No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Dept. of Economics and Dept. of Sociology/Criminal Justice & Criminology. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2005. / "A dissertation in economics and social science." Advisor: James I. Sturgeon. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed March 13, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 248-262). Online version of the print edition.

This study explores a link between "stereotype vulnerability" and the documented under performance of African American students on standardized tests. The subjects were 41 third grade African American students matched according to language arts grades with 41 third grade Anglo students. The students were from predominately middle class suburban schools, with similar educational experiences. The data suggest that third grade African American and Anglo students from predominately middle class schools, with approximately equivalent language arts grades and similar educational experiences, will score comparably to one another regardless of testing conditions. The data also suggest that this sample of third grade students are confident in their academic ability and are not affected by negative stereotyping.

Research into current literature regarding black dropouts and black at-risk students indicated that there were many reasons cited by writers as to why these students have failed or succeeded in academic settings. However, writers cited two major reasons for the lack of academic success at the high school level. These reasons were socioeconomic status and race, with demographics listed as a close third. The need existed for analytical identification of the variables which affected these minority students and the specific strategies required to assure their educational success. The purpose of this study was to identify the variables that are characteristic of black high school dropouts and compile a list of variables which would sort into a taxonomy made up of several categories. A Parallel Pairs Model was developed to sort and classify the multiplicity of variables found in some of the educational programs and situations that were researched. The model established three categories into which the reasons that black students dropout, could be sorted. The differentiations depicted by the categories of the model help to identify systems and approaches to improve the education of these students. An auxiliary objective of this study was to draft a program evaluation strategy that could be implemented once unique variables wore no longer ambiguous. Essential recommendations suggested by this study are threefold. The relationship between the dropout rate and the economic system becomes essential in policy making about education, e.g., funding should be equitably allocated. Redesigning academic strategies to accommodate all students becomes the primary focus of all school districts, e.g., adjust schools to the learners. The application of a taxonomy, as developed in this study, is advantageous as a checklist or diagnostic tool. Usage suggests valuative and preventive techniques.

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Bowling Green State University, 2007. / Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 178 p. Includes bibliographical references.

African American children comprise 16.5 percent of all public school enrollments, but account for 27 percent of all students in Seriously Emotionally Disturbed (SED) classes (U. S. Dept of Education, 2001; U. S. Department of Education Ofice of Civil Rights, 1997). Being in such a position sets these children in the position of being assessed more often for placement and diagnostic purposes. Test instruments often use norms that either have not been standardized with African American children, or the cultural impact of African American socialization has not been validated with these children. In this investigation, the Rorschach was administered to 40 African American students of low-and middle-socioeconomic status. Comparisons were made between the Rorschach??s established norms for 9- and 11-year-olds and the study group of 40 African American male and female, 9- and 11-year-olds, to investigate any trends for the study group. In addition, the relative impact of acculturation on the Rorschach scores of this study??s participants was examined. Results revealed significant differences from the norm group on six of the 15 variables for the 11-year-olds in the study group, although not all significance was in the same direction, nor in the direction expected by the investigator. F+, and m were found in higher amounts for the study sample; CF, Pairs, Zf, and T were all found in significantly lower amounts for the study group. Significance on six (CF, Pairs, R-total, Zf, AG, and T) of the Rorschach variables investigated was found for the 9-year-old study group. There was no significance found due to the impact of acculturation for the entire study group. It may be that the 9-year-olds have a less sophisticated or negative "worldview" than their 11-year-old study group counterparts, or that when they are younger African American children perceive or process images more similar to their mainstream peers. Implications for further research and practice were discussed.

The intent of this study was to systematically investigate the relationship between African American disproportionality in school discipline which is the overrepresentation of students for exclusionary discipline practices (i.e., out-of-school suspensions and/or expulsions) - and student performance. Utilizing official disciplinary records and performance data obtained from the Colorado Department of Education and a single urban school district within the same state, a series of quantitative analyses that included correlations and logistic and multiple regressions, were conducted to determine how out-of-school suspensions and expulsions impact African American students. The premise upon which the present study is based relies heavily on the tenets of Critical Race Theory as it applies to education, which in part asserts that American schools are permeated by racism and that White privilege is used to preserve school inequities through the use of stratification. Given this, it is argued that out-of-school suspensions and expulsions have been used, or rather misused, to perpetuate the disproportionate exclusion of African American students from the classroom for relatively minor offenses; which in some ways, can explain why this group typically suffers from poor student performance. This dissertation was guided by two separate, yet interrelated studies, which posed the following research questions where the first study asks; What factors are important in predicting the likelihood of being suspended and/or expelled from school? and Are suspensions and race correlated? Here, the interest is in exploring the influence of race, class, gender and other possible demographic characteristics, such as school level and behavior role, on exclusionary discipline practices. The second study asks; How does the overrepresentation of African American students for exclusionary sanctions impact student performance? The interest, here, is in identifying the relationship between school suspensions and/or expulsions and its impact on the dropout rate, graduation rate, and performance on high stakes tests. This dissertation study produces two findings that are not only unprecedented; they are cutting-edge and provocative. First, female and elementary students were found to be more likely to face suspension and/or expulsion in comparison to male and secondary students, respectively. Second, by increasing the number of suspended and expelled African American students, school districts improved their overall student performance on high stakes tests. With the contribution of these findings, a paradigmic shift in research and discourse on disproportionality in school discipline is both fitting and warranted.