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University of Northern Iowa UNI ScholarWorks Dissertations and Theses @ UNI Student Work 2014 They, those, and other pronouns used to describe them: A qualitative study of the lived experiences of the African American girls in the Girls to Women group Amber Nicole Boyd University of Northern Iowa Let us know how access to this document benefits ouy Copyright ©2014 Amber Nicole Boyd Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd Part of the Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, and the Disability and Equity in Education Commons Recommended Citation Boyd, Amber Nicole, "They, those, and other pronouns used to describe them: A qualitative study of the lived experiences of the African American girls in the Girls to Women group" (2014). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 20. https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/20 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at UNI ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses @ UNI by an authorized administrator of UNI ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Copyright by AMBER NICOLE BOYD May 2014 All Rights Reserved THEY, THOSE, AND OTHER PRONOUNS USED TO DESCRIBE THEM: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN GIRLS IN THE GIRLS TO WOMEN GROUP An Abstract of a Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education Approved: _______________________________________ Dr. Nick Pace, Committee Chair _______________________________________ Dr. Michael J. Licari Dean of the Graduate College Amber Nicole Boyd University of Northern Iowa May 2014 ABSTRACT African American girls are more likely to experience social barriers in a society that values White over Black, men over women, and wealth over poverty. They are more likely to encounter race, class, and gender discrimination in classrooms, curriculum, and pedagogy putting them at grave risk of school failure. Notwithstanding the deficit research approach, African American girls are invisible in both social theory and educational research. Their virtual absence from existing research is the catalyst for this autoethnographic study of the lived experiences of African American girls in the Girls to Women group at an urban high school. In this research, Critical Race Theory (CRT) is employed as a theoretical lens providing a useful framework for examining how race and gender combine to shape African American girls’ school experiences. CRT authenticates critical raced epistemologies by celebrating methodological approaches that acknowledge experiences of oppression and validates them as appropriate forms of data. The girls’ counterstories reveal very prevalent themes: they all desired to belong; they all felt that they were scrutinized by teachers and administrators; they all discussed inherent challenges of being a Black female in our society; and they all were influenced by their family dynamic ranging from absent fathers to othermothers, as widely respected staples in Black culture. Based on these themes, the research offers recommendations for teacher to embrace critical pedagogy, challenging them to deconstruct traditional teacher/student roles by creating inviting spaces for learning by legitimizing life experiences of students of color. Recommendations for administrators include a call to mandate meaningful professional development for new and veteran teachers and to encourage the creation and maintenance of peer like groups so that students of color have a place to belong. Implications for further research are based on the failure of traditional mainstream educational scholarship to provide a useful paradigm to examine the realities of African American girls and for research that speaks to the resiliency and strength of them as an antidote. Further research should be concerned with the knowledge of African American girls, who constructs understanding of their experiences, and how this knowledge is validated or not validated. THEY, THOSE, AND OTHER PRONOUNS USED TO DESCRIBE THEM: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN GIRLS IN THE GIRLS TO WOMEN GROUP A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education Approved: ____________________________________________ Dr. Nicholas J. Pace, Chair ___________________________________________ Dr. Dewitt Jones, Committee Member ___________________________________________ Dr. Stephanie Logan, Committee Member ___________________________________________ Dr. Charles McNulty, Committee Member Amber Nicole Boyd University of Northern Iowa May 2014 ii DEDICATIONS For my mother who demanded that I make my own path For my father, I finish his dream for me. For Kinnie who took me as his own For my sisters who love me in spite of To the Boys whom my heart beats for To my girls who expected nothing less than my all For my church family who prayed me through And with nothing less than God matchless, merciful grace This is for you. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As I sit down to reflect on how many people have had a hand in the success of this project, my heart swells with gratitude. I am eternally grateful for the invaluable work of my committee. First and foremost, I am indebted to my chair Dr. Pace. I have to thank him for the random texts, the venting emails, and the encouraging phone calls regarding the work that I always and never wanted to do. This paradoxical love affair with my research changed the course of both my professional and personal life. He was there from day one, accepting nothing less than perfection. To Dr. McNulty who introduced me to a theoretical framework that has forever altered the manner in which I view race, I have to give many thanks. His extensive knowledge that binds theory and practice, helped give voice to issues that needed a stage. He was one who encouraged me to go where few researchers have. I am also very appreciative of the relationship that Dr. Jones and I share. I met him years ago, as a high school student, when still very unsure of my future path. He always took a personal, caring, and empowering interest in me and what I could achieve. I am, today, as impressed with the practical and personal element he brings to educational leadership. His zero tolerance for nonsense and his occasional interjections of harsh reality have been my saving grace many a time. I have heard of small giants, but have only met a few in my lifetime. Dr. Logan is one of these. When I asked her to be a part of my committee, she admonished that she would hold me to a higher standard to safeguard against lesser expectations sometimes associated with scholars of color. She held true to that by leaving no page unturned and in iv her own way provided a prototype to aspire to. I always thought that if that “sista” could do it, so could I. Thank you. I would also like to thank my girls, for without them this work would be just another research paper. They poured their hearts out and gave me their all, as we grew together. They were the first to call me Dr. Boyd years before it came to fruition – as they were speaking positive things over my life even then. They have thanked me time and time again for being an inspiration, a role model, an othermother; however, they unknowingly gave meaning to my life’s work. For that reason, they will also have a special place in my heart. To my parents and my sisters who are visibly overjoyed at the completion of this work, I thank for being my number one fans. My stepfather, Kinnie, who has told everyone he knows (and to many he does not) his daughter is a doctor now. I love you. My mother, who was a teacher of 21 years, in her very unyielding, loving way, has always been an inspiration modeling both by word and action. It warms my heart to know that they are proud of me. To my sister Stephanie whose eyes have not been dry since the onset of this project and Jadell who, in her very own way, has been Team Amber since Day 1– I love them both more than they will ever know. I love them more so because they have both given me three of my most prized possessions, my nephews. To Taj James, JMarion James, and Jashon James I am just enough. I am just Tete Amber. I look at them and know that every day I can work longer, do better, and try harder. They inspire me exceedingly more than they could ever imagine. v I would be remiss to not mention the work of the prayer warriors in my church family, under the fearless leadership of Pastor Arthur E. Mills. They were all very busy petitioning God’s grace on my behalf. This, I believe, was essential to my success. I am reminded of a song that I heard in church growing up entitled, “Somebody Prayed for Me.” The lyrics say, “Had me on their mind, took the time and prayed for me.” For those who did or for those who just spoke encouraging words over me, I thank you. As I begin to end this section, I am inclined to also acknowledge and dedicate this work to those whose intentions for me were questionable at best. This is affirmation that my work is doing exactly what it was intended to do: confront those whose thwarted perception of reality has failed too many of our children of color. For without you I would not have worked so hard. Without your push – I would not have jumped. Last but certainly not least, I thank those who have gone on before, as I am still riding on the coattails of their blessings. I often think of my dad and how important this work was to him and I smile – I know that he would be brimming with pride.

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