In this thesis, I will discuss the influence of education on the identity formation of African American students. Based on the scholarly literature in education theory, I will argue in Bourdieuan theory education, formal education, fails to accommodate the specific needs of African American students because education influences African American students to develop constructions of whiteness" that education reinforces. As education attempts to uphold the status quo of American society, education simultaneously forces African American students to question the relevance of education. In questioning the relevance of education through high-achieving African American students use of language and pursuit of academic achievement, low-achieving African American students offer a critique of education that characterizes education as a white-dominated system where individuals must embody whiteness in order to achieve social acceptance. As a result, African American students choose to disidentify with education rather than to assimilate into White culture to avoid being identified as white− speaking Standard English, following rules and regulations, and maintaining a high grade point average. This critique of education− though not an anti-intellectual response to education because most African Americans still view education as a means to social mobility− signifies education does not educate African American students but instead produces white African American students in order to reproduce societal norms. I will also propose the incorporation of self-knowledge into critical education will facilitate an awareness of personal history and self-worth among African American students not only to disrupt an educational structure of inequality but also to foster a positive self-concept within these students.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-04142014-022121 |
| Date | 07 May 2014 |
| Creators | James, Erica Lynette |
| Contributors | Fasching-Varner, Kenneth, Finley, Stephen, Jackson, Joyce |
| Publisher | LSU |
| Source Sets | Louisiana State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04142014-022121/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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