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Missed education: an examination of educational outcomes for African-American males

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Missed education: an examination of educational outcomes for African-American males

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MISSED EDUCATION: AN EXAMINATION OF EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES
FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALES

by

Mark Brandon Greene

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

August 2013

Copyright 2013 Mark Brandon Greene
ii

DEDICATION

To those who come from struggle and love...all in one place. To those who
come from female role models and an absence of men. To those who are from the
jungle made from concrete, a place where violence makes escape an easy choice.
This is for the forgotten, ignored, or overlooked. To my larger-than-life family that
continues to support me through all of life’s steps. Knowledge Is Power, we must
Educate to Elevate.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am fortunate enough to have a Dissertation Committee that recognized my
vision and pushed me to record it. This would not have been possible without Dr.
Garcia, Dr. Hocevar, and my friend, Dr. Edison. Thank you to Dr. Ilda Jimenez y
West for pushing me to write like the wind. This process gave me the ability to
believe in myself, my words, and to believe that my study could bring light to this
educational crisis.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv

LIST OF TABLES xiii

ABSTRACT ix

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
Historical Background 1
Background of the Problem 3
Statement of the Problem 4
Purpose of the Study 5
Research Questions 6
Significance of the Study 6
Limitations/Delimitations 10
Definition of Terms 11
Organization of the Dissertation 12

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 14
Introduction 14
Social Cognitive Theory Framework 15
Environmental Factors Influencing African-American Males in
Public Schools 17
Public School Challenges 18
School Climate 19
Bullying 20
Discipline Policies 21
Teacher Expectations / Teacher Relationship 23
Special Education 25
Ability Grouping / Tracking / School Segregation 27
Urban School Resources 30
No Child Left Behind 32
Personal/Cultural Factors Influencing African-American Males
in High School 33
v
Oppositional Cultural Identity 34
Stereotype Threat 35
Academic Disengagement 36
Self-Regulated Learning 38
Self-Efficacy (A. Bandura) 38
Cultural Literacy (E .D. Hirsch) 39
Chapter Summary 40

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 42
Introduction 42
Research Questions 42
Qualitative Approach 43
Research Design 44
The Researcher 44
Sample and Population 45
Participants 46
Setting 48
Data Collection and Instrumentation 49
Data Collection 49
Interview 49
Validity and Reliability 50
Data Analysis 50
Chapter Summary 51

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS 52
Introduction 52
Research Questions 52
Data Collection 53
Participants Description 53
Procedures and Evaluation 56
Results for Research Question 1 56
Interviews 56
RQ 1—Subcategory Home 58
RQ 1—Subcategory Student Goals 61
Data Summary for Research Question 1 66
Results for Research Question 2 67
Interviews 68
RQ 2—Subcategory School 69
Theme 1—Relationships and Interactions 70
Theme 2—Distractions 72
Data Summary for Research Question 2 75
Chapter Summary 77
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CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATIONS,
AND CONCLUSION 79
Summary 79
Discussion of Findings 80
Recommendations 83
Student–Staff Relationships (Teachers, Counselors,
Administrators) 84
Early Warning Systems (Dropout Prevention) 86
School Environment 88
School Discipline (Zero Tolerance) 89
Teachers and Administrators 92
Future Research 94
Conclusion 95

REFERENCES 97

APPENDICES 108
APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 108
APPENDIX B: CONSENT FORM 110
APPENDIX C: RECRUITMENT LETTER 111
APPENDIX D: INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD APPROVAL 113

vii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Definition of Terms 11
Table 2. Participant Demographic Data 54
Table 3. Subgroup Status of Individual Participants 55
Table 4. Research Question 1—Subcategories, Interview Question
Clusters, and Themes 57
Table 5. Research Question 1—Data Summary and Conclusions 67
Table 6. Research Question 2—Subcategory, Interview Question
Clusters, and Themes 69
Table 7. Research Question 2–Data Summary and Conclusions 76

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ABSTRACT
The purpose of this body of work was to examine barriers that lead to high
school non-completion for African-American males and to propose strategies to better
support this group. Specifically, it examined how African-American male high school
graduates vary from African-American male non-graduates. Across personal and
environmental factors, this comparison determined what contributes to the positive
educational outcomes for some and the high dropout rates for others. This study also
determined solutions to increase graduation rates for this group. Analysis of
particular environmental and personal factors revealed factors that contributed to the
differences in academic outcomes within this group. African-American males in
urban public schools have the highest dropout rate; however, there is a lack of
research focusing on what separates the African-American males with identical
family, socioeconomic, and community characteristics, some of whom complete
school, from those who do not.
This study consisted of 10 high school students enrolled or formerly enrolled
at a large high school in south Los Angeles. The sample included students with
similar characteristics such as low socioeconomic level, single parent, and residence
in urban communities. Each participant participated in a face-to-face interview with
the researcher. Personal factor data were organized across the Home and Student
Goals subcategories, while Environmental data were organized across the School
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subcategory. Themes materialized in each subcategory based on variations and
similarities in participant responses to interview questions. These variances and
similarities helped determine (1) what differences exist between African-American
male students who graduated and those who dropped out and (2) what schools must
do to support African-American males in graduating. Findings indicated that while
the differences across both environmental and personal factors of graduates and non-
graduates were minimal, a crucial difference was the formation of supportive
relationships with teachers or counselors who were instrumental in helping students
meet graduation requirements. Findings also indicated a need for schools and districts
to establish early warning systems for identification of students at-risk of dropping
out. Based on these findings, several changes can be made to increase graduation
rates for African-American males.

1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Historical Background
The academic achievement of African-American males in PreK-12 schools has
been the subject of a growing number of scholarly works over the past two and a half
decades (Brown & Davis, 2000; Davis, 2003; Franklin, 1991; Gibbs, 1988; Hopkins,
1997; Madhubuti, 1990; Noguera, 1996; Polite, 1994; Polite & Davis, 1999; Price,
2000). Yes We Can, The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black males
(Holzman, 2010), illustrates that a mere 47% of Black males graduate from high
school nationwide. In other words, the experience of Black males in education, with
respect to attainment and most indicators of academic performance show signs of
trouble and distress (Noguera, 2008). As a result, Black students constitute a segment
of the population that is distinguished by hardships, disadvantages, and vulnerability
(Noguera, 2008). Within the Black community, Black males are falling further behind
than females. Although there has been research that has chronicled the experiences of
African-American females (Paul, 2003) and other racially diverse students (Lee, 1996;
Moll, 1996; Pang & Cheng, 1998; Valenzuela, 1999), one could argue that there does
not seem to be the same degree of exclusion and disenfranchisement from schools for
these groups as there is for African-American males. For instance, among African-
American graduates, 69% of males and 79% of females go to college (Ogbu, 2003).

2
If the U.S. is to hold true to its domestic creed of life, liberties, and the pursuit of
happiness, do social scientists have the privilege to sit idly while a large group
continues to be excluded from these core aspects of society (Howard, 2008).
This body of work will examine high school dropout rates for African-
American males. There are many negative consequences for those who drop out of
high school. The Alliance for Excellent Education (2010) states that students who
drop out of high school experience difficulty in finding employment, earn less than
graduates, are generally less healthy, die earlier, are more likely to become parents
when very young, are more at risk of tangling with the criminal justice system, and
are more likely to need social welfare assistance. There is also a negative effect on
American society. The Alliance for Excellent Education (2010) has estimated that
approximately 1.2 million students who should have graduated with the class of 2008
will cost the nation nearly $319 billion in lost income over the course of their
lifetimes.
Though there are many African-American males that experience success
through education, there are too many that fail. Due to the fact that unemployment
and incarceration are greatly increased for this segment of American society, there
appears to be a connection between the educational performance of Black males and
the hardships they endure within the larger society (Noguera, 2008). This study will
identify the barriers to educational achievement that African-American males face in
school.

3
Background of the Problem
Examination of African-American male graduation rates in K-12 public
schools reveals disturbing trends. According to the National Center for Education
Statistics, California graduation rates for African-American males for the 2007-2008
cohorts were reported as 54% as compared to 78% for White males, a 24%
achievement gap (Holzman, 2010). While these statistics are disturbing, they are not
the worst. New York’s African-American male students had the nation’s lowest
graduation rates for the 2007-2008 cohort at 25%, as compared to White males at
68%, a achievement gap of 43% (Holzman, 2010).
Past efforts to solve America’s dropout problem have not been successful.
According to researchers, such as the federal government’s What Works Clearing
House, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education
Science, the lack of success has led to Government agencies and private foundations
collectively investing billions of dollars in dropout prevention programs,
comprehensive school reform models, and new charter schools (Rumberger, 2011).
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation invested more than $2 billion in small high
schools. The Obama administration has committed $3.5 billion to transform the
nation’s lowest-performing schools, and another $50 million to invest in innovative
dropout-prevention and -recovery strategies (Rumberger, 2011). The America’s
Promise Alliance has supported more than 100 dropout summits. The efforts have
failed to make a substantial dent in the dropout crisis. In a 2008 review of 22 dropout-

4
prevention programs, the federal government’s What Works Clearinghouse did not
find a single program proven to raise high school graduation rates (Rumberger, 2011).
In many school districts throughout the United States, Black males are
suspended or expelled from school more than any other group. Are African-American
males acting out more in class, and if so, why? The Social and Educational issues that
emerge from the statistics are both moral and economic. For example, over their
lifetime, high school dropouts earn $260,000 less than those who have graduated from
high school. In addition, high school dropouts from the Class of 2006 will cost the
U.S. more than $17 billion dollars in Medicaid and other expenditures for healthcare
(Alliance for Excellent Education, 2010). With so many of our citizens lacking access
to the fruits of this nation and with so much talent going to waste, the U.S. ability to
be successful in achieving its educational goals is in jeopardy. In particular, the focus
of change should be with under performing underserved groups such as minorities and
the socioeconomically disadvantaged.
The African-American community has been concerned with the low
achievement of Black students. There is community pressure directed at
superintendents, studies made, reports issued, and strategies attempted to combat the
problem. This is a national catastrophe, and it deserves coordinated national attention.
Statement of the Problem
Research suggests that because of the intersection of race and gender, African-
American males have a high rate of academic failure (Osher, Woodruff, & Sims,

5
2005; Sample, 2009). However, there is a lack of research focusing on what separates
the African-American males with identical family, socioeconomic, and community
characteristics, some of whom complete school, from those who do not. Throughout
history, the persistent low outcomes exhibited by this subgroup indicate that a
problem exists with educating African-American males, especially those from low
socioeconomic backgrounds. African-American males are more likely to drop out of
school, be suspended or expelled, are misdiagnosed with learning disorders and
referred to special education (Noguera, 2008). African-American male high school
students are less likely to enroll in math and science classes which are considered
gateway courses. At the same time, the number of African-American males that are
incarcerated and unemployed continues to rise. The life opportunities for this
segment of the American population continue to decrease. Although significant
research has been done on this problem, the specific contributing factors and their
causal relationship have yet to be determined. Furthermore, this study will focus on
what these particular students felt would have helped and what they feel hindered
their progress. The evidence exists which demonstrates that this subgroup has the
ability to succeed, yet there remains a shortage of studies that examine what promotes
this success.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this body of work is to examine the barriers that lead to high
school non-completion for African-American males and to propose the strategies that

6
must be implemented to better support this group. Specifically, it will examine how
African-American male high school graduates vary from African-American male non-
graduates. Analysis of particular environmental and personal factors will be done to
determine what contributes to the differences in academic outcomes within this group.
These concerns must be explored so that policy makers can make better decisions and
so teachers and school officials have better practical solutions for increasing
graduation rates for African-American males.

Research Questions
The following research questions (RQ) will help guide this body of work:
1. What personal and environmental factors contribute to the graduation
of African-American males in high school?
2. What support can be provided to African-American males in schools
that will increase the graduation rate of this population?

Significance of the Study
This study extends the research on the problem of low graduation rates for
African-American male students. Identification of barriers to graduation and
solutions that have worked in districts that have decreased the gap in graduation rates

7
between African-American males and their White counterparts can help
Superintendents and Principles make better decisions in their attempts to improve on
the educational outcomes of African-American male students.
As a teacher and administrator in several Southern California public schools,
the researcher has participated in the struggle to improve the chances of success for at-
risk students. Finding this success in America’s public schools may be the key to
African-American males breaking the cycle of joblessness, poverty, neighborhood
violence, and incarceration that is experienced by many. The challenges and
educational outcomes (i.e. truancy, lack of motivation, academic disengagement, and
school dropout) for Black male students continue to serve as a constant example of the
crisis in education.
African-American males who fail to graduate from high school also have a
greater chance of being incarcerated. Currently, the rate at which Black males are
being pushed out of school and into the pipeline to prison far exceeds the rate at which
they are graduating and reaching high levels of academic achievement (Holzman,
2010). The risk of incarceration increases as positive educational outcomes like
graduation decrease. Among black men born between 1965 and 1969, those without
college education and nearly 60 percent of high school dropouts went to prison by
1999 (Western and Pettit, 2000). Does this indicate the emergence of incarceration as
a new stage in the life course of young low-skill black men? The cycle of school
failure starts at an early age. Failure in school is associated with greater delinquency.

8
Over 80% of all juveniles and adults in the criminal justice systems have experienced
school failure or dropout (Sander, 2010).
In the United States, public schools take the majority of the criticism for below
par educational results. Is this the place where the majority of the blame should be
placed? Public School crusaders like Horace Mann believed that schooling should be
a common good, open to all, benefiting all (Tyack, 2003). Rather than serving as a
source of hope and opportunity, schools are sites where Black males are marginalized
and stigmatized (Noguera, 2007). Historically, analysis of statistical data indicates
that the academic progress of the African-American male student is closest to other
groups at the first grade level (Jumal, 1991). As grade levels increase, the educational
gap or achievement gap between African-American males and other groups begins to
increase.
Uneven discipline policies and the use of discipline policies in an unequal
way, have a greater negative affect on African-American male students than other
groups. African-American males are more likely to receive tougher penalties, such as
suspension or expulsion, as a result of behavior problems. More than twice as many
Black male students as White male students receive out of school suspensions and
three times as many Black male students as White male students are expelled
(Holzman, 2010). While in many cases these students are acting out and deserving of
the discipline they receive, how much can be avoided? It is believed that behavior and
emotional problems in school are linked to academic performance. Teacher

9
relationship also has an effect. Relationship problems between African-American
boys and their kindergarten teacher forecasted behavior problems that occurred during
junior high school (Powell & Marshall, 2011).
While an effective educational system that educates all students is crucial for
the future and economic well being of families and individuals, it is also essential for
our country to maintain our strength globally. Young people without a college or a
full high school education are not being adequately prepared for work in modern
economies (Becker, 1993).
In spite of the statistics pointing at the failure of school districts across the
nation in educating Black males, there are districts and communities that are finding
success in raising the achievement levels for Black male students. According to The
Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males, New Jersey’s Abbott
Plan demonstrates that when equitable resources are available to all students, systemic
change at the state level can yield results (Holzman, 2010). The increased resources
from Abbott v. Burke funding in New Jersey, which became effective about 2003,
have allowed the Newark school district to nearly close the gap for Black males with
national White male graduation rates. New Jersey is now the only state with a
significant Black population with a greater than 65 percent high school graduation rate
for Black male students (Holzman, 2010). This further validates the assertion that
African-American males in good schools can and often do succeed (Noguera, 2007).
The harsh reality is that systematically most states and too many school districts do

10
not provide the necessary, targeted resources or supports for the educational success
of African-American males (Holzman, 2010).
Limitations/Delimitations
There were some limitations of this study. The population being studied is
specific in terms of race, gender, socioeconomic background, and educational
outcomes. This fact makes a large sample size difficult to access. The participants
were limited to African-American males from low socioeconomic backgrounds that
attended urban high schools. The primary limitation is the small sample size which
limits the ability to generalize the results to other settings. Another limitation is the
specific population being studied through purposeful and criterion sampling.
Participants for this study were chosen based on specific criteria related to
environmental and personal or cultural factors. Furthermore, in purposeful sampling,
the sample is selected because they are “information rich”, that is, they offer useful
manifestations of the phenomenon of interest (Patton, 2002). This particular group is
distinct in how they are perceived by staff, as well as their diverse school experiences.
There were several delimitations of this research. One delimitation was that
African-American females were not used as subjects in this study. Although African-
American females do drop out of school at a higher rate, their experiences in the
school environment differ. Another delimitation is the teachers that had the most
difficulties in dealing with this population, were not actively identified. Using

11
students from other subgroups was not appropriate for this study because of the
difference in graduation rates and experiences in the urban public school environment.
Definition of Terms
The following table explains terms used in this dissertation.

Table 1. Definition of Terms

Term Definition
Academic
Disengagement
The process of a student’s self-esteem or self-concept
becoming less identified with academic performance. It
results in less effort and motivation on the student’s behalf
(Ogbu, 2003; Steele, 1992).
African American A term used among Black people identifying a people with
African ancestry or descent. This identification is regardless
of skin tone.
Black A term used among Black people identifying a people with
African ancestry or descent. This identification is regardless
of skin tone.
Environmental
Factors
Factors outside of the students themselves that may
influence their behavior (Bandura, 1986).
Non-completion
(High School)
A student who fails to graduate from high school with their
cohort.
Personal Factors Beliefs, thoughts or other cognitive factors within the
student that influence their behavior (Bandura, 1986).

Table continues next page

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Table 1 (continued). Definition of Terms

Term Definition
School Engagement Opposite of academic disengagement, a student’s active
participation and involvement in school activities. Three
separate types of engagement exist: cognitive, behavioral,
and emotional (Fredricks, 2004). Cognitive engagement
relates to the amount of effort and mental resources a
student puts into school work. Behavioral engagement
describes positive behaviors that students exhibit in the
classroom and in other school activities. Emotional
engagement describes a student’s relationship and reactions
to peers and teachers.
Self-Efficacy A person’s beliefs about their capabilities to complete a
certain task (Bandura, 1977).
Urban Schools School that is located in an urban area (not rural or
suburban). Other characteristics include a high rate of
poverty, relatively high proportion of students of color, and
have a high level of students who are Limited English
Proficient. These schools are often designated as “High
Need”.

Organization of the Dissertation
The dissertation consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 gives an overview and
background of the problem, substandard educational outcomes for African-American
males. Chapter 2 reviews the literature regarding how particular environmental and
cultural/personal factors serve as barriers that impede educational success for too
many African-American males. Chapter 3, Methodology, describes the research
design, including the instrumentation, sample, data collection, and the methods for

13
data analysis. Chapter 4 presents the survey results and an analysis of the data for each
research question. Chapter 5 summarizes the study and its findings, presents
conclusions, and makes recommendations.

14

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
Despite continual educational reforms meant to close the achievement gap,
there remains to be disparities in the education of particular groups such as African
Americans, Latinos, and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Hilliard
(1992) argued, “We know that we have a problem in equity when we see the
outcomes of education distributed as a function of socioeconomic status, race, culture,
[or] language group” (p. 169). The reviewed literature in this section will discuss
environmental and cultural/personal factors that effect African-American males in
high schools. In order to better understand school achievement among African-
American adolescents, we must examine not only contextual factors or cognitive
functioning, but also the behaviors and emotions that differentiate students who are
more successful in school from those who are less so (Finn, 1993). Typically, schools
have been conceived as having two primary functions: (1) promoting and structuring
intellectual development of students; and (2) socializing young people for their roles
and responsibilities in society (Davis & Jordan, 1994). Historically, public schools
have fallen short in the achievement of these goals. This study will focus on how

15
particular environmental and cultural/personal factors serve as barriers that impede
educational success for too many African-American males.
Social Cognitive Theory Framework
The Social Cognitive Theory will serve as the framework to appropriately put
into context the literature reviewed in this section. Social Cognitive theory helps
explain how human behavior varies based on environmental and personal factors.
According to social cognitive theory, the interaction of three factors determines a
student’s individual behavior: personal thoughts and beliefs, the environment, and
their ensuing behavior (Bandura, 1986). The influence of environmental factors like
school Administrators, Teachers, and Counselors, and school policies on the
education of African-American males will be highlighted throughout this literature
review. Personal factors such as motivation, self-regulated learning, cultural literacy,
and academic disengagement will also be examined. The principal goal of this study is
to identify barriers that lead to the high rates of African-American males who drop out
of high school. Examining research surrounding dropout causes and characteristics
will create a beneficial depiction of the high school dropout, which will explain who
the at-risk student is in order to examine how his characteristics may interact with
school policies and climate.
The origins of Social Cognitive Theory stemmed from Albert Bandura’s work
on the Social Learning theory, which he wrote about in the early 1960’s. According
to Albert Bandura, Social Cognitive Theory defines human behavior as an interaction

16
of personal factors, behavior, and the environment (Bandura,1986). These 3 elements
can be used to understand student’s socialization to the rules, norms, and values of the
school culture and their peer groups. While it may seem that one factor is the
majority, there are numerous factors that play a role in human behavior, and
furthermore, the influencing factors are not of equal strength, nor do they all occur
concurrently (Bandura, 1986).
Social Cognitive Theory asserts that there is an interactive process to explain
human functioning as the environment converges with personal characteristics and
personal experiences (Burney, 1986). Students acquire different skills, beliefs,
emotions, and rules through social interactions and observations within the
environment (Schunk, Pintrich, & Meece, 2008). Academic difficulties do not arise
solely from student learning issues but from environmental and personal experiences
as well.
The principal goal of this study is to identify barriers that lead to the high rates
of African-American males who drop out of high school. Examining research
surrounding dropout causes and characteristics will create a beneficial depiction of the
high school dropout, which will explain who the at-risk student is in order to examine
how his characteristics may interact with school policies and climate. From the
perspective of social cognitive theory, students acquire different skills, beliefs,
emotions, and rules through social interactions and observations within the
environment (Schunk, Pintrich, & Meece, 2008). Social cognitive theory also views

17
student learning and student motivation as two separate entities. So while both
learning and motivational issues may lead to academic difficulties, interventions or
special programs that focus on learning/intellectual problems may not affect students
with motivational issues (Whitaker, 2011).
Environmental Factors Influencing African-American Males in Public
Schools
In discussing environmental factors that affect African-American male
students in high school, the literature reviewed in this section will focus on public
schools, the effects of growing up poor, family structure and beliefs, residence in
crime riddled neighborhoods, and exposure to drugs. From the perspective of social
cognitive theory, students acquire different skills, beliefs, emotions, and rules through
social interactions and observations within the environment (Schunk, Pintrich, &
Meece, 2008). While environmental factors do not solely determine the outcomes in
the lives of African-American males, the effects of a negative environment, whether it
be in school, the community, or home, may negatively effect educational attainment
and other life outcomes such as economic status and incarceration. Beset with such
an ominous array of social and economic hardships, it is hardly surprising that the
experience of Black males in education, with respect to attainment and most
indicators of academic performance also show signs of trouble and distress (Noguera,
2008).

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Public School Challenges
In the United States, public schools take the majority of the criticism for below
par educational results. Politicians and the general public frequently assert that public
schools are failing in their mission to educate America’s children. Under qualified
teachers, school violence, uneven discipline policies, an ever present achievement gap
between Minority and White students, the unintended affects of No Child Left
Behind, and disproportionate representation of African Americans and Latinos in
special education are some of the issues. Public School crusaders like Horace Mann
believed that schooling should be a common good, open to all, benefiting all (Tyack,
2003). While some may say that the continued attempts to improve public schools
have led to small gains, there are particular subgroups that have continued to suffer.
As Pedro Noguera stated, rather than serving as a source of hope and opportunity,
schools are sites where Black males are marginalized and stigmatized (2008).
In public schools many have attempted to close the gap in achievement
between White students and African-American students. Historically, analysis of
statistical data indicates that the academic progress of the African-American male
student is closest to other groups at the first grade level (Jumal, 1991). As Dr. Jeanne
Chall has pointed out, the technical reading skills of disadvantaged children at age six
are still on par with those of children of literate families (Hirsch, 1987). As grade
levels increase, the achievement gap between African-American males and other
groups continues to expand. By the time they are in the 12th grade, Black students are

19
about two or more years behind their White peers in reading and mathematics (Wiltz,
2012). This is not a problem that is new to education. There was a decline in the
attainment gap in each decade from 1940 through 1990, both in terms of high school
and college graduation, but the steady narrowing of the gap in educational attainment
came to a halt in the early 1990’s (Barton & Coley, 2010).
Although there have been attempts to decrease the achievement gap in today’s
schools through such methods as class size reduction, teacher training, and extra
funding, the attainment gap has generally remained the same with small changes in
both directions. Scholars have researched possible reasons for the halt in the
narrowing of the gap. While the dissolving of the nuclear family, fatherless children,
neighborhood violence, and poverty, all have an effect on the educational attainment
of African-American students, many of these reasons were not born in the public
schools. Although schools are not able to protect students from the ill effects of their
surroundings, it must be taken into account in trying to educate them.
School Climate
One of the most important and yet most challenging aspects of an urban public
school lies in creating and sustaining a safe and healthy school climate. Students
often do not learn well if the school climate is not safe, organized, and focused on
educational achievement (Perkins, 2006). When asking whether they felt safe at
school, Black males who reported higher levels of safety were more likely to report
higher academic achievement, while those reporting low levels of academic

20
achievement were more likely than any other students to carry a weapon or feel unsafe
(Toldson, 2008). In describing effective school climates, several things should be
present.
1. Strong Leadership in that the principal is instrumental in setting the tone of
the school, helping to decide instructional strategies, and organizing and
distributing resources.
2. High expectations for all students.
3. An orderly, relatively quiet, and pleasant atmosphere.
4. Strong emphasized pupil acquisition of reading skills, reinforced by
frequent evaluation of pupil progress.
It has been known that violence in schools lowers the quality of classroom
instruction decreases student attention to educational activities.
Bullying
In recent years, bullying among middle and high-school youth and adolescents
has become a serious problem in American schools (Nansel, et al., 2001). Bullying is
unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that is repeated, or has the
potential to be repeated, over time, involving a real or perceived power imbalance
(Stopbullying.gov, 2010). Bullying has become a focus in education reform through
out California and the nation. The California Education Code, which lists the statutes

21
passed by the legislature and signed into law by the Governor, has specific provisions
addressing bullying. Education Code permits a student to be suspended from school
or recommended for expulsion for engaging in acts of bullying. There is a code that
requires policies on the prevention of bullying and conflict resolution. What effect
can bullying have on a student? A single student who bullies can have a negative
impact on the students they bully, and the overall climate of the school and
community. Despite the mandated attention that bullying has received in schools as
well as the media, it still persists in Urban and Suburban schools across the nation.
In a study using national bullying data as well as survey results performed by
Lisa Williams, doctoral student in sociology at The Ohio State University, and
Anthony Pegruero, a sociology professor at Virginia Tech, they found that Black high
school freshmen earning 3.5 grade point averages saw their grades drop to a 3.2
average by senior year as a result of bullying (Good Education, 2011). African-
American students who perform well academically are often accused of “acting
white” or “selling out” and suffer abuse from their peers. The result, students may
decide to perform at lower levels academically to avoid the unwanted attention.
Discipline Policies
In many cases, school discipline policies, often referred to as zero tolerance
policies, serve as a reactionary measure in the maintenance of safe learning
environments. Zero tolerance policies have led to increases in the use of suspension
and expulsion, while recent examinations have raised serious questions about both the

22
effectiveness and fairness of such strategies. Throughout the United States, schools
most frequently punish the students who have the greatest academic, social, economic,
and emotional needs (Noguera, 2008). Children who are behind academically and
who are unable to perform at a level commensurate with grade level expectations
often engage in disruptive behavior, out of either frustration or embarrassment
(Hirsch, 1987).
Public school discipline policies appear to have had a greater negative affect
on African-American male students than other groups. More than twice as many
African-American male students as White male students receive out of school
suspensions and three times as many African-American male students as White male
students are expelled (Holzman, 2010). African-American males are not more likely
than their racial and ethnic peers to be discipline problems in the classroom; however,
many schools and school districts, particularly in urban environments, continue to
mete out harsher discipline punishments to this cohort. It is believed that behavior
and emotional problems in school are linked to academic performance. Many
students would rather be ‘bad’ than ‘stupid’ (Lake, 2002). Teacher relationship also
has an effect. A longitudinal study showed that relationship problems between
African-American boys and their kindergarten teacher forecasted behavior problems
that occurred during junior high school (Powell & Marshall, 2011).

23
Teacher Expectations / Teacher Relationship
The student/teacher relationship has shown to be important for fostering
positive educational outcomes in students. This is especially true for minority
students and students who are at risk of educational failure due to substandard
schools, unqualified teachers, low socioeconomic backgrounds, and dysfunctional
families. By serving as a reliable source of emotional support, guidance, and
assistance, teachers may bolster students’ confidence and strengthen their ability to
acquire a high school education, especially when students experience difficulties at
school or elsewhere in their lives (Luthar & Ziegler, 1991; Wehlage, Rutter, Smith,
Lesko, & Fernandez, 1989). However, Polite (1994) concluded that students are less
likely to feel motivated to invest in school when they do not feel as if the teachers care
about them. Students who drop out of school frequently complain that their teachers
did not care about them, were not interested in how well they did in school, and were
unwilling to help with problems (Fine, 1986).
African-American male students are heavily influenced by their teachers’
perceptions and expectations of their ability to be successful (Lynn, Bacon, Totten,
Bridges, & Jennings, 2010). For example, Noguera (2007) argued that “of all the
factors most consistently cited as influencing the achievement and motivation of
students of color, teacher efficacy consistently ranks the highest” (p. 45). Teacher
efficacy is defined as the extent to which the teacher believes he or she has the
capacity to affect student performance (Berman, McLaughlin, Bass, Pauly, &

24
Zellman, 1977). A study by Eccles and Harold, (1993) found that the influence of low
efficacy and negative perceptions by teachers to be almost three times as great for
African Americans as compared to Whites.
Teacher expectations may be formed, conveyed to students, and effect student
behavior. Teacher expectations assumptions that teachers make about the future
behavior or academic achievement of their students, based on what they currently
know about these students. Ethnicity and social class are characteristics that
frequently create negative expectations, which in turn lead to differential treatment of
students from low-SES and minority groups. Possible sources of teacher expectations
are intelligence and ability scores, gender, information from previous teachers,
medical and psychological information records, ethnic background, knowledge about
older siblings, physical characteristics, prior achievement, socioeconomic status, and
actual behaviors of the students (Schunck et al., 2008).
Teachers sometimes form their expectations about student future performance
as early as kindergarten. If a teacher has preconceived notions about a particular
group, whether they are formed from prior experience or from portrayals in popular
media, the ability to properly educate these students may suffer. Teachers that form
pre-conceived low expectations for student achievement may readily accept low
outcomes as confirmation of these beliefs. Students who are aware of how they are
negatively viewed may less effort into finding success in education. Children
relegated to the lowest groups, mostly because of their teachers’ perceptions about

25
their abilities, were more likely to experience academic hardships later on in school
(Lynn et al., 2010). African-American students, for example, have been found to
benefit from a culturally responsive pedagogy that is theoretically grounded in
teaching-effectiveness research (Gay, 1992). African-American students’ chances of
school achievement increase when they experience education with teachers who
understand their socio cultural knowledge.
Teachers may also lower their expectations of the academic abilities of
African-American students who spoke in African-American English. By contrast,
teachers raised their expectations concerning the academic abilities of African-
American students who used standardized English. Teachers sometimes view
behaviors that are culturally appropriate in students’ families, among their peers, and
in their communities as overly aggressive or threatening. African-American boys
remain especially vulnerable to poor schooling, underachievement, inappropriate
discipline, and placement in special education programs.
Special Education
The overrepresentation of African-American males in special education
classes remains a problem in today’s public schools. Black males are more than twice
as likely to be classified as mentally retarded as White male students, in spite of
research demonstrating that the percentages of students from all groups are
approximately the same at each intelligence level (Holzman, 2010). Unfounded
referrals to special education can place students on a path that leads to loss of

26
motivation and school dropout. When it comes to nonjudgmental conditions that
medical professionals link to organic causes like orthopedic, visual, or hearing
problems, African Americans are not overrepresented (O'Connor & Fernandez, 2006).
African-American overrepresentation occurs in categories relying more on subjective
referral and clinical judgment like emotional disturbance and mental retardation
(intellectual disability) instead of disabilities evaluated with hard data (U.S.
Department of Education, 2009). Reading below grade level may be more of a factor
in Black males being referred to special education than actual mental disability.
Additionally, emotionally disturbed students are not diagnosed equally across gender.
Currently more than two out of three emotionally disturbed students are male (U.S
Department of Education, 2009). Consider the fact that African-American males
currently make up approximately 7% of the nation’s PreK-12 student population, yet
they make up a disproportionate percentage of students who are in special education.
This overrepresentation is most present in the classification of students with high-
incidence disabilities such as learning disabilities. These categories require a high
degree of professional judgment for consensus, however, and in many ways could be
interpreted subjectively with different outcomes depending on the cultural
competence of the assessor.
Recent efforts to challenge exclusionary practices in special education through
the increased "inclusion" of students with disabilities in regular classrooms have

27
resulted in resistance similar to that expressed in response to school desegregation
shortly after Brown vs. Board of Education.
Ability Grouping / Tracking / School Segregation
Schools share a common goal, which is to provide each student with what
he/she needs to learn. Students arrive at school possessing distinct skills and their
level of mastery varies. It is said that fair is not everyone getting the same thing, but
everyone getting what they need. There is a longstanding debate over just how
schools group students (ability grouping). Ability grouping, also referred to as
tracking, is teaching a group of like-ability students which allows teachers to adjust
the pace of instruction to students' needs (Hopkins, 2006). Tracking is one of the
most controversial practices in education today. Is ability grouping (or tracking), an
efficient way to handle differences that students arrive in school possessing and are
students benefiting from it? The problem is, too often schools disproportionately
judge African-American and Latino students to have learning deficits and limited
potential, then not surprisingly, place these students in low-track, remedial programs
(Oakes, 1995).
In creating master schedules, school principals and academic counselors often
assign low-track classes, which are often composed of minority students in need of the
most support and resources, to new or under-qualified teachers. Subjective
perceptions that are sometimes formed by these teachers may place unfair labels, like

28
‘slow learner’, on students assigned to their low-track classes. In fact, teachers may
confuse students' pace of learning with their capacity to learn.
Making heads or tails of the research is difficult since for every research study
that refutes tracking, there seems to be another that supports it (Muir, 2007). The
argument in favor of ability grouping is that it allows teachers to challenge high-
achievers, while providing remediation, repetition and review for low –achievers
(Slavin, 1987). Proponents of ability grouping claim that in mixed ability classrooms
teachers have to teach the average level, which bores the high-achievers and is too fast
paced for the low achievers, thereby creating an ineffective educational environment
for most of the children in the class (Slavin, 1987). The arguments against ability
grouping usually focus on its negative impact on low-achieves, who, when separated
from their high-achieving peers, suffer the double blow of losing the positive example
of their peers and suffering lowered expectations from their teachers (Slavin, 1987).
Oakes et al. (1995), studied the effect of race, social class, and tracking on
opportunities to learn in mathematics and science and found that during elementary
grades, the science and mathematics experiences of children from low-income
families, African-American and Hispanic children, children who attend school in
central cities, and children who have been clustered in ‘low-ability classes’ differ in
small but important ways from those of their more advantaged and white peers. By
the time the students reach secondary school, their science and mathematics
experiences are strikingly different (Oakes, 1995)

29
In many of today’s schools, ability grouping and tracking serve as a de facto
segregation. Ability grouping may create almost complete separation of students for
the provision of distinct contents based on assumptions about students’ educational
and occupational potential (Oakes, 1983). Prior to Brown vs. Board of Education,
segregation in American schools was systemic. Politicians and the White community
followed the separate but equal doctrine, which involve segregation in schools with
the idea that each site would have “equal” resources and facilities. The issue was
whether or not “separate but equal” is constitutional. The Supreme Court ruled that
race-based segregation of children into “separate but equal” public schools violates
the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and is unconstitutional
(Kelly, 1954). According to Anne Wheelock, author of Crossing the Tracks: How
“Untracking” Can Save America’s Schools, about 60 percent of elementary schools
practice some form of whole class ability grouping (1992).
In research carried out by Jeannie Oakes, whether students began with
relatively low achievement, those who were place in lower-level courses showed
lesser gains over time than similarly situated students placed in higher-level courses
(1995). Despite its widespread legitimacy, there is no question that tracking, the
assessment practice that support it, and the differences in educational opportunity that
result from it, limit many students’ schooling opportunities and life chances (Oakes,
1995).

30
The consequences are that many students are unprepared to take challenging
college preparatory courses that lead to higher education. As a result, many high
school students decide not to enroll in these classes. There have been numerous
attempts to raise the enrollment in Math and Science courses for minorities. African-
American males are less likely to take these courses. Many students and parents lack
the knowledge necessary to navigate through the maze of courses that are required to
progress directly from high school to the University. Students stop at Algebra I,
rather than attempting to pass the Geometry and Algebra II courses necessary to
qualify for university admission. Students register in community colleges after high
school graduation. For many, arriving unprepared in math costs them valuable time
and increases the chance that they will leave college without completing degree
applicable or transfer-level math courses.
Urban School Resources
Standards based reforms have been launched throughout the United States
with promises of greater equity, but, while students are held to common standards—
and increasingly experience serious sanctions if they fail to achieve them—few states
have equalized funding and access to the key educational resources needed for
learning (Darling-Hammond, 2000). Because of race and class segregation and its
relationship to local school revenues, students in high-poverty racially segregated
schools are not exposed to high-quality curricula, highly qualified teachers, or
important social networks as often as students in wealthier, predominantly White

31
schools (“Unequal Opportunities,” 2006). The education system is facing many
inequalities and no one suffers more from these inequalities than urban school
systems. Urban schools are found in high-poverty neighborhoods that lack social
service resources and that have high incidence of illicit activities (NCES, 1996). In
the United States, students attending urban public schools are characterized by having
low levels of educational attainment, high probability of dropout, and inadequate
preparation for postsecondary opportunities (Tighe, Wang, & Foley, 2002). Urban
Schools have traditionally had a difficult time retaining effective teachers due to a
lack of resources, overcrowded classrooms, and facilities that are in need of repair.
These are the essential reasons why teachers often choose to leave the teaching
profession. Due to the strong reluctance of traditionally certified teachers to work in
urban schools, alternative certification programs have been implemented in an effort
to fill the voids of teacher shortages. All of this has an effect on the learning
environment and student motivation. As a consequence of these factors, quality
teachers are discouraged from working in urban schools which has dire affects on the
schools as well as their students’ achievement.
Other problems that urban schools face are lack of funding and an increase in
costs. Education is usually one of the last budget areas to be cut, but most districts
today are suffering declines in both state and local funding (Hull, 2010). Furthermore,
state education budgets have not kept up with inflation which means that states do not
have the money to pick up the loss of federal dollars, or to give extra money to

32
traditionally poor school districts (Ascher, 1989). Urban school districts experience
funding inequalities simply because of where they are located. A location in a major
city means the cost of living is higher than rural and suburban districts. Many urban
students have needs that must be dealt with such as poverty, limited English
proficiency and student mobility, which creates a need for urban funding to be
adjusted accordingly.
No Child Left Behind
What effect has No Child Left Behind had on schools and the achievement
gap? Enacted in 2001, the purpose of the No Child Left Behind Act is to close the
achievement gap between historically underserved African-American,
Hispanic/Latino, and low-income public school students and their White and Asian
counterparts. It mandated that 100% of students attain proficiency through yearly
tests by 2008. Schools are required, under threat of strict sanctions, to raise
achievement each year in math and reading and to eliminate the achievement gap by
race, ethnicity, language, and special education status (Lee, 2006). Schools that failed
to reach yearly goals operate under the threat of sanctions and are considered “in need
of improvement”. The fact that minority students tend to score lower than White and
Asian students on standardized tests meant that schools with a large number of
minorities would have a far less chance at reaching yearly goals. The identification of
a school as ‘in need of improvement’ depends more on the demographics of a school
rather than how well that school educates students. A fear of Educational researchers

33
is that systematic federal evaluations conducted under the No Child Left Behind law
have given districts and states powerful incentives to move lower-achieving students
out of their general populations to special education placements, alternative schools,
or elsewhere (Finkel, 2010). These moves, whether founded or unfounded, may lead
the way to dropout.
Ogbu (2003) argues the role of community forces should be incorporated into
the discussion of the academic achievement gap by researchers, theoreticians,
policymakers, educators, and minorities themselves who genuinely want to improve
the academic achievement of African Americans and other minorities.
Personal/Cultural Factors Influencing African-American Males in
High School
This section of the study will examine how specific personal factors lead to the
lower educational outcomes that are far too common with African-American males in
high school. Personal factors include beliefs, thoughts or other cognitive factors
within the student that influence their behavior (Bandura, 1986). A collection of other
personal factors influence African-American males in high school. The literature
reviewed in this section will focus on oppositional cultural identity, stereo type threat,
academic disengagement, self-regulated learning, and cultural literacy.
The mere exploration of the social construction of the Black male image in the
U.S. over the last four centuries reveals a highly problematic depiction ranging from
the docile or the bewildered slave, to the hyper-sexed brute, to the gregarious Sambo,
the exploitative pimp or slickster, to the super athlete and entertainer (Howard, 2008).

34
These images play an important role in the educational experience of African-
American males. The social and political ramifications of each of these images still
influence the perceptions of scores of young Black men today, including through their
own perpetuation of these images (Howard, 2008). According to Claude Steele
(1992), when past experiences and stereotypes prevent students from entrusting their
sense-of-self to school, they misidentify or disengage themselves with learning to
become less vulnerable to academic failure.
Oppositional Cultural Identity
Dr. John U. Ogbu, a Nigerian-American anthropologist, believed that blacks
have developed an oppositional cultural identity, where blacks because of their
internalization of discrimination developed their own culture (2003). The
oppositional culture theory relies on two components to explain racial or group
differences in achievement: (a) societal and school forces and (b) community and
individual-level forces (Brenner, 2004). These environmental and personal/cultural
factors coincide with the perspective of the social cognitive theory framework. Ogbu
argued throughout the years that the black identity might give away to
underperformance in the academic domain (2003). This prominent, yet controversial
theory, expresses the belief that some African-American youth are adopting identities
that renounce working hard in school and reject high achieving blacks as betraying
”real” blackness. High-achieving African Americans are often ostracized, considered
“sell-outs”, and forced to choose between remaining with their peers or working hard

35
to achieve academically. Ogbu argues that Black students and other minorities come
to equate academic success with acting white (Noguera, 2008).
Recent research contests the validity of oppositional culture theory, showing
that African-American students of all socioeconomic backgrounds adhere strongly to
dominant achievement ideology (Ainsworth-Darnell and Downey, 1998). Ogbu’s
contention of African-American identity has been challenged by other scholars.
Through his own research, Pedro Noguera discovered that although some high-
achieving minority students are ostracized by their peers, others learn how to succeed
in both worlds by adopting multiple identities (2008). Others actively and
deliberately challenge racial stereotypes and seek to redefine their racial identities by
showing that it is possible to do well in school and be proud of who they are
(Noguera, 2008).
Stereotype Threat
Adolescence is a period of identity development and exploration, and for many
adolescents, social group memberships become more important as they seek to define
themselves (Erikson, 1968). Some scholars suggest that under-achievement for
African-American males in education is a direct consequence of stereotypes.
Stereotype threat is a term first used by Steele (1992) who showed, in several
experiments, that Black students performed more poorly on standardized tests than
white students when their race was emphasized. Similar to oppositional culture
identity, some scholars assert that stereotypes influence the low academic

36
achievement outcomes of African-American males. In Contesting Stereotypes and
Creating Identities, a distinguished group of psychologists and social scientists argue
that stereotypes about the academic potential of some minority groups remain a
significant barrier to their achievement (Fuligni, 2007). Claude Steele’s work on the
effects of racial stereotypes on academic performance helps to provide a compelling
explanation for the identity-achievement paradox (Noguera, 2008). When capable
black students fail to perform as well as their white counterparts, the explanation often
has less to do with preparation or ability than with the threat of stereotypes about their
capacity to succeed (Steele, 1999).
Academic Disengagement
From a life course perspective, high school dropout culminates a long-term
process of disengagement from school (Alexander, Entwisle, & Kabbani, 2001). The
concept of school engagement has attracted increasing attention as representing a
possible antidote to declining academic motivation and achievement (Fredricks,
Blumenfield, & Paris, 2004). Student engagement is positively related to
achievement, and disengagement is found to lead to poor academic outcomes in a
variety of subjects (Marks, 2000). Academic and school engagement is characterized
as students’ participation in particular school or home activities that enhance learning
and enhance school community involvement. Research from Fredricks et al, (2004)
identified three types of engagement: Behavioral engagement, cognitive engagement,
and emotional engagement. Behavioral Engagement is doing school work and

37
following the rules, while cognitive engagement is motivation and effort, and
emotional engagement includes interests, values, and emotions (Fredricks et al, 2004).
Scholars have illustrated through various studies that the time and energy
students at any school devote to educationally purposeful activities (i.e., student
engagement) is the greatest predictor of their cognitive and personal development
(Pace, 1980; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991). However, research by Shernoff and
Schmidt (2008) found the existence of an engagement-achievement paradox in which
Black students reported higher engagement, but lower GPA relative to White students.
Some studies have found that the relationship between engagement and achievement
may be weaker (or non-existent) for black students in comparison to those of other
ethnicities (Smerdon, 1999).
One important factor contributing to student academic disengagement is the
impact of the educational opportunity structure. Opportunity structure refers to the
notion that opportunity, the chance to gain certain rewards or goals, is shaped by the
way the society or an institution is organized (or structured). For instance, a study by
Walker and Sutherland (1993) examined the effect opportunity structure has on
African Americans and found that African-American males' perceptions of the
opportunity structure carried the same weight in influencing the type of educational
plans that they established for themselves as did how well they performed in school.

38
Self-Regulated Learning
Another key process in which students foster the achievement of positive
academic goals is by self-regulating their academic learning. American educators
have stressed the importance of individuals assuming personal responsibility and
control for their own acquisition of knowledge and skill (Zimmerman, 1990). Pintrich
(1999) describes self-regulated learning as an active, constructive process whereby
learners set goals for their learning plan actions and monitor, regulate and control their
cognition, motivation and behavior. Boekaert’s (1997, 1999) model suggests that self-
regulated learning is a complex, interactive process involving motivational as well as
cognitive self-regulation. Students struggling with school behavior fail to construct
teacher relationships, or have attendance problems, and are often unable to form and
adhere to learning goals. As a result, African-American males who are often subject
to exclusionary discipline policies such as suspension, possess a high level of
disengagement. This disengagement, as stated earlier, often leads to less than
desirable educational outcomes such as school dropout.
Self-Efficacy (A. Bandura)
A collection of other personal/cultural factors influence the educational
outcomes of African-American males. Personal factors include beliefs, thoughts or
other cognitive factors within the student that influence their behavior (Bandura,
1986). When looking specifically at African-American males, another very influential
personal factor influencing the high rates of academic failure is the student’s level of

39
self-efficacy. Self-efficacy affects choice of activities and is strongly related to effort
and task performance (Bandura, 1986). Low self-efficacy leads to task avoidance
while students that possess a high level of self-efficacy believe themselves to be
capable of achieving.
African-American adolescent males are one of the nation’s most vulnerable
populations but increasing self-efficacy (e.g., an individual’s beliefs in their
capabilities to produce a desired result) may improve life outcomes. Another factor
closely related to student self-efficacy is African-American identity in adolescence.
The search for and discovery of ones racial identity is an important aspect in the
maturation process during adolescence.
Cultural Literacy (E .D. Hirsch)
The multitude of personal factors affecting African-American males in
education described in this section paint a picture that is formidable in reference to
attaining positive academic outcomes for this group. Without the skills that are
essential for global and economic connectivity, the African-American community’s
future may be in jeopardy. Scholars are concerned with the importance for blacks and
other minorities of possessing the information essential for improving their social and
economic status (Hirsch, 1987). Researcher on the educational outcomes shows that
the U.S. educational system may be in a crisis, and despite the consensus on the need
for educational change, scholars and educators have failed in pinpointing the precise
nature and solution. In his book, “Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs To

40
Know”, E. D. Hirsch explains that individuals who are culturally literate possess the
basic information to thrive in the modern world (1987).
World knowledge (or Cultural Literacy) is the network of information that all
competent readers possess, which is the background information that enables them to
take up a newspaper and read it with an adequate level of comprehension (Hirsch,
1987). Students who disengage from school often miss the experiences that help to
mold this knowledge, condemned in perpetuity to oversimplified low-level tasks.
Around grade four, those who lack the initial knowledge required for significant
reading, critical thinking, and problem solving, begin to be left behind permanently
(Hirsch, 1987). These personal factors undoubtedly contribute to the higher rates of
academic disengagement and lower school completion rates for this group.
Chapter Summary
In conclusion, despite continuously attempting to close the achievement gap
between African-American males and their White counterparts with educational
reforms such as No Child Left Behind and class size reduction, a large percentage of
African-American males have continued to perform at sub par levels in America’s
schools. The increased probability of low educational outcomes, in particular, failure
to graduate from high school, brings attention to the need for continued research
focused on this specific subgroup of students. The reviewed literature in this section
discussed environmental and cultural/personal factors that effect African-American
males in high schools. The literature reveals (as understood within the social

41
cognitive theory framework) that different environmental and personal factors do
indeed contribute to the low educational outcomes for African-American males.
Although the environmental factors exist across the home, community, and school, the
majority of a typical day in the life of a student is spent within the school
environment. This fact compelled this study to pay added attention to the examination
of the school environment and the issues affecting students who attend them such as
school climate, bullying, discipline policies, special education, and teacher
relationships. Since this issue is being examined from a social cognitive theory
framework, some theories focus attention on environmental factors affecting
educational outcomes while others focus on personal factors. These personal factors,
oppositional cultural identity, stereotype threat, self-efficacy, cultural literacy, and
academic disengagement, also help to shed light on the issues leading to the low
educational outcomes for African-American males. Determining the influence of
these personal and environmental factors on this particular population is important
because African-American males have such a high rate of high school non-
completion. As the literature reviewed has highlighted, these outcomes are definitely
influenced by factors that can be improved.

42

CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
The purpose of this study was to examine the subgroup of African-American
male students in reference to their sub par graduation rates from public high schools.
The goal of this study was to identify barriers that lead to academic failure and
solutions to help support this particular subgroup. Although issues of academic
underachievement among African-American students have been a focus of research
for decades, clear explanations for and consistent solutions to the problem remain
elusive (Irving & Hudley, 2005). The study compared African-American males who
have graduated from high school with African-American males who failed to graduate
from high school. The comparison was based on environmental and cultural factors
that influence African-American male public high school students.
Research Questions
The following research questions guided this body of work:

1. What personal and environmental factors contribute to the graduation
of African-American males in high school?

43
2. What support can be provided to African-American males in schools
that will increase the graduation rate of this population?

Qualitative Approach
The qualitative method was used to analyze the above questions. Qualitative
methods are often used because they tell the programs story by capturing and
communicating the participants’ stories (Patton, 2002, p.19). This approach provides
field-focused, interpretive, detailed descriptions and interpretations of the participants
and their settings (Gay & Airasian, 1992). From the perspective of Social Cognitive
Theory, Environmental factors that may influence African-American males and their
educational outcomes were examined. These include school factors (i.e., bullying,
discipline policies, teacher expectations, and curriculum), nutrition, socioeconomic
status, family background, and neighborhood. Cultural or Personal factors
influencing African-American males in high schools, such as, self-efficacy,
expectancy beliefs, stereotype threat, were also examined. These Environmental and
Cultural factors are the independent variables in the study while the completion or
non-completion of high school serves as the dependent variable for the study.
Qualitative research seeks to probe deeply into the research setting to obtain
in-depth understandings about the way things are, why they are that way, and how the
participants in the context perceive them (Gay & Airasian, 1992). To achieve this

44
level of understanding in the context of the school setting, qualitative focus group
interviews and individual interviews were carried out.
Grounded theory was also used as a methodology. Qualitative inquiry is
especially powerful as a source of grounded theory, theory that is inductively
generated from fieldwork, that is, theory that emerges from the researcher’s
observations and interviews out in the real world rather than in a laboratory or the
academy (Patton, 2002). Through grounded theory which involves inductive
reasoning, developing generalizations from a limited number of related observations,
subject responses were treated as a new source of knowledge from which new theories
can be formed. These new theories helped design interventions for increasing
graduation rates for African-American males.
Research Design
The Researcher
An important theme of qualitative inquiry is the personal experience and
engagement of the researcher. Patton (2002) talks about the personal experiences and
engagement of the researcher in that he/she has direct contact with and gets close to
the people, situation, and phenomenon under study. The researcher’s personal
experiences and insights are an important part of the inquiry and critical to
understanding the phenomenon (Patton, 2002). The researcher’s experience as a
Teacher and Administrator in several Southern California public schools with sizeable

45
populations of at risk students, the majority of whom are African American and
Hispanic, has provided a critical view of the problems and how these problems relate
to student educational outcomes. Observations of the challenges and educational
outcomes (i.e. below proficient state test scores, truancy, lack of motivation, and
school dropout) for African-American male students continue to serve as a constant
example of a crisis in education.
Because the researcher in this study is an African-American male, is a product
of urban public schools, was raised in a single parent household in an inner-city
neighborhood, there are many aspects of the study that are quite meaningful on a
personal, career, and scholarly level. As was previously stated, the researcher’s goal
in this study is to identify barriers to positive educational outcomes, specifically high
school completion, and propose strategies that educators and school administrators
can utilize in educating African-American males.
Sample and Population
Qualitative research is characterized by in-depth inquiry, immersion in a
setting, concern with participants’ perspectives, and description of a single setting, not
generalization to many settings (Gay & Airasian, 1992). Because qualitative samples
tend to be small relative to quantitative samples, the experience and insight of the
researcher is used to select a sample; randomness is rarely part of the process (Patton,
2002). Selection of the two subgroups for this study was carried out through
purposive as well as purposeful sampling. In purposive sampling, also referred to as

46
judgment sampling the researcher selects a sample based on his experience and
knowledge of the group to be sampled (Gay & Airasian, 1992). Furthermore, in
purposeful sampling, the sample is selected because they are “information rich”, that
is, they offer useful manifestations of the phenomenon of interest (Patton, 2002).
Two types of Purposeful sampling methods were utilized, criterion sampling,
which in some cases led to snowball or chain sampling. In criterion sampling,
researchers select persons on the basis of an explicitly stated criterion (Lindlof &
Taylor, 2011). Criterion sampling was utilized because of the specific criteria all
participants had to possess. The criteria selected for the study population included
race, gender, and academic achievement, as well as enrollment in an urban public high
school. As Patton (2002) states, Snowball or Chain sampling involves asking well-
situated and information-rich key informants: “Who knows a lot about ____? Whom
should I talk to?” (p. 29). Snowball sampling is a useful choice of sampling strategy
when the population you are interested in studying is hidden or hard-to-reach, and
may be subject to social stigma (Lund, 2010). Individuals selected for this study
through criterion sampling were able to suggest other potential participants that
possessed the same characteristics as themselves.
Participants
Ten African-American males participated in this study. Five participants
completed high school with their cohorts and five were non-completers. Participation
was voluntary based on the individuals meeting the previously mentioned criteria.

47
Each participant had an inner city upbringing, none were affluent or from high income
backgrounds. Pseudonyms replaced actual names for anonymity during the study and
were used when reporting findings. Actual names were only used on consent forms.
All participants met the following criteria:
• Considered themselves and are identified as African-American male
• Attended an urban public high school in the Sunrise Unified School
District as twelfth graders
• Were within the age of 18-25
• Were willing to participate for the length of the study
• Provided written consent to be interviewed

Student Group 1. Participants in this group conform to the previously
mentioned criteria for this study, but specifically had to be high school non-graduates.
They were selected from Sunrise Unified School District. The importance of the
participants’ in Student Group 1 being of non-graduate status is to ensure relevant and
significant comparison to Student Group 2 for determining factors leading to dropping
out of high school. The goal was to have 5 students who fit the criteria for Student
Group 1 participating in the study.
Student Group 2. Participants in the second group conformed to the criteria
for this study, but specifically had to be high school graduates. This group of
participants are graduates of the Sunrise Unified School District. This group was

48
selected to help identify dissimilarities as well as similarities in their educational
experiences as compared to Student Group 1. Consistent with the goal of Student
Group 1, the goal was to have 5 students who fit the criteria for Student Group 2
participating in the study.
Setting
As previously stated, participants for this study were chosen based on specific
criteria related to environmental and personal or cultural factors. Participants attended
high school in the Sunrise Unified School District SUSD which adheres to this study’s
environmental criteria, urban public high schools. The Sunrise Unified School
District is a large urban district in Southern California, comprised of 4comprehensive
high schools, 2 alternative schools, 16 elementary schools, and 4 middle schools.
Although the community around S.U.S.D. has a variation of low-income, middle-
income, and high-income residents, the majority of enrollment in the district is low-
income and minority. There are a number of private schools in the surrounding area
that serve as the desired schools for the more affluent population. The student body in
the S.U.S.D. is as follows: 59% Hispanic, 17% African American, 14% White, and
7% Asian. According to the California Department of Education (CDE, 2012), the
district wide Cohort Graduation Rate for 2009-2010 is 74%. The Cohort graduation
rate for African-American students is 69.7% (CDE.ca.gov, 2012).

49
Data Collection and Instrumentation
Data Collection
In a qualitative study the investigator is the primary instrument for gathering
and analyzing data, such as, can respond to the situation by maximizing opportunities
for collecting and producing meaningful information (Merriam, 2001). From a
qualitative perspective, the interest of the study was to understand the experience of
dropping out of high school from the perspective of those who failed to graduate. In
addition, the study’s interest was to determine which factors differentiated non-
graduates from those who emerged from the same backgrounds and managed to
graduate high school.
Interview
The specific tool used in this study for the data collection process was
interviews. The interview was comprised of 25 questions utilized in previous research
or constructed for this specific study to gather data related to environmental and
personal factors (see Appendices A-D). Interview questions specifically cover
personal factors such as goal setting, family educational beliefs, and interests and
environmental factors such as school safety, staff relationship, and school site
distractions. Once compiled, interviews were piloted with 5 students similar to the
study’s participants to measure approximate interview times and validity. The
researcher then reviewed piloted interviews from which questions were adjusted and
additional questions were incorporated.

50
Validity and Reliability
To ensure the validity of the study, and to correctly place participants in
student groups, students filled out a survey. The survey presented questions that
intended to verify their status as high school graduates or non-graduates. Verification
of participant educational status was obtained from participants providing the
researcher with proof of graduate or non-graduate status (i.e. diploma, certificate of
completion). The accuracy of information was verified through transcripts obtained
with the permission of participants.
Data Analysis
Once all interview data was collected, qualitative methods of data analysis
were used to identify themes in participant question responses. According to Patton’s
(2002) guidelines for analyzing qualitative data, trends in the data should be identified
to process raw data into findings. The data was organized into three subcategories,
Home, Student Goals, and School from which themes materialized based on common
experiences that were shared during interviews. Personal factor data was organized
across the Home and Student Goals subcategories, while Environmental data was
organized across the School subcategory. Themes materialized in each subcategory
based on variations and similarities in participant responses to interview questions.
These variances and similarities helped determine (1) what difference exist between
African-American male students who were successful in graduating and those who are
unsuccessful (2) What schools must do to support African-American males in

51
graduating. The specific analytical framework for the research questions is
established in the Questions Framework illustrated by Patton (2002).
Chapter Summary
The purpose of this chapter was to outline the specific research methodology
utilized in this study. Qualitative methods were utilized to examine African-American
males in high school and the factors that lead to positive or negative educational
outcomes, specifically graduation and non-graduation,. This chapter included a
description of the research design, participants, instrumentation and data collection
process, the validity and reliability of the study, and methods of analysis. Bandura’s
(1986) social cognitive theory served as the framework from which all data were
collected and analyzed. Questions Framework and Sensitizing Questions frameworks
from Patton (2002) guided the data collection and analysis. Examining at-risk student
characteristics and school site distractions, provided insight into solutions to improve
positive educational outcomes for African-American males.

52

CHAPTER 4
RESULTS
Introduction
The purpose of this study was to examine the barriers that lead to high school
non-completion for African-American males and to propose the strategies that must
be implemented to better support this group. Specifically, the study examined how
African-American male high school graduates vary from African-American male non-
graduates. The first three chapters provided an introduction, review of the literature,
and the methodological design utilized in this study. The following chapter presents
data that examines the environmental and personal factors of graduating and non-
graduating African-American males in an inner city high school.
Research Questions
The findings are presented in relation to the research questions:
1. What personal and environmental factors contribute to the graduation
of African-American males in high school?
2. What support can be provided to African-American males in schools
that will increase the graduation rate of this population?

53
Data Collection
Data were collected through interviews (see Appendices A, B, C, and D). The
questionnaire was organized into themes according to Patton’s (2002) frameworks for
analysis. Interviews were conducted with 10 African-American males who ranged
from 18 to 20 years of age. Each participant completed a questionnaire and took part
in an interview regarding their high school interests and experiences. The information
and materials that were acquired are presented in this chapter as a mix of experiences
of African-American males who attended an inner city high school.
Participants Description
All participants in this study were students at Sunrise High School located in a
large urban public school district in Southern California. Six participants reported
that they graduated or will graduate from Sunrise High School with their cohort in a
span of 4 years while 4 participants are enrolled in continuing education courses. The
surrounding neighborhood is considered low income, with a history of extreme gang
violence and criminal activity. The student body at Sunrise High is largely comprised
of Latino and African-American students of which 83% are deemed
socioeconomically disadvantaged. Sunrise high school’s total enrollment for the
2012-2013 school year is 1,465 students. Although the last 15 years have shown a
steady increase in enrollment across Sunrise High School’s district, the onset of
school choice and new charter schools has caused a marked decline in enrollment.

54
Sunrise high school’s enrollment has decreased by approximately 200 students from
the 2011-2012 school year to the 2012-2013 school year. The enrollment percentage
by ethnicity is 54% African American, 44% Latino/Hispanic, with 2% being
American Indian, White, and Pacific Islander. 48% of the African-American students
at Sunrise high school are male. All participants in this study identified themselves as
African-American males. Six of the 10 participants reported their cumulative GPAs
as above 2.0 (Satisfactory GPA) while 4 reported GPAs below 2.0 (Below
Satisfactory GPA). All participants stated that they had received free or reduced
lunch and 80% identified themselves as coming from a single-parent household
(Table 2). When questioned about gang affiliation 4 out of the 10 reported
involvement at some point in their adolescent years. The study presumed little
variance across educational outcomes in relation to SES status based on the high
percentage of students coming from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Table 2. Participant Demographic Data

Student Group

Satisfactory GPA
Below
Satisfactory GPA

Total
N % N % N %
Single-Parent Household 6 75% 2 25% 8 80%
Free or Reduced Lunch 6 60% 4 40% 10 100%
12
th
Grade 4 40% 2 20% 6 60%
Continuing Ed. 2 20% 2 40% 4 40%
18 Years Old 4 40% 2 20% 6 60%
19 Years Old 2 20% 2 40% 4 40%

55
A total of 10 subjects were interviewed for this research study. When looking
specifically at the participants, 6 of the 10 reported their cumulative GPAs to be above
2.0 while 4 reported cumulative GPAs below 2.0. For the purposes of this study, a
cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better was considered satisfactory, while a cumulative GPA
below 2.0 was considered below satisfactory. Table 3 presents the subgroup status of
individual participants in relation to pseudonym and GPA.

Table 3. Subgroup Status of Individual Participants

Pseudonym
Satisfactory
GPA
4-Year
Graduate

Participant Description
Shakoor Yes Yes Single parent raised (Father). Father works at
school. Highest achieving participant. Well liked.
Snoop No No Bored with school. Loves music.
Marley No No Quiet. Not very talkative. Big family.
Dre Yes Yes Athletic but failed to play sports his last 2 years
of high school.
Eazy Yes Yes Very nice and likable. Music producer.
Dreadlocks. Rastafarian parents.
Cube Yes Yes 1 of 5 kids. Well known older siblings at the
school.
Short No No Aspires to become rapper and producer. Has
music equipment at home.
Ice Yes Yes Speaks highly of the Principal. Believes the staff
helped him get through school.
Quik Yes Yes Mother always expected him to graduate.
DOC No No Experienced many discipline problems in school.
Has 3 kids and 1 on the way.

56
Procedures and Evaluation
The most common form of interview is the person-to-person encounter in
which one person elicits information from another (Merriam, 2001). For this study,
one-on-one interviews were conducted to examine and analyze the experiences of the
subjects in this study (see Appendix A for the interview questions). Each interview
was recorded and transcribed in a Microsoft Word document. The resulting data were
classified in subcategories based on interview question clusters and the themes that
materialized. Each section is summarized at the end with a narrative along with a
table summarizing the data.

Results for Research Question 1
_____________________________________________________________________
RQ 1: What personal and environmental factors contribute to the graduation
of African-American males in high school?
_____________________________________________________________________

Research Question 1 examined the personal and environmental factors that
contribute to the graduation of African-American males from high school.
Interviews
The data were organized into themes based on common experiences that were
shared during interviews. The themes were placed into 3 subcategories: Home,
Student Goals, and School. The interview questions were clustered based on similar

57
responses. According to the framework for this study, social cognitive theory, the
interaction of three factors determines a student’s individual behavior: personal
thoughts and beliefs, the environment, and their ensuing behavior (Bandura, 1986).
Two themes materialized in the Home subcategory: ‘Must finish high school’
and ‘Not many graduates in my family’. The two themes that materialized in the
Student Goals subcategory were ‘Music is My Life’ and ‘No Doubt’. Subcategories
along with the coinciding themes are discussed in reference to graduates and non-
graduates followed by a summary of the findings. Table 4 organizes the findings by
subcategory, with their corresponding interview question clusters, and themes.

Table 4. Research Question 1—Subcategories, Interview Question Clusters, and
Themes

Subcategory Interview Question Clusters Themes

Home 1. How do your parents/guardians feel about
you and school?

2. What is your relationship with your
parents like? Describe your family?

1. Must finish high school.

2. Not many graduates in
my family.

Student Goals

1. What goals did you set for your future?

2. Self-Esteem
1. Music is My Life.

2. No Doubt

58
RQ 1—Subcategory Home
The purpose of Interview Question Clusters 1 and 2 was to determine the
family environment as well as educational beliefs of the family of each subject.
Family structure and parental educational beliefs can have a strong positive or
negative effect on educational outcomes. Two themes became apparent: ‘Must finish
high school’ and ‘Not many graduates in my family’. The lack of separation between
graduates and non-graduates in these themes were quite compelling. Similarities
within each theme were emphasized below. Actual quotes were taken from the
interview questions for clarity.
Theme 1: Must finish high school. The Theme 1 cluster of interview
questions attempted to determine parent attitudes towards education. The parents of
graduates and non-graduates shared the general sentiment of education as a way out of
the streets and into a better life. Ice, a graduate who spoke highly of the Principal and
teachers at Sunrise high, spoke of the driving belief of his mother. He commented,
“My mom is the closest person to me. My Mom said school is the best way out, so
my Mom told me I have to go” (personal communication March 14, 2013).
Another subject, DOC, responded with similar family beliefs:
My Mom just wants to see me graduate; she wants me to get out of here, out of
L.A. She wants the best for me; she doesn’t want to see me out here anymore,
she thinks that every African American will end up in either two places.
(personal communication March 14, 2013)

59
Although many parents routinely exhibited value in the completion of school,
a number of the subjects in this study are the first in their family to achieve this goal.
Dre, who considered himself an athlete although he only participated in organized
athletics as a ninth grader, shared the following:
Well, my parents are very excited about me graduating from high school
because the family I come from, not too many of them graduated. The
majority of my brothers dropped out: one at 10
th
grade, my older brother
dropped out in 8
th
grade; my mother dropped out, my daddy dropped out.
Everybody dropped out of school, and me, I have continued. (personal
communication March 14, 2013)
Dre was the only subject to make statements that exhibited a mixed message coming
from his parents in relation to the importance of getting an education. He went on to
say,
My mother, they were never on me tough about school; this is something I
wanted to do; my father always told me that I can do what I want to do; if you
want to drop out of school, that’s on you. He said but you can’t get a job
without a diploma. (personal communication March 14, 2013)

Theme 2: Not many graduates in my family. In many families, the goal of
high school completion was not only important to parents, but to extended family as
well. While Theme 1, Must finish high school, primarily focused on the importance
parents placed on high school graduation, Theme 2, Not many graduates in my family,
demonstrated how strongly high school graduation is valued by older siblings, many
of whom failed to graduate themselves. Marley, a non-graduate and a musician who
wears his hair in dreadlocks that have grown since he was a toddler, stated,

60
When it was time for me to graduate my brothers would say, man, don’t give
up on that test, go get that diploma; they never did, but it made them feel better
to see their little brother do it. Me getting that diploma, it wasn’t just for my
happiness; I felt good to see everyone else’s happiness. (personal
communication March 14, 2013)
Snoop, a non-graduate who is the leader of his own rap group, talked about the
reasoning why his older siblings thought it would be important to get an education.
Snoop stated,
They know how I feel about my music and how I want to get in, but they are
telling me that we see artists come and go, and they don’t want me to be that
person that comes and go, and then is broke. I felt like if I am good enough, I
am not going to come and go. Jay-Z and Lil Wayne didn’t go, they are not
leaving, but it’s the fact that they sit there and work on their craft all day,
every day. That’s what I do too. (personal communication March 14, 2013)
Although all but one parent understood and impressed on each of their
students the importance of completing high school, that was as far as they were
expected to go. Four subjects expressed aspirations of educational achievement goals
past the high school level and these came from the students themselves. Cube, an
aspiring baseball player with a family member who played minor league baseball,
stated,
I know I have to go through this to be successful; I don’t like being here, but I
know I have to get through it to be successful. I want to major in kinesiology. I
want to be a physical therapist. I am trying to go to Arizona State University.
(personal communication March 14, 2013)
Cube added, “I had a couple of friends, now they have graduated they are not
in college, no jobs and still living with their parents” (personal communication March
14, 2013).

61
Shakoor was able to look at what a young man’s future would most likely look
like without education.
You need to educate yourself, because in the long run if you don’t educate
yourself you are not going to do nothing, probably just smoke weed and sit
outside your mama’s house, and say I wish I would have did this; I wish I
would have done that. (personal communication March 14, 2013)
Shakoor added,

My educational goals are to go to a 4-year university and play ball at the same
time, but I want to get a degree in criminal justice and then when I make it I
am still going to have a college background, so people can’t say that I didn’t
go to college. (personal communication March 14, 2013)

RQ 1—Subcategory Student Goals
Literature has found that Personal factors, beliefs or thoughts, influence
student behavior and educational outcomes (Bandura, 1986). Subcategory Student
Goals focused on student-held perceptions and what motivates them. Interview
Question Clusters 1 and 2 enquire about the educational, career, and life goals that
subjects possess and whether they felt confident that they could achieve them. A goal
is an outcome or attainment an individual is striving to accomplish (Locke & Latham,
1990). The goals that students set are important since literature has found that
students are more likely to pay attention to and learn things that are related to their
personal interests (Alexander & Murphy, 1998; Renninger, Hidi, & Krapp, 1992).
Two themes became apparent: Music is My Life and No Doubt. Similarities within

62
each theme were emphasized below. Actual quotes were taken from the interview
questions for clarity.

Theme 1: ‘Music is My Life’. For many African-American youth, rap music,
which is also referred to as hip hop music, has “transcended the realm of
entertainment to become an integral aspect of identity and a lens through which [they]
understand the world” (Ferguson, 2001, p. 372). Despite the fact that rap/hip hop
music has effectively been mainstreamed and subsists as an important facet of today’s
pop culture, rap/hip hop music has maintained a relatively strong effect on the beliefs,
behaviors, and identities of Black youth (Anderson, 2003). Though many students did
not express educational goals past high school, they have the desire to pursue a career
in rap or hip hop music. Specifically, the ambition was to become rappers or hip hop
music producers. At some point in the interview, subjects spoke about this and the
fact that this goal is also shared by family members. Marley, sharing his dream in
music, stated,
They (family) know how I feel about my music and how I want to get in, but
they are telling me that we see artists come and go, and they don’t want me to
be that person that comes and go. I felt like if I am good enough, I am not
going to come and go. (personal communication March 14, 2013)
In response to the question, “Do you have anything in particular that you are
looking at doing?” Ice stated, “I have a thing for music; mostly everybody in my
family does music: my cousins, my sister does music, all of them, they sing and rap,
so I would rather try to do music” (personal communication March 14, 2013).

63
Quik had four goals, two of which were music related. The main goal revolved
around rapping. Quik stated,
I have goals; I rap. I have been rapping since I have been 8 years old with my
uncle so I used to really like that; and I have made songs on You-Tube;
football I have been playing that since Pop Warner. I have been doing those
two since I have been growing up; engineering technology that is like to help
me with my music, that has enabled me producing and rapping. (personal
communication March 14, 2013)
While most forms of music are primarily instrument based, or created by
musical instruments, Hip Hop music production is dominated by computers. Dre, a
graduate, spoke of his ability and desire to continue his learning of computers and
music production. His comments and reflections are quite similar to a novice
mathematician or engineer’s description of their field of study. Dre stated,
You can never learn enough in music, there is something every day that people
are creating new sounds in music. I know a whole lot but there is more that I
can learn. I got all the basics, I am a little more advanced than the average
little music producer around. (personal communication March 14, 2013)
Academic disengagement is an important factor with students that fail to
complete school. Unfavorable educational outcomes culminate a long-term process of
disengagement from school (Alexander, Entwisle, & Kabbani, 2001). Marley, in
describing in daily priorities, spoke of the conflict between doing school work and
music. He stated,“There was a time when I was like, I’m gonna do both of these
songs then I will do the papers next week. I thought, this music just had to get done”
(personal communication March 14, 2013).

64
According to research on student outcomes, student engagement positively
relates to achievement, and disengagement is found to lead to poor academic
outcomes in a variety of subjects (Marks, 2000; Voelkl, 1997). Marley, a non-
graduate, went on to describe his consistent disengagement when in the classroom.
He stated,
When I was in class, the teacher would be talking, I would be writing rap
songs. I would have my headphones on, she would say what’s up, I would say
I’m sorry, take the headphones off and still write songs; so when it came to
homework; I wouldn’t know it. (personal communication March 14, 2013)

Theme 2: ‘No Doubt’. African-American males continue to be one of the most
vulnerable subgroups in education. Many lack the confidence to achieve
educationally, which often leads to low persistence, low motivation, and
unsatisfactory educational outcomes. A student’s behavior is related to the level of
confidence that he or she possesses. An individual’s belief in their capabilities to
produce a desired result may improve their life chances. This cluster of interview
questions asked the students if they believed they could achieve their educational
goals and if possessed the ability to succeed in life. Interestingly, all but 3
participants reported that they felt confident in achieving their life goals. In response
to the question, “Did you feel that you could achieve your educational goals?” Quik, a
graduate whose mother expected no less than graduation, stated, “Yes. Mainly
because of my Mom, because I never had a father figure. I want to do it for my mom

65
and family; I can see myself doing a lot of stuff, providing for them” (personal
communication March 14, 2013).
Quik answered the following question, “Do you feel like you have the ability
to succeed in the modern, information, and technology driven world?” with “My
confidence is yes, I know I can. It’s not hard, all I do is keep pushing myself”
(personal communication March 14, 2013).
The subjects interviewed expressed a strong level of personal confidence. The
researcher understood the level of masculinity and bravado inherent in young men
sharing feelings that describe feelings such as confidence. When asked if he felt that
he would reach his educational goals, Cube, a graduate, stated, “I feel I can succeed,
yes sir.” (personal communication March 14, 2013). Dre, a graduate responded,” I am
very confident in my work and in my job. I feel I can get the job done.”
While there were several instances where subjects had mixed feelings about
whether they felt they could achieve their goals in education, one answer from Ice, a
graduate, was very astute. In response to the question, “Did you feel like you could
achieve your educational goals?” Ice stated, “No, I never felt I would make it,
because school was just school, get the work done, get the grades and just leave, I
never thought I was ready to go” (personal communication March 14, 2013). Marley,,
a non-graduate, similarly stated,
Since I have been out of high school I do have those days thinking, wow what
am I going to do; as I’m growing into an adult, you got to sit back and take
that pain for a little while; but I need to keep my mind straight. (personal
communication March 14, 2013).

66
Short, a non-graduate stated,
Not at all, how is that supposed to get me a job; how is that supposed to put
food on my table; no, I don’t get it. They are supposed to prepare people how
to communicate with people; I will just have to learn it myself. (personal
communication March 14, 2013)

Data Summary for Research Question 1
Table 5 summarizes the responses to Research Question 1 and shows the
similarities and differences found among groups. Four themes materialized from the
personal and environmental data collected for Research Question 1. These themes
emphasize the similarities and differences between African-American male high
school graduates and non-graduates. Data were organized based on common
experiences that were shared during interviews. The themes were placed into the
Home and Student Goals subcategory, and interview questions were clustered based
on similar responses (Table 5).

67
Table 5. Research Question 1—Data Summary and Conclusions

Subcategory
Interview
Question Clusters

Themes

Similarities

Differences

Home 1. How do your
parents/guardians
feel about you and
school?

2. What is your
relationship with
your parents like?
Describe your
family?

1. Must finish
high school.

2. Not many
graduates in
my family.

• Graduation very
important to parents,
extended family, as
well as older siblings
that did not graduate.
• Parents did not voice
the college
expectation.
• Students valued going
to college even if
parents did not.
• Close relationship
with mothers.
• Single parent home.

• No observed
differences
amongst
subjects who are
graduates and
non-graduates.

Student
Goals

1. What goals did
you set for your
future?

2. Self-Esteem

1. Music is
My Life.

2. No Doubt
• Can visualize their
future.
• Interested in hip hop
music and hip hop
culture.
• Have computers at
home.
• Have confidence that
they will succeed in
life.
• Non-graduates
saw music as the
way out.
• Non-graduates
lack confidence
in their future.

Results for Research Question 2
_____________________________________________________________________
RQ 2: What support can be provided to African-American males in schools
that will increase the graduation rate of this population?
_____________________________________________________________________

68
Research Question 2 examined what school systems can be put in place to
increase positive educational outcomes for African-American males attending urban
public high schools. The inquiry format used for Research Question 1 was again
utilized to present the data for Research Question 2. For Research Question 2, the data
were classified in one subcategory based on interview question clusters and the two
themes that materialized. This section is summarized at the end with a narrative along
with a table summarizing the data.
Interviews
Research Question 2 examined students’ experiences in urban high schools.
Whether dropping out is a personal act of rejection, joining one’s peers, or giving up,
it presumes a structural context that is being rejected (Fine, 1986). This study
attempts to determine what the difference is between those students who choose to
reject and those who persist and find success. Themes that materialized in the School
Subcategory were “Relationships and Interactions” and ‘Distractions’. Subcategories
along with the coinciding themes are discussed in reference to graduates and non-
graduates followed by a summary of the findings. Table 6 below organizes the
findings by subcategory, interview question clusters, and themes.

69
Table 6. Research Question 2—Subcategory, Interview Question Clusters, and Themes

Subcategory Interview Question Clusters Themes

School 1. How do you feel about your principal,
counselors, and teachers?

2. What challenges did you face at your high
school?

1. Relationships and
Interactions

2. Distractions

RQ 2—Subcategory School
The purpose of Interview Question Clusters 1 and 2 of the School subcategory
was to examine students’ feelings about school, and what helped or hindered their
ability to graduate. What relationships and interactions did students experience with
school staff and what distractions made achieving their ultimate goal of graduation
difficult? On the topic of teacher relationship and its effect on the educational
outcomes of students of color, literature has found that African-American male
students are heavily influenced by their teachers’ perceptions and expectations of their
ability to be successful (Lynn, Bacon, Totten, Bridges, & Jennings, 2010). For
subcategory School, two themes became apparent: Theme 1 “Relationships and
Interactions” and Theme 2 “Distractions”. Unlike the previous themes, there were
significant variations across these two themes between graduates and non-graduates.
The variations within each theme are emphasized below. Actual quotes were taken
from the interview questions for clarity.

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Theme 1—Relationships and Interactions
This cluster of interview questions required that students feel comfortable enough to
share true feelings about staff members with the researcher. The researcher felt
successful in eliciting honest and truthful responses, which added to the validity of the
study. Many subjects, graduates and non-graduates, described important relationships
with teachers that were crucial in getting them closer to achieving their goal of
graduation. It would generally be expected that students who failed to graduate were
lacking in these relationships, which proved to not be the case. Subjects spoke about
the fact that a particular teacher or two helped them get closer to graduation. Short, a
student that plans on graduating, even though he will not be able to earn enough units
to graduate with his cohort, spoke about teachers that assisted him. Short, when asked
to describe relationships he formed with his most influential teachers said:
I got two. One of them calls herself my Mom; I have been knowing her since
my 11
th
grade year, Ms. H. She is the only reason why my transcripts say 12
th

grade right now; she pushed me to get everything straight. (personal
communication March 14, 2013)
Short went on to describe his relationship with a male teacher who he could
relate to because of his similar upbringing. Short said,
The other one is Mr. M; he kept it real with me 100%; he is from the hood too;
and told me everything he used to do and I would relate to that, then again me
and him started getting cool, and he would tell me, man you need to go to class
and start doing your work. (personal communication March 14, 2013)
Marley, whom failed to graduate with his cohort, spoke about his most helpful
counselor:

71
No, Mr. Z was the man. Mr. Z made sure I got everything I had to get just to
get out of this school with a diploma; good counselor. Mr. Z is African; he
probably was raised n the hood. (personal communication March 14, 2013)
The only subject that expressed a high level of resentment towards teachers
and administrators was DOC. DOC is a non-graduate that often experienced
situations with administrators and teachers that often resulted in him being subject to
school discipline. DOC shared that he has spent some time in youth camp and has
fathered three children with a forth on the way. He shared no positive relationships
with staff at the school. In response to the question, “Do you think that teachers had
equal expectations for all students”, DOC responded with this:
I saw that a lot in the teachers. There was one teacher who was racist too; she
didn’t like no Black people. If a Mexican kid came in eating or drinking
something, he would sit down, and a Black kid came in eating or drinking, it
would be damn, what’s your problem? (personal communication March 14,
2013)
DOC reported that his entire school experience was a disaster. Although all other
subjects had good things to say about one or two staff members, he was entirely
disparaging about his school experience. In response to the question, “Do you think
your high school supported you in reaching graduation?” he stated,
They didn’t want me to graduate; they wanted me to stay. They should have
helped a little bit more, everybody; teachers and counselors. Counselors were
trying to bring me down, I lost my Dad and she still tried to bring me down.
Sunrise is not a school that helps you. (personal communication March 14,
2013)
DOC’s comments about his relationship with faculty were quite harsh which
would be expected form a student that has a history of behavior problems. Though

72
there are others that could attest to experiences such as those reported by DOC, it
appears that most of the subjects for this study were willing to recall the better
examples of supporting relationships that they experienced. All but one subject had at
least a teacher, counselor, or administrator in which they felt that they connected to.
Those African American students who are connected both interpersonally and
institutionally tend to have higher grades and graduation rates while students who
were institutionally disconnected tend to be worse off on a variety of outcomes.
Theme 2—Distractions
This cluster of interview questions examined student attitudes and opinions
towards distractions (i.e., violence, unfocused peers, etc.). These distractions in the
school environment may be difficult if not impossible for students to avoid. This
study examined how some students were able to achieve their educational goals in
spite of these distractions while others were not able to do so. Literature has found
that students often do not learn well if the school climate is not safe, organized, and
focused on educational achievement (Perkins, 2006). Subjects were asked about the
school environment and how it may have affected their schooling. Interview question
7 (Appendix A) asked subjects if they thought the school environment was safe. Here
both graduates and non-graduates utilized similar strategies of dealing with situations.
Short, a non-graduate, described how he felt about the violent situations he was
exposed to:

73
I was a little nervous about coming here. Just like walking home. A lot of
times you couldn’t walk home without getting banged on; somebody chasing
you. I seen other people get bullied and I took up for them. (personal
communication March 14, 2013)
Short went on to share information about the most disturbing thing he saw at Sunrise
High School. He stated, “I have seen people get killed here at Sunrise High School,
got murdered as well” (personal communication March 14, 2013).
The researcher confirmed that two students were killed on campus as a result
of gang violence in the last 4 years. Students exposed to such events can use these
situations to help turn them in a positive direction. In asking Short how he felt these
tragedies affected him, he stated, “I only hang around positive; never the negative.
Then I started getting really into my school work, then I started doing it though, and
teachers started helping me; I said I believe I can do it” (personal communication
March 14, 2013).
Although school violence in the form of bullying and fights was reported by
subjects as common, other common distractions revolved around the subjects peers.
Cube talked about the friends he associated with in his early high school years. In
response to the question, “What challenges did you face at your high school?” he
stated, “My peers trying to drag you to do the wrong stuff sometimes. I changed my
friends eventually because I was with the wrong ones, smoking, drinking” (personal
communication March 14, 2013).
Although the majority of the distractions were reported as taking place outside
of the classroom, the researcher inquired about those distractions that arose inside the

74
classroom. A general consensus with the subjects was that certain classes were filled
with students that were only interested in disrupting and were not serious about
learning. The most unruly classrooms were generally in the early high school grades.
These years were also where the subjects received the majority of their fails in core
classes. Subjects were asked to describe their classes in the early years of high
school. Short, in remembering his 9
th
grade year, described his classes as noisy,
crowded and out of control. He stated, “It was me and most of the football team in the
9
th
grade class; we used to just act up for no reason just to get kicked out” (personal
communication March 14, 2013).
Similarly, DOC added, “Classes were jumpin; like a party. There were about
90 kids in a classroom; the teacher couldn’t handle the classroom” (personal
communication March 14, 2013).
Shakoor, one of the higher achieving students, stated that he was disappointed
with what they were able to learn as a result of the difficulty teachers had controlling
classes. When asked to share what he thought of the education he received at Sunrise
high school, his response was profound:
The education was good but they could have taught me more than just the
minimum. Some teachers would just sit there and not teach anything. I wanted
to get all the education I could receive. Sometimes in public schools they are
not challenging the kids enough, as a teacher you have to be willing to
challenge the kids and tutor them; they have to put more on the table so when
the kids go to college they will be prepared. (personal communication March
14, 2013)

75
Students made comments that showed an understanding of the effect
distractions have on their ability to be successful in school. When asked to describe
what challenges he faced in high school, Quik, a graduate stated, “My friends and
females. That was a challenge getting my friends out of my picture” (personal
communication March 14, 2013). ICE stated, “People hanging outside of class ain’t
doing anything with their life basically want to drop out” (personal communication
March 14, 2013). Past research has demonstrated that school interruptions lower the
quality of classroom instruction and a school’s climate, making it difficult to
concentrate on academic material (Perkins, 2006). Even though many of the subjects
reported that they had ways to get past these challenges, it was obvious that some
were not successful in doing so.
Data Summary for Research Question 2
Two themes materialized from the personal and environmental data collected
for Research Question 2. These themes again emphasized the similarities and
differences between African-American male high school graduates and non-graduates.
Data were organized based on common experiences that were shared during
interviews. The themes were placed into the school subcategory, and interview
questions were clustered based on similar responses (Table 7).

76
Table 7. Research Question 2–Data Summary and Conclusions

Subcategory
Interview
Question
Clusters

Themes

Similarities

Differences

School 1. How do you
feel about your
principal,
counselors, and
teachers?

2. What
challenges did
you face at your
high school?

1. Relationships
and Interactions

2. Distractions

• Had few important
relationships with
staff.
• A counselor or
teacher was crucial in
helping make
progress.
• Thought teachers
care and only want to
see them finish.

• No observed No
positive
relationship with
school staff or
among non-
graduates.
• Staff connection
made too late in
school career to
graduate.
• Extremely
negative
comments about
teachers among
non-graduates.
• Staff did not
want me to
graduate (non-
graduate).

The Subcategory School is the location where students have spent the bulk of
their years as students. Two themes were revealed, Relationships and Interactions
and Distractions. Commonalities between the groups were that there were important
relationships with teachers, counselors, and administrators that were crucial in their
steps toward graduation. A disheartening trend in each interview was unintentionally
revealed by the subjects. While each subject spoke about these important
relationships, no subject had more than two throughout their high school years. The
variances within group across the Distractions theme came with how negative
situations were dealt with. While all subjects were exposed to the fights, bullying,

77
and delinquent peers, what really mattered was the way in which these situations were
handled. Subjects reported being caught up in the unruly behavior before realizing
that it would only lead to disaster. In the face of distractions, graduates were
successful in ignoring and steering clear, while non-graduates were not.
Chapter Summary
To summarize the most significant finding in this study, the supportive
relationships fostered by teachers and counselors provided African-American male
students with crucial academic guidance. The overriding theme was of connections
with staff that the student could relate to. Those staff members that came from an
upbringing or cultural background similar to those students or were culturally
competent. Short articulated this when he answered the question that asked him to
describe a staff relationship that was important to him. In speaking of the two
teachers that helped him, Short stated,
I got two. One of them calls herself my Mom; I have been knowing her since
my 11
th
grade year. She is the only reason why my transcripts say 12
th
grade
right now; she pushed me to get everything straight. The other one is Mr. M;
he kept it real with me 100%; he is from the hood too; and told me everything
he used to do and I would relate to that, and he would tell me, man you need to
go to class and start doing your work. (personal communication March 14,
2013)
The African-American male subjects of this study shared their experiences, the
struggles and challenges they faced every day. All but one subject got off to an
unproductive and unfocused start in their high school years and was saved only by a

78
staff member that was able to connect with them and turn them in the right direction.
This study highlighted the shortage of staff members that possess the cultural
competence required to connect with this population. The overriding difference
between graduates and non-graduates was the timing of the connection that was made.
Subjects that graduated were given guidance at an early enough time in high school to
gain traction and graduate while others were not. Research states that by serving as a
reliable source of emotional support, guidance, and assistance, teachers may bolster
students’ confidence and strengthen their ability to acquire a high school education,
especially when students experience difficulties at school or elsewhere in their lives
(Luthar & Ziegler, 1991; Wehlage, Rutter, Smith, Lesko, & Fernandez, 1989).

79

CHAPTER 5
SUMMARY, DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND
CONCLUSION
Summary
The purpose of this body of work was to examine the barriers that lead to high
school non-completion for African-American males and to propose the strategies that
must be implemented to better support this group. Specifically, it examined how
African-American male high school graduates vary from African-American male non-
graduates. Analysis of particular environmental and personal factors was done to
determine what contributes to the differences in academic outcomes within this group.
These concerns must be explored so that policy makers can make better decisions and
so teachers and school officials have better practical solutions for increasing
graduation rates for African-American males. Research suggests that because of the
intersection of race and gender, African-American males have a high rate of academic
failure (Osher, Woodruff, & Sims, 2005; Sample, 2009).
There is a lack of research focusing on what separates those African-American
males with identical family, socioeconomic, and community characteristics that
complete school, from those who do not. For this study, the researcher made a
conscious effort to include subjects that possessed many of these same background
characteristics. The fact that there was little to no variability in background

80
characteristics between the graduates and non-graduates examined in this study,
allowed for a clearer picture to emerge helping determine what may have lead to the
differing educational outcomes. The results of this study revealed interesting
information about these at-risk students and the importance of timely interventions at
the school site. This study found that critical supportive relationships with teachers
and counselors allowed some African-American male students to successfully recover
from slow starts in their 9
th
and 10
th
grade years, while similar African-American male
students failed to make the supportive connections with school staff and were
unsuccessful in reaching graduation.
Discussion of Findings
Research Question 1 examined the personal and environmental factors that
contribute to the graduation of African-American males from high school. The
specific question was, “What personal and environmental factors contribute to the
graduation of African-American males in high school?” Findings indicated that while
the differences across both environmental and personal factors of graduates and non-
graduates were minimal, a crucial difference was the formation of supportive
relationships with teachers or counselors, which were instrumental in helping
graduates meet the requirements to graduate. For the non-graduates the relationship
proved to happen too late or not at all. Although it was difficult to ascertain the
significance of school site distractions like violence and their effect on the educational

81
outcomes of African-American males, researchers state that a positive school climate
reduces dropouts (Noguera, 2008, Toldson, 2008, Perkins, 2006).
Graduation from high school was very important to parents, extended family,
and older siblings, even those older siblings that failed to graduate. The literature on
positive family expectations in child and adolescent education makes the clear
assumption that it benefits children’s learning (Chavkin, 1993, Eccles & Harold,
1993; U.S. Department of Education, 1994). Subjects were also intrinsically
motivated to do more. Though parents did not voice a college attendance expectation,
students often possessed their own desires to attend college. Is this attributed to the
students themselves and their qualities of persistence and determination?
Additionally, subjects in this study with parents that expressed no educational
expectations were less likely to recover from slow starts in high school and graduate.
A similarity between students interviewed was their confidence in their ability
to succeed in today’s environment, which, amongst other things, will expect them to
be able to navigate technology. Is the fact that the majority of the subjects expressed
interest in music and music production, which requires them to be computer literate,
the reason they possess a confidence that may not be founded based on their
educational outcomes? These questions and others will be discussed in the following
section on recommendations for further research.
Research Question 2 examined what school systems can be put in place to
increase positive educational outcomes for African-American males attending urban

82
public high schools. The specific question was “What support can be provided to
African-American males in schools that will increase the graduation rate of this
population?” The results of this study revealed the need for schools and districts to
put in place early warning systems for identification of students at-risk of dropout.
Furthermore, schools must prioritize the construction of supportive staff-student
relationships at the beginning of the student’s freshman school year. Graduates
reported the formation of crucial supportive relationships with teachers or counselors,
which helped them reach their goal to graduate. Class fails in the 9
th
and 10
th
grades
caused unit deficiencies that regularly placed students in situations where they had to
catch up. Productive and supportive staff relationships at the school site allowed
students to recover from unproductive and unfocused starts in their 9
th
to 10
th
grade.
Although these programs may exist, many times, too much damage has been done
before supports arrive.
The need for proactive, rather than reactive systems to prevent the risk of
unsatisfactory educational outcomes before they occur is needed. Subjects were
enrolled in crowded classes as freshmen and were unsuccessful at navigating the
distraction filled school environment resulting in failing grades. Urban high schools
face many challenges, and maintaining a safe and orderly environment often ranks at
the top. Subjects reported being caught up in the unruly behavior as incoming
freshmen before realizing that they actually needed these classes to graduate. Schools
must offer students clean and orderly learning environments that foster responsibility,

83
ownership, and belonging. Subjects reported boredom and extreme low interest in
school and the subjects taught. Short, a non-graduate questioned in the following
statement, “I don’t get how is this math that ya’all got me doin is supposed to help me
in the real world?” (personal communication March 14, 2013). Toms and O’Brien
(2008) related the students’ interest and level of engagement to their achievement
academically (Caprara et al., 2008). A profound point in this study is the fact that
there was a lack of connections made with this at-risk population and their school in
general.
Recommendations
This study examined personal and environmental factors that contribute to
high school graduation for African-American males and the supports schools must
provide to increase graduation rates for this subgroup. Recommendations are directed
at policy makers and practitioners, like administrators and teachers, who are on the
frontline in urban public education, responsible for educating African-American
males. The following list includes recommendations that could benefit African-
American male students at risk of dropping out of high school, and increase
graduation rates for this subgroup. Each suggestion includes a researcher reported,
Personal–Professional Analytical Narrative Recollection or ANA. An ANA is a
selection of personal–professional experiences related to African-American males and
High School Dropout circumstances. These experiences have left an indelible,
impressionable, and influential mark. An important theme of qualitative inquiry is the

84
personal experience and engagement of the researcher that provided a critical view of
the problems and how these problems relate to student educational outcomes. The
researcher’s personal experiences and insights are an important part of the inquiry and
critical to understanding the phenomenon (Patton, 2002).
Student–Staff Relationships (Teachers, Counselors, Administrators)
Because significant student–staff relationships appeared to be the most
important factor accounting for any variance in student outcomes, the results of this
study determined that these relationships are extremely important. Furthermore, the
fact that the subjects in this study regularly reported educational disengagement and
unfocused behaviors in their first 2 years of high school, it is crucial that significant
relationships be developed early. Positive student–teacher relationships with African-
American males at risk of dropping out could increase achievement. Polite (1994)
also concluded that students are less likely to feel motivated to invest in school when
they do not feel as if school staff care about them. The lack of African-American male
teachers, counselors, and administrators at today’s schools makes providing this
particular support difficult. According to the Carnegie Council on Adolescent
Development (1989) there is value in having an adult at school who is involved with
and familiar with the student. Since African-American male students remain the
subgroup that is most severely impacted by the dropout epidemic, incoming African-
American male students should be assigned a long-term adult advocate. The Adult
Advocate is responsive to the needs of each student in their care and this relationship

85
lasts throughout their time at the school. The following ‘ANA’ serves as an example
of adult advocacy and support and how it affects situations where this support is
crucial.

Personal–Professional Analytical Narrative Recollection (ANA)
ANA 1 – Expulsion Scenario (Support for Student 2 and Mom)

In the researcher’s role as a High School Assistant Principal, responsibilities
include athletics, student services, and discipline. A situation arose where two
students, both seniors, were up for expulsion for the same offense. The
offense was marijuana possession. Student 1 was a White student from an
affluent background who was known to be a major dealer of marijuana on
campus. Student 2 was an African-American male from a low socioeconomic
background. Both students were caught with a joint on campus. The
researcher’s role was to construct an expulsion packet with data that deems the
expulsion to be a necessary action and present it to the District’s Child
Welfare and Safety Administrator. Student 1 arrived at the meeting with his
father, mother, and a high priced attorney. The attorney enquired about how
evidence was collected and analyzed and deemed the expulsion unlawful.
Lacking any law training, the Child Welfare and Safety Administrator
dismissed the expulsion. Expulsion meeting number two took place an hour
later. Student 2 arrived with his mother. Both were in fear of what decisions
were going to be made. Their only source of support was from the Assistant
Principal (Researcher). Uncomfortable with the situation, the Assistant
Principal informed the Child Safety and Welfare Administration that other
resources would be utilized at the school level for Student 2. The student was
placed on a behavior contract and with instructions to check in daily with the
Assistant Principal and enrolled in the District Impact Drug Training program.
Upon being informed of the meetings, the Principal was astonished at the fact
that Student 1 brought an attorney and got the expulsion dismissed. He was in
agreement with the decision to cancel Student 2’s expulsion in place of
alternative actions.

86
There is also a need for mentors, other than teachers, that can help guide
African-American males on campus. There is community and corporate, big brother,
or church programs that may help provide professional African-American men to act
as mentors of African-American male students. Positive images of African-American
males outside the stereotypical musician or gangster are required for them to develop
positive identities (Livingston & Nohimana 2006).
Unfortunately, this study included no observation of teaching practices or
interviews with school staff. Data collected that differentiates among school cite
learning environments could lend insight into which qualities contribute to the
variability in student achievement levels. Specifically which staff qualities and
behaviors impact student–staff positive relationship building.
Early Warning Systems (Dropout Prevention)
Schools and Districts must institute early warning systems that identify
students they anticipate will be at-risk of dropping out. Individualized graduation
plans should be created for each student along with the academic counselor. Even
though dropping out of school is a gradual and observable circumstance, often too
much damage in the form of class fails occurs by the time students are identified.
Students and parents are blindsided by the realization that they may not graduate.
Short, a non-graduate stated, “I was surprised because one day they just sat me down
and showed me everything on the computer what I was missing; and I’m like, I am
not going to graduate” (personal communication March 14, 2013). Subjects in this

87
study regularly reported educational disengagement and unfocused behaviors in their
first 2 years of high school. Many schools currently have systems that identify
students that are unit deficient but the identification should take place at the onset of
educational difficulties in high school.

Personal–Professional Analytical Narrative Recollection (ANA)
ANA 2 – Alternative School Placement Process

In the researcher’s role as a High School Assistant Principal, responsibilities
include athletics, student services, and discipline. In the student services role,
the goal is to support students and help them graduate. Counselors perform
academic data queries to identify 11
th
or 12
th
grade students who are credit
deficient. Students become credit deficient as a result of class fails. Academic
counselors determine that some students will not earn enough units to graduate
from the comprehensive high school. When this determination is made, the
student and parent are informed by the Assistant Principal of the schools
decision to withdraw him/her from the comprehensive high school and enroll
him/her in the districts alternative school. Upon learning of the schools
decision, parents and students are often surprised, fearful of the change, and
upset with the decision.

Future research needs to examine current early warning systems to determine
how students can be identified before the bulk of the damage is done. Is there a
disconnection that occurs between the schools and this at risk subgroup? Early
warning systems can be successful if they are properly instituted. Early warning
systems, if accompanied by proper support and communication, serve as a deterrent
for those who are at risk of dropout.

88
School Environment
This study evidenced that a dysfunctional school environment negatively
affects student desire to attend classes and to strive for high academic achievement.
The fact that subjects reported the school environment as a major factor in negative
school behaviors, particularly in the 9
th
and 10
th
grades, indicates that the school
environment needs more study in the future. Because this study collected no data that
differentiated classroom characteristics and pedagogy, there appeared to be
consistency across classrooms as all students reported crowded disruption filled
classrooms in 9
th
and 10
th
grade and smaller more engaged classes in 11
th
and 12
th

grade; nonetheless, the variability in student outcomes suggests that other
environmental factors contribute to student experiences. Even though teacher
behaviors are the greatest predictor of student educational outcomes (Jung et al., 2002,
Sun et al., 2006), this study included no observations of teaching practices or
interviews with teachers. Gathering data that differentiates among school site learning
environments could provide insight into which teacher qualities positively impact
student educational outcomes.

Personal–Professional Analytical Narrative Recollection (ANA)
ANA 3 – Environmental Changes

In this researcher’s professional career as a teacher and school administrator, it
has been common to witness students that attend schools with numerous
distractions in the form of bullying, fights, truancy, and drugs, transfer to
schools with healthier environments. The change of environment frequently

89
has a positive effect on the student and his or her educational outcomes. Many
students are withdrawn from particular schools by a parent due to behavior
problems, peers, or safety concerns. It is not uncommon to hear of that
particular student improving in those areas immediately after the change is
made.

Additional research must focus on the particular resources that are necessary
in urban high schools to positively affect school experiences. Will decreasing school
distractions improve attendance and increase positive educational outcomes, above
and beyond classroom and student factors? Because students reported spending more
time in classrooms to avoid negative situations, future research needs to examine what
effect this has on educational outcomes for African-American male students.
School Discipline (Zero Tolerance)
What effect do public school discipline policies, particularly those that result
in suspension, have on graduation rates? According to the findings in this study, out-
of-school suspension was a negative option for students with behavior problems for
many reasons. Students who are suspended miss valuable instructional time when out
on suspension. This instruction time is never made up or replaced with an alternative
academic program, therefore widening the gap between those students who are
suspended and those who are not. Discipline policies that allow for little flexibility
for interpretation by school officials, tend to apply harsh punishment to students for
behavior that is innocuous and would have traditionally been handled with a slap on

90
the hand. Are these policies, which were put in place to foster a safe and healthy
school environment, creating more problems than they have solved?
Although public school discipline policies are applied to all students, students
of color, especially African-American males, are more likely to bear the brunt of
harsher discipline policies. A disproportionate amount of suspensions and expulsions
are being levied on African Americans and nonviolent or status offenses that were
routinely handled at school-by-school administration are being handled in juvenile
court. As a result, the courts are overcrowded and overworked, and the school system
has become a tracked system, putting children on the path to jail. At the same time
these students are much more likely to give up on school and drop out. There needs to
be more research done to determine alternative measures for schools to utilize when
dealing with behavior problems.
Another unintended consequence of out-of-school suspensions and expulsion
is the fact that when students are out of school, they are far more likely to get in
trouble. The high crime hours for school age children are between the hours of
3:00pm and 6:00pm when they are out of school and adult supervision is limited.
Those hours of limited or no adult supervision drastically increase due to suspensions
and expulsions. Often parents are at work leaving the students unsupervised and free
to get into trouble. Furthermore, research shows that suspension and expulsion does
not discourage children from committing violent acts. Further research on other

91
options such as in-school programs for students who have a number of suspensions
should be carried out.
It is recommended that educational practitioners develop more successful
mechanisms to deal with discipline problems. Students from violent neighborhoods
or dysfunctional families go to school to get away. Short, a non-graduate subject for
this study, stated in his interview, “don’t nobody like school. But you know, as I
started to get older, I hated staying home; so I was like, man I’m fixin to get up and go
to school, I’m not fixin to stay in this house.” (Personal communication March 14,
2013) Suspensions do not appear to help schools decrease violence or improve school
climate. With out-of-school suspension becoming the answer for most behavior
problems, there seems to be no end in sight.
An additional consequence for students suspended from school is the
separation that the student experiences form the rest of the school population. Days
away from school because of suspension, distances students from the school
community therefore making it easier for the student to act in disconnected ways (i.e.,
vandalism, truancy, etc). Students that feel disconnected from the school community
become disillusioned with school in general and are more likely to drop out.
Instruction time, for suspended or expelled students, is simply time lost and cannot be
replaced. There must be programs to recover instruction time put in place for public
schools to follow for students who miss school days due to suspension or expulsion.
Since these suspended or expelled students receive no educational services or

92
alternative placements, the days out of school are lost, creating educational gaps from
which many students cannot recover. In short, the children that need the extra help
the most are the ones who are most often denied it. Are low graduation rates for
African-American males a direct result of zero tolerance and unbalanced discipline
policies in the public schools? While there are other factors such as family
background, unqualified teachers, and a shortage of resources for public schools, it is
important more research be done in this area.
Teachers and Administrators
The goal in education for some time has been to provide students with quality
educators for all students in primary, secondary and post secondary educational
settings. Teachers and administrators must be better prepared to serve the students that
they will encounter in their classrooms. Teacher programs prepare student teachers
for middle class students ready and willing to learn and send them to work with much
more difficult student populations. Added research must be carried out to determine
how teacher preparation programs can better prepare new and veteran teachers on
strategies that are more conducive to teaching these at risk populations.
Teacher attitudes evolve from many different aspects of their social and
personal beings. A teacher or administrator’s upbringing can contribute to how he/she
reacts to a particular population of students. Students come from racially, culturally,
and linguistically diverse backgrounds, while the majority of their teachers and
administrators come from a different cultural and residential setting. Many actions

93
are carried out because of the fear that evolves from not understanding the thought
patterns and culture of a particular group. Improving the cultural competence of
teachers is crucial to improve student–teacher relationship. Further research is needed
to find ways that teachers and administrators can become increasingly connected to
the environment that they serve away from campus. A program can be created to take
teachers and administrators away from the school and into the community where they
can see the environment where students live. This could also lead to teachers and
administrators gaining an added level of respect from parents, students, and other
members of the community.
Low expectations are also causing teachers to react in negative ways towards
this population. If African-American male students are expected to fail, they will.
Some teachers in public schools may have low expectations of African-American
male students and may be biased in there thinking about what they are capable of
achieving academically. It has been proven that when students are held to high
standards they are far more likely to achieve those standards. When teachers have
low expectations for their students, they perform at lower levels. Through a
combination of changes in teacher/administrator attitudes and expectations towards
students of color and a system of discipline that fosters inclusion not exclusion,
change can begin to occur. Even with initiatives like “no child left behind”, and other
slogans preaching the fact that all children can learn, the belief that some children
cannot learn still persists. When African-American males believe that society does

94
not expect them to succeed, or when they themselves believe they cannot succeed,
they do poorly in school. An effort must be made to raise teacher and student
expectations. It is suggested that African-American men who are educated and who
come from the same environment can be brought in to speak to students and teachers
alike to share thoughts and feelings in their journey through education. Students can
gain insight and inspiration and teachers can see that there are many examples of this
subgroup that have found success in education.
Future Research
Discovering enhanced approaches that will improve educational outcomes,
and specifically, graduation rates for African-American males should be considered
by future research studies. Based on the findings of this study, several key
components should be examined. Future research should investigate the causal
relationships between environmental and personal factors and the educational
outcomes of African-American males. Although not specifically measured in this
study, students who, in their early grades, successfully established supportive
relationships with teachers or counselors had significantly higher graduation rates
compared to those who failed to establish these relationships in their early years.
However, there are no studies that have found a causal relationship between these
factors. Research in graduation rates for African-American males should explore these
phenomena and relationships.

95
Since this study found that graduation from high school was very important to
parents, extended family, and older siblings, future qualitative research can be used to
further examine family relationships and how they affect African-American males and
their educational outcomes. Since all but one of the subjects for this study came from
single parent homes with the mother being the sole provider, mother-son relationship
should also be explored. The fact that the majority of the subjects in this study
expressed interest in music and music production, which requires them to be computer
literate, should lead research toward exploration of what music does for African-
American males who are at-risk. Additional cross-sectional studies should be
conducted determining the effectiveness of healthy and safe school environments,
early warning systems, discipline policies as well as other recommendations discussed
in the previous section to evaluate their effectiveness. Future studies should also
focus on other perspectives, such as, parents, teachers, and administrators, since this
study focused solely on student perspectives.
Conclusion
It is clear that there are many important factors in providing a healthy, safe,
and effective educational system for all students. The results of this study point out
overwhelmingly important factors in doing so for African-American males in
particular. This study points out explicit factors that must be focused on to improve
graduation rates for this subgroup. The fact that, across the nation, African-American
males earn the lowest high school graduation rates demonstrates that there is an

96
educational crisis in this group. Therefore, there are specific actions that must be
carried out before we see improvements. This must be done by creating early staff
relationships that provide support and guidance to incoming African-American male
students. Timely and efficient early warning systems must be in place to catch
students that are at risk of dropout and schools must maintain safe school
environments that foster learning. School discipline policies must be fair and
consistent while teachers and administrators must continue to increase their cultural
literacy levels to connect with the students they service. In attempting to change
behavior and educational outcomes, the Social Cognitive Framework calls attention to
the fact that personal and environmental factors must be taken into account. These
factors along with the others discussed in this study can be done to improve on this
crisis.

97

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APPENDICES
APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
_____________________________________________________________________
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
_____________________________________________________________________

Interview questions for all subjects.

The interview questions are listed below:

1. How do your parents/guardians feel about you and school?
A. How come?

2. What is your relationship with your parents like?
A. How do they reward/discipline you for your actions?

3. How do you feel about your school?
A. What are your educational goals?
B. What contributes to you having these goals?

4. What challenges did you face at your high school?
A. When you were not at your high school?

5. How did these challenges affect your experience at your high school?

6. How would you describe the education you received in school?

7. Did you feel like the school environment was a safe learning environment?

8. Were you ever a victim of bullying?

9. Do you think the school discipline policies were equally applied to all
students?

109
10. Describe your relationships and interactions at school?

11. How did you feel about your administrators (Principal, Asst. Principal)?

12. Describe your relationship with your teachers? Were they helpful and
supportive?

13. Do you think that teachers had equal expectations for all students?

14. How would you describe your classes?

15. How did you determine which classes to take?

16. Do you feel like you had all the necessary resources (books, computers, school
supplies) to help you pass classes and graduate?

17. Did you notice a change in your school after the No Child Left Behind
legislation was passed? If so, describe what changed.

18. Did you enjoy school?

19. Do you think your high school supported you in reaching graduation? If so,
how did they support you? If not, how could they have better supported you?

20. Did your peers encourage you to work hard in school to succeed or did they
discourage you to work hard in school?

21. Would your peer group have accepted you if you performed well
academically.

22. How often did you study for tests?

23. Did you set educational achievement goals for yourself in school?

24. Did you feel like you could achieve your educational goals?

25. Do you feel like you have the ability to succeed in the modern, information,
and technology driven world?

110
APPENDIX B: CONSENT FORM

March__, 2013
Dear _____________________,
My name is Mark Greene, and I am a doctoral candidate in the Rossier School of
Education at the University of Southern California. I am conducting a research study
as part of my dissertation, focusing on educational outcomes for African American
males in urban public schools. My purpose is to examine the barriers that lead to high
school non-completion for African-American males and to propose the strategies that
must be implemented to better support this group. Specifically, this study will
examine how African-American male high school graduates vary from African-
American male non-graduates. I will examine how a number of environmental and
personal factors contribute to the differences in academic outcomes within this group.
You are invited to participate in the study. If you agree, you will be invited to
participate in an interview.
The interview is anticipated to take no more than 1 hour to complete. Participation in
this study is voluntary. Your identity as a participant will remain confidential at all
times during and after the study.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your participation in this study, you
may contact me or Dr. Pedro Garcia. Thank you, in advance, for your time and
participation.

Sincerely,

Mark B. Greene Dr. Pedro Garcia
Researcher Dissertation Chair

I have read this recruitment letter and have been given the opportunity to ask
questions. I consent to my participation in the research described above.

( ) I am willing to participate in a brief interview as my schedule permits.

_____________________________________________________________________
Participant’s Signature Date Participant’s Printed Name

111

APPENDIX C: RECRUITMENT LETTER
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education
3470 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, CA 90089

INFORMATION/FACTS SHEET FOR NON-
MEDICAL RESEARCH

MISSED EDUCATION: AN EXAMINATION OF EDUCATIONAL
OUTCOMES FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study is to examine the barriers that lead to high school non-
completion for African-American males and to propose the strategies that must be
implemented to better support this group. Specifically, it will examine how African-
American male high school graduates vary from African-American male non-
graduates. Analysis of particular environmental and personal factors will be done to
determine what contributes to the differences in academic outcomes within this group.
Ten African American males, five who have graduated from high school, and five
who did not graduate from high school, will be interviewed. Throughout history, the
persistent low outcomes exhibited by this subgroup indicate that a problem exists with
educating African-American males, especially those from low socioeconomic
backgrounds. These concerns must be explored so that policy makers can make better
decisions and so teachers and school officials have better practical solutions for
increasing graduation rates for African-American males.

112
PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT

Participants will be asked to take part in a face to face interview with the researcher.
The interviews will be audio recorded for proper data collection. Participants who
withhold their consent to be recorded will still be able to take part in the interview.
There are twenty-two interview questions. Participants will be asked to provide
candid responses to the interview questions. These questions were constructed to
collect data on each participant’s active participation and involvement in school
activities as well as the participant’s environment.

PAYMENT/COMPENSATION FOR PARTICIPATION

You will receive a $20 gift card from Rave Cinemas for your time. You do not have to
answer all of the questions in order to receive the card. The card will be given to you
by the researcher upon completion of the interview.

CONFIDENTIALITY

There will be no identifiable information obtained in connection with this study. Your
name, address or other identifiable information will not be collected. The members of
the research team and the University of Southern California’s Human Subjects
Protection Program (HSPP) may access the data. The HSPP reviews and monitors
research studies to protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.

INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION

Principal Investigator: Mark B. Greene

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Pedro Garcia
Email: pegarcia@usc.edu

113

APPENDIX D: INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD
APPROVAL

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
UNIVERSITY PARK INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD
FWA 00007099

Exempt Review

Date:
Mar 11, 2013, 11:17am
Principal Investigator:
Mark Greene
ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Faculty Advisor:
Pedro Garcia
ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
Co-Investigators:

Project Title:
MISSED EDUCATION
USC UPIRB # UP-13-00086

The iStar application and attachments were reviewed by UPIRB staff
on 3/11/2013.

The project was APPROVED.

Based on the information provided for review, this study meets the
requirements outlined in 45 CFR 46.101(b)(2) and qualifies for exemption
from IRB review. The study is not subject to further IRB review. IRB
exemption of this study was granted on 3/11/2013.

114

The following documents were reviewed and approved:
Certified Information Sheet, dated 03-11-2013
Certified Recruitment Letter, dated 03-11-2013

Minor revisions were made to the application, recruitment and consent
documents by the IRB Administrator (IRBA). The IRBA revised
documents have been uploaded into the relevant iStar sections. Please use
the IRBA revised documents if an amendment is submitted and future
revisions are required.

Note the application has been revised to be in the future tense; researchers
are reminded that study related activities cannot be conducted until IRB
Approval is obtained.
To access IRB-approved documents, click on the “Approved
Documents” link in the study workspace. These are also available
under the “Documents” tab.

Sincerely,

RoseAnn Fleming, CIP

Funding Source(s): N/A - no funding source listed

This is an auto-generated email. Please do not respond directly to this message using
the "reply" address. A response sent in this manner cannot be answered. If you have
further questions, please contact your IRB Administrator or IRB/CCI office.
The contents of this email are confidential and intended for the specified recipients
only. If you have received this email in error, please notify istar@usc.edu and delete
this message.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The purpose of this body of work was to examine barriers that lead to high school non-completion for African-American males and to propose strategies to better support this group. Specifically, it examined how African-American male high school graduates vary from African-American male non-graduates. Across personal and environmental factors, this comparison determined what contributes to the positive educational outcomes for some and the high dropout rates for others. This study also determined solutions to increase graduation rates for this group. Analysis of particular environmental and personal factors revealed factors that contributed to the differences in academic outcomes within this group. African-American males in urban public schools have the highest dropout rate

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Asset Metadata

Creator Greene, Mark Brandon (author)

Core Title Missed education: an examination of educational outcomes for African-American males

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 07/13/2013

Defense Date 05/16/2013

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag academic disengagement,African-American,attendance,Barriers,bullying,drop out,environmental factors,failure,grades,Graduation,hip hop,low socioeconomic,Motivation,non-completion,OAI-PMH Harvest,rap music,school disconnectedness,school engagement,self efficacy,truancy,urban schools

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor García, Pedro Enrique (committee chair), Edison, Kenneth (committee member), Hocevar, Dennis (committee member)

Creator Email emgee357@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-288921

Unique identifier UC11293449

Identifier etd-GreeneMark-1768.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-288921 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-GreeneMark-1768.pdf

Dmrecord 288921

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Greene, Mark Brandon

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

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 a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA