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African American Males and Education: a Study of Successes and Failures

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African American Males and Education: a Study of Successes and Failures African American Males and Education: A Study of Successes and Failures A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School Valdosta State University in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION in Educational Leadership in the Department of Curriculum, Leadership, and Technology of the Dewar College of Education August 2009 Darrell Ondrey Seldon M.Ed., Columbus State University, 2003 B.S.Ed., Alabama State University, 1991 © Copyright 2009, Darrell Ondrey Seldon All Rights Reserved This dissertation, “African American Males and Education: A Study of Successes and Failures,” by Darrell Ondrey Seldon, is approved by: Dissertation Committee Chair _________________________________________ and Researcher Dr. Richard W. Schmertzing Professor of Curriculum, Leadership, and Technology Committee Members _________________________________________ Dr. Matthew Richard Associate Professor of Anthropology _________________________________________ Dr. Corine Myers-Jennings Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders _________________________________________ Dr. A. Lorraine C. Schmertzing Associate Professor of Curriculum, Leadership, and Technology Dean of the College of Education _________________________________________ Dr. Philip L. Gunter Professor of Special Education and Communication Disorders Interim Dean of the Graduate School _________________________________________ Dr. Karla M. Hull Professor of Special Education FAIR USE This dissertation is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94- 553, revised in 1976). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of the material for financial gain without the author‟s expressed written permission is not allowed. DUPLICATION I authorize the Head of Interlibrary Loan or the Head of Archives at the Odum Library at Valdosta State University to arrange for duplication of this dissertation for educational or scholarly purposes when so requested by a library user. The duplication shall be at the user‟s expense. Signature _____________________________________ I refuse permission for this dissertation to be duplicated in whole or in part. Signature _____________________________________ ABSTRACT This study investigated the educational and social experiences of African American males reared in poverty. The focus of this study was on a particular low- income neighborhood in Columbus, Georgia. I was interested in this neighborhood because I, an African American male, lived there for 7 years. I researched and recorded the lives of eight African American males, including myself, who were raised in this low- income neighborhood. The study investigated our life experiences, with emphasis on those issues related to education and race. With the neighborhood context as the frame, emphasis was placed on understanding why some of my African American male peers succeeded in school and life, while others did not. The study involved conducting life history interviews, and the data collected were used to construct first-person narratives of each participant. The narratives were analyzed to determine themes within and across the life histories. The four principle themes were: personal success, fatherly support/relationship, fair treatment, and better lifestyle. I found that all of the African American male participants had aspirations and dreams. They yearned for quality relationships with their fathers. The participants spoke out vehemently against racism, desiring to be treated fairly. All of the participants wanted something better in life than what they experienced as children and teenagers in the projects, and they worked towards the fulfillment of that dream. Resilience was also a common characteristic and was discussed in detail. i TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 The Problem ............................................................................................................ 1 The Research Project .............................................................................................. 5 Research Goals........................................................................................................ 6 Research Questions ................................................................................................. 7 Significance of Study .............................................................................................. 8 CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE........................................................... 10 Structuralist Perspective........................................................................................ 10 Culturalist Perspective .......................................................................................... 12 Teacher Issues ....................................................................................................... 13 Racism................................................................................................................... 14 School Structure .................................................................................................... 16 Resilience .............................................................................................................. 20 Local Context ........................................................................................................ 23 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY .................................................................................. 43 Participants ............................................................................................................ 54 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 56 Validity and the Construction of Themes ............................................................. 58 Within-Case/Cross-Case Analysis ........................................................................ 61 Subjectivity ........................................................................................................... 63 Limitations of this Study ....................................................................................... 75 CHAPTER IV THE NARRATIVES ............................................................................... 77 ii Johnny the Optimist .............................................................................................. 77 Jeremy The Promising Athlete.............................................................................. 96 Orlando the Ball Player ....................................................................................... 110 Patrick the Talented Singer ................................................................................. 134 Randy the Penny Pincher .................................................................................... 151 Victor the Comedian ........................................................................................... 169 Jonathon the Hustler ........................................................................................... 184 Darrell the Underdog .......................................................................................... 216 CHAPTER V CASE ANALYSIS ................................................................................. 235 Individual Traits (Within-Case Analysis) ........................................................... 235 Analysis of Johnny .................................................................................. 235 Analysis of Jeremy .................................................................................. 241 Analysis of Orlando ................................................................................ 248 Analysis of Patrick .................................................................................. 254 Analysis of Randy ................................................................................... 262 Analysis of Victor ................................................................................... 267 Analysis of Jonathon ............................................................................... 272 Analysis of Darrell .................................................................................. 281 Collective Traits (Cross-Case Analysis) ............................................................. 289 Emergent Themes ................................................................................... 289 Longing for Personal Success (I Wanna Be Somebody!) ........... 290 Longing for Fatherly Support/Relationship (I Need My Dad!) .. 304 Longing for Fair Treatment (Don‟t Treat Me Like That!) .......... 314 iii Longing for Better Life (I Want Something Better Than This!) 322 Other Thematic Discussions ................................................................... 328 Resilience .................................................................................... 328 Playing the Dozens ..................................................................... 340 CHAPTER VI CONCLUSION. .................................................................................... 343 Summary of Findings .......................................................................................... 343 Application of Findings ...................................................................................... 347 Literature Applications ......................................................................................
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