This study examines the effects of the Breakthrough to Literacy (BTL) reading program on first grade African American males in two urban elementary schools in southeastern Virginia. The BTL computer enhanced reading program includes computer assisted instruction as a major component that research from the National Reading Panel (NRP) indicates is beneficial in the education of African American males (NRP, 2000). This is a comparative study utilizing quantitative methodology to report the reading outcomes of African American males in grade one and their teacher's perceptions of the BTL program. The study measures reading outcomes as well as teachers' perceptions of the BTL program. The treatment group consisted of the first grade populations from schools A and B who received the BTL treatment in kindergarten (2006-2007) and first grade (2007-2008). The treatment group was compared to schools C and D, the control group, who received the BTL treatment in kindergarten (2006-2007) only. The data were gathered to determine if there were mean gains from the treatment and control groups through pre and posttests. Frequency, mean, and standard deviation were calculated for each variable. Inferential statistics were used to determine mean differences and comparisons among both groups' reading results. To determine if there was a difference in the reading outcomes of African American males who received the BTL treatment as compared to other racial/ethnic groups and gender, ANOVAs were utilized. Overall results indicated higher level performance by the treatment group. The study also incorporated survey methodology to determine the utility of the BTL program on first grade students in the year 2007-2008 from a teacher's perspective. The teachers in the BTL treatment group were administered the Children's Software Evaluation Instrument Surveys (Children's Software Revue, 2008). Out of a 5-point Likert scale, teachers rated the overall value of the BTL program as good (Overall rating 4.0). The teachers also gave overall ratings of good (4.0) and excellent (5.0) in the following areas: Childproof; Ease of Use; Entertaining; Design Feature; and Educational. / Ph. D.

Historically, African American male students have been disproportionately overrepresented in special education under the eligibility categories emotional disturbance, and behavior disorders. Additionally, African American male students with disabilities have consistently underperformed academically. If a student does not perceive that the teacher cares for him, it may be more difficult for a teacher to be successful in engaging the student in the learning experience. The literature indicates that care is a basic need that is grounded in relationships. In schools, those relationships are based on the interaction between the student and teacher. There is a lack of data that specifically addresses the care of African American male students with special needs in nonpublic-school settings. This qualitative study utilized interviewing as a methodology to better understand how the care of a teacher supported the educational experience of African American males for the purpose of informing teachers and leaders in how to work with this specific population of students by addressing the following research questions: (a) How do African American male secondary school students with special needs define care? (b) To what extent do African American male secondary school students with special needs’ perceptions of teacher care affect their educational experiences? (c) Based on African American male secondary school students' with special needs perceptions of teacher care, how are the components of the ethic of care demonstrated in the classroom by the teacher? (d) How are the three suppositions of culturally relevant pedagogy demonstrated by the classroom teacher, according to the perceptions of African American male secondary school students with special needs?

There were contradictions from the beginning regarding Jesuit education’s mission of faith, which does justice and supports African American male students. Limited research examined the experiences of African American males attending Jesuit secondary schools and their perceived support from Jesuit school leadership in ensuring they had increased feelings of belonging, inclusion, and culture through social justice efforts. In order to address this gap, this qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study centers on the lived experiences of African American male alumni in Jesuit secondary schools regarding social justice leadership and how they make meaning of their racialized and gendered experiences while attending a predominantly White Jesuit secondary school. By utilizing African American Male Theory (AAMT) as a theoretical framework (Bush & Bush, 2013), the research informs social justice leadership practices within Jesuit education to create more inclusive learning environments. Through semi-structured interviews, journaling, and examination of artifacts, the research reimagines social justice leadership practices while contributing to a deeper understanding of how Jesuit secondary schools can better support African American males and confront racial injustice within the educational system. Data analysis included thematic analysis. Findings exposed a pervasive presence of racial violence, both physical and psychological, that was deeply rooted and entrenched in the attitude and actions of leadership. Moreover, empirical findings underscored the importance of spaces of fugitivity or Black Fugitive Space for the Black male alumni. Acting as sanctuaries, these Black Fugitive Spaces were constructed in defiance of anti-Black racism, becoming bastions for resilience, reclamation, and love.

The problem of this study was to determine the relationship of the self concept, ideal self concept, values, and parental self concept to the vocational aspiration of adolescent Negro males.

African American males often struggle to read on grade level. However, 3 East Texas Title I schools demonstrated exceptionally high levels of reading proficiency with this population. This study addressed the knowledge gap of understanding the instructional practices linked to high reading achievement of third grade African American males in Title I schools in East Texas. Guided by Ladson-Billings's theory of culturally relevant pedagogy, which builds upon academic success, cultural competence, and development of critical consciousness, and supported by Vygotsky's theory of social and cognitive constructivism, the reading instructional practices of the 3 schools were investigated. Research questions focused on the instructional strategies and practices used by the Grade 3 teachers that may explain such high reading achievement in these particular schools. The questions also addressed campus-level administrator supports for guiding effective reading instruction. Through an explanatory case study methodology, the high levels of reading achievement seen in this population were explained. Data were collected from classroom teachers and campus administrators through semistructured interviews, personal reflections, and observations. Through use of a priori codes, open coding with thematic analysis, and axial coding, the key results aligned with the conceptual framework and indicated that the application of culturally relevant pedagogy explains much of the success experienced in the schools. Three themes resonated through the study: relationships, collaboration, and high expectations. This study contributes to positive social change by engendering a deeper understanding of effective instructional reading practices for African American males.

Despite innovative policy and pedagogical transformations, postsecondary achievement gaps continue to exist between African American males and other students. Low college credential completion rates by African American males have prevented an East Texas community college from meaningful participation in the President's 2020 postsecondary education attainment goal of increasing U.S. college graduates by 5 million. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate a hypothesized connection between the independent variable, mode of instruction, and the dependent variables, mathematics course completion and college completion by African American males. Guided by Ogbu's cultural-ecological theory of minority school performance, a chi-square test of independence was used to compare 407 African American males who participated in the mode of lecture and 412 who participated in modular instruction. Findings included a significant relationship (p <.05) between mode of instruction and developmental mathematics completion (p = .000) with the lecture mode associated with higher achievement. No significant relationship existed between instructional mode and college credential completion (p = .503). These findings called the effectiveness of modular instruction into question and indicated that, at this research site, the instructional mode in developmental mathematics is insufficient to address the disparity in college completion rates of African American males. These results informed a policy recommendation paper, written to help local college administrators better understand African American male remedial math and college credential completion rates. This study contributes to positive social change by generating data-based local institutional policies that will promote African American male postsecondary achievement.

In the 21st Century, many Americans continue to fight battles for men of color who are at the forefront of criminal injustice, unemployment, and low matriculation. With great dominion and urgency, our Nation must ensure all men, regardless of the adversity can succeed and build legacies in their families, communities, and the economy. In this action research study, an ecological system theory was used to analyze the stakeholders who have implemented the following public polices under the Obama Administration: 21st Century Policing, My Brother's Keeper, and Race to the Top. This research answers the question how stakeholders are able to impact positive social change through implementing polices that focus on academia, criminal justice, and employment for African-American and Latino males living in Los Angeles County. Data was retrieved from 16 non-profit organizations; a target population was then sampled resulting in 25 participants that have expertise in working with men of color. Participant's answered 10 interview questions and their short answers were inductively coded, which revealed significant themes. Daily mentorship was identified as the leading tool to garner success in working with men color, while ecological influences, limited funding, policy misalignment, and stereotypical threats have been recurring barriers. Key findings recommended: mixed-method data, stakeholder collaborations, training programs, and creative marketing. Furthermore, this study closes the gap towards aligning with public polices that will create supportive services for men of color and offering stakeholders -'the what, and the how' towards implementing social change.

Black males continue to struggle when faced with the challenge of seeking a college education (Cuyjet, 1997, 2006; Mincy, et al 2006; Schott, 2006). Currently, they lag behind in college and university participation as compared to other gendered groups as well as their White and Asian counterparts (Cuyjet, 2006; Bush & Bush, 2010). As with every promising Black male community college student, there are barriers to enrollment and completion, e.g., first-generation and first-time-in-college, previous high school academic and disciplinary experiences, peer pressure, family dynamics, financial considerations and social environments serving as barriers to enrollment and completion. Despite these barriers, many Black males students make it to college. However, they often have difficulty remaining in the educational system long enough to complete their certificates and/or degrees. Although, there are many quality community college and university programs designed to increase the overall success of students “prior to” and “during” enrollment, regrettably, many colleges that facilitate outreach and retention efforts do little by way of accountability. Statistical monitoring for evaluation purpose is mixed. Adequate records of how Black males are performing in and apart from college are important for educational institutions as they consider developing specialized programs for minority sub-group participation, engagement, and success. Furthermore, unengaged Black males, and those attempting to aid them, have varying viewpoints as to the type and priority of programs designed to include Black male participation in postsecondary education. This study will examine Black males’ perspectives versus institutional engagement strategies relative to participation, engagement, and successes that influence Black males Men on the Move program at St. Philip’s College. Moreover, the study will furthermore investigate outreach and retention efforts for Black males that were developed by the St. Philip’s College. / text

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Leadership, 2008. / Title from second page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 104-116).

<p>Black men experience numerous systemic challenges in pursuit of their education, yet they also possess strength to achieve academic goals. The purpose of this autoethnographic study is to describe the meaning of my experiences at an undergraduate engineering program at a historically White institution to increase awareness of the ways that Black men experience undergraduate engineering programs at historically White institutions. The overarching research question is: How do I make meaning of the formative experiences along my engineering education journey at an historically White institution through the lens of African American Male Theory? To answer this question, I chose critical autoethnography because it enabled me to use my role as the researcher along with my own experiences as part of the topic and group of study. Through this methodology, I described my experiences through the lens of African American Male Theory, which was not available to me at the time the events were occurring. I analyzed personal memory data (e.g., poems, speeches, applications, resumes and interview transcripts) and my researcher journal to provide a thorough personal account of my collegiate experiences and relative perspectives on those experiences. The findings of this study provide an in-depth understanding of how I experienced an engineering program at an HWI in such a way that offers insights to better support Black men in engineering. As such, this study calls for holistic support for Black male students in engineering through interventions such as culturally relevant curriculum, narrative evaluation, standards of inclusion for classrooms, culturally competent counselors, and hiring minoritized faculty. Finally, this study appeals for more research to investigate how Black men experience freedom while pursuing their engineering degree at HWIs. </p>