THE EFFECT OF GENDER AND RACIAL STEREOTYPES AND EDUCATION- RELATED BELIEFS ON THE ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN AFRICAN AMERICAN GIRLS WANDA MARIE SHEALEY Bachelor of Arts in English Cleveland State University May 1997 Master of Arts in English Cleveland State University May 2000 Master of Library Science Kent State University August 2000 Submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN URBAN EDUCATION at the CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY December 2018 i © COPYRIGHT BY WANDA MARIE SHEALEY 2018 i We hereby approve the dissertation of Wanda Marie Shealey Candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Education Degree: Learning and Development This Dissertation has been approved for the Office of Doctoral Studies, College of Education and Human Services and CLEVELAND STATE UNIVERSITY College of Graduate Studies by ______________________________________________________ Dissertation Co-Chair: Brian Harper, Ph.D. Curriculum and Foundations ______________________________________________ Dissertation Co-Chair: Frederick Hampton, Ph.D. Counseling, Administration, Supervision, and Adult Learning _______________________________________________ Methodologist: Catherine Hansman, Ed.D. Counseling, Administration, Supervision, and Adult Learning ________________________________________________ Adrienne Gosselin, Ph.D. English November 27, 2018 Student’s Date of Defense vi DEDICATION Mommy: Girl, I look at you now with the same amazement that I looked at you back then. I wear your face and I thank God that I have your heart! Your love keeps me brave. Daddy: When I was learning to walk, you took me by my hands and said, “Come on, Shortie, I ain’t go let you go!” You’ve been gone now 11 years and Old Man, you still holdin’ my hands. Which is to say you always keep your promises. And finishing this study is me keeping my promise to you. vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Completing a dissertation takes lots of courage, commitment, patience, and frequent visits from a loving God. I would like to thank my family, friends and colleagues for encouraging me to continue this journey despite the odds. I am thankful to Drs. Harper and Hampton for their frequent encouragement in helping to elevate this study. I am forever indebted to Dr. Hansman for making me a better writer and scholar. I remember the first draft of my study that I submitted to you and you said, “this is a book report!” I was so angry and disappointed but with your help I have completed a study that is truly academic worthy and I sincerely thank you! Finally, I can’t thank Dr. Gosselin enough for serving on my committee. I first learned about Black feminist theory and history from you. And here we are again, nearly twenty years later, and it is only fitting that I end my academic degree journey with the person that I began with! Gwendolyn Brooks said it best, “We are each other’s harvest; we are each other’s business; we are each other’s magnitude and bond.” Thank you for sharing this experience with me. viii THE EFFECT OF GENDER AND RACIAL STEREOTYPES AND EDUCATION- RELATED BELIEFS ON THE ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN AFRICAN AMERICAN GIRLS WANDA M. SHEALEY ABSTRACT This qualitative, ethnographic study explores various tensions and struggles around gender and racial stereotypes that three urban teenage African American girls encounter as they try to develop a sense of oneself as an individual and in relation to the world. The purpose of this study was to explore Black high school girls’ experiences in a predominately urban public school in the Midwest. This study is guided by the following research question: In what way do gender and racial bias contribute to the self- perception of African American adolescent girls? Interrogating the multiple standpoints that inform African American female identity and how these multiple perspectives are moderated not only by gender, race, and socioeconomic status, but also by ability and classroom context and their role in influencing academic achievement this study is guided by three sub-questions: 1. How do African American girls’ perceptions of themselves and the classroom practices in which they engage inform their in-school identities? 2. How do African American girls’ perceptions of themselves and the classroom practices in which they engage inform their out-of- school identities? 3. What are the tools and strategies Black girls use to resist intersecting oppressions in order to persist in these environments? ix The research design included autoethnographic vignettes, individual interviews (audio), autobiographies and field notes. I conducted four individual interviews with each of the participants in the study. The findings showed that Black girls in predominately urban educational settings are heavily marginalized and both structurally and individually experience various forms of oppression related to race, gender and class inequity. Girls in those settings employ various tactics related to relationships, parental support, social activities, and Black identity as a way to resist oppressions as well as survive in these spaces. Girls display a diverse set of experiences in schools, and use a range of strategies to persist, which illustrates the heterogeneity of the Black girls’ experience and the need for continued study of their experiences in schools. x TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ xv LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xvi CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 My Story ........................................................................................................ 1 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................... 3 Purpose ........................................................................................................... 6 Research Questions ........................................................................................ 7 Significance of the Study ............................................................................... 7 Conceptual Frame .......................................................................................... 8 Feminist Narratology, Autoethnography, Black Feminist Pedagogy and Black Feminist Thought ................................................................................. 8 Definition of Terms...................................................................................... 12 II. CONCEPTUAL REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ........................................... 14 Racism in Education .................................................................................... 15 Literacy Practices among African American Female Adolescents .............. 18 Culturally Responsive Pedagogy ................................................................. 25 Racial Identity and Achievement Motivation Development ....................... 28 III. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................... 37 Rationale for Research Methods .................................................................. 40 xi Narrative Inquiry .......................................................................................... 41 Testimonies or Personal Stories ................................................................... 45 Black Feminist Qualitative Research and Autoethnographic Vignettes ...... 45 Cultural Intuition .......................................................................................... 51 Document Analysis ...................................................................................... 54 Interviews ..................................................................................................... 55 Photo-Elicitation .......................................................................................... 55 Design Decisions ......................................................................................... 57 Recruitment Procedures ............................................................................... 57 Selection of Participants .............................................................................. 58 Data Analysis ............................................................................................... 63 Ethical Concerns .......................................................................................... 65 Validity Concerns ........................................................................................ 66 Trust and Privacy Concerns ......................................................................... 67 Reciprocity ................................................................................................... 67 Social Location of the Researcher ............................................................... 67 Limitations ................................................................................................... 69 IV. FINDINGS ............................................................................................................ 71 Introduction of Stories ................................................................................