within them. Results from this study generated five themes related to teacher morale among African-American teachers in low performing middle schools. An examination of these themes indicated that teacher morale among African-American teachers in low performing middle schools was influenced by NCLB due to published test scores and NCLB’s inability to address the social and cultural disparities that exist in education. However, despite the challenges of NCLB, African-American teachers remained dedicated to their calling as teachers seeking to help their students succeed despite the odds.

The purpose of this study was to examine and describe the relationship between a school's percentage of African American students enrolled and the placement of an African American principal for all of Florida's K-12 traditional public schools during the academic year 2010-2011. This study also sought to determine if this relationship was moderated by each school's level, size, letter grade, socioeconomic status (FRL), gender of principal, as well as gender and race of the presiding district superintendent. Lastly, the relationship between each moderator variable and the placement of African American principals was examined. The ultimate objective was to determine if limited opportunities still widely exist in the placement of African American principals throughout Florida. ... From a legal perspective, although Brown and its progeny of civil rights laws valiantly set out to eliminate race and racism from schools and in the workplace, the findings revealed that race continues to be a factor in determining inequity in principal placements. / by Leo Nesmith, Jr. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--East Tennessee State University, 2002. / Originally issued in electronic format. UMI number: 3083443. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-91). Also available via the World Wide Web.