In the first half of the twentieth century in the segregated South, Black laboratory schools began as "model," "practice," or "demonstration" schools that were at the heart of teacher training institutions at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Central to the core program, they were originally designed to develop college-ready students, demonstrate effective teaching practices, and provide practical application for student teachers. As part of a higher educational institution and under the supervision of a college or university president, a number of these schools evolved to "laboratory" high schools, playing a role in the development of African American education beyond their own local communities. As laboratories for learning, experimentation, and research, they participated in major cooperative studies and hosted workshops. They not only educated the pupils of the lab school and the student teachers from the institution, but also welcomed visitors from other high schools and colleges with a charge to influence Black education A case study of Alabama State College Laboratory School, 1920-1960, demonstrates the evolution of a lab high school as part of the core program at an HBCU and its distinctive characteristics of high graduation and college enrollment rates, well-educated teaching staff, and a comprehensive liberal arts curriculum. The collected oral histories from former graduates testify to the perception that a laboratory high school education was considered a privilege. The history of Alabama State College Laboratory High School provides evidence that Lab High offered a "Class A" education to Black youth in Alabama despite the oppressive White social policies and practices in the South and contrary to the plentiful historical accounts of inferior secondary education during legalized segregation. As a progressive laboratory for learning, Alabama State College Lab High played a role in the development of education for African Americans in Alabama and throughout the South.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2009. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 178-198).

The underachievement of African American and Hispanic students has been an ongoing problem for schools in the United States. The purpose of this investigation was to add to the existing body of knowledge concerning social capital of African American and Hispanic high school students’ academic achievement. Using a nationally representative sample from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS: 2002), base year through the first follow-up year database, 551 high school students, the researcher assessed indicators (school-sponsored activities, out-of-school activities, and parental involvement) within the construct of social capital, to see whether social capital could serve as a predictor of academic achievement among African American and Hispanic high school students. Data were analyzed through Repeated Measures analysis and Multiple Regression analysis controlling for gender, race, and socioeconomic status. The main effects revealed a statistically significant difference between the social capital factors in school-sponsored activities, out-of- school activities, and parent involvement. The results showed an increase in the first follow-up year. Socio-economic status, race and gender were statistically significant social capital factors. Females and African Americans were found to have higher levels of social capital in school-sponsored activities. Out-of- school activities revealed males had higher levels of social capital. Parent involvement indicators showed that female and Hispanic students were affected by social capital. Differences in math scores revealed an increase in the first follow-up year, showing males outscored iv females. Also, Hispanic students’ scores were higher than African American students. Finally, the strongest predictors for academic achievement were gender, race, and participation in school sponsored activity in the base year and first follow-up year. In addition, parent involvement was also found to be a strong predictor of achievement in the follow-up year.

No description available.