This qualitative single-case study was conducted to ascertain the effective factors necessary to successfully launch a single-gender elementary school for Black males in an urban setting. This analysis examines effective pedagogical practices and successful elementary-aged models that address the social emotional and academic needs of Black males within New York City. Two research questions guided the framework of this study: (a) in single-gender elementary schools for Black males, what factors contribute to their academic and social-emotional growth and development? and (b) In what ways do school design, context, and leadership practice inform the academic and social-emotional growth and development of students of single-gender schools for Black males? Qualitative research methodology was used for this study. Data collection through field observations and elite individual interviews included the participation of key stakeholders including administrators and educators. The findings, data analysis, and evaluation of the site visit served as a blueprint to highlight the components necessary to accelerate the achievement of Black males.

My dissertation examines how a single-sex school for boys of color in New York City (re)defines masculinity through organizational policies, practices, and messaging. I further study how black boys, sixth graders in particular, participate in and make sense of the school’s concept of masculinity. Lastly, I explore how boys’ define and understand masculinity and conceive of their identity and agency. I framed this dissertation within an expanded version of W.H. Sewell’s (1979) framework of structure and agency, amending the framework to include concepts of negotiation and identity. My study employs an interpretive, multi-modal qualitative design and integrates the following modes of inquiry: ethnography, in-depth interviews with teachers and students, and photo elicitation narratives with students. My findings provide pedagogical and policy suggestions for enacting a model of single-sex schooling for black boys. I find that (the enactment of) school structures and boys’ understandings of school practices are conditioned by outside perceptions of black boys. I also find that although school, cultural, and disciplinary practices may be well intentioned, these practices may inadvertently reproduce the very structures that they attempt to circumvent by unintentionally reinforcing entrenched stereotypes about black boys. I further find that boys’ understandings of masculinity are not fully reflected in school practices, nor are they legible expressions of masculinity to school staff. The contributions of this dissertation enrich the conversation with prior theory about how organizational or school practices can affect change with students, what helps black boys learn best, and how black boys can possess masculinity that is as varied as it is complex. Lastly, my work extends and elaborates upon current theoretical understandings of the development of adolescent masculinity

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2009. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 126-129).

Thesis (D.M.A.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Includes abstract. Vita. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-02, Section: A, page: 0433. Adviser: Chester L. Alwes. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 137-144) and discography (leaves 127-130). Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1974. / Typewritten.

Despite consistent evidence that adolescent girls are at greater risk for developing depression than adolescent boys (Ge, Lorenz, Conger, & Elder, 1994; Nolen-Hoeksema, 1987, 1990; Weissman, Leaf, Holzer, Myers, & Tischler, 1984), and that women continue to predominate among depressed adults throughout the lifespan (Kessler, McGonagle, Swartz, Blazer & Nelson, 1993), few studies have examined the etiologic risk factors that predict depression for adolescent girls using a prospective design or examined differential processes of risk in a sample of adolescent girls and boys. Furthermore, although a number of variables have been implicated as risk factors for depressive symptoms or onset of depression among adolescents, some methodological limitations exist. The objective of this research was to examine a set of risk factors suspected to predict depression in adolescents, and to test whether gender moderates these relations. Secondly, this study examined a set of risk factors proposed by the gender additive model of depression (Stice et al., 2000; Stice & Bearman, 2001) that attempts to partially explain the increased prevalence of depressive symptoms in adolescent girls compared to boys. Finally, exploratory classification tree analyses tested for interactions between risk factors that might signal differential pathways to depression. This research provides insight into the etiology of adolescent depression as well as the disparate rate of depression among adolescent girls versus boys, and also provides direction for identifying high-risk individuals and developing effective prevention programs. / text

The challenges of adolescence include negotiating risk behaviours such as alcohol use. The high prevalence and frequency of alcohol use among adolescents has been noted with concern, as has the rapidly decreasing age of initiation. Adolescent alcohol use has been found to be associated with numerous factors at intra-personal, inter-personal and contextual levels. This study aimed to explore qualitatively the perceived underlying factors related to alcohol use and binge drinking among adolescent boys, as identified and explained by the boys themselves. Exploration of these factors was guided by Brofenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, the Prototype/Willingness Model and Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory. The study population was comprised of male learners who were at that time in Grade 11 at the school and ranged in age from 16 to 18 years. Three focus group discussions were conducted, each comprising between 8-11 male learners, which were transcribed and analysed thematically in order to identify commonalties and variances among the responses of participants. The Nvivo software program was used to aid analysis. The findings of this study indicate that there are a variety of factors which influence adolescent alcohol use, and which operate individually as well as cumulatively. While adolescent boys are aware of the consequences of alcohol use and binge drinking, they often do not perceive themselves to be vulnerable to these risks. Protective factors include the school identity, team activities such as sports, and a sense of future. In conclusion, adolescent alcohol use is extremely complicated as it is impacted by multiple factors, and thus an awareness and greater understanding of the nature in which these factors interact are important for future interventions. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Poor learner discipline, a problem for both educators and learners at South African public schools, ranges from violence to issues with classroom management. As a result of learner-on- learner violence, learners generally feel that schools are unsafe places to be in (Premdev, 2008). Schools have become challenging contexts for effective teaching and learning to take place in, owing to the presence of bullying, disobedience, drug addiction, vandalism, rape, assault, use of obscene language and disrespect for teachers (Anderson, 2009). With examination results on a downward spiral, De Lange and Mbanjwa (2008) report that poor learner discipline in schools is strongly implicated in learner underachievement. This study, which is an exploration of educators’ and learners’ perceptions of poor learner discipline, is underpinned by research in the construction of masculinities, which submits that masculine identity is a gendered social construction, and as such, is subject to transformation. The research project suggests that whilst schools, by virtue of the ways in which they tend to be organised, condone and perpetuate the formation of hegemonic masculinities in boys, they are also able to effect meaningful change and usher in emancipation to this locale. Some of the key findings include:- • Poor learner discipline in boys reflected their own constructions of dominant male gender identities, formed as a result of their life experiences in a world embedded with notions and practices of patriarchal hegemony; • Poor learner discipline and the ineffective management thereof contributed to a poor teaching and learning environment that disadvantaged all learners; • Female educators relinquish their agency to successfully deal with poor learner discipline when they choose to let male educators handle their disciplinary problems, thereby becoming complicit in entrenching notions of male superiority; • Male educators tend to resort to the use of corporal punishment; • Violence in the home and wider community is reproduced in learners at school. The study discusses approaches that may be employed in achieving a more just and empowering teaching and learning context for educators, as well as learners at schools. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

This study examined the influence of maturation on the oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES) in healthy male subjects. The variables comprising the OUES are known to be affected by metabolism which in turn is influenced by maturation. The subjects performed a graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer to determine the OUES and VO2max. Subjects were divided into groups based on maturation status: early-pubertal (EP, n = 15), mid-pubertal (MP, n = 20), late-pubertal (LP, n = 17), and young-adult (YA, n = 19) males. Cardiorespiratory fitness (measured as VO2max mL·min-1·kg-1) was not significantly different between groups. OUES values in absolute terms were higher in groups LP and YA versus MP and EP. Scaling OUES relative to body mass failed to eliminate between group differences whereby LP and YA had lower mass relative OUES values compared to LP and YA. Scaling OUES relative to fat free mass also failed to eliminate between group differences with EP group values being higher versus LP and YA, but only MP values being higher than YA. Differences in OUES values between male across maturation status remained after accounting for differences in body size, suggesting an affect of maturation on this measurement. / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science

This qualitative study used a triangulation of survey, conversational interviews, and observations in an authentic setting to explore the phenomenon of reading motivation from the perspectives of a specific group of individuals. Five participants, all African American fifth grade boys qualifying for meal subsidies, gathered in a local youth facility, where they regularly attended as members. The researcher interviewed and observed the boys over the span of three months. Three major themes from the study unveiled the influence of individual interests on reading motivation. This particular group of boys was motivated to read according to measured success and competition, familiarity of topics, and varied selections of reading materials. The study’s findings could potentially influence the gender achievement gap in literacy. / Department of Elementary Education