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Developing an Instrument to Measure Educator Perceptions of African American Male Students Prek - 12 DEVELOPING AN INSTRUMENT TO MEASURE EDUCATOR PERCEPTIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE STUDENTS PREK - 12 Delbert Christopher Eugene Scott A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION December 2019 Committee: Patrick D. Pauken, Advisor Alicia Mrachko, Graduate Faculty Representative Philip T.K. Daniel Paul A. Johnson Matthew Lavery © 2019 Delbert Christopher Eugene Scott All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Patrick D. Pauken, Advisor Educators are important in the academic and social development of students. Educator perceptions carry significant weight when interpreting behaviors, skills, and abilities of students (Beckford, 2016; Simson, 2013). Research that investigates the possible consequences of educator perceptions of African American males and the relationship of those perceptions to student outcomes is scant. This exploratory sequential research study reported psychometric properties of an instrument developed to examine educator perceptions of African American males held by public educators in PreK12. Extant research suggests that educator perceptions of Black males are more negative than those of noneducators (see Foster, 1995; Quinn, 2017). Specifically, overall perceptions of educators regarding African American males are negative (Fitzgerald, 2009; Foster, 1995; Jackson & Crawley, 2003). The instrument created for the present study will guide future research that will enable researchers to examine the relationships between educator perceptions and outcomes for African American male students (e.g., eligibility in special education for EBDs). Examining validity evidence for the public educator perceptions of African American males survey (PEPAAMS) PreK12 revealed significant relationships between educators (1) answering on behalf of the average person and (2) self-reporting personal perceptions. This study also found that the adapted brief social desirability scale did not function as intended. The ABSDS was not a reliable measure to differentiate which dependent variable is best to use when there were different scores for personal and average perceptions of public educators using a iv paired samples t-Test and MANOVA. Due to the inadequacy of the ABSDS, findings revealed that personal value statements were a better indicator for determining which perceptions scores were more reliable to use. Finally, this study concluded that educators who were truly low prejudice (see Hing et al., 2008) were least likely to hold negative personal perceptions of African American male students. v This dissertation is dedicated to my beautiful children Christopher Emmanuel, Christion Elijah, Annalyse Gabrielle, and Alanna Grace Scott, Without all of you, I would not have embarked upon such a profound journey. I love each of you more than worldly wealth; I love you more than life itself. The staff at Windsor, who I called the “dream team.” We transformed that school despite union opposition, who vowed to get rid of me because we were getting results. And then we went to Highland and did it again. You all taught me how to be an educational leader. To my pops, Dr. Patrick D. Pauken, your encouragement and support are immeasurable. In loving memory of my mother in the gospel, Pastor Ethel L’Tanya Lemon, and my Godmother, Sybil Truphelia Edwards-McNabb, without the two of you, I would not have been an educator. I love you more than words can express, RIG. Finally, in loving memory of my pastor, Apostle Cecil Alexander Pratt, Jr., pastor of Church of Jesus Family Worship Center in Springfield, Ohio for over 50 years. “We may never pass this way again, but I remember how good it’s been. I love you, RIG. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To Yahshua the Mashiach, the only true and living God. You kept your word through David, King of Israel, when he declared in Psalms 27:10, “When my father and mother [forsook] me,” you, “the Lord [took] me up.” To Lynda Dickerson, my “Mother Dear.” You prayed me through. Thanks to you too auntie Dr. Tona Dickerson. To three African American women educators who profoundly impacted my life. First, Mrs. Stewart, my Kindergarten teacher at South Mifflin Elementary school. Mrs. Donna Matthews, my 6th grade Reading and Language Arts teacher at Woodward Park Middle School, you loved me without lowering your expectations. You treated me as if I were your child when I tried to run away from home. Mrs. Emory Hill (now deceased), at Mifflin High School, a classically refined, beautiful Black woman who shaped the way I viewed words and language. My boss, Mr. Wilbert Jones, I will never forget you. You gave me my first opportunity at Windsor, despite being advised otherwise. There were three scholars that changed my life, and to them I say thank you. At Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, Dr. Hassan, my English professor from India. You taught me to write. In 1999, Dr. Eugene T.W. Saunders brought me into the master’s program at BGSU. Here at BGSU I met Dr. Patrick David “Pops” Pauken. Dr. Pauken, you, as a woke scholar and father mentored me. You taught me more about how to understand my misunderstood male Blackness. You taught me how to write efficiently and exposed me to opportunities with ELA. Thank you for the conversations, mentorship, and support. To my committee, especially, grandpops, Dr. T.K. Daniel, you agreed to be on my committee because you believed in me. To Leslie Peek, thank you for being my loving big sister! Finally, thanks to all my professors in the school of Educational Foundations Leadership & Policy. I love you all. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1 Establishing the Definition for Perceptions of Black Males ...................................... 4 Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................... 6 Purpose of the Study .................................................................................................. 7 Research Hypotheses ................................................................................................. 8 Importance of the Study ............................................................................................. 9 Researcher Positionality............................................................................................. 10 Overview of Theoretical Frameworks ....................................................................... 16 Limitations ................................................................................................................. 18 Assumptions ............................................................................................................... 19 Definition of Terms.................................................................................................... 20 Organization of the Study .......................................................................................... 22 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................... 23 Process of Searching for Key Terms ......................................................................... 25 Educators and Noneducators’ Perceptions of Young Black Men .............................. 26 Educator/Noneducator Perceptions of African American Males............................... 29 Racial Attitudes of PreK – Postsecondary Educators and Noneducators .................. 35 Racial Attitudes, Principles, and Stereotypes ............................................................ 38 Young Black Men Perceived as Bigger, Stronger, and More Capable of Doing Harm .......................................................................................................................... 42 Using Special Education to Control Young African American Males in Public viii Schools ....................................................................................................................... 53 Brief Overview of Special Education Statute for FAPE and Emotional and Behavioral Disorders ..................................................................................... 54 Evaluating Students Suspected of a Disability .............................................. 56 Safeguards to Deter Discrimination for Racial and Cultural Bias ................. 58 Discretionary Decision Making ................................................................................. 59 Critical Race Theory .................................................................................................. 64 Separation from Critical Legal Studies: No Room for Critical Race Theory. 68 Critical Race Theory in Education ................................................................. 69 Intersection of Property and Race .................................................................. 73 Phenomenon in Public Education .................................................................. 76 Implicit Biases and African Americans in the Public Education System .................. 78 Bias in Public Education and Curricula ......................................................... 78 Six Steps of the Social Construction of Race in the Context of School Discipline ... 82 Social Meaning of Race in School Discipline ............................................... 84 Stigmatization and Biases .........................................................................................
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