DOCSLIB.ORG

The Intersection of Academics and Culture

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Intersection of Academics and Culture 1 THE INTERSECTION OF ACADEMICS AND CULTURE: AN INTERPRETIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL FOR EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM A thesis presented by R. Kelly Cameron to The School of Education In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the field of Educational Leadership College of Professional Studies Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts February 2019 2 Abstract The public school system is changing and so, too, are the lived experiences of African American students who attend predominantly White high schools through the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) program. Arguably, all students deserve access to high quality education, although student experiences differ in suburban and urban contexts. The lived experiences of suburban Whites and urban African Americans are vastly different. Education scholars continue to explore and research the phenomenon of lived experiences using interpretive phenomenological analysis as a qualitative research method to produce evidence associated with experiences. In this thesis, research interpreted the lived experiences of five African American students attending predominantly White high schools through the METCO program. Guided by cultural identity theory, the study sought to answer the following research question: What are the social and cultural experiences of African American students living in inner-city Boston who attend a predominantly White suburban school through the METCO program? Five major findings were discovered. First, student participants demonstrated an absence of understanding associated with the meaning and purpose of the METCO program. Second, long commutes on the school bus contribute to the lived experience and after-school activity decision-making of METCO students. Third, METCO students desire their suburban schools to nurture cultural interactions in a formalized manner across the student body. Fourth, African American students demonstrated intact cultural identities in their predominantly White suburban settings. Finally, situational occurrences involving culture reveal the ongoing presence of teachable moments for White teachers and school leaders. Keywords: experiences, African American, students, culture, identity, METCO 3 Dedication To the chief birth officer and educator-in-chief of my life journey—love you Ma To my dad who missed this moment, I’m sure you would be proud—HLC To the father who guided me spiritually as a man, you’re gone, but not forgotten—Rev. CET To S & G, it wasn’t easy being your younger brother, but you both taught me a lot about “stuff” I dare not forget to mention the Princess, thank you for inviting me into your life—DC For the many who encouraged me along this journey—thank you! 4 Acknowledgements To my five participants, this work is complete because of your contributions—thank you To Dr. Conn, your guidance and assistance helped me complete this journey—thank you To Dr. Brown-Thompson, your participation in this academic exercise really challenged me to think differently about the work I started and where it will go in the future—thank you! Dr. Motley, your example has been modeled for a long time and you never knew it—thank you! To Heartful Editor team & Dr. Joy Milano, your collective expertise contributed to a successful crossing of the finish line—thank you! 5 Table of Contents ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... 2 DEDICATION ................................................................................................................................ 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ 4 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 10 Addressing Educational Inequalities With METCO ................................................................. 10 Value of Experience .................................................................................................................. 14 The African American Student Experience .............................................................................. 16 Problem of Practice ................................................................................................................... 18 Justification for the Research Problem........................................................................... 20 Deficiencies in the Evidence .......................................................................................... 22 Relating the Discussion to Audiences ............................................................................ 23 Significance of Research Problem ............................................................................................ 24 Purpose Statement ..................................................................................................................... 26 Central Research Question ........................................................................................................ 27 Positionality ............................................................................................................................... 27 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................. 28 Cultural Identity Theory ............................................................................................................ 30 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................... 32 The Phenomenon of Lived Experience ..................................................................................... 32 African American Students in Suburbia.................................................................................... 34 The High School Peer Relationship Ecosystem ............................................................. 35 Multicultural Education.................................................................................................. 35 6 Summary of Secondary Education in Massachusetts ................................................................ 36 Landmark School Desegregation Cases in Massachusetts ............................................. 36 Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity .................................................................. 42 Formation of METCO .................................................................................................... 42 Educational Opportunity Through METCO .................................................................. 44 Equity, Access, and the Socioeconomics of Public Education ................................................. 45 Achievement/Underachievement ................................................................................... 46 Cultural Identity Theory ............................................................................................................ 47 “Acting White” ............................................................................................................... 49 Code Switching .............................................................................................................. 49 Congruent Theory .......................................................................................................... 50 Scholarly Works ............................................................................................................. 53 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 53 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN ........................................................................................... 55 Qualitative Research Approach ................................................................................................. 55 Research Tradition .................................................................................................................... 57 Research Considerations ........................................................................................................... 58 Theoretical Underpinnings of Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis .................................. 58 Phenomenology .............................................................................................................. 59 Hermeneutics .................................................................................................................. 59 Idiography ...................................................................................................................... 60 Research Question ..................................................................................................................... 60 One-on-One Interview Protocols ................................................................................... 61 7 Interview Phases ............................................................................................................. 62 Research Participants ................................................................................................................ 62 Recruitment and Access ................................................................................................. 63 Research
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Contrast and Accentuation Effects in Category Learning
    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Copyright 1990 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 1990, Vol. 59, No. 4, 651-663 0022-3514/90/100.75 Contrast and Accentuation Effects in Category Learning Joachim Krueger Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Education West Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany Myron Rothbart University of Oregon This study examines the accentuation of perceived intercategory differences. In Experiment 1, 2 sets of trait adjectives were presented—a neutral set and a set of either favorable traits or unfavorable traits. Ss estimated the mean favorability of each set. The mean favorability of the neutral set was then increased or decreased by adding new traits. As predicted, the estimated mean favorability of the neutral set changed more when the set became more distinct from a contextual set than when it became more similar. In Experiment 2, estimated category means were displaced away from each other (contrast effect), and they moved even farther apart when new information increased the variability of trait favorability (accentuation effect). This change was illusory because the actual category means remained constant. Experiment 3, in which trait adjectives described members of 2 novel groups, replicated Experiment 2. The relevance of contrast and accentuation effects to the development and maintenance of differentiated intergroup perceptions is discussed. Categorization processes play an important role in stereo- Rothbart, & Sriram, 1989). When subjects learned that one type formation and change. Since the work of Allport (1954) category was associated with higher (or lower) values on some and Tajfel (1969), a burgeoning literature has examined the continuum than was a comparison category, new information consequences of categorization to the perception of people.
    [Show full text]
  • Effects of Manipulating Fundamental Frequency and Speech Rate On
    Effects of Manipulating Fundamental Frequency and Speech Rate on Synthetic Voice Recognition Performance and Perceived Speaker Identity, Sex, and Age Georgina Elizabeth Gous Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Nottingham Trent University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2017 This work is the intellectual property of the author. You may copy up to 5% of this work for private study, or personal, non-commercial research. Any re-use of the information contained within the document should be fully referenced, quoting the author, title, university, degree level and pagination. Queries or requests for any other use, or if a more substantial copy is required, should be directed in the owner(s) of the Intellectual Property Rights. ii ABSTRACT __________________________________________________ Vocal fundamental frequency (F0) and speech rate provide the listener with important information relating to the identity, sex, and age of the speaker. Furthermore, it has also been demonstrated that manipulations in F0 or speech rate can lead to accentuation effects in voice memory. As a result, listeners appear to exaggerate the representation of a target voice in terms of F0 or speech rate, and mistakenly remember it as being higher or lower in F0, or faster or slower in speech rate, than the voice originally heard. The aim of this thesis was to understand the effect of manipulations/shifts in F0 or speech rate on voice matching performance and perceived speaker identity, sex, and age. Synthesised male and female voices speaking prescribed sentences were generated and shifted in either F0 and speech rate. In the first set of experiments (Experiments 2, 3, and 4), male and female listeners made judgements about the perceived identity, sex, or age of the speaker.
    [Show full text]
  • Left-Right Categorization and Perceptions of Party Ideologies1
    Left-right Categorization and Perceptions of Party Ideologies1 Forthcoming on Political Behavior DOI: 10.1007/s11109-018-9451-y by: Federico Vegetti ([email protected]) Daniela Širinić ([email protected]) Abstract Political similarities and differences are often described in terms of left and right. However, while scholars have long focused on their substantive policy content, ideological labels also serve largely as symbolic identifiers of political groups. We investigate how the contextual variation in what left and right mean relates to the way that citizens perceive party ideological positions in European countries. We discuss the impact of categorization, a basic cognitive process where people organize reality by classifying objects into groups based on some relevant characteristics. We argue that when left and right strongly reflect symbolic group attachments, citizens tend to accentuate their perceived similarity to parties in their own ideological camp, and difference from parties in the opposite ideological camp. Using data from the European Election Study 2009, we provide empirical evidence of the latter process. We conclude that taking into account the categorical function of left-right provides important insights to understand political perceptions and polarization. 1 Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the MPSA conference 2014, and at the Political Behavior Research Group (PolBeRG) seminar at the Central European University in Budapest. We thank the present and past members of PolBeRG for all the stimulating discussions over the years, in particular Levi Littvay, Zoltán Fazekas, and Martin Mölder. We also thank the Central European University for providing us and many others a great environment where to exchange ideas.
    [Show full text]
  • Nawj Psych Terms
    NAWJ Terms List 1 Psychological terms useful in understanding mechanisms allowing unconscious bias Accentuation Effect: Overestimation of similarities among people within a group and dissimilarities between people from different groups Accentuation principle: States that categorization accentuates perceived similarities within and differences between groups on dimensions that people believe are correlated with the category. The effect is amplified where the categorization/dimension has subjective importance, relevance or value Actor-Observer effect: Tendency to attribute our own behaviors externally and others’ behaviors internally Agentic mode: State of mind thought by Milgram to characterize unquestioning obedience, in which people transfer personal responsibility to the person giving orders Anchoring and adjustment : A cognitive short-cut in which inferences are tied to initial standards or schemas Attitude: A relatively enduring organization of beliefs, feelings and behavioral tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events or symbols. Attitude change can occur by inducing someone to perform an act that runs counter to an existing attitude. Attribution : The process of assigning a cause to behaviors and events Availability bias: A cognitive shortcut in which the frequency or likelihood of an event is based on how quickly instances or associations come to mind Bias blind spot: tendency to perceive cognitive and motivational biases much more in others than in oneself Cognition: The knowledge, beliefs, thoughts, and ideas
    [Show full text]
  • A Social Identity Theory of Leadership Michael A
    Personality and Social Psychology Review Copyright © 2001 by 2001, Vol. 5, No. 3, 184-200 Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. A Social Identity Theory of Leadership Michael A. Hogg School ofPsychology University of Queensland A social identity theory of leadership is described that views leadership as a group process generated by social categorization and prototype-based depersonalization processes associated with social identity. Group identification, as self-categorization, constructs an intragroup prototypicality gradient that invests the most prototypical member with the appearance of having influence; the appearance arises because members cognitively and behaviorally conform to the prototype. The appearance of influence becomes a reality through depersonalized social attraction processes that makefollowers agree and comply with the leader's ideas and suggestions. Consensual social attraction also imbues the leader with apparent status and creates a sta- tus-based structural differentiation within the group into leader(s) and followers, which has characteristics ofunequal status intergroup relations. In addition, afunda- mental attribution process constructs a charismatic leadership personality for the leader, which further empowers the leader and sharpens the leader-follower status differential. Empirical supportfor the theory is reviewed and a range ofimplications discussed, including intergroup dimensions, uncertainty reduction and extremism, power, and pitfalls ofprototype-based leadership. Over the past 25 years social psychology has placed 1988; Robinson, 1996; J. C. Turner, Hogg, Oakes, relatively little emphasis on the study of leadership. Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987; Worchel, Morales, Paez, & This is probably associated with the well-documented Deschamps, 1998) and has provided a social cognitive decline during the 1960s and 1970s of interest in small framework for social psychology to reexamine leader- group research, the associated ascendency of social ship as a group process.
    [Show full text]
  • Attentional Processes in Stereotype Formation: a Common Model for Category Accentuation and Illusory Correlation
    UC Davis UC Davis Previously Published Works Title Attentional processes in stereotype formation: a common model for category accentuation and illusory correlation. Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/60b217ps Journal Journal of personality and social psychology, 96(2) ISSN 0022-3514 Authors Sherman, Jeffrey W Kruschke, John K Sherman, Steven J et al. Publication Date 2009-02-01 DOI 10.1037/a0013778 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Journal of Personality and Social Psychology © 2009 American Psychological Association 2009, Vol. 96, No. 2, 305–323 0022-3514/09/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0013778 Attentional Processes in Stereotype Formation: A Common Model for Category Accentuation and Illusory Correlation Jeffrey W. Sherman John K. Kruschke, Steven J. Sherman, and University of California, Davis Elise J. Percy Indiana University Bloomington John V. Petrocelli Frederica R. Conrey Wake Forest University Synovate Stereotype formation may be based on the exaggeration of real group differences (category accentuation) or the misperception of group differences that do not exist (illusory correlation). This research sought to account for both phenomena with J. K. Kruschke’s (1996, 2001, 2003) attention theory of category learning. According to the model, the features of majority groups are learned earlier than the features of minority groups. In turn, the features that become associated with a minority are those that most distinguish it from the majority. This second process is driven by an attention-shifting mechanism that directs attention toward group–attribute pairings that facilitate differentiation of the two groups and may lead to the formation of stronger minority stereotypes.
    [Show full text]
  • Krueger-2008-Attribu
    Group Processes & Intergroup Relations http://gpi.sagepub.com Attribution and Categorization Effects in the Representation of Gender Stereotypes Joachim I. Krueger, Julie H. Hall, Paola Villano and Meredith C. Jones Group Processes Intergroup Relations 2008; 11; 401 DOI: 10.1177/1368430208092542 The online version of this article can be found at: http://gpi.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/11/3/401 Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com Additional services and information for Group Processes & Intergroup Relations can be found at: Email Alerts: http://gpi.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://gpi.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav Citations http://gpi.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/11/3/401 Downloaded from http://gpi.sagepub.com at BROWN UNIVERSITY on January 12, 2010 Group Processes & Intergroup Relations 2008 Vol 11(3) 401–414 Attribution and Categorization Effects in the Representation of Gender Stereotypes Joachim I. Krueger Brown University Julie H. Hall University at Buffalo Paola Villano Università di Bologna Meredith C. Jones University of Denver Social stereotypes involve judgments of how typical certain personality traits are of a group. According to the attribution hypothesis, judgments of trait typicality depend on the perceived prevalence of the trait in the target group. According to the categorization hypothesis, such judgments depend on the degree to which a trait is thought to be more or less prevalent in the target group than in a relevant comparison group. A study conducted with women and men as target groups showed that the attribution hypothesis fi t the data best when typicality ratings were made in an absolute format.
    [Show full text]
  • ADR Empirical Research Studies
    ADR Empirical Research Studies (Summer 2013-Summer 2017) James Coben, Professor, Mitchell Hamline School of Law ([email protected]) Donna Steinstra, Senior Researcher, Federal Judicial Center ([email protected]) Beginning in summer 2013, we have co-edited Research Insights, a regular column in the American Bar Association’s DISPUTE RESOLUTION MAGAZINE (DRM). Twice a year we choose 10-12 empirical research studies relevant to ADR professionals and publish the citation and abstract. To compile the longer list from which we choose our subset for publication in the column, we’ve cast a fairly wide net looking for published research in a variety of fields, including social psychology, cognitive science, consumer research, law, economics, sociology, and political science. We know we haven’t captured every study published in the last five years, but the current list has grown quite large – now just short of 300 entries. We’re hoping you (and/or your students) might find our list helpful for your own research, teaching/training, and writing projects. We’ve organized them here by topic1 (and within topic, by year published [most recent first]), providing citation, the published abstract, and the DRM issue in which the abstract was published. We’ll be updating the list twice a year (you can always find the most current version on the Mitchell Hamline Dispute Resolution Institute website [ http://open.mitchellhamline.edu/dri_empirical/ ]. In the meantime, if you notice a relevant empirical research study that we’ve omitted, please let us know and we’ll add it to the list. Thanks! Apology ....................................................................................................................................... 2 Arbitration: General ................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • A Common Model for Category Accentuation and Illusory Correlation
    Journal of Personality and Social Psychology © 2009 American Psychological Association 2009, Vol. 96, No. 2, 305–323 0022-3514/09/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0013778 Attentional Processes in Stereotype Formation: A Common Model for Category Accentuation and Illusory Correlation Jeffrey W. Sherman John K. Kruschke, Steven J. Sherman, and University of California, Davis Elise J. Percy Indiana University Bloomington John V. Petrocelli Frederica R. Conrey Wake Forest University Synovate Stereotype formation may be based on the exaggeration of real group differences (category accentuation) or the misperception of group differences that do not exist (illusory correlation). This research sought to account for both phenomena with J. K. Kruschke’s (1996, 2001, 2003) attention theory of category learning. According to the model, the features of majority groups are learned earlier than the features of minority groups. In turn, the features that become associated with a minority are those that most distinguish it from the majority. This second process is driven by an attention-shifting mechanism that directs attention toward group–attribute pairings that facilitate differentiation of the two groups and may lead to the formation of stronger minority stereotypes. Five experiments supported this model as a common account for category accentuation and distinctiveness-based illusory correlation. Implications for the natures of stereotype formation, illusory correlation, and impression formation are discussed. Keywords: stereotype formation, social categorization, categorization and attention, category accentua- tion, illusory correlation Tajfel’s experiments (Tajfel & Wilkes, 1963) on category ac- ing past research on stereotype formation, AT also suggests a centuation and Hamilton’s demonstration of the distinctiveness- number of novel predictions that were tested in this research.1 based illusory correlation (Hamilton & Gifford, 1976) are the two seminal findings in the development of the social-cognitive ap- proach to understanding stereotype formation.
    [Show full text]
  • Social Categorization and the Perception of Groups and Group Differences Joachim I
    Social and Personality Psychology Compass 2/2 (2008): 733–750, 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2008.00083.x Social Categorization and the Perception of Groups and Group Differences Joachim I. Krueger* and Theresa E. DiDonato Brown University Abstract The classification of human beings into distinct groups is a fundamental feature of social perception. Problematic phenomena, such as prejudice, discrimination, and intergroup conflict, are commonly traced back to categorization. We explore the minimal conditions under which categorization occurs and the basic mechanisms by which it affects cognition and behavior. We show that comparisons between groups are not necessary for categorization, reveal the conditions under which people overestimate or underestimate differences between groups, and sketch a model showing how social categorization gives rise to differences in the evaluation of ingroups and outgroups and to differences in the accuracy of judgments of ingroups and outgroups. We conclude with reflections on intergroup conflict and the role of moral judgment in such conflicts. [The first man was created alone] for the sake of peace among men, so that no one could say to another, ‘My ancestor was greater than yours’ ... for when a human being strikes many coins from one mould, they all resemble one another, but the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, fashioned every man in the stamp of the first man, and yet not one of them resembles his fellow. —Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5. The sages of the Talmud were well aware of the psychological tension created by the fact that human beings are simultaneously similar to and different from one another.
    [Show full text]
  • Rethinking Profiling: a Cognitive Model of Bias and Its Legal Implications
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Oregon Scholars' Bank ALEX GEISINGER∗ Rethinking Profiling: A Cognitive Model of Bias and Its Legal Implications ometimes referred to as “Driving While Black,” but Sactually encompassing any time that law enforcement uses a person’s race as the basis for acting, racial profiling has become a matter of serious public concern.1 Academic debate of profiling has taken a variety of forms but often returns to a basic question regarding the rationality of police officers’ behavior. Critics argue that profiling is an irrational behavior motivated by racial stereotypes, which results in disproportionate harm to minority communities.2 Supporters respond that profiling is an efficient use of limited enforcement resources, and that profiling rests on a sound statistical foundation demonstrating that certain minorities are likely to engage in illegal activity at levels higher than other groups.3 Responding to this debate, regulators have ∗ Professor of Law, Drexel University College of Law (written while Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Professor of Law, Valparaiso Law School). The author would like to thank Ivan Bodensteiner for his helpful comments and Sarah Newcomb for her excellent research assistance. 1 See, e.g., Carol Eisenberg, Imams Seek an Apology, NEWSDAY, Nov. 28, 2006, at A21 (discussing the removal of six Muslim imams from a US Airways flight after the imams were seen laying out mats and praying in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport); Rick Hampson, In New York City, Outrage Mounts over Police Tactics, USA TODAY, Mar.
    [Show full text]
  • A Social Psychological Discussion Based on the Main Theoretical Explanations
    REVIEW published: 13 November 2020 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.569528 Exploring the Motivation Behind Discrimination and Stigmatization Related to COVID-19: A Social Psychological Discussion Based on the Main Theoretical Explanations H. Andaç DemirtaS¸-Madran* Faculty of Communication, BaS¸ kent University, Ankara, Turkey The novel coronavirus (COVID-19), was first detected in Wuhan province in China during late December 2019 and was designated as being highly infectious. The World Health Edited by: Joanna Sokolowska, Organization (WHO) labeled it a “pandemic” on March 11, 2020. Throughout human University of Social Sciences and history, experience has shown that prejudices and viruses spread simultaneously during Humanities, Poland a viral pandemic. Outgroup members have been associated with various diseases and Reviewed by: Emanuele Politi, non-human vectors of diseases. Some epidemics have been named according to various KU Leuven, Belgium outgroups, just as the novel coronavirus has been referred to by some as the “Wuhan Helene Joffe, virus” or the “Chinese virus.” Associating a virus with a sociodemographic group builds University College London, United Kingdom a false illusionary correlation, which can lead to stigmatization and discrimination. *Correspondence: Pandemics can also stimulate violent xenophobic reactions. Besides the obvious harmful H. Andaç DemirtaS¸ -Madran consequences for the individuals targeted, pandemic-related discrimination also affects [email protected] the spread of the virus through its effect on public attitudes toward prevention and Specialty section: restriction, health service procurement, and in the establishment of health-related policies. This article was submitted to It is important to first understand the relevant concepts and processes, and also to Personality and Social Psychology, a section of the journal understand the underlying causes of discrimination in order to fight it.
    [Show full text]