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REDUCING THE RISK AMONG THE MOST AT-RISK: DETERMINING WHAT
CONTRIBUTES TO AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALES IN SPECIAL EDUCATION
HAVING THE HIGHEST RATES OF INCARCERATION AND ACADEMIC
FAILURE
by
Amir Whitaker
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
December 2011
Copyright 2011 Amir Whitaker
Object Description
| Title | Reducing the risk among the most at-risk: determining what contributes to African-American males in special education having the highest rates of incarceration and academic failure |
| Author | Whitaker, Amir |
| Author email | knightmirnj@yahoo.com;Dr.amir.whitaker@gmail.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Education |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Education (Leadership) |
| School | Rossier School of Education |
| Date defended/completed | 2011-11-08 |
| Date submitted | 2011-11-08 |
| Date approved | 2011-11-08 |
| Restricted until | 2011-11-08 |
| Date published | 2011-11-08 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Pensavalle, Margo |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Loera, Gustavo Green, Alan |
| Abstract | Large disparities exist in the dropout and incarceration rates of different races, genders, and disabilities. These two phenomena, commonly referred to as the Achievement Gap and Incarceration Gap, also contribute to other problems within society and cost taxpayers billions of dollars annually. Because of the intersection of race, gender, and disability, African-American males in special education have both the highest dropout and incarceration rates. However, few studies have focused on this specific subgroup and the factors contributing to their significantly lower outcomes. The purpose of this study is to examine the differences between successful and unsuccessful African-American males in special education at a Los Angeles High School. Specifically, it will compare high-achieving and non-delinquent African-American males in special education to their low-achieving and delinquent counterparts. This comparison will be done across various environmental and personal (psychological) factors in an effort to explain what contributes to the high dropout and incarceration rates among the population. A total of fifteen environmental factors across the home, community, and school environments were explored. The psychological constructs of self-efficacy and school engagement were explored as personal factors. Data were collected utilizing a mixed-method approach with quantitative surveys and qualitative focus groups. Quantitatively, chi-square tests were used to compare frequencies across environmental factors while t-tests were used to compare student means across personal factors. Qualitative data was organized into themes and reported with its corresponding research questions. A total of 31 students completed surveys and 16 students participated in focus groups. All participants were between the ages of 14 through 19. Findings indicate significant differences across both the environment and personal factors of successful and unsuccessful African-American males in special education exist. Findings also indicate more significant differences exist between non-delinquent and delinquent students than high and low achieving students. Based on these findings, several changes may be implemented to reduce dropout and incarceration rates among this most vulnerable group. |
| Keyword | juvenile justice; special education; African American; incarceration; school engagement; self-efficacy; academic success; achievement gap |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m |
| Rights | Whitaker, Amir |
| Access conditions | The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given. |
| Repository name | University of Southern California Digital Library |
| Repository address | USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 7002, 106 University Village, Los Angeles, California 90089-7002, USA |
| Repository email | cisadmin@usc.edu |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume71/etd-WhitakerAm-395.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Full text | REDUCING THE RISK AMONG THE MOST AT-RISK: DETERMINING WHAT CONTRIBUTES TO AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALES IN SPECIAL EDUCATION HAVING THE HIGHEST RATES OF INCARCERATION AND ACADEMIC FAILURE by Amir Whitaker A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION December 2011 Copyright 2011 Amir Whitaker |
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