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<p> As a critical race ethnography, this dissertation attempts to foreground the richness of Black urban youth culture during and around science classroom instruction. Ironically, during an era of much diversity rhetoric in the United States, the culture of urban Black youth is rarely reflected in mainstream public school culture. I attempt to explicate such a worldview compassionately and authentically for both insiders and outsiders of the lived experiences of Black America. Education in the United States can be damning for Black youth who do not fit the mainstream mold, and several authors have provided detailed critique of mechanisms that shape, direct, and marginalize outliers to the successful academic cultural model. The U.S. through this lens is experiencing an opportunity gap, not an achievement gap&mdash;one which equitable educational experience can best be viewed through the richness of critical ethnographic methods. This methodical approach allowed me as a researcher to listen to marginalized voices and to incorporate lived interactions with youth, their parents, and community stakeholders all committed to provide support for the today&rsquo;s youth. As a Black female science educator, I explore the evidence for reform impact as I examine in school experiences and science teaching of culturally relevant pedagogies for urban, working-class and poor families of color in grades six-eight who participated in a Western New York academic enrichment program. Findings suggest that skepticism of reform efforts and new pedagogical approaches existed for all stakeholders aforementioned, but that students were the most amenable and responsive to alternative educational approaches. Specific recommendations for engaging students in inquiry processes are given for teachers, institutions, parents and students on the basis of videotaped lessons, interviews, and instructional artifacts. Implications include the recommendations that educators working with youth of color need to be prepared to discuss the ethnic and racial identities of students and jointly construct a sense of activism and empowerment in the face of existing systemic oppression that can and should be eliminated if we are to reach the national goal (AAAS, 1986) of &ldquo;Science for All Americans,&rdquo; professed as many as three decades ago.</p>

Toni Morrison has written of a literary phenomenon she terms "literary blackness"--the depiction of black characters and blackness in the works of white writers. This dissertation examines the reverse of Morrison's observation, the creation of a similar "literary whiteness" in works by black authors, and posits that black writers often create white characters who function as "majority Others" that enable the creation of round and believable black characters and reinforce differences between blacks and whites. / The first two chapters analyze the nature of the Primary/Other dichotomy as it is manifested in contemporary multicultural literature and supply information concerning the nature of recent scholarship in this field. These chapters also discuss the existence and functions of the majority Other and supply a catalogue of the most frequently recurring conceptions of the majority Other in works by black authors. / Chapters Two through Five address, respectively, selected works of James Baldwin, Alice Walker, and Toni Morrison, chosen because each of these writers brings a different conception of the Other to his or her work. While Baldwin often pits black and white in hostile confrontation, Walker accepts that black and white are not always the central issue for her work, and Morrison actually experiments with the removal of all racially coded language from her writing. / The conclusion examines ways in which the majority Other is both similar to and different from the minority Other, and suggests avenues for future critical exploration. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-09, Section: A, page: 2826. / Major Professor: Douglas Fowler. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the stated goals and purposes of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) faculty development programs have been met as perceived by the recipients of the support and their chairpersons and/or academic deans. The study focused on the extent to which recipient, academic, and institutional outcomes were achieved through participation in the UNCF faculty development programs in the UNCF member institutions. The study also focused on those faculty members who were granted leave from UNCF colleges and universities during the 1979-1983 academic years to pursue graduate study under the UNCF faculty development programs, and their respective chairpersons and/or academic deans. / The data gathered from responses of faculty who received grants from UNCF faculty development programs from 1979 through 1983 and current chairpersons and academic deans were calculated to measure the proportion of respondents who perceived the achievability and achievement of academic, recipient and institutional development outcomes. / Since the implementation of the first UNCF faculty development program in 1959, millions of dollars have been appropriated by private foundations and other funding agencies for the purpose of strengthening the competencies of faculty and increasing the number of doctorates in member institutions. The most active faculty development programs sponsored by UNCF have been those which assisted college faculty to upgrade and update their knowledge of the academic specializations. Fellowships, research grants, faculty study grants and sabbatical leaves have been the typical mechanisms to achieve this purpose. / In view of the fact that the UNCF institutions are historically black, private colleges and universities, the study examined the academic and institutional change as a result of faculty development. Further, the research reports the percentage of degrees earned as a result of participation in the UNCF faculty development program, and the attrition rates of recipients after participation. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 48-03, Section: A, page: 0581. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.