University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Leveraging relationships with Black male students to increase academic success

(USC Thesis Other)

Leveraging relationships with Black male students to increase academic success

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content

Leveraging Relationships With Black Male Students to Increase Academic Success

Damon Rutledge

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education

May 2023

© Copyright by Damon Rutledge 2023
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Damon Rutledge certifies the approval of this Dissertation

Pedro Noguera
David Cash
Morgan Polikoff, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2023

v
Abstract
African American males are amongst the lowest performing subgroup assessed in the United
States. Trauma, poverty, and lack of opportunities are among the most cited reasons for these
results. In contrast to the data, there are a host of educators and other stakeholders who work
tirelessly to give their students the best chance at success. This study is designed to reveal the
strategies these educators use and how they leverage the relationships they have with their
students to achieve academic success.

vi
Dedication
To my wife Cherisse, and my children Tai, Arista, Hannah, Jacob, Ahmari, Aidan, and
Sevannah. To my best friend Sam Taylor Jr. (R.I.P) I could not have achieved this without your
support, I Love you.

vii
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the faculty at USC for their support and dedication throughout this
journey. Thank you for helping me find my voice and turn my theory into practice. I would also
like to thank the educators who participated in this study for your insight and commitment to
students is infectious. Continue to be the change that you want to see.

viii
Table of Contents
Abstract ............................................................................................................................................v
Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... vi
Acknowledgments......................................................................................................................... vii
List of Tables ...................................................................................................................................x
Chapter One: Overview of the Study ...............................................................................................1
Background of the Problem .................................................................................................3
Purpose of the Study ..........................................................................................................10
Significance of the Study ...................................................................................................11
Limitations and Delimitations ............................................................................................11
Organization of the Study ..................................................................................................12
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature .........................................................................................14
Race and Racism in Education ..........................................................................................18
Teacher Impact on Educational Outcomes ........................................................................20
Teacher Impacts on African American Male Students ......................................................22
Understanding and Working With Black Students ............................................................25
Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................................28
Summary ............................................................................................................................31
Chapter Three: Methodology .........................................................................................................34
Research Questions ............................................................................................................35
Methodology ......................................................................................................................35
Sample and Site Selection ..................................................................................................40
Participants .........................................................................................................................42
Data Collection ..................................................................................................................45
Chapter Four: Results of Findings .................................................................................................48

ix
Teacher Perceptions ...........................................................................................................60
Relationships ......................................................................................................................65
Chapter Five: Discussion ...............................................................................................................70
Summary of Findings .........................................................................................................72
Implications for Practice ....................................................................................................77
Recommendations for Research ........................................................................................80
Limitations .........................................................................................................................81
References ......................................................................................................................................84
Appendix A: Interview Protocol ....................................................................................................95

x
List of Tables
Table 1: Participants ..................................................................................................................... 44

1

Chapter One: Overview of the Study
African American students are the lowest-performing subgroup of all races in the United
States. Mathematics, reading, civics, history, geography, and science scores for African
American students consistently rank the lowest of all racial subgroups on the National Center for
Education Statistics (2022). When disaggregated by gender, African American males fare worse
than their female counterparts (Demie, 2005; Gillborn & Mirza, 2000). This means that in every
category currently measured by the NAEP, Black male students nationwide rank as the lowest
performers academically by both gender and race. I begin with these facts, to stress the
importance of the need for this type of research. It is easy to dismiss the data or shift blame and
say this is someone else’s problem, but someone must stand up and answer the call to action.
The numbers in California represent an even darker picture for African American
students. In 2016, a year that included record highs for high school graduation, only 71% of all
Black students graduated, the lowest percentage of all races in California (California Department
of Education, 2016). This same report showed an 18.8% high school dropout rate for African
American students, which was the highest in the state. Research indicates that high dropout rates
and low graduation rates lead to an increase in crime and incarceration (Lochner & Moretti,
2004; Losen, 2005; Machin et al., 2012), hence the term “school to prison pipeline.” According
to data from 2017, 28.5% of all California prison inmates were African American even though
only 6% of the state’s male population was Black (Harris et al., 2017). Fall enrollment data
during the same time from the University of California college system indicated only 3.5% of
their student population was African American. These numbers indicate a discrepancy for
African American students in representation in both prisons and higher education universities in
California.
2

There is clearly a strong case to argue about the existence of the “school to prison
pipeline” which the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) acknowledges as a trend in which
students are funneled out of the educational system and into the criminal justice system (School
to Prison Pipeline, 2021), and that the American educational system is failing African American
male students. As Noguera (2008) pointed out, “Public schools in the hyperghetto have similarly
deteriorated to the point where they operate in the manner of institutions of confinement whose
primary mission is not to educate but to ensure custody and control” (p. 9). Once placed in
prison, inmates are unlikely to finish high school or receive a diploma. In a brief for the Institute
for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), Gorgol and Sponsler (2011) found that approximately 40%
of prisons nationwide offered opportunities for inmates to receive postsecondary education.
Participation in those facilities showed only 6% participation. Without these education
opportunities inmates may find it difficult to find an honest, well-paying job when employers
discover they have a prison record. Coupled with the stigma and trauma attached to having been
in prison, African American men find themselves stuck in a cycle of poverty. The lack of a
general education, certification or a high school diploma further limits their chances of
improving their lives (Tyler & Kling, 2006, p. 25).
To further compound levels of trauma and stress, 2018 data show, Black people have
more than double the unemployment percentage (6.2%) compared to Whites (3.3%; U.S.
Department of Agriculture, 2017). Chronic underachievement, high dropout rates, large
percentages of prison populations, and high unemployment rates are indicative of larger systemic
issues within this country that substantiate the school to prison pipeline claim expressed by
scholars and the need to be addressed.
3

Despite what the numbers may present or illustrate, a host of teachers and administrators
within California work tirelessly and effectively at narrowing gaps for African American
students. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate teachers’ perceptions of establishing
and maintaining positive relationships with African American male students, with the hopes of
addressing and increasing academic growth. The findings will serve as a launching point for
other educators, academics, researchers, and stakeholders in the education system to further the
body of research on improving academic outcomes and increasing life chances for African
American male students.
Background of the Problem
Achievement Gap
The Black-White achievement gap is one of the longest, most documented, and most
persistent education issues (Rovai et al., 2005) plaguing the education system. The National
Center for Education Statistics (2022) defined the use of achievement gap terminology as
occurring “when one group of students (such as students grouped by race/ethnicity, gender)
outperforms another group and the difference in average scores for the two groups is statistically
significant” (defined as larger than the margin of error). Over the past 40 years, this gap has
persisted, with several researchers documenting numerous explanations for it (Madyun, 2011;
Rovai et al., 2005). Poverty, school quality, family, teacher experience, parents’ level of
education, and neighborhood composition are among the factors listed to explain the persistent
nature of the African American “achievement gap” (Bowman et al., 2018; Madyun, 2011; Rovai
et al., 2005). More recently, literature has revealed deeper contextual issues, which assert that the
true nature of our focus should not be the achievement disparity between students of color but
the systemic nature of education, health, and poverty, which lead minoritized students to a lack
4

of opportunities (Ladson-Billings, 2006; Milner, 2010). Hence, a new term has been recognized
as more appropriate: opportunity gap.
Opportunity Gaps
African American males have historically experienced and been subjected to policies and
practices that have discriminated against and perpetuated inequality and inequity in
socioeconomic status (Smith & Hattery, 2010). Years of loss, institutional racism, degradation,
despair, and feelings of hopelessness have led to cycles of generational poverty in Black
communities. These concerns indicate a national problem that must be addressed if we are to
hope to address opportunity gaps for African American students. Despite representing only 13%
of the population (United States Census Bureau, 2019). African Americans make up 42% of the
homeless population, the highest percentage of all races (Kaur, 2020). Among Black American
families, 22% live in poverty (Orgera, & Artiga, 2018). This means that approximately one in
five African American students struggle to receive the necessities for what many would consider
a stable home. Concerned with lack of proper shelter, food, or a safe, stable environment, it is
easy to see how students may find it difficult to focus on academics, which do not provide
immediate gratification or place food on the dinner table. Students living in poverty may be
required to supplement what the family is lacking, including childcare, babysitting for their
younger brothers and sisters, or finding a job to help make ends meet.
Gaps manifest themselves throughout the life of an adolescent. Poverty is one of the most
influential contributors to African American students' struggles in school. It has underlying
implications that affect academic achievement for students and performance outcomes for
schools. Students living in poverty are less likely to receive resources necessary for their
academic success. According to Heckman (2011), investments in the early childhood education
5

for disadvantaged students produces returns which not only benefit students and their families
but creates social and economic parity as well. It is important to mention that even though
poverty is a key factor for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, it has also been noted
that African American students in affluent neighborhoods are still outperformed by their White
counterparts (Stanford Center for Education and Political Analysis, 2023). As addressed by
Parker (2014), some of the resources which are missing include access to a strong curriculum,
high quality schools with good effective teachers, resources for language barriers, low parental
involvement, homelessness, high suspension rates, and violent environments. These added
stressors are not accounted for by any standardized testing metrics, yet they impact testing
outcomes (Heissel et al., 2017).
According to 2016 data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), African
Americans had the highest percentage of poverty of all racial classes in the country, at 31.8%
USDA Economic Research Service. (2020. This disproportionality is not coincidental; low high
school graduation rates lead to even lower college graduation rates, higher rates of incarceration,
teenage pregnancy, and fewer opportunities for African American students to improve their
socioeconomic status (Buck & Deutsch, 2014). These facts and statistics are by no way an
indictment on the future of the entire African American community, however when coupled
together they begin to paint a picture of systems which perpetuate a cycle of poverty and despair
for African American communities nationwide. In respect to the numerous negative effects of
poverty on student learning and educational attainment, Levin (2007) discussed the global effects
of poverty on opportunity gaps and identified socioeconomic status as “the most powerful single
influence on students’ educational and other life outcomes” (p. 75). Further research is needed to
substantiate this claim. However, the effects of poverty on the African American community are
6

well documented (Buck & Deutsch, 2014; Jones & Luo, 1999; Welch, 2013; Wilson et al.,
2009).
As previously indicated, African American families living in poverty have limited access
to the resources necessary to properly provide for and educate their students, or effectively
compete with the students to whom they are compared. One of the resources identified to
properly educate students of color is effective schools with high-quality teachers (Bousquet,
2012; Buck & Deutsch, 2014). Schools with quality teachers are by no means a crisis to be
blamed on parents, it is a concern that identifies a gap in our school funding system, a lack of
resources and the inability of schools and districts to retain teachers. High-quality, well-prepared
teachers are in short supply, especially in urban neighborhoods where teacher turnover is highest.
Lambert (2018) noted that in some schools and districts, the teacher attrition rate can exceed
85%. For students in poverty, caring educators can improve achievement more than background,
race, or language (Darling-Hammond, 2000). Thus, the gap comes from providing these
resources to students who need them the most.
Teacher Impact
Teacher impact is another key factor in student achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2000;
Peske & Haycock, 2006), particularly for students living in poverty and even more so for African
American students. Lynn et al. (2010) acknowledged that African American male students are
heavily influenced by teacher perceptions. Historically, these perceptions and expectations of
Black boys are low. Portrayed by media and news outlets as gang members, drug dealers, liars,
criminals, and unintelligent athletes, the odds of success are stacked against them the moment
they walk into a classroom (Smithsonian National Museum of American History, 2015). This
may provide insight into data showing that Black boys are the lowest-performing demographic in
7

the country. African American male students require quality, effective teachers who understand
their unique set of challenges and believe in their abilities.
Positive, caring relationships with African American students begin with a belief in
student potential. Teachers in urban schools enter the classroom with the hopes and dreams of
changing or saving the world but often burn out when confronted with a heavy workload, low
morale and the daunting task of trying to get students caught up to grade level (Bousquet, 2012).
In an educational essay, Lynn et al. (2010) singled out teacher self-efficacy as a critical barrier to
success for many teachers in educating African American male students. Teachers’ beliefs that
they could not successfully educate their students are barriers that have a lasting impact on
effecting student achievement.
Lack of motivation is a phrase often used to describe African American male students. In
a 3-year case study during the mid-1980s Polite (1994), found that among other variables when
faced with teachers who they perceived as not caring, African American students were less likely
to be motivated about school. The power of quality, caring teachers, working with African
American male students, cannot be overstated. Phelan et al. (1994) has documented students’
accounts of their teachers’ positive effects on their academic achievement. Harper and Davis III
(2012) concluded the academic performance of African American male youths diminished when
they encountered educators who did not believe in their ability to master the content. This means
that for this demographic of students, caring teachers and administrators could determine the
difference between academic success and failure. The effects of poverty on academic
performance have been acknowledged and addressed as well. While these effects are serious and
compounded with other risk factors, Malecki and Demaray (2006) discovered that social support
could potentially offset these effects. For male students, teacher support could potentially help
8

lessen the mitigating factors of poverty and low socioeconomic status. While a definitive link
between social support and student academic performance has been unable to be established,
research has identified support, including teacher support, and maintaining elevated expectations,
as having a positive effect.
Much of the current research has focused on the negative effects of poverty, trauma,
genetics, teacher retention, and socioeconomic status (SES) on the persistent underachievement
of African American student performance (Noguera, 2008). While all these factors are
potentially impactful on students’ academic progress it should be noted that many students from
these environments have gone on to do remarkable things, some have even identified their
circumstances as motivating forces in their accomplishments. I hope to shine a light on the
positive effects of caring, invested teachers, and how they perceive and interact with their
African American male students.
Statement of the Problem
Concerns surrounding AA student performance and opportunities have been an issue
plaguing the nation for decades. It has sparked numerous debates, reforms, and initiatives to help
address the issue. Yet, these issues persist (Sherman et al., 2013). This dissertation addresses the
impact of teachers and administrators on narrowing opportunity gaps for African American male
students. The opportunity gap concept is well-versed, as are its effects that go past simple
explanations of low-test scores. The historic and present challenges faced by students are a well-
established gauge of the social, economic, and political inequities suffered between African
Americans in this country and the prevailing White/Eurocentric culture (Bell, 2019).
Education gaps represent the racial divide in this country. African American students are
not compared to the highest performing demographic in the country, which at the time of this
9

writing, in many cases, are Asian students. Black students are compared to White students,
indicating that the performance of White students is the barometer by which all other students
should be compared. This creates concerns that extend beyond educational performance
outcomes. It establishes White and Eurocentric standards as superior and places all other racial
groups in a predicament where they must try to meet or attain those standards. Diverse cultures
are systemically devalued, and students placed in an environment where to be accepted or
valued, they must renounce their own heritage or culture and assimilate to the White dominant
culture. Ladson-Billings 2016, as cited by Bell (2019) and Bowman et al. (2018), acknowledged
that certain aspects of learning are culture-specific and create ways to make meaning of events.
Through the previously mentioned actions, we have informed generations of students that their
culture is second to the dominant White culture, as is their way of learning and their way of
making meaning of events. Through years of a system which diminishes their abilities, AA
students have learned that the educational system is not for them and has thus reinforced this
notion. Producing generations of families who recognize the value of education yet have little
faith in schools or trust in the educational system (Bell, 2019). For decades, African American
students have struggled with the concept of “acting White.” This creates a divide in African
American communities where students are criticized because of how they talk or act and are not
accepted, sometimes in their own homes. In contrast, they then find themselves ostracized in
academic settings (Hooks, 2004, as cited in Harper, 2007), and predominantly White institutions
because they are considered too “urban.” This dichotomy leads to stressful environments which
can be difficult to navigate for adults and even harder for teenagers and adolescents. Students are
forced to choose between acceptance in their neighborhoods, homes, and their communities or
trying to better their existence through education.
10

Compounding the issue of student achievement is the role teachers themselves play in
perpetuating various gaps. African American male students are often viewed as aggressive, less
intelligent, and are more prone to violence than other students (Allen, 2015). Contextually, it is
necessary to understand the intersection of aggressive behavior and student defense mechanisms.
Students living in poverty are often exposed to external factors of trauma, similar to post-
traumatic stress (Johnson, 2019). In these instances, student resilience is a valuable quality which
educators must learn to value and attempt to replicate in the classroom. The behaviors students
demonstrate in the classroom, which may be perceived as barbaric or destructive, are the same
behaviors necessary for survival in the communities the schools serve.
Purpose of the Study
This study intends to investigate how teachers and administrators purposefully create
learning opportunities for AA students. In addressing student achievement issues, risk factors,
and teacher bias, I hope to uncover how teacher perceptions of student ability and the
relationships they build help students succeed.
If educators, administrators, and policymakers understand how successful teachers
perceive African American boys in their classrooms, it could shift their mindset and positively
affect student performance and engagement. This qualitative study will use teacher and
stakeholder interviews to answer the following questions:
1. What is the nature of the relationship between successful teachers and their AA male
students?
2. What are the perceptions of educators working with AA male students to narrow
performance gaps?
3. How do teachers leverage their relationships with students academically?
11

I hope to understand how teachers who interact with students on a regular basis view their
students and get tangible real-world data about what strategies and techniques are successful
both inside and outside of the classroom.
Significance of the Study
I intend for this study to contribute to the field of education by identifying effective
practices in working with African American male students and uncover both the art and science
behind factors which contribute to their success. My desire is that educators and stakeholders
involved in working with these students will highlight a few of these practices and develop
effective teaching models. Rooted in teacher perception, if more models are developed using
sound research methods, they may be used to inform a body of knowledge for teacher training
institutions to prepare their candidates to do the work necessary to address gaps and improve
equity for their students. As one of the oldest problems still existing in education, I question
whether attempts to address achievement and opportunity gaps are sincere. To date,
policymakers have addressed this concern through standardization, setting goals and targets for
schools and districts to easily identify if African American students are treated fairly and
equitably. However, only a handful of districts nationwide have heeded the call to actively
recruit more African American teachers, despite research indicating that African American
teachers do more to advocate for their African American students and that the presence of an
African American teacher in the classroom can increase scores in critical areas such as
Mathematics and English (Dee, 2004).
Limitations and Delimitations
This study is limited in scope, as it is in urban schools in Los Angeles. Due to the period
of the research conducted, I am limited in the number of teachers included in my interviews. To
12

establish an authentic and meaningful understanding of teacher/stakeholder perspectives we
would need a much larger sample. Additionally, when receiving input based upon perspective, it
is important to differentiate between good repeatable teacher practice compared to anecdotal
examples of student success.
The delimitations of this study include the fact that the perspectives sought are derived
from veteran teachers and school stakeholders. Although perspectives can vary from site to site,
the insights provided are from educators who have multiple years of experience working with
African American students. This experience provides credibility to their views. Although there is
a possibility for discrepancies, it is the common thread of observations that provides the greatest
implications for success in working with students.
In accounting for local customs, it would be wise to expand the scope of this research to
other urban schools across the country. All students are not created equal, dialects, customs,
cultural differences between regions impact student learning, however good teaching is good
teaching. The ability to triangulate successful strategies from points of interest influences this
body of knowledge. The implications for the results of this study could potentially benefit
students across the country. The goal is not a Band-Aid fix in one area but a lasting change in
practice regarding how we interact with African American male students.
Organization of the Study
This chapter identified and detailed the background of problems associated with the
education of young Black males. This study seeks to uncover effective strategies used by various
educators, specifically the importance of developing and maintaining positive, healthy
relationships. Much of the current work on African American students emphasizes the
limitations surrounding them and their environments. This study was centered around educators
13

as members of the community who are catalysts for change. Instead of being chosen randomly,
the teachers in this study have made concerted efforts to improve the situation of African
American students. The results of this study are designed to challenge the thinking and impact
the practice of educators and school stakeholders charged with educating African American male
students.
Included in this study are four more chapters. Chapter 2 is a historical background of the
education of African Americans from the early days of this country to the present. This
background provides a critical critique which frames the current state of education for young
Black males. Chapter 3 describes the methodological approach to this study, including the
research questions and the framework used to provide a unique perspective to this problem,
Chapters 4 and 5 address the findings of the study as well as present implications for future
research and study.

14

Chapter Two: Review of the Literature
The United States of America has a long and troubled history of inequities affecting
minorities, specifically African Americans. The Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) decision handed
down by the Supreme Court ruled, separate educational facilities, as long as they were “equal”
was not considered discriminatory. In 1957, federal troops were called to Little Rock, Arkansas,
to escort nine Black students to high school. The denial of a troubled racist past concerning
Black students signified either willful neglect of the facts or the extreme privilege and ability to
ignore the plight of an oppressed people.
To understand the plight of African American students today, we only need to go back a
few hundred years for examples of the prevailing American view of the education of slaves. The
South Carolina Act of 1740 prescribed anyone caught teaching a slave to read or write was guilty
of an offense and forced to pay a fine of 100 pounds. In Virginia, the Revised Code of 1819
stated that any gathering of slaves or freemen to teach slaves to read or write was an “Unlawful
Assembly” (Michigan Historical Reprint Series, 2006). This code then goes a step further and
expressly states that any justice who learns of this gathering may issue a warrant to a sworn
officer to apprehend the guilty party or issue corporal punishment, which could not exceed 20
lashes. These codes were not just limited to Virginia and South Carolina; similar codes were
adopted in colonies such as Delaware, Georgia, Florida, and Maryland.
Hundreds of years later, thousands of African American students living in poverty still
find themselves oppressed (Anderson, 2012). Anderson described the dissonance between inner-
city communities and the schools that serve them, particularly for young Black males. He
explains the racial struggles within disadvantaged communities failed by educational institutions,
with lower graduation rates and decreased opportunities to improve their surroundings.
15

According to research, among the states listed previously, Georgia, Florida, Delaware, and
Virginia each only graduated around 75% of their Black students. In each of these states, Black
students were either the lowest-performing subgroup or the second lowest. It is no coincidence
that these are the same states which enacted slave codes, today we are witnessing the effects of
those codes manifested in modern-day education achievement.
According to the 2010 census, Delaware (one of the states which enacted slave codes)
had a state population consisting of 21% Black residents, yet their prison population was 60%
Black, almost triple the state population. Florida (another state with slave codes) had a 16%
Black population, yet 46% of their prisoners were Black—once again, almost triple the state
population. Georgia had a 31% to 58% ratio, Maryland 29% to 68%, South Carolina 28% to
62%, and, finally, Virginia’s ratio was 19% to 58% (Harris et al., 2017). According to a national
report, African Americans are overrepresented in prisons in all 50 states, while Whites are
underrepresented (Sentencing Project, 2019). Stricter jail sentences, higher than average rates of
incarceration, it is easy to understand why African American males are consistently viewed as
violent, criminal, and aggressive.
Another reality for many African American males is their own mortality. African
Americans have the highest mortality rate of any race in 38 of the 50 states (KFF, 2018). This
startling reminder of life’s frailty is not lost on many young Black men who do not view
educational attainment as an escape from life’s harsh realities (Anderson, 2012). With male role
models dead or in jail, it is important to understand how critical, relationships can be for AA
male students (Brown et al, as cited in Madyun, 2011). found that African American males
specifically are highly influenced by their peers. This peer influence and lack of positive role
models can have detrimental effects on students’ academic achievement. Despite the obstacles
16

that face them, thousands of young and determined African American teens graduate high school
every year and attend college.
Implications for Further Research
The purpose of this dissertation is not only to identify the strategies teachers use to help
provide opportunities for success for their African American male students but also to serve to
elicit and invoke change. Many researchers have sought to seek strategies for the success of
African American male students (Pringle et al., 2010). The injustice in this research is that the
knowledge for addressing these gaps is right in front of our eyes yet rarely seen by those who can
benefit from it the most. Esteemed and world-renowned scholars such as Hooks, Noguera,
Howard, Harper, Milner IV, Ladson-Billings, and others have lain the foundations to help close
opportunity gaps that serve as barriers to success. Culturally relevant pedagogy, positive
nurturing relationships, reduction of standardized testing, color-blind classrooms, and other
concerns have been placed at the table of discussion with policymakers and stakeholders; still,
these gaps persist. Why? This issue has existed for over a century, with some of the brightest
minds in the world trying to tackle the topic, yet we are still no closer to solving this problem
than we were decades ago.
This research was conducted to expand the understanding of the use of relationships with
African American male students from a success mindset to reverse deficit thinking. Our
willingness to engage with and see these young men for who they are, oppressed, marginalized,
or villainized students (sometimes all three), who we as educators have been tasked with
educating. This task is much more easily accomplished by casting aside these students whom
society has already deemed hopeless. It is much easier to remove a student from class and send
them to the principal’s office than address the concerns and behaviors which lie at the root of the
17

problem (Noguera, 2003). It is also much easier to cast off these issues as someone else’s
problem if we look at these students as criminals instead of future doctors, lawyers, scholars, or
human beings.
Developing relationships requires a great deal from the educator. It requires empathy,
compassion, and understanding of behaviors, outbursts, and responses to systemic ills, which the
students themselves may not even understand. During the 2017–2018 school year many of the
classrooms in America were led by middle-class, White, female teachers (Taie & Goldring,
2020), I do not doubt that these women are more than capable at their jobs, however there is a
racial as well as gender component which is absent at an important stage of development for the
young men in their classrooms. Through misguided attempts at equity, classrooms and educators
were commended for being color blind, with no frame of reference as to what it meant to be
Black in America. Today, after previous years marked by tragedies and civil unrest surrounding
racial justice and equality, we as a nation are beginning to see just how much race does matter.
Strategies in and of themselves do little to bring about change without a complete and
thorough understanding of their purpose and how they affect students. I propose that teachers
should be a part of the community they serve, not just as employees but as part of its fabric. They
bring a wealth of content and pedagogical knowledge. They help pass on standards for
behavioral expectations and help guide students down a path toward achieving their personal,
life, and career goals. This guidance is not done in a vacuum. As Freire et al. (2014) argued, any
change done for the oppressed must be done with the oppressed. This means educators must
work with the students, parents, and communities in which they teach. This is only accomplished
using caring, empathetic, authentic relationships. In doing so, my goal was for educational
practitioners to view AA students as active participants in the educational community and
18

develop the confidence to create their own authentic strategies for success in working with these
students.
To accomplish this, we begin by asking the following questions:
1. What is the nature of the relationships between successful teachers and their AA male
students?
2. What are the perceptions of educators working with AA male students to narrow
performance gaps?
3. How do teachers leverage their relationships with students academically?
Race and Racism in Education
In the decades that have passed since the Supreme Court ruled on Brown v. Board of
Education (1954), efforts have been made to right the historic wrongs of our nation. However, an
undeniable fact remains and shall not change, we are a nation made up of different races and
cultures. Unfortunately, schools have not done an adequate job of matching the current
population of students to the teachers who educate them. Data from 2015 reveal that despite
accounting for 60% of the entire U.S. population, White teachers make up 80% of the teaching
force. In contrast, 13.4% of the U.S population is Black, yet only 7% of the teaching pool is
Black (Kena et al., 2015). Compounding issues of growth and identity for African American
male students, of the 7% of Black teachers nationally, only 2% are Black men (Whitfield, 2019).
Statistically speaking, this means for African American male students, the chances of
encountering a Black male teacher, someone who looks like them, is highly improbable. Later in
this dissertation, I identify the effects this has on Black male students’ academic achievement.
Research and studies have found a direct correlation between students’ race, behavior,
and the discipline they receive for their actions (Downey & Pribesh, 2004; Ehrenberg et al.,
19

1995; Ford, 2016; Lynn et al., 2010). Ford (2016) noted how implicit bias and institutional
racism are major contributors to what he termed “the Black/White discipline gap.” He explains
that even the most well-meaning educators possess certain innate perceptions of the world and
the people around them. These beliefs cultivate our understanding of our surroundings and help
us make sense of the world we live in. Implicit bias, according to Ford (2016), is tantamount to
racism. He posits that individuals do not necessarily have to consciously be racist to have racist
or stereotypical beliefs about individuals of other races or cultures.
It has been documented that, Black students are viewed as more aggressive than their
White counterparts and viewed as “poorer classroom citizens” (Downey & Pribesh, 2004). These
views lead to African American students being expelled or suspended at disproportionate rates
(Morris & Perry, 2016). Morris and Perry (2016) echoed Ford’s (2016) findings in
acknowledging that racial perceptions contribute to academic achievement or lack thereof.
Morris and Perry (2016) found racial disparities between the number of minority students
suspended compared to their White counterparts. They noted African American students were at
the top of the list of most often suspended. Compounding this issue is that students are often sent
home with no academic guidance, which places them in double jeopardy. They are punished for
whatever act caused the suspension, and they are punished again by not being allowed access to
the curriculum they miss because of the suspension. Morris and Perry noted what was addressed
in this study: (a) that suspensions degrade relationships between schools and students and that (b)
these suspensions impact peer networks of students who have been suspended, not just the
individual suspended student.
This type of bias, whether intentional or subconscious, has a direct impact on student
outcomes. It would be easy to conclude that these stereotypes and perceptions were
20

predominantly a socioeconomic problem. Students from poor neighborhoods experience higher
levels of trauma, have less access to resources, and experience more violent incidents in their
communities than more affluent students. However, as Pringle et al. (2010) revealed gaps in
achievement, discipline, and expectations for Black students exist among all economic status
levels, not just students living in poverty. This is important to note as it places a logical question
at the forefront of any discussion. If similar gaps can be on both sides of economic lines, then
what is their underlying cause?
Current research moves to push the conversation from achievement gaps to opportunity
gaps. Ladson-Billings (2006), Milner (2010), and Johnson-Ahorlu (2012) have all addressed how
racism itself is a gap in opportunity that affects African American students. Defining
achievement as “an accomplishment gained through personal effort or skill,” (Johnson-Ahorlu,
2012, p. 635) asserted lower grades are not a direct result of effort but rather a result of the
opportunities given or taken from African American students. It is important to acknowledge the
opportunities taken from students when they are suspended or removed from classrooms and not
allowed to return. While it is important to acknowledge that race and racism affect many people
of color, “African American males who, perhaps more than any other student population in the
United States, may be most negatively affected by distorted constructions of race and gender”
(Howard, 2008, p. 962).
Teacher Impact on Educational Outcomes
Research on the achievement/opportunity gap is robust and has met with various possible
explanations about why African American students underperform in academic settings compared
to White students (Madyun, 2011). Recent research suggests a relationship between outcomes for
students and the quality of the educators who teach them (Lynn et al., 2010). In his examination
21

of teacher practices, Allen (2015) noted that teacher agency and a solid understanding of cultural
pedagogy can empower teachers of African American male students to maintain elevated levels
of expectations and act as advocates for their students. Additionally, he noted, “teachers play a
critical role in the social trajectories that their students may take” (p. 79). This last comment is a
common sentiment within the latest research, as many researchers have indicated the profound
impact caring educators and advocates have on their students. Similarly, another trend in
research is the stance to steer away from theories or explanations of students’ performance based
on deficit mindsets. Milner (2008) explained how teachers in successful classrooms reinforce
attributes such as perseverance to achieve successful outcomes with their students. These
educators and their strategies must be exploited to create more opportunities for success for
Black male students.
School leaders who enroll large numbers of students of color may see gaps in student
success as either arising from lack of ability or lack of effort on the part of the student. School
leaders who hold a disposition for reducing or eliminating racial disparities do so with a focus of
caring responsibility for students (Flores & Gunzenhauser, 2018). A focus on addressing any
gaps and working to improve the educational outcomes of African American male students
should begin with caring relationships. This may sound rudimentary and fundamental for
classroom practices for all students, however African American students are highly affected by
their relationships with their teachers and school officials. As Noguera (2003) suggested,
changing the structure and culture of schools so that African American males view them as
sources of support, for their aspiration is the most important step for schools to achieve
prominent levels of success in the classroom. Educators, administrators, and other stakeholders
must reshape their thinking on the definition of a demonstration of content proficiency. For
22

example, must a presentation on the effects of capitalism in Third-World countries be a typed,
double-spaced 5-page document? Could it be done as a rap by a student who aspires to be a
rapper or a mural by a student who aspires to be an artist? These alternative modes of
demonstration encourage inquiry and creativity as well as acknowledge and celebrate students as
individuals.
This culture undoubtedly begins in the classroom as teachers and students foster
relationships that are conducive to learning. To best accomplish this and achieve successful
academic outcomes, educators must look past stereotypes of African American males and be
educated in the historical disparities in education that plague this demographic. Cultural
pedagogy goes beyond a mere slideshow for the Black History Month celebration or a carnival to
celebrate Cinco De Mayo (Hammond & Jackson, 2014). It requires a shift in the teacher’s
mindset to appreciate and place value in the alternate way students of diverse cultures process
and make sense of learning. Cultural pedagogy is a symbiotic relationship between student and
teacher, where students learn the curriculum from the teacher, and the teacher learns from the
student ways to better educate them and pass on knowledge.
Teacher Impacts on African American Male Students
As an educator, I can assure you that learning does not occur inside of a vacuum. Student
success requires the efforts of the students, their parents, and their teacher. The teacher’s role is
as important in the education of Black male students as the content they are teaching (Allen,
2015; Gershenson et al., 2016; Howard, 2008; Milner, 2008). African American male students
are highly influenced by the views, opinions, interactions, and support they receive from their
teachers (Gershenson et al., 2016). This places a great responsibility on the educator to learn
about their male students and push them to levels of academic success that they may not even
23

know they could achieve. This drive and push could be the catalyzing force needed for success,
even when other resources are limited.
No matter the discipline of educational research studied, there is one common link that all
of the literature says regarding schools serving poor and minority students. Schools are
underperforming (Ladson-Billings, 1994). As Harper and Davis III (2012) indicated, “Our
schools suck” (p. 111), a statement echoed by a male African American applicant for a graduate
prep program. This statement, which was in reference to a book of the same title, seemed to sum
up the feelings of several applicants (all African American males) on their elementary and high
school experiences. For a preponderance of reasons, on any given educational metric used,
schools serving predominantly African American and Latino students consistently underperform
compared to schools serving predominantly White and Asian student populations. For decades,
researchers, experts, and policymakers have discussed, hypothesized, and theorized assorted
reasons why the educational system fails these students. It is best summed up by this passage
from Freire et al. (2014): “The oppressors, who oppress, exploit and rape by virtue of their
power, cannot find in this power the strength to liberate either the oppressed or themselves” (p.
44). If this passage is true, which is evidenced by current results, the way to transform education
is to transform the dynamics of what the classroom and districts look like. This transformation
begins with teachers and their ability to liberate their students.
Teacher quality has been the subject of many policies intent on improving the quality of
education around the country, as it should. However, much of the research has been conducted
on teacher effectiveness, teacher bias, or student apathy. One area of particular interest is the
effect of race in the classroom, particularly classrooms in which teachers and students share the
same race.
24

In fact, those who, in learning to read and write, come to new awareness of selfhood, and
begin to look critically at the social situation in which they find themselves, often take the
initiative in acting to transform the society that has denied them this opportunity of participation.
Education is once again a subversive force (Freire et al., 2014, p. 29).
If we are to take Freire’s statement to heart, more effort must be given to placing more
teachers of color in the classroom. As stated earlier, current estimates place the population of
African American students at 15% (McFarland et al., 2017). During this same period, 6.7% of
public-school teachers were Black, when disaggregated by gender, 1.7% of teachers nationally
were Black males. When educators are viewed as the gatekeepers of knowledge, African
American teachers open the gates and advocate for young Black students (Beauboeuf-Lafontant,
1999).
Gershenson et al. (2016) found considerable evidence supporting the assertion that non-
Black teachers have significantly lower expectations for Black students than Black teachers. This
is an important acknowledgment, as has previously been stated, teachers’ opinions and beliefs
greatly impact African American students. It would make sense then that teachers with low
expectations for students pass on these low expectations to their students. Educators who possess
particularly negative biases place African American students at even more of a disadvantage. By
virtue of their positions, same-race teachers who have achieved some level of academic success
can pass on their academic expectations while simultaneously modeling the results of academic
attainment. Gershenson et al. (2016) borrowed heavily from the findings of Dee (2005). Dee
(2004) found evidence to support the claim that African American students show significant
gains in academic attainment when paired with same-race teachers. Based on the results from a
large-scale study in Tennessee which included over 11,000 students (Dee, 2004), there was
25

consistent statistical evidence of academic gains both in English and mathematics for Black
students when paired with same-race teachers. Additional research by Ferguson (1998, as cited
in Dee, 2004) found comparable results, indicating that student-teacher race impacts educational
attainment. These results indicate a need for districts with large African American populations to
restructure their hiring practices to resemble school demographics more closely. An important
caveat to Dee’s (2004) findings was the lack of understanding of the specific mechanisms that
caused these gains. It is these mechanisms, specifically in relation to African American male
students, that I plan to uncover in this dissertation.
The fictive kinship model proposed by Fordham and Ogbu (1986) shed some light on
these mechanisms and the sense of community shared by many in the Black community. It is this
same community, who through years of being deprived of an equal opportunity for success in
educational attainment, are at the forefront of leveraging the success of others and taking a more
proactive role in educating future generations.
Understanding and Working With Black Students
A coherent argument has been made that teachers who work with Black students would
best serve them if they understood them, their culture, and their academic identity. Working with
students of differing ability levels is a widespread practice for today’s educators. One aspect of
evaluation for today’s teachers is the ability to differentiate their lessons for various
demographics in the classroom (e.g., special education, gifted, English language learners). This
element of lesson planning is one topic that has made it into teacher preparation programs, so
then the concept of understanding your students and their individual cultures should be no
different.
26

Fordham and Ogbu (1986) presented an anthropological history and explanation of
working with African American students. Fictive kinship is a model that explains the
relationships and bonds of people who are not related by birth. This model has been used to
explain the relationship of African Americans, not just as a central group but as a collective.
The concept that all Black people are the same (all good at basketball, all Black people
can dance, all Black people like fried chicken) has become critical to their sense of cultural
identity. These stereotypes became the rallying point around which the early Black community
could bond and unite during times of slavery and oppression. Fordham presents a powerful
allegory of the insurrection of Nat Turner, which led to the restriction in movement for massive
groups of Black people in the surrounding areas despite their not being involved with the
uprising. The actions of one affected the whole group. This indignation caused large Black
communities to unite and form tight-knit bonds centered around race. Fordham continues to
break down the familial nature of Black people using endearing terms like “brother,” “sister,”
“folks,” or “my people. Fordham defined fictive kinship as “a set of shared experiences shared
by Black people” and explains them as a coping strategy for dealing with White America’s
power and oppression (Fordham & Ogbu, 1986).
Since Blacks were first taken from slave ships, they have been indoctrinated into the
belief that they were inferior to Whites (Bell, 2019). As evidence of this, the three-fifths
compromise of 1787 allowed slave states to count their slaves for the purposes of representation
in Congress as three-fifths of the value of White people, which gave way to Black parents telling
their children they must work twice as hard to be half as good. Moving forward in history to the
present day, and accounting for historical inequities. A population of people with the highest
infant mortality rate, highest poverty rate, and lowest academic achievement rate, academic
27

success for African American males would not only be quite an accomplishment, but also a
surprise (Noguera, 2003, p. 432). Every year, thousands of African American students nationally
manage to receive their high school diplomas, and although a much smaller percentage, many
successfully navigate the postsecondary system and acquire a college degree.
Although well documented, the plight of the African American student is not well
understood. We still struggle with a thorough understanding of what causes students to succeed
(Harper & Davis III, 2012; Noguera, 2003) in educational systems designed for them to fail.
While met with criticisms such as a lack of insight into how students manage to successfully
navigate school and excel academically without being ostracized by their peers, Fordham
manages to create a clear picture of fictive kinship and how it affects and impacts the African
American community. This understanding is a foundational step for any educator who is a racial
mismatch for Black students. It is understood that Black students are highly unlikely to proceed
through their formative years and have experience only with Black teachers. The mechanisms
outlined in this dissertation will help mitigate the effects of racial mismatches in the classroom
and give African American male students the opportunity to achieve academic success, even
when paired with educators who do not look like them.
There is a common thread of misinformation that intertwines much of the research on
African American students’ academic struggles, which states that Black males and Black
families are not concerned with their education (Harper & Davis III, 2012). This misconception
results from a misalignment among educators, other stakeholders, and the African American
youth/community they claim to serve. Despite the pervading anecdotal evidence, current
research and literature indicate that Black males and their families place immense value in
education (Fordham & Ogbu, 1986; Harper & Davis III, 2012). This brings to question why the
28

misalignment between beliefs and outcomes? What outsiders may perceive as a “lack of trying or
caring” witnessed in classrooms is often a frustration with an educational system not designed
for African American students or their needs. It is easily the case that students give up and
develop an “I don’t care attitude” as a coping mechanism to deal with these frustrations. Couple
this with menacing, aggressive postures learned as defensive tactics in their neighborhoods and
communities, and it becomes entirely plausible for an outsider to misconstrue these actions as
apathy, or aggression, especially for educators not intimately familiar with these tactics nor
adequately prepared to respond to them.
Theoretical Framework
Critical Race Theory
There is a famous African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” This proverb is
used to explain a traditional African understanding of morals and kinship. Members of a village
or tribe are all equally as responsible as a child’s parents for their safety and well-being. It is
understood that parents cannot always be at all places and that extra sets of eyes and ears are
required in their absence to provide knowledge, wisdom, and values to the child and additionally
provide for their safety. Consequentially, children learn respect for their elders as well as others
in the community and value their wisdom and insight as a punishment from them is an extension
of the family.
I begin this section with the village parable as an example of the ways people use
storytelling to make sense of everyday life. Most African American adults are familiar with the
saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” It has been used in countless campaigns and is
popular in mainstream society. Critical race theory (CRT) in education also incorporates the use
of storytelling and parables. CRT was developed with its earliest roots traced back to Critical
29

Legal Studies. Legal scholars Derrick Bell and Alan Freeman were frustrated with the slow
progress of racial reform (Ladson-Billings, 1994). The field of Critical Legal Studies was born as
a challenge to the way society and the legal system not only fail to recognize racism but
reinforced oppression through racialized institutions. It then follows that one of the strategies of
CRT is to open and expose these systems of racism.
According to the writings of Solórzano (1997), Critical race theory has at least five
themes:
1. The centrality and intersectionality of race and racism. Critical race theory begins
with the belief that in America, racism is not only ingrained into society, but it is a
permanent fixture. This is an important distinction in CRT because it asserts that the
laws, reforms, and policies of this country are built upon a racist foundation.
2. The challenge to dominant ideology. From an educational perspective, we recognize
that educators not only deliver content, but they also pass on values to their students,
what is good, what is bad, what is right or wrong and how students should behave not
only in class but in society as well. These values may be in direct conflict with the
belief systems of families and cultures and must be challenged as the only “correct”
way for students to behave. This notion of right and wrong behavior immediately puts
students at a disadvantage and places them in a moral paradox.
3. Commitment to social justice. A common misconception of CRT is that it only
focuses on Black people. The CRT framework not only incorporates all racism and
subordination, but serves the larger goals of sexism, ableism, sexual orientation and
all other forms of discrimination.
30

4. The centrality of experiential knowledge. CRT values an individual’s shared
experiences as strengths and recognizes them as legitimate sources of knowledge.
This tenet of CRT recognizes the values of lived experiences, with best intentions and
historical context aside, one must acknowledge that there are laws and social norms
which privilege certain individuals over others. CRT allows the oppressed to speak
out about their conditions and share their stories to bring light to an injustice.
5. The interdisciplinary perspective. Critical race theorists challenge views that
represent an inaccurate representation of history and monolithic perspectives, and
instead analyze institutions and systems from a perspective or race and racism using
interdisciplinary methods.
It is with an understanding of the above-listed themes that this work is positioned. While
all five themes are covered within the findings of this research, the challenge to dominant
ideology and centrality of experiential knowledge themes emerged as the most dominant themes
in this research. When asking our research questions, it is important to understand the way
educators challenge the dominant ideology of student behavior in the classroom as well as
traditional definitions of success. The second theme, the centrality of experiential knowledge is
part of the methodological designs of my study. The research was conducted using interviews
which relied heavily on teacher conventions of storytelling to deliver their perspectives.
CRT is a highly contested topic in education, many opponents dispute the validity of the
framework and question its use of race as an underlying theme (Ledesma, & Calderón, 2015).
CRT places value in the use of narratives and counternarratives, to give voice to marginalized
people and help heal the wounds of oppression (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995). As defined by
Yosso (2005), “CRT is a framework that can be used to theorize, examine and challenge the
31

ways race and racism implicitly and explicitly impact on social structures, practices and
discourses” (p. 70).
The research in this study is predicated on the understanding that race and racism affect
the long-term educational outcomes of African American students. However, instead of using a
deficit mindset, I have chosen to focus on the ways that race is and can be used as a tool to both
engage and motivate African American male students and how educators play a role in that
process. CRT provides a lens to extrapolate strategies for success for marginalized students in a
racialized society and challenges the way Black male students are viewed in the classroom.
In Black communities, extended families and those who hold positions of close
relationships carry cultural and social capital for students, which can be leveraged to motivate
successful academic performance. Once a certain level of trust has been earned, and a fictive
kinship relationship has been established, these educators/stakeholders become part of the village
and responsible for the child’s well-being. From this perspective, we must approach the research
through understanding the role of family, the community, and explaining socially acceptable
behaviors to students. With critical race education, educators become empowered to elevate
“their voice,” as viable sources of knowledge with which to influence and impact student
learning.
Summary
Race is topic educators are faced with every day in their classrooms, yet it is virtually
ignored by the status quo. It is not an easy conversation to have, especially when the person
leading the discussion is of a different race than those receiving it. This is particularly
problematic because Black students, particularly Black male students, are discriminated against
more harshly due to perceived stereotypes and skin color. There are pockets of society which do
32

not look favorably on these students, and they are reminded of this daily. These students are the
most punished and lowest academically performing demographic of all students throughout the
country.
Ironically, the same variables that detract from African American students’ success can
be used to their benefit. Students’ behaviors that educators consider aggressive or maladaptive
are best countered by sincere caring relationships. However, many times, these are the students
treated with disdain or disgust, and teachers would rather send them away than address their
issues. Students who fail to comprehend a lesson and act out are often suspended from the
classroom, which is counterintuitive to their need for more class time to be able to grasp the
topic. Teachers must be invested in looking past student behaviors and seeing their students as
positive contributors to society.
Researchers, theorists, and other stakeholders have recently begun to make a push for
“culturally relevant pedagogy.” This is definitely a step in the right direction. However, we must
change our lens and view educators and school officials as community members and a part of the
community’s culture. It is imperative to seek opportunities to encourage minorities, particularly
African American men, to pursue degrees in education and use their social capital as role models
and positive influences to provide opportunities for success to African American male students.
Empirical evidence indicates that African American students benefit from the presence of
African American teachers. It also indicates that African American male students benefit from
positive, caring relationships with their teachers. If the goal of education is truly to educate all
students, we must address those at the bottom and the top. To close the opportunity gaps,
educators must increase Black male youths’ opportunities to see educators who look like them,
talk like them, and share the same values and who have the warmth of educators who value and
33

genuinely care for them. This is how we increase the number of Black male youth who are
academically successful.

34

Chapter Three: Methodology
A simple affirmation that the United States education system is rooted in racist ideologies
does not go far enough in explaining this reality for the thousands of African American students
working in a system in which so many of them fail:
I am no fool; and I know that race prejudice in the United States today is such that most
Negroes cannot receive proper education in white institutions. If the public schools of
Atlanta, Nashville, New Orleans, and Jacksonville were thrown open to all races
tomorrow, the education that colored children would get in them would be worse than
pitiable. It would not be education. And in the same way, there are many public-school
systems in the North where Negroes are admitted and tolerated, but they are not
educated; they are crucified. (DuBois, 1935, pp. 328–329)
This reality resonates most harshly for African American male students, who are among the
lowest ranked nationally in high school graduation rates. Fortunately, every year, many African
American students do, meet, and exceed the standards imposed on them to graduate high school.
Some students are proud to simply reach the finish line; however, when questioned, some
students can pinpoint an educator from their past whom they attribute as the reason behind their
success. This research was conducted to uncover these educators and the mechanisms,
relationships, and strategies they utilized as well as their motivation. More specifically, I
intended to discover how these teachers leveraged their relationships with their students to
increase academic achievement.
This chapter introduces the rationale behind this qualitative research project, rooted in
phenomenological research, and focused on leveraging relationships between teachers and their
African American male students. This approach, using interviews, allowed me to identify
35

specific strategies and mechanisms educators used to increase opportunities for success in
working with African American male students in both middle and high school environments.
Research Questions
There is current research which discusses how teachers motivate African American male
students, whom some may perceive as delinquents. This dissertation uncovered some of the
mechanisms and strategies teachers used to successfully reach this demographic of students by
focusing on the following questions.
1. What is the nature of the relationships between successful teachers and their AA male
students?
2. What are the perceptions of educators working with AA male students to narrow
performance gaps?
3. How do teachers leverage their relationships with students academically?
Methodology
Research regarding academic and opportunity gaps has been explored in a myriad of
ways and through many different lenses. The nature of this study was to gain insight into
working with and improving opportunities for African American male students, who have
historically been marginalized. Phenomenological research explores the lived experiences of
several individuals to see what they have in common (Creswell, 2014). This type of insight is
best acquired through direct accounts by individuals who work in the classroom with these
students. Qualitative research places the individuals involved as the center of focus in making
meaning of a particular problem or concern (Creswell, 2014).
In this study, I elicited the help and insight of educators who have not only worked with
African American students, but who have had successful results with them both academically
36

and emotionally. By virtue of their profession and their accomplishments, I felt these individuals
were best suited to provide insight into a sample of strategies and mechanisms that would help
increase African American male students’ academic achievement. Qualitative research
specifically delves into an understanding of what motivates an individual’s actions. Educators
themselves can internalize and reflect on the key aspects of their relationships with students and
provide insight into how these relationships are developed over time as well as how they are
leveraged. It would not be unreasonable to assume that educators develop relationships with
specific students for specific reasons. They may feel a certain affinity for a specific student or
see a spark in that student. However, as affirmed by Finefter-Rosenbluh (2022), student teacher
relationships do play a role in and affect student engagement and academic success. Whatever
the impetus, the justification behind these relationships can only be provided by the individuals
engaged in them.
The research is filled with examples of teachers and other stakeholders who have
demonstrated a less than favorable inclination toward male African American students. I found it
necessary to seek out the responses of same race educators and discover their perceptions of
working with African American male students. These responses will serve as a beacon to guide
future research into understanding African American male student behaviors and how they
influence or motivate teacher actions, and vice versa. An open and honest insight into teacher
perceptions of working with African American students is imperative for any hope of discovery
and growth for this student demographic. My intention is for these inquiries to serve as a
foundation for future generations of scholarly research to build upon and develop meaningful
strategies to combat the years of educational inequity for African American students. As scholars
37

and educators, we must unearth the reality of their plight and face the reality of their educational
experiences.
We cannot ignore students’ voices when they speak about impediments to their success. I
charge all educational stakeholders to develop methods, tools, and strategies to build upon their
students’ strengths and provide them opportunities for academic growth. However, this cannot be
accomplished if we do not acknowledge our own feelings and biases toward students and their
actions. This acknowledgment requires all stakeholders to reflect on their beliefs. For this reason,
I selected qualitative, phenomenological research as the design that best matches the goals of this
study.
Phenomenological Research
“Phenomenology is a study of people’s conscious experiences of their lifeworld: that is
their everyday life, and social action” (Schram, as cited in Merriam & Tisdell, 2015, p. 26). The
number of African American male students who drop out of high school, are killed, or are
incarcerated annually is staggering. Some may argue that guiding an African American male
student to successful academic outcomes is somewhat of a phenomenon. Teachers who intervene
in African American male students’ lives and help them navigate an often-inhospitable world are
most often the minority in schools rather than the norm. For this work, I explored the world of
educators who can fill the role of both educator and mentor for African American male students.
I studied their lived experiences and social actions to develop an outline of goals, strategies, and
mechanisms to increase life chances for African American male students. My goal was to
research and contribute to the body of literature on how teachers build and develop positive
relationships and successful outcomes for African American male students.
38

Phenomenological research, first formalized by German philosopher Edmund Husserl in
the 20th century, is rooted in psychology, education, and philosophy. This research method
posits that a researcher must intend to describe a phenomenon as accurately as possible and
remain true to the facts (Groenewald, 2004). Phenomenologists are most concerned with the
lived and common experiences of those intimately involved with the researched phenomenon
(Creswell, 2014). By studying various individuals who have engaged in or have knowledge of an
event or phenomenon, research can better understand the phenomenon and its effects. As
Merriam and Tisdell quoted, phenomenology “is based on the assumption that there is an essence
or essences to shared experience” (Patton, 2015, as cited in Merriam & Tisdell, 2015, p. 26).
These essences are the core meanings, mutually understood through a phenomenon commonly
experienced. Different people’s experiences are bracketed, analyzed, and compared to identify
the essence of the phenomenon, such as the essence of loneliness, the essence of being a mother,
or the essence of being a participant in a program. Like the ethnographers’ assumption that
culture exists and is important, the assumption of essence becomes the defining characteristic of
a purely phenomenological study (Patton, 2015).
This passage highlights the importance of discovering the essence of a phenomenon as
the forefront of phenomenological research. This statement also stresses the importance of
understanding and identifying the participants’ shared and lived experiences, of equal importance
is for the researcher to identify their own biases involved in the research. As an African
American man raised in a single-family home, I am intimately aware of the Los Angeles public
school system. Additionally, I am the father of four African American boys in their formative
years of life. I have experienced direct accounts of police brutality and racial discrimination
based on my skin color. I am an unapologetic supporter of social justice reform, especially
39

considering recent national events concerning the deaths of African American men at the hands
of police officers. I have stared down the barrel of police-issued handguns and had my life
threatened on more than one occasion. Conversely, as a teen, I was robbed and threatened with
death at the hands of other Black teenagers clutching handguns. I have witnessed the effects of
the miseducation of Black men and am keenly aware of the privileges awarded to me due to my
educational accomplishments. As an educator, I have witnessed the effects of educators whose
pedagogy placed unnecessary obstacles and roadblocks for students of color, teachers who were
afraid to engage with African American male students, and teachers who called out students for
their dress, appearance, and manner of speech. I am extremely aware of my bias in this research.
In fact, my belief and resolve in my biases are what led me to conduct this research. I made
efforts to ensure that my biases do not influence the results of any interview or analysis. This was
done by ensuring all bracketing, analyzing, and coding was conducted using only the
respondents’ words and ensuring I did not introduce any language that promotes my beliefs or
altered the meaning of the interview.
As I stated in the opening of this dissertation, African American male students are at the
bottom of every academic statistic currently assessed. Whether this is done with intentionality or
an unintended consequence of a faulty educational system, I believe it must stop, and the time for
change is now. Let my intention remain clear. This dissertation was not intended merely to shed
light on a travesty within American education. My goal was to provide clear concrete examples
from educators with experience in reaching African American male students and increasing their
opportunities for success both academically and in life.
Academic research is not an exact science. The movement to understand how things work
rarely if ever captures 100% of a population. In reference to this study, I intended to capture and
40

understand the lived experiences of individuals who have actual experience in working with
African American students and have achieved positive results. In this regard, phenomenological
research represented the best opportunity to capture these experiences. A phenomenological
study intends to describe and understand a given situation and understand the participants’ lived
experience regarding the phenomena (Yuksel & Yildirim, 2015). My choice of teachers
represents a sample portion of educators who fulfilled this requirement. This study builds upon
the literature and contributes to the knowledge by investigating experiences of teachers from
inner-city schools that have all had successful interactions with African American male students.
I took their experiences and identified commonalities among them to better understand how
teachers both develop and leverage their relationships with African American students to
increase academic outcomes.
Sample and Site Selection
Participants
As a prelude to this section, I would like to note that the names of all educators and
school sites have been changed to maintain anonymity. The site and participants for this research
were selected using purposeful sampling. I chose this method to ensure that the educators chosen
were familiar with working with African American students and had achieved results which
paralleled the goals of this research. The participants chosen were all African American
educators. This was a choice specific to this study, particularly because of fictive kinship.
Fordham and Ogbu (1986) proposed a shared bond between African Americans across
the country. African American educators were chosen to evaluate the validity of that claim.
Additionally, all the teachers chosen were asked to participate based upon having had previous
work experience with African American students, with successful results. Successful results are
41

defined as educators whom students define as warm or caring, educators whom students confide
in beyond the school’s normal responsibilities, educators identified by students as a polarizing
force who helped them meet their goals of academic success or graduation. Through my
experience as a high school educator, eleven teachers at three different school sites were
identified and invited to participate in the study. Six of those invited to participate responded
with availability. The process for selection included informal interviews and conversations with
administrators and teacher colleagues who were familiar with their work.
Due to shifting demographics in Los Angeles County, part of the criteria used was the
schools needed to have an African American student population of at least 10%. This number
was chosen given declining enrollment of African American students and the number of schools
with less than a 10% African American student population. Additionally, this number gave me a
respectable probability of serving enough Black male students for teacher reflections. Lasko and
Adele are both schools I have worked with in the past, which gave me access to educators in
both schools. Brown Middle School is a site I am currently employed at and has also granted me
access to educators within the school. I asked the principal for the names of educators with
proven success working with African American students. Additionally, to maximize the voice of
the students affected most from this research, a group of African American students from Lasko
high were informally asked to name one or two teachers who they thought helped them the most
in their educational journey.
School Sites
Site 1 was Lasko High School in South Central Los Angeles. The school site has
approximately 600 high school students in Grades 9–12. Of this population, approximately 20%
identify as Black and 80% identify as Latino. The teachers chosen from this school included
42

Mrs. Bethune, a National Board-Certified educator with 18 years of experience in the classroom;
Mr. Owens, an educator with 12 years of teaching experience under his belt; Ms. Baldwin, a
counselor who has been in her current position for 6 years; and Mrs. Robinson, a veteran Spanish
teacher with 14 years of experience.
Site 2 was Brown Middle School, a public school located in a large district in Los
Angeles. The school has similar demographics as Lasko, with the major difference being the
students’ age. This school is characterized as underperforming and suffers from low test scores
and academic achievement concerns for students. The teachers chosen from this site were Mr.
Woodson, a ninth-year ELA teacher; and Ms. Davis, a counselor with 14 years’ experience.
Participants
The study consisted of six participants, all of whom were educators/counselors in various
stages of their careers. Some have served strictly as classroom teachers while others have
transitioned from the classroom to becoming counselors. Regardless of their status, all the
educators interviewed have demonstrated success in working with African American males to
varying degrees. The term success can be an ambiguous term and it is with this understanding
that I made sure to allow each participant to give their independent definition or interpretation of
the term.
In addition to varied and distinct definitions of success, teacher experience level was
differentiated, although not an express criterion for participation. Educator experience ranged
from 6 years in the classroom to 18 years. This experience level difference provided a wide
variety of success stories for teachers to reflect upon when responding to questions.
Consideration was also given to grade level, I felt it necessary to include middle school as well
as high school educators to discover similarities in styles and strategies irrespective of student
43

age. Additionally, there was some overlap from teachers who began their careers in high school
and transitioned to the middle and vice versa. Middle school is traditionally where students hit
puberty and begin to discover themselves as individuals, additionally middle school is where
African American male students begin to really lose interest in school. It is with this in mind that
I felt both middle and high school provided the best use of my resources to discover how
educators perceive working with African American students. Cognitively speaking there is an
enormous difference between middle school students and high school students, however the
intent of this paper is to understand successful strategies used to engage African American male
students, a natural extension is what makes good teaching. The transition to middle school is a
trying time, particularly for students living in poverty (Gutman, & Midgley, 2000). It is for this
reason that I chose to include middle school teachers, as they play a valuable role in the
trajectory of students' educational experiences. No consideration was given for the content area
as I felt that the strategies employed were most important, and if properly implemented could be
utilized across all content areas.
Teacher Selection
As a current educator I am given an insider's view of other teachers in their natural
settings, be they classrooms, lunchrooms or just walking around the halls. This opportunity to
speak to teachers and understand their philosophies and see them in action gives me
unprecedented access to their worlds. This access allows me to ask questions, challenge and
discuss pedagogy and life opportunities, both for them and the students. As a trusted teacher I
have proven my classroom to be a safe space for students to express their concerns and be heard.
I listen to students talk about other classrooms and how they perceive their teachers. I noted that
students would express disdain for a teacher one day and sometimes the same day would ask
44

permission to go talk to that very same teacher because they had an issue in class. Students
identified select teachers who they felt comfortable talking to and for whom they felt pride in
doing their work. As this work is centered around student teacher relationships, this was one of
the heaviest pieces of criteria used for teacher selection.
The educators selected for this survey were done with a mixture of input from myself,
students, and administrators. Administrator input was based on observations of teachers routinely
selected to offer input on teams designed around student success and retention (Student Success
Teams SST, Individual Education Plan IEP meetings, etc.). Additionally, race was also a
deciding factor, as a researcher I wanted to remove as many external variants as possible. By
selecting same-race teachers, I felt able to freely discuss issues of race from an insider's
perspective.

Table 1
Participants
Name District information Years of service
Ms. Baldwin Educator/counselor 6
Ms. Bethune Science teacher 18
Mr. Woodson English language arts 9
Mr. Owens PE teacher 12
Mrs. Robinson Spanish teacher 14
Ms. Davis Educator/counselor 13

45

Data Collection
Interview
Phenomenological research is distinguished by the focus of attention on the experience of
the individual, and a conscious reflection of their existence in the phenomenon. My focus is on
the experience of the educators who have interacted with African American male students and
produced successful outcomes. To best understand the educator’s role, this study used an
interview, where both the interviewer and the interview questions were the instrumentation used.
The interviews provided the greatest opportunity to explore the feelings and beliefs of
those interviewed. This also provided a free-flowing structure that awarded the most organic
experience. The informality of the interview method allowed me to probe deeper into
respondents’ answers in search of the essence of the nature of their relationships with students.
Additionally, interviews designed with open-ended questions allowed for a richer opportunity to
uncover similarities in mechanisms and strategies utilized by different educators to maximize
academic achievement opportunities.
Over the last several months, medical concerns (COVID-19) led to limited access to
school sites, teachers, and students. This study was initially designed to include teacher
observations, interviews, and reflections; however, recent social distancing mandates provide no
opportunities for on-campus visits. All interactions for this study were conducted through Zoom
interviews. Teachers were asked to commit to a 1-hour block of time for an interview. During
this time, teachers were asked a series of questions about their perspectives on working with
African American male students (see Appendix A). With the teacher's consent, the interviews
were recorded using the Zoom platform.
46

Once completed, all interviews were transcribed and logged. Logging was completed by
listening to each recorded interview in five-minute segments. During these segments, I
highlighted any key phrases (a) related specifically to terms used in the research questions, (b)
phrases or terms that were common to the current interview, (c) terms or phrases that were
common to other interviews, (d) specific mechanisms and strategies used to increase academic
achievement, and (e) specific mechanisms and strategies used to develop relationships with
African American male students. Common terms and phrases were then bracketed as markers or
similarities to explore further.
Data Analysis
Data analysis throughout this study was an ongoing process and was conducted in tandem
with data collection (Creswell, 2014). This analysis was conducted with strict adherence to the
purpose of this study to uncover the nature of relationships between educators and their African
American male students and discover strategies educators used to leverage the relationships with
these students to increase academic achievement.
Interview number one served as ground zero in the research, informing the dialogue of
conversation for the remainder of the interviews. After the first interview was conducted, it was
transcribed using computer software. The interview was then read and analyzed to discover
themes of interest for deeper exploration.
Review of the Data
After being organized and prepared, all data was reviewed to discover themes or patterns
that may have emerged during the interview process. The initial criteria used for inclusion as a
theme or subcategory are responses that specifically addressed the research questions:
47

1. What is the nature of the relationships between successful teachers and their AA male
students?
2. What are the perceptions of educators working with AA male students to narrow
performance gaps?
3. How do teachers leverage their relationships with students academically?
Particular attention was given to any mechanism or strategy educators used to increase
their African American male students’ educational opportunities. Other topics included
educators’ insight into the nature of their relationships with their African American male
students. These initial categories were further divided as dictated by educator responses. Future
criteria were also added, as evidenced by a review of the data.
Immediately upon completion of an interview, it was transcribed and coded. The coding
process included any questions I may have had regarding responses, notes that may lead to
further exploration, and new insights I may have had into the nature of the research (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2015). New ideas and questions were proposed in subsequent interviews to explore if
they were novel to the inquiry process in the hopes of discovering shared or similar experiences
among educators.

48

Chapter Four: Results of Findings
The purpose of this study was to examine how educators develop relationships with
African American males to increase academic success. Previous chapters have highlighted the
methodological design utilized for this study. This chapter serves to present the findings of the
data collected, using Critical race theory as the theoretical framework and lens for understanding.
This qualitative study was done using interviews both in person and virtually due to
COVID 19 protocols. To maintain anonymity and provide space for participants to speak freely
without fear of reprisal, all names, locations, and identifying markers have been changed. This
chapter includes the findings from interview questions presented to the participants. Their
individual responses are organized by question to provide an opportunity for further analysis by
theme. The questions presented to the participants are all related to and serve to answer the
following questions.
1. What is the nature of the relationships between successful teachers and their AA male
students?
2. What are the perceptions of educators working with AA male students to narrow
performance gaps?
3. How do teachers leverage their relationships with students academically?
Why Do Teachers Care?
Research Question 1 asked the following: What is the nature of the relationships between
successful teachers and their African American male students?
To understand how educators leverage their relationships with African American male
students we must first understand the nature of these relationships. In society we interact every
day with a diverse group of individuals. These interactions, be they our jobs, church, or social
49

settings, we develop and maintain different relationships based upon our interactions with the
players involved. However, how do we define these relationships, supervisor/subordinate,
student/teacher, friend/colleague, and within these relationships how do we manipulate the
interactions to suit our needs?
Previous research has been conducted which addresses the state of academic performance
for African American males. This research differs from previous studies as it attempts to answer
the question, what strategies do successful educators use with African American males to
increase their academic outcomes? The first step towards answering this question was to
determine how educators defined the relationships they had developed with their students. The
term “relationship” may seem ambiguous in different contexts, teacher, counselor, mentor, or
coach each role may require a different approach in the way they interact with students. In my
attempt to explicitly define the term, I discovered that the educators questioned rarely viewed the
relationships they developed as leveraging academic success, but more so how to support
African American male students to be successful as individuals. In other words, the perception of
the educators in this study was that the work they were doing was done out of genuine concern
and not with any pretext of increasing standardized test scores or achieving a certain college
acceptance rate. The relationships developed were done so with the understanding of the
difficulties faced by students of color, particularly young Black boys.
This study is poised to approach concerns about developing relationships with African
American male students from the perspective of teachers as changemakers. Changemakers are
the teachers we look back on as adults, after we have graduated from high school and say, “I
miss that class” or “I wonder whatever happened to Mrs. Patterson.” The teachers who inspired
us or went beyond the role of just a “teacher” and made each one of us feel special, seen or
50

valued. Changemakers are those individuals who recognize a gap, a concern or a problem within
the system and actively make strides to change it. In their approach to working with African
American male students, educators who have developed meaningful relationships with their
students are the ones we need to seek out and find, to not only replicate their outcomes but their
mindsets and understandings as well. Howard (2008) identified a need for a paradigm shift in the
way we view Black males. These interviews have uncovered an additional need to not only shift
the way we view them but shift the way that we interact with them as well.
Success as an Ideal
In seeking to understand the nature of the relationships between educators and African
American male students, I first sought to understand the perspective and the mindset on how
teachers viewed success in collaborating with these young men. The first questions I asked was
“do you feel successful in your work with African American male students?” The rationale
behind this was varied. However, the answers from all six of the respondents were “Yes,”
although not surprising in and of itself what was surprising was the reasons they gave. Here, I
provide three examples of teachers’ responses to this question.
Mrs. Robinson
I would consider myself successful in terms of being able to meet their needs and for the
nurturing aspect, a lot of Black boys when they come into my classroom they see me as a
mother figure and so they come to me and they talk and they kind of vent and they treat
my room like a safe haven when they need it, and they are more willing to put in the
work academically for me, and so I do see myself as successful when reaching out to my
Back male students.
51

The response to this question touched on a lot of the different themes that will be
highlighted in this chapter. Mrs. Robinson's acknowledgment of being recognized as a mother
figure not only demonstrates the type of relationship she has developed with her students, but it
also touches on her recognition of the importance of family and reverence for the title she was
given. In the African American community, fictive kin relationships are prized and can even
serve as support for students with aspirations for college (Whitney III, 2016). For an educator to
receive this distinction she must have earned a certain amount of trust from the student, and she
must have identified herself as someone who has the students’ best interest at heart
unconditionally. The term unconditionally was repeated by other teachers, who acknowledged
the importance of never quitting on a student, no matter how many mistakes they have made. In
the African American community “mom” is the last bastion of hope many students have. Mrs.
Robinson noted, “Yeah friends, family acquaintances may let us down or may judge us, but mom
is someone who will never judge us and will always welcome us home no matter what mistakes
we make.”
Educators strive for a judgement free classroom, this type of environment is especially
conducive to learning as students understand that no matter how many times they make mistakes,
teachers will always welcome them back. When asked how she defined success with her
students, Mrs. Robinson stated that she defines success by many different metrics, the first being
student effort. I presented the argument that this could be considered a lowering of expectations,
Mrs. Robinson responded that she didn’t believe it was, that she recognized her role as a teacher
was more than just a presenter of information, she understands that sometimes she is a mentor, a
motivator, a disciplinarian, a mom, and if she can get the students to put forth an honest effort
52

then she can understand what they don’t know and use that knowledge to help make connections
to the content.
Ms. Davis
I consider myself highly successful only because I have a Black son who was not always
treated fairly, and I did research to figure out why that was so now I make it my business
to try to invest in our Black students, support them and really find out the how and the
whys before I am dismissive, disrespectful, or disengaged with them.
Ms. Davis presented a distinctly unique perspective compared to the other educators. The
recognition of a flawed educational system forced her to identify the need for her intervention.
As an educator with a son in the system, she found herself in a unique position to change the
narrative on interactions with Black boys. Additionally, she recognized her own biases and
understands how easy it is to become dismissive or fed up with some of the interactions we may
come across when interacting with our young Black men. Using her own son as an example, she
was able to leverage what she had witnessed and channel those experiences to elevate her
positive interactions with the students in her classroom. This unique perspective once again
touches on the power of the relationship a mother has with her son. Ms. Davis's ability to
leverage her firsthand knowledge and make changes to a flawed system enabled her to improve
student outcomes and build relationships with her students.
Ms. Bethune
I would consider myself moderately successful to successful it just depends, and why is
because when I first started teaching, especially when I first started teaching we worked
particularly hard in getting our African American boys opportunities and they were
manifest because many of them were Gates scholars, Nordstrom scholarship recipients
53

POSSE, many of them enrolled in 4-year colleges and you know military as well I
consider the kids who went through those programs a success as well.
Ms. Bethune presents an alternate definition of success: The students with whom she
worked were participants in a system that had already been put in place by an administration
cognizant enough to recognize the value of their students. In her words, she inherited an
expectation and mindset of success, “by any means necessary”. For Ms. Bethune, the success of
her boys when she first began teaching was dependent on the relationships she developed. In this
environment, Ms. Bethune served as more of a steward of success, one charged with continuing
and maintaining certain standards for her students. This type of relationship building eliminates
deficit mindset thinking and embraces a new narrative of success for young Black men. This type
of thinking and administrative support was discussed by Tyrone Howard who mentioned a need
for a paradigmatic shift in the way we view young Black men.
One of the key points highlighted in these responses was the way teachers defined
success, for Mrs. Robinson it was her ability to persuade students to put forth an honest effort.
Ms. Davis’s definition was contingent on her ability to listen to her students and not dismiss
them or pass judgement on them. Ms. Bethune’s definition was rooted in her role as a steward,
charged with maintaining a set of high value programs for her male students. It has been
highlighted that the African American male experience is not monolithic (Howard, 2013). I
would contend that the ideal of success is not monolithic either, as we can see above successful
work with African American male students is multifaceted. The concept that all K–12 students
must graduate high school and attend a 4-year university for their work to be considered a
success places a narrow constraint on the cultural knowledge offered by our students. I am
54

certain that many educators would agree that high school graduation is the minimum standard for
which students should aspire, the question then becomes, what happens next?
Committed educators recognize their students as individuals and as such can take vastly
different paths to being constructive contributors to society. When asked if he felt his students
were successful, Mr. Owens stated, “if they are doing something positive with their lives, that’s
making them and their family take care of their business, then yeah.”
In this definition, Mr. Owens takes his definition of success out of the classroom and
places it in terms of family. We must first challenge our current definition of success and
broaden it to encompass more opportunities for students in terms of their life goals. Successful
teachers of African American students are not only the ones who get their students to attend a
prestigious 4-year university, they are the educators who recognize that there are students and
families for whom graduating high school is a major accomplishment and the pinnacle of their
achievement. I would like to interject at this point, that neither myself nor the educators
interviewed are stating that there is no value in higher education, this is an indication into the
mindset of some educators of young Black male students. Mr. Owens went on to tell the story of
a student who told him “Mr. all I want to do is graduate if I can do that without ending up dead
or in jail then my mom will be happy that’s all she wants.” For this student, his success isn’t
determined by his GPA, but by his ability to survive. “The day I saw him walk across that stage
made me so happy, made me proud and I still keep in contact with him to this day.” I have
previously acknowledged many of the metrics on African American male students' educational
performance, which paints them as underachievers. Successful teachers value their students as
people and instill a sense of pride to become better versions of themselves, for their communities
and their families despite the previously mentioned metrics.
55

Family
Family was a common theme which presented itself throughout this research, as stated by
Ms. Bethune
when I first started out, I was more of a contemporary but now I am as old as their
grandma and so the way they look at the things that I might say the advice that I might give the
discipline I might meet out if feels more grandmotherly to them, I can see that our relationship is
different and it is because of how they perceive me.
These perceptions of how students view her allowed Ms. Bethune to leverage
relationships with students who lacked them from other teachers on campus. After asking her to
elaborate on her comments, Ms. Bethune went on to say that she had a challenging time
understanding why certain teachers struggled with student behavior “you get back what you put
out, but I guess that they just don’t get it.” She was clear in her understanding of her role as a
“grandmotherly” figure in noting that she could say things to students which other teachers could
not, and the responsibility that came with her role as extended family. She then went on to state
the power of talking to students and giving them the opportunity to be heard. “It has to go both
ways. You can’t just always tell them all the time. Sometimes, you have to listen.” This lack of
listening was one of the obstacles she felt came in between other teachers and her students. Ms.
Bethune went on to acknowledge a variety of reasons why teachers were frustrated with African
American students, reasons such as low academic performance and student attitudes. Educators
“not understanding what they (students) are bringing to the party,” and the lack of a similar
background. She concluded this section of the interview by saying that one of the ways she is
able to leverage that sense of family is by “sharing the culture in the room and letting them know
56

I get this.” The “getting this” was the sense of familiarity with students was the sharing of a
similar culture and background and thus a similar sense of understanding the world around us.
Ms. Bethune then went on to share an experience that she says had “shaken her spirit.”
I was in the classroom one day trying to reach out to a particular young lady and trying to
let her know that I can understand where she was coming from, and she told me Ms. Your black
is not like my black, I was devastated how do I respond to that?
This interaction was both distressful and enlightening, the student recognized the
similarity based on race but did not acknowledge the shared set of experiences. It was not until
later on at the end of the year, after Ms. Bethune had developed her trust, gained her confidence,
and moved into the grandmotherly role that she was able to reach the student and give the
resources she needed. The concept that students will simply listen to teachers because they are
the same race as them was in this case and should be challenged as I stated previously not all
Black students are the same. What makes this interaction powerful is the recognition that race is
a factor and can be used to open doors and start dialogue. Students inevitably listen to teachers
who they believe care about them genuinely.
Ms. Baldwin was another educator who reiterated this notion of family, which echoed
many of Ms. Bethune's sentiments. Ms. Baldwin noted that in her experience as a high school
educator, “If you give students respect most of them will give it back, I mean you always have
some knuckleheads, but even they eventually come around.” Once again, the concept of not
giving up on students and the power of family. “Many of my students call me mom or auntie
'cause they know I don’t play but when it comes down to it, they know I’ve got their backs.” Ms.
Baldwin went on to expand this statement when she explained that having their backs “doesn’t
always mean I agree with them or they gonna get their way . . . I had some students who didn’t
57

complete an application and they said they didn’t feel like doing it that day, so I said ok, and I
came back the next day and pulled them out of class and had them complete it then.” For Ms.
Baldwin, the concept of family, being “auntie” meant sometimes being able to recognize when
the time isn’t right but not giving up. In this instance, she recognized that since the girls weren’t
“up for it” at the time,
perhaps they had something else going on. They may have been having issues at home or
with a boyfriend whatever it is, but they know that later on I’m going to come back and check on
them and I’m not going to let it slide.
Situations like this are only possible when a relationship has been developed and students
are recognized as individuals. The intuition of an educator to stop and ask a student what is going
on in their life or if something is going on is a strength which requires the teacher to recognize, it
is about the student. Students face and deal with trauma daily and sometimes we have to step
back and say okay right now might be the right time, according to Ms. Baldwin. “That’s where
mom or auntie comes in.” Ms. Baldwin breaks down and explains “Auntie.” “For those fortunate
enough to have the opportunity to experience, Auntie is someone, an older female who a young
lady can talk to about personal issues which she may not be able to address with her mom.” The
role of Auntie is one of deference and respect, as an honorary member of the family she is
awarded certain liberties that are different from that of one’s parents. Auntie may discipline a
child if necessary but is more likely to give advice and be a little more understanding when they
make mistakes and give advice. Auntie can be a liaison between a parent and a child and may
even be called upon to manage a situation in the parent’s absence. “With my girls, its easy
because we have that bond, but my boys know too, I’ll get right up in their faces and say what I
gotta say and they listen.” The cultural dynamic of race is not to be ignored, however according
58

to statements by three of our respondents it isn’t about the race of the teacher it is about how the
teachers relate to the students. The respondents in this study were all African American, further
research would be necessary to substantiate this claim.
These strategies and techniques are not currently taught in pre-service education
programs; however, they are referenced in culturally relevant pedagogy (Milner, 2008).
Knowledge of self and your place in a racial society are lessons that are just as equally important
in today’s classrooms as content. Successful teachers who see their African American male
students as family. They recognize that there will be mistakes made but that these mistakes,
however, do not define them as people. They represent a stage of growth, not a failure.
Expectations
Students’ need to be reminded of expectations was a theme which emerged among both
high school educators and middle school educators. Ms. Baldwin commented on her frustration
with speaking to students and getting the feeling of her comments “going in one ear and out the
other.” As a parent I can assure you that this sentiment is neither new nor isolated, it is a
commonly held belief shared across the globe, especially after students hit puberty. The
motivating force behind her work, however, was the observation that things did not occur
overnight with her students. “It may be a month or two months, and something will click and I’m
like, "Ohhhh, so you were listening”. This work requires patience, according to Ms. Baldwin
“which a lot of teachers don’t have they just give up.” Once again, this concept of unconditional
success presents itself, “I’m not going to give up on a kid I’m going to keep trying and keep
fighting until the end and keep reminding them what needs to be done until they do it.”
Mr. Woodson emphasized the power of student choice in presenting students with
narratives to increase their life outcomes, “You can only do so much, and it is frustrating because
59

it’s like arrrrgggghhh, I can see where your life is headed if you just would listen to me; I’ve
been there.” Mr. Woodson went on to emphasize that often students need reminders but at the
end of the day they must make their “own decisions.” Educators expressed a sense of pride in
their abilities to overcome the personal life struggles and obstacles they faced when growing up.
There was a general feeling of power in shared experiences they had with students, and the
similarities in the environments where they grew up. That they could pass on cultural knowledge
and insight to help increase their chances of survival and success.
Many of the aggressions aimed at people of color are aimed at African American men,
and these targets provide an opportunity for our educators to expose and inform their students
about the pitfalls of life they may or may not experience, both inside and outside the classroom.
To probe deeper into this and understand the ways educators leverage their positions in the
classroom, they were asked specifically about the George Floyd murder by police officers in
Minneapolis. They were asked how this incident, among others, affected their interactions with
their male students. “Influenced not changed I still believe they need to get as much education as
possible, it’s easy to get mad and want to fight but we have to learn to fight with our minds.”
Life lessons like these are not covered by traditional topics like math and English, and the fact
that he is a Black man was not a nuance which was lost on our educators. “It is because he is a
Black man that I feel the need to interact and engage in dialogue with our Black boys, this could
have easily been one of them,” said Mr. Woodson.
In a follow-up question, teachers were asked if they viewed themselves as members of
the community in which they worked, all six of the six teachers replied that they did. Mr. Orange
claimed he did feel a part of the community: “It gives the kids somebody that can relate to them,
somebody who has been through maybe some of the things that they have gone through.” Ms.
60

Apple stated that she lives within a three-mile radius of the school where she currently works and
may see some of the students at the park when she is working out. Ms. Baldwin said that she
grew up in the same area as her students and although she had moved felt a connection to the
community and viewed herself as a role model for her students and wanted to show them there
was a chance for them to do something else. This shared sense of community was one of the
most cited reasons by our educators for why they felt their work with Black boys was both
necessary and important.
Teacher Perceptions
Research Question 2 asked the following: What are the perceptions of
educators/counselors in working with AA male students to narrow performance gaps?
Previous research has revealed that African American male students are highly affected
by teacher perceptions (Allen, 2015). These teacher perceptions have been known to affect
student outcomes both positively and negatively. To this end, it was important to understand how
successful teachers perceived their relationships with the AA male students they served both
personally and academically.
When asked the question, “How do you perceive your relationship with your AA male
students?” all six respondents replied that they viewed their relationships as positive. Noguera
(2003) cited the need for relationships which are both “nurturing and kind”, authentic in our
context means a relationship based on the individual student and not predicated on any
preexisting conditions such as academic standing or athletic ability. An easy misconception to
make would be that the development of a positive relationship simply means a teacher who gives
a student what they want. I contend that successful teachers not only give students what they
want but also give them what they need. This distinction may be the magic of the work—the
61

ability to balance care and compassion with focus and rigor. Mrs. Robinson offered the
following:
I think I have a positive relationship with them, I think I have the ability to talk to them in
a stern way but still be open hearted and open minded to hear their perspective on things
that they may come to talk to me about, whether it’s about family issues or issues that
they are having at the school. I think I’m able to deescalate situations as they arise just in
a way that I can communicate with them and the relationships that I intentionally build
with my Black students.
In the statement, Mrs. Robinson places herself in the role of mentor, sounding board and
mediator as well as educator. By emphasizing the intersectionality of stern and open hearted,
Mrs. Robinson personified the term “warm demander” (Kleinfeld, 1972). Placing herself in this
position gives Mrs. Robinson a unique opportunity to value different sides of her students.
Conversations with her students allow them to engage in discussions they feel knowledgeable
about: family, school, friends, or anything in between. “When I let them speak about what they
want to talk about, it's amazing what I learn.” In addition to allowing students space to be their
authentic selves students are also allowed to empower themselves and learn to articulate their
beliefs and feelings. The difference between these conversations and ones assigned is that the
student is allowed to explore their understanding at their pace, they aren’t graded or told they are
right or wrong they are simply allowed to explore.
Mr. Woodson expressed similar sentiments: “The kids are amazing, especially when you
just sit back and talk to them, they will make you laugh. Sometimes, I don’t even correct I just let
them go and they are hilarious.” Mr. Woodson’s perceptions of his students are not that they are
troublemakers, middle school drug dealers, or gang members, but kids.
62

Don’t get me wrong they are some of those things but at the end of the day they are just
kids right, and I mean yeah, they are going through some things but that doesn’t define them or
define who they are, and you have to be able to look past that.
This ability to look past student indiscretions and see the students as human beings may
be troubling for some teachers who may view certain student actions as less than humane.
I remember when I was their age and some of the things that I used to do, and I look at
my son and some of the things that he does and I say yup I remember those days, but it doesn’t
make him a bad kid.
The distinction between a student and their actions is an important one according to our
respondents. When asked the same question about how he viewed his relationships with his
students, Mr. Woodson responded,
It's fine. It may frustrate me sometimes, but I still have to remember that they are kids,
and no kid is perfect. I just try to use my forum to reach out and talk to them and hope they
listen.
Mr. Woodson’s comment expresses that working with students is not an exact science,
not all students are the same nor do they all respond to the same stimuli, he did remark that he
makes a specific effort to reach out to his boys of color.
I think it's important, right? Especially in middle school, when they are still trying to find
themselves and many of them don’t have that father/ uncle or other male role model to help
guide them and let them know what’s going on.
Once again, we witness an educator willing to place himself in a position of something
more than just a teacher with a willingness to take up the mantle and provide students with the
tools they need to survive.
63

Intentionality
Intentionality is a key phrase that repeated itself in this research, the relationships these
educators developed with their students was neither accidental nor coincidental. The
relationships the educators developed with their Black male students were both purposeful and
intentional. Ms. Baldwin recalls using her time during the COVID pandemic to recall her “why.”
Her reasoning behind why she became a teacher, what students she had hoped to touch and who
she wanted to reach. She recognized that she too had gotten caught up in the frustration at the
academic performance of her male African American students, that she, too, had begun to just
accept it as business as usual. She then recalled her reasoning for wanting to get into education
and used that to specifically target and engage her Black students. She noticed her students were
not applying to college or reaching deadlines necessary to graduate, so she planned a day
specifically for them and pulled all her graduating Black students from class set them up on
computers and made them fill out their applications.
We were in there just vibing while they filled out their applications and they appreciated
that. I feel like they get lost in the sauce and people just forget about them or they catch one little
attitude and it’s like oh I’m done with that kid.
The concept of giving up on a student who is struggling goes against everything that we
are taught as educators. “If I don’t think they are going to reach out to me and take advantage of
me then I’m going to circle back and reach out to them.” In this respect, Ms. Baldwin not only
understands her students, but she also understands what needs to be done for them to graduate
from high school. Her perceptions of their actions and attitudes dictate how she responds to
individual students. “There are some students I can say,
64

Hey, you've got to take care of this this and this and they’ll do it, and there are others I
have to constantly be on in order to get them to do their work and I’ll do it because that’s why I
signed up for this.
The question of teacher perceptions of working with African American male students was
intentionally left vague, to give educators opportunities to define and shape their interactions in a
broad context. One of the most interesting dynamics was the overwhelming positive responses
from the respondents. The message conveyed was not one of despair and dismay for future
generations, nor was it a message of hopelessness for a group of students for whom hope was
more of a curse than a reality. For the educators surveyed, the common perception among them
was that of children, kids and the future generations who need patience and the proper guidance
of dedicated individuals.
The research questions and this study were intended to discover teachers’ perceptions in
working with African American male students to increase their academic success. The discovery
made was that successful teachers were able to leverage their relationships with students in ways
which did not necessarily include academics. There is an adage among teachers “They may
forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel” (BYU Speeches, 2021).
Mr. Owens stated the following:
We had a situation last week with one of them and I happened to be admin that day. So
when he came into my office, at first I’m trying to ask what happened and at first I’m
getting the attitude, I’m getting the drama, the “I don’t care, whatever you gonna do to
me just go ahead and get it over with.” I just tapped him, and I looked at him and I said,
“Hey, it’s me you not finna do this with me so what happened?” He kinda took a look to
the side, he said alright, and he went on to tell me what happened. I do believe that that is
65

a direct correlation to the relationship we have. With anyone else, he would have
remained standoffish.
Incidents like this highlight two major factors in working with young African American
men. The first factor being respect on both sides, there is a certain level of respect being
demonstrated in this situation both by the student and Mr. Owens. This respect had been
cultivated and nurtured long before there was any type of altercation, it was authentic. After
allowing the student to express himself and give the student the opportunity to speak, Mr. Owens
identified himself as someone who cared and was able to leverage this into a positive outcome.
The second factor is the intangible, which is mentioned in other research works but rarely
identified. As Mr. Owens pointed out, had anyone else on campus, another teacher, an
administrator, or even worse, an officer or security guard, approached the young man, the
outcome would have been different. The young man would have remained “standoffish” perhaps
even become belligerent, which would lead to a confrontation that the student cannot win and
doesn’t address the situation. The foresight to understand the consequences of altercations when
they escalate with young Black men and the ability to understand posturing enabled Mr. Owens a
unique opportunity to handle this incident in a way that met the needs of everyone involved.
When asked if he perceived this as a negative incident he responded “no, but I know other
teachers and administrators who would have.”
Relationships
Research Question 3 asked the question: How do teachers leverage their relationships
with students academically?
The final research question discussed centered around academic achievement. Academic
achievement is among the higher goals for any educator. The ability to understand a topic and
66

convey the meaning of that topic to a student so that they can understand it well enough to pass it
on to someone else is a lofty goal and a monumental achievement. Much has been written earlier
about relationships between teachers and their African American male students, the logical next
question becomes how these successful teachers can increase the academic performance of their
African American male students. The realization seemed a second thought to a few of our
teachers, when asked this question Mrs. Robinson seemed surprised upon reflection, “in all of
my classes subconsciously I have all of the Black students sitting in the front.” This strategy is
Teacher Education 101, in which conventional wisdom says if you want students to succeed sit
them in the front of the class, they have a clear unobstructed view of the board and less
distractions than those sitting in the back of the class. An interesting aspect of this strategy was
Mrs. Robinson’s apparent lack of awareness that she had done this. When questioned more about
the topic, Mrs. Robinson acknowledged it was just something she did. She was aware of the
strategy and as such aware of its benefits, however more than a strategy she just wanted her
students to be in the best position for success and make sure that there was nothing in the way to
distract them. Upon further reflection she seemed almost embarrassed at the prospect that her
implicit bias inadvertently caused her to sit her African American students in the front seats in
almost all her classes.
One of the more frequent strategies was the use of narratives and building of trust. When
presented with this question, Ms. Bethune said, “I can teach you eight ways to sundown, I need
you to trust that I am here for you.” The strategy here was convincing the students that she meant
no harm. “They have to come in believing you are not trying to do them harm.” This task isn’t
always the easiest to accomplish, previous years of trauma or ridicule are hard to overcome and
is made more difficult when accounting for current teachers in other classrooms on campus, “I
67

don’t know what their experience is in other classrooms, I don’t know why they have this
concern, but for many students they do.” There seemed almost a disconnect in comprehension
between her practices in the classroom and those of teachers who she felt were causing harm.
The concept of doing harm to students seemed so foreign for this teacher that it almost
appeared difficult to fathom. Trust as a strategy is a new concept for many educators who
demand immediate respect simply from their position as an authority figure. For Ms. Bethune,
trust was something that had to be earned,
it is not enough to tell the students to trust you. You have to show them they can trust
you. It can be earned in the silliest of ways that have nothing to do with class but once
you’ve got it . . . you’ve got it.
Strategies for academic success sometimes present themselves by simply removing
barriers to success. As Ms. Baldwin explained, the difference between her questioning a student
and another teacher questioning a student is
the teacher may say why you didn’t do this, why you didn’t do that and it’s like
whatever, but when they come to me it’s like I didn’t do this because I was taking care of my
little brother and I was busy . . . and I get that part of that so then I ask well what can I do to
support you.
There may be nothing that can be done in this situation, however, for the student Ms.
Baldwin has earned their trust by not yelling or threatening to call their parents or take away
class privileges, she listened and recognized that this student altercation was beyond the scope of
willful defiance and was more a matter of priorities. The student was raised in a home where the
family comes first, and Ms. Baldwin was able to empathize with him and pass on strategies for
success by sharing her story.
68

I told him about when I was growing up, I had to take care of my little brothers and be a
role model cause my mother was never home so I was like a second mom, so instead of yelling at
them to do their homework we all sat at the kitchen table every night and did our homework
together.
This use of narrative helped to narrow the power gap between student and teacher, the
student was able to recognize the similarity between their upbringing, and Ms. Baldwin was able
to propose a successful strategy moving forward. When questioned if the student used the
strategy, Ms. Baldwin said, “he did for a little while, I don’t know why he stopped but he ended
up getting a D in that class because he didn’t like the teacher.”
In a profession where less than 30% of teachers are male—with this group, two of the six
respondents (33%) were men—I felt it was important to differentiate and understand the nature
and the perception of male teachers in working with African American male students. When
asked if they felt a certain responsibility for their male students, Mr. Owens and Mr. Woodson
both replied that they did. Mr. Owens, a high school teacher stated, “dead or in jail.” Asked to
elaborate, he clarified that in the neighborhood he teaches without proper education
opportunities, death or jail were the only options that a lot of his students knew, and that he felt a
personal obligation to make sure that his boys were given other options and opportunities to
experience life. He went on to express his belief that it was important for all teachers to invest in
these students beyond the content and show them a better life. This sentiment was slightly
different from Mr. Woodson, a middle school teacher who expressed a similar sense of
responsibility for the students, who felt that he owed it to them to be there for them and protect
them from the teachers who were not doing right by them and to always bring the best
representation of himself to give them something or someone to look up to. Mr. Woodson said
69

that he felt his biggest contribution was to educate other teachers on how to interact with and
how to talk to Black students so as not to do harm.
As a current educator, I believe it is safe to say that we all would like to believe that our
practices bring out the best in our students. That we afford each of our students the best
opportunities we can provide, the fact of the matter is that there are those of us who fall short and
are simply unaware of methods and strategies to use when we become frustrated. For some
working with African American male students, it is second nature, for others it is a foreign
concept, no matter which category you find yourself it is work. To quote Milner (2008, p. 1574)
“this discussion is not meant to provide a romanticized or unrealistic version of the goings on of
urban education, an urban context or the people in them.” My goal is to present real-world
examples and strategies for educators to invest in their relationships with these students to
leverage when times are tough.

70

Chapter Five: Discussion
Educators who work with African American male students are aware of the crises
affecting their students. Black students are the leading demographic in suspension rates,
expulsions, and chronic absenteeism, and they contain the highest levels of poverty, mortality,
and incarceration in the country (Ladson-Billings, 1994). Still, countless teachers walk daily into
their classrooms and intentionally find ways to disrupt the system and work with these students
to improve their opportunities for success.
To best achieve an understanding into the strategies of the teachers surveyed, I conducted
a series of one-on-one interviews. The teachers were asked to donate 1 hour of their time to
answer questions on working with young Black male students. They had been previously
identified as an individual who at some point in their careers demonstrated success in working
with their Black male students. All the teachers worked in urban school environments, which
typically represent the highest numbers for suspensions and expulsions for Black male students
and demonstrate the most need for interventions. Educators were pooled from both high school
and middle school to give a wider range of strategies over the developmental years of students,
and there was no contingency made for subject matter.
By utilizing a linguistic approach, I was able to capture the thoughts and feelings of the
participants. Throughout each interview there were moments where words did not capture the
essence of their comments, and instead I was forced to pay attention to speakers’ tone, emphasis,
and the structure of their comment Gee (2014, as cited in Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). There were
moments when statements were not enough, where emotions and body language seemed to more
capture the essence of the teachers’ feelings than words. Each of these teachers had in their own
way demonstrated levels of success in working with African American male students and offered
71

a unique perspective on strategies they used in working with and approaching them. These
perspectives were guided by intrinsic motivation and a sense of responsibility. The use of
narrative provided the best opportunity to capture those feelings and remain true to the context in
which they were spoken. In addition to the research questions, teachers were asked follow-up
questions related to their responses, this strategy provided me personal insight to the thought
process of each respondent. These follow-up questions presented the most insight into teacher
perceptions, as they allowed teachers the opportunity to gather and capture their thoughts or
provided them the space to venture off into other thoughts. I made no attempt to constrain
teacher wanderings as these conversations provided insight into the perspectives of the teachers.
The following are the research questions presented.
1. What is the nature of the relationships between successful teachers and their AA male
students?
2. What are the perceptions of educators working with AA male students to narrow
performance gaps?
3. How do teachers leverage their relationships with students academically?
Respondents in this study made it clear that there was an inherent bond they felt with
their Black boys. Predicated on both a shared sense of culture and a deep understanding of how
those boys could be treated in the future based simply on the color of their skin. These educators
saw beyond the “academic achievement gaps” and recognized the lack of opportunities for
success in life, the implicit bias of other teachers and administrators who were more focused on
standardized test scores than the individuals they taught. These educators developed relationships
with their students as an investment in their lives as well as academic success. They refused to
lower standards and instead redefined traditional understandings of success, armed with an
72

understanding of the cultural and racial factors which impacted their students (Gay & Howard,
2000). The work of these educators resonated with their students because they “got it.” They
understood the attitudes of their students, they understood the trials and tribulation of being a
Black teen in a race-oriented society, and they refused to give up on or allow their students to
give up on themselves. These teachers allowed their students the space to define their own
dreams and then provided them with the tools to get there, which included guidance, toughness,
compassion, and empathy. Of equal importance was the understanding that there was no pretense
to expectations or outcomes in the students they worked with, teachers were not concerned about
closing achievement gaps; instead, they were concerned about opening and providing
opportunities for life success.
Summary of Findings
The study presented a wealth of insight into teacher strategies. Each of the three research
questions presented unique take aways, which I believe add to the body of research on working
with African American male students. Primarily, by disruption of the status quo, from a critical
race perspective, according to Allen (2015), schools contribute to “the reproduction of white
middle class ideology” (p. 72). Our respondents consciously rejected this ideology and instead
engaged their students with a worldview based on a shared sense of cultural values. Additionally,
Howard (2013) recommended a paradigmatic shift, not only in the way we view Black males,
but in how they are discussed, educated and more importantly how they view school. This study
provides insight into the minds of teachers who not only actively resisted mainstream views of
Black boys but engaged them as individuals as well. Through dialogue and relationship building,
our teachers were able to make strides at providing a safe space for their students, a place where
students felt valued, heard, and respected, specifically shifting the paradigm of how the students
73

engaged in and viewed school. Broadly, there are three main findings. The first finding is that of
the existence of “fictive kinship,” this concept/framework has implications for further use and
can be refined into a more coherent argument for future studies. The second finding is “define
your own success,” successful teachers were able to understand, as their students were different
and so were their definitions of success. Finally, the third finding is that of “authenticity.” This
was a trait valued by each of our educators as necessary for both teacher and student.
Finding 1: Fictive Kinship
In response to the first research question, “What is the nature of the relationships between
successful teachers and their AA male students?” one of the most prominent findings was that of
a familial relationship. Identified in the literature as “fictive kinship” (Fordham & Ogbu, 1986)
this label, and its debate have been contested over many years. For the purposes of this study, I
used the definition provided by Fordham and Ogbu (1986, p. 9). Fordham defined fictive kinship
as “a concept representing the emergence of a sense of peoplehood within the community.” She
described it as “the specific worldview of those persons who are appropriately labeled “Black.””
As presented earlier in this study our educators have self-identified as members of the
communities (Ladson-Billings, 2006) in which they taught and thus would be aptly positioned
for inclusion by this definition.” I think that is important, I do consider myself a member of the
community it gives the kids somebody that can relate to them somebody who has maybe gone
through some of the things that they are going through” Mr. Owens Additionally it must be noted
that Fordham acknowledged the differences among Black people both in physical attributes and
mindsets, which promotes a non-monolithic understanding of the term Black. Our teachers
recognized certain shared traits and cultural nuances based upon the communities in which they
were raised, they were able to then use these commonalities to develop and strengthen
74

relationships with their students. These relationships included a set of rules and benefits which
allowed the teachers untethered access to students’ thoughts, beliefs, and motivating factors. This
was one of the more powerful of the findings from this study. As one of our educators pointed
out “I am able to get students to do work that other teachers aren’t.”
Critical race theory is a framework or body of work that addresses racism and racialized
aspects of education (Tichavakunda, 2019). By positioning race and racism at the forefront of
issues concerning African American male students, we can use Critical race theory (CRT) as a
lens offering a different understanding of our students. One of the tenets of CRT is a critique of
the racialized institutions, Solórzano (1997) developed a list of five themes regarding CRT.
Number four on this list, Centrality of Experiential Knowledge, acknowledges the power of
relationships built through fictive kinship, and the sharing of cultural knowledge “critical race
theory views this knowledge as a strength and draws explicitly on the Person of Color's lived
experiences.” To this point, I have used the terms community and culture almost synonymously,
however, to prevent confusion I will defer to the definition of culture as prescribed by Yosso
(2005) “culture refers to behaviors and values that are learned, shared, and exhibited by a group
of people.” He described the “community cultural wealth” as skills and abilities possessed in
communities the adherents used to combat systems of oppression, so to was the fictive kinship
model developed in African American communities to represent opposition to dominant group
ideologies of the time.
Finding 2: Define Your Own Success
Research Question 2 asked, “What are the perceptions of educators in working with AA
male students to narrow performance gaps?” Teachers in general claimed they did not attempt to
narrow or close any types of gaps in the traditional sense as compared to white students. Instead,
75

teachers were more focused on individual achievement and guiding students towards being the
best versions of themselves,” you have to make sure that you are prioritizing that work to make
sure that it happens to make sure students are successful whatever that looks like for them” Ms.
Baldwin. Identified by Ladson Billings as “naming your reality” this principle of CRT allows
one to heal their own pain from oppression (Ladson-Billings, 1994). By allowing students to
define their own success, educators effectively helped students to remove perceived barriers or
limitations and define new attainable paradigms for success. The idea of being the best version of
yourself is a personal one. Teachers in our survey identified themselves more as guides on a
journey to help students choose to be successful academically (Ladson-Billings, 1994).
Teachers were aware of the inequalities in the education system, chief among them race.
They were also aware of the “achievement” gaps associated with young Black men, however the
approach from the educators was much less a matter of catching up or trying to beat the “white
students” with whom they are so often compared. Rather, teachers were more focused on helping
their students to meet their goals of graduation and putting them in a position where they had
options to attend college (Milner, 2008). I refer to Allen (2015), who references teacher agency
and how teachers, with dialogue and critique, create the conditions for students to acquire
consciousness of systems of oppression and the nature of society. “If you do or do not go to
college, that is your choice, but at least give yourself the chance to make that decision,” said Mr.
Woodson. This viewpoint is most intriguing as it empowers students to make decisions for their
own lives and gives them the opportunity to define their own individual definition of success.
Educators insisted that college attendance was not the only determinant of student success.
Military, trade schools, and culinary schools were all options if their students were able to
formulate a plan. For teachers, developing a plan for their students’ future was more important
76

than trying to “level the playing field” of a system which they felt was never designed for them.
Shared stories of alternative paths to college, jobs or life experiences eased the burden of
achieving traditional models of success. Sharing their own stories (Ladson-Billings & Tate,
1995) allowed teachers to connect a face with a life history and helped students to envision lives
for themselves beyond what they currently knew.
Finding 3: Authenticity
Finally, the last question asked was, “How do teachers leverage their relationships with
students academically?” Teachers in our survey acknowledged that this was a two-fold question.
The first part of this question involved developing authentic relationships, students were able to
determine a teacher who was generally concerned about them and their well-being and a teacher
who was only teaching a lesson. The contradiction between these two statements for example is
the difference between a teacher who was disappointed in their students for not doing well on a
test, and a teacher who was disappointed in them because they did not put forth their best effort.
According to Milner (2008, p. 1574), “Successful teachers in urban schools challenge students to
put forth effort even when the subject matter is difficult.” As Ms. Bethune said,
A few years ago, I had a kid who was tall and kind of quiet and when he was in there, I
could tell he felt like he didn’t belong and so I made it my mission to let him know you do
belong here, you can be that scientist. All you have to do is ask questions.
In other words, successful educators pushed their students to succeed on assignments and
recognized that student failure on a test did not define the student as an individual, and if needed
provided them multiple opportunities to succeed without the fear of ridicule (Ladson-Billings,
1994). Authentic teachers did not push their students in order to achieve an arbitrary percentage
77

increase over last year’s scores for their schools or districts. Authentic teachers pushed their
students to do the best they could always.
The unanimous perception (six out of six teachers) was that the relationships they built
and developed were done organically with little or no pretense or expectations. What they
realized, was that in building these authentic relationships they were able to gain students’ trust.
This trust allowed them to push their students farther and demand more, all while positioning
them to achieve success in the classroom and in their lives. Ironically, life success did not always
equate to traditional academic success, in the sense that educators recognized sometimes life
experiences took priority over academics and in these instances as well alternative methods or
multiple opportunities to complete an assignment may be necessary.
Implications for Practice
Develop Emotionally Significant Relationships
The findings presented above represent an understanding of how successful teachers
work with African American male students. As I stated earlier, perhaps one of the most
important findings was that of fictive kinship. To represent an alternate understanding, the
American Bar Association defines fictive kinship as the following: “A fictive kin relationship is
one that a child has with an individual who is not related by birth, adoption, or marriage to a
child, but who has an emotionally significant relationship with the child” (Eger, 2022). The key
understanding in this definition is the phrase “emotionally significant.” When collaborating with
African American males a value must be placed on the relationship developed between teacher
and student. The relationships developed should not be superficial or built based upon any
expectations of classroom cohesiveness, these relationships must be built with care taken to
know and engage with the individual student on their terms.
78

I am in no way proposing any type of inappropriate or nefarious relationship, nor am I
proposing a relationship which promotes favoritism in relationship to other students. The
implications for practice proposed a link back to the statements of our respondents. Mrs.
Robinson stated that her Black boys treated her room as a haven, this simple ask of giving them a
space to be their true selves contributed to developing into relationships valued and respected by
the students. In turn she noted that they were more willing to put forth effort and work harder
academically. When asked for more insight, she acknowledged that the work they presented was
not always “the best.” However, it gave her a starting point and an opportunity to intervene and
provided multiple opportunities to help her students grow. More specifically, her relationships
enabled her to overcome barriers previously established by students and break down walls which
prevented them from learning. Ms. Robinson acknowledged that while she was unable to
overcome all the years of harm, she was able to change the narrative for a good portion of the
Black boys in her classes. An emotionally meaningful relationship will look quite different from
teacher to teacher and student to student, an understanding therefore must take place that
relationships are not generic, they are purposeful. Questions based upon stereotypes are not
purposeful, did you see the basketball game last night? May be appropriate for an athlete or a
student who has expressed an interest in sports, but not appropriate for all students, furthermore
they may even still miss the mark if students do not feel the question is genuine or the teacher
authentic in their questioning.
Authenticity
What does authenticity look like? The scenario presented by Mr. Owens influences our
understanding of the relationships he developed with his students. His recollection of the student
involved an altercation that he deescalated calmly and rationally was directly attributable to
79

having previously developed a positive relationship. Mr. Owens later explained he never went
into building a relationship with any expectations in mind. “I generally like our students, I never
develop relationships going in thinking, ‘Ok. I’m going to get you to do more work.’ I just talk to
them.” Educators in this study all shared a general understanding or sentiment, of feeling the
need to look out for their Black male students. As discussed in the interviews, today’s society is
different from the way many of the educators grew up, school districts and parents are more
sensitive with the interactions between teachers and students.
When I was a kid, teachers would hit you with a ruler or wash your mouth out with soap.
Now, if you even look at a kid wrong, you can get in trouble. The only thing you can do now is
talk to kids and hope that they listen, but if they don’t like you, they are not going to listen, (Ms.
Bethune).
These two themes—develop emotionally significant relationships and authenticity—are
rooted in all three findings of this study. Fictive kinship is established through developing a
relationship with a child not related at birth, same race teachers from this study were able to
capitalize on the cultural knowledge of their students race to help build those relationships. They
were then able to utilize these relationships to find out the hopes, dreams and desires or their
students,’ once identified teachers were then able to use education and academics to help chart a
pathway to student success. Finally, each of these previous findings were only able to be made
possible with educators that students deemed authentic or “real.” Authenticity comes from
teachers who understand themselves and their position in society, it does not mean a teacher
trying to live up to the same life circumstances as their students, in fact it could quite easily be
the exact opposite. A teacher asking a student if they saw the basketball game last night, is not
genuine if the teacher has no frame of reference for basketball, a more powerful tool is a teacher
80

with no frame of reference for basketball to say to one of their students I came to your game last
night wonderful job. If the student is aware of the teachers lack of knowledge in the sport, then
they are aware that the teacher attended the game for them and thus develops an emotionally
meaningful relationship.
Recommendations for Research
Strategies and techniques highlighted in previous chapters were conducted with teachers
of the same race, the reality of our education system is that currently only seven percent of all
teachers nationally are Black (Whitfield, 2019). This underrepresentation means that for real
change to take place and for Black students to be placed in the best position to succeed, teachers
of other races must champion the cause.
Current research is ongoing on ways to both increase and help retain African American
teachers in the classroom, until the time comes when teacher demographics match that of the
students they teach, we must continue to educate other races on strategies to minimize harm to
Black male students. To understand the saliency of the research conducted we must also
understand how relationships are developed with teachers of different races. This understanding
can lead to an insight on changing the narrative of an education system not designed for African
American male students, to one which respects and values them as individuals. One of the
current critiques of this body of work, is that of a monolithic understanding of what defines and
categorizes a Black male student. Modern landscape has led to more individuals standing up and
requesting their voices be heard, there are now more subgroups than ever before who are
refusing to be silenced. Traditional definitions of adulthood no longer represent the vast majority
of men in the African American community. New meanings and understandings or gender and
sexuality by the LGBTQ+ community are establishing new paradigms on masculinity and
81

continually pushing our thinking regarding inclusiveness. Once a taboo topic in the African
American community, tremendous strides have been taken for the acceptance of gay men and
reshaping the definition of what it means to be a man.
As transgender rights are continually shaped, and redefined individual questions will
inevitably arise which challenge our ways or thinking. Educator bias will inevitably play a role in
shaping the face of education and making sense of what teachers do not understand. Just as
Racial bias plays a role in the education of young Black men, inserting this research and
discussion at the intersection of race and gender introduces room for growth and expansion in
new understandings. As our understanding of gender has changed and challenged us so too will
our understanding of race and in the same vein of understanding the monolithic definitions of
masculinity. Not all Black students act the same feel the same or have the same set of cultural
ideologies, expanding this research to a larger subset of educators from different areas of the
country would help enable us to narrow down a concrete understanding of the factors which
enable educators to develop relationships more easily with their male students regardless of
teacher race.
Limitations
Race
Findings within this study are aligned with previous research and supports findings from
literature reviews (Ladson-Billings, 1994; Milner, 2008). However, all the respondents in this
survey were same race, as indicated earlier only seven percent of all educators are Black. This
research is conducted with the intention of practical application, and as such must be as
universally accessible as possible. Future research should explore strategies utilized by
successful teachers who are not racially aligned with their male African American students. As
82

stated in the introduction there are a multitude of teachers everyday who seek out justice and
equitable outcomes for their African American male students, and while there is a body of
research targeted at racial alignment, the purpose of this study is to identify strategies to enhance
outcomes of success for African American male students.
Socioeconomic Status
Traditional wisdom and research indicate that students living in poverty experience more
hardships than students from affluent neighborhoods. The fact remains however that African
American students from both middle and upper middle-class upbringings still find themselves
performing below their classmates (Noguera, 2003; Pringle et al., 2010). Insight into the
strategies of educators who are successful in working with African American students from more
affluent neighborhoods would help to expand the body of research to a more rounded
explanation of effective strategies in working with African American male students.
This work with African American male students has produced firsthand insight, to
contribute to the knowledge and body of work of strategies for success. Hundreds if not
thousands of scholarly reports, books, magazine articles and journals, targeted at schools,
districts, principals and educators on how to improve the educational experience for Black
students (Ladson-Billings, 2006; Milner, 2008). Hundreds more have been written on the
importance of diversity and equity, and the systems in place which prevent Black boys from
learning. More research is being written on “Black excellence “and how students persevere and
navigate an education system targeted more at their incarceration than graduation (Harper, 2007).
The concern with much of the current research is the lack of understanding about young
Black men who exist in a world where reality does not match what they are taught (Noguera,
2003). Schools and communities instruct students, go to school get good grades, go to college,
83

and make something with your life. For far too many students’ teenage pregnancy, gang
violence, drugs or police brutality are more of a reality than that of college admission. The
educators from this study presented a more nuanced understanding of the intricacies of life for
the African American students in their urban schools than teachers who were experiencing
difficulties in reaching these students. Understanding the value of family and the roles of
families in surviving, were sometimes placed at odds and took precedence over educational
responsibilities. Theses understandings only come from being in similar circumstances (Yosso,
2005) of systemic and endemic obstacles placed as barriers of success, educators recognized that
as society changes educational systems had to change as well. Our educators understood that
while not an ideal situation, teenage pregnancy does occur, and instead of viewing it as a
sentence to a life of poverty accepted its reality and responded in ways that enabled their students
to still graduate and lead productive lives. Teachers understood gang activities based on firsthand
knowledge or experience and never shied away from the opportunity to explain the pitfalls of
such a lifestyle (Milner, 2008). The ability to not only distinguish between judgement and
disappointment but reinforce the power of forgiveness and understanding for making bad
decisions, these are all the characteristics of educators who have developed true authentic
relationships with students. In the words of one of our respondents, “These are life lessons, not
strategies.”

84

References
Allen, Q. (2015). Race, culture, and agency: Examining the ideologies and practices of U.S.
teachers of Black male students. Teaching and Teacher Education, 47, 71–81.
Anderson, E. (2012). Reflections on the “Black-White achievement gap.” Journal of School
Psychology, 50(5), 593–597. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2012.08.007
Beauboeuf–Lafontant, T. (1999). A movement against and beyond boundaries: 1 “Politically
relevant teaching” among African American teachers. Teachers College Record, 100(4),
702–723.
Bell, S. (2019). Critical race theory in education: Analyzing African American students’
experience with epistemological racism and Eurocentric curriculum.
Bousquet, S. (2012). Teacher Burnout: Causes, Cures and Prevention. Online Submission.
Bowman, B., Comer, J., & Johns, D. (2018). Addressing the African American achievement gap:
Three leading educators issue a call to action. Young Children, 73(2), 14–23.
Buck, R., & Deutsch, J. (2014). Effects of poverty on education. Journal of Human
Sciences, 11(2), 1139–1148.
BYU Speeches. (2021, March 15). Carl W. Buehner Archives. https://speeches.byu.edu/
speakers/carl-w-Buehner/
California Department of Education. (2016). State schools’ chief Tom Torlakson reports new
record high school graduation rate and sixth consecutive year of an increase. https://
www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr16/yr16rel38.asp
Creswell, J. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach
(4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
85

Darling-Hammond, L. (2000). Teacher quality and student achievement. Education Policy
Analysis Archives, 8, 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v8n1.2000
Dee, T. (2004). Teachers, race, and student achievement in a randomized experiment. The
Review of Economics and Statistics, 86(1), 195–210. https://doi.org/10.1162/0034653043
23023750
Dee, T. (2005). A teacher like me: Does race, ethnicity, or gender matter? The American
Economic Review, 95(2), 158–165. https://doi.org/10.1257/000282805774670446
Demie. (2005). Achievement of Black Caribbean pupils: Good practice in Lambeth
schools. British Educational Research Journal, 31(4), 481–508. https://doi.org/10.
1080/01411920500148705
Downey, D., & Pribesh, S. (2004). When race matters: Teachers’ evaluations of students’
classroom behavior. Sociology of Education, 77(4), 267–282. https://doi.org/10.1177/
00380407040770040
Du Bois, W. B. (1935). Does the Negro need separate schools? Journal of Negro Education,
328-335.
Eger, J. (2022, March 1). Legally recognizing fictive kin relationships: A call for action.
American Bar Association. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_interest/
child_law/resources/child_law_practiceonline/january-december2022/fictivekin/
Ehrenberg, R. G., Goldhaber, D. D., & Brewer, D. J. (1995). Do teachers’ race, gender, and
ethnicity matter? Evidence from NELS88. National Bureau of Economic Research.
86

Finefter-Rosenbluh. (2022). Between student voice-based assessment and teacher-student
relationships: Teachers’ responses to “techniques of power” in schools. British Journal of
Sociology of Education, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/
01425692.2022.2080043
Flores, O. J., & Gunzenhauser, M. G. (2018). Justice in the gaps: School leader dispositions and
the use of data to address the opportunity gap. Urban Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/
0042085918801431
Ford, J. (2016). The root of discipline disparities. Racial bias in schools. Educational
Leadership, 74(3), 42.
Fordham, S., & Ogbu, J. U. (1986). Black students' school success: Coping with the “burden of
‘acting white.’” The Urban Review, 18(3), 176–206.
Freire, P., Ramos, M., & Macedo, D. (2014). Pedagogy of the oppressed (13th anniversary ed.).
Bloomsbury.
Gay, G., & Howard, T. C. (2000). Multicultural teacher education for the 21st century. The
Teacher Educator, 36(1), 1–16.
Gershenson, S., Holt, S., & Papageorge, N. (2016). Who believes in me? The effect of student-
teacher demographic match on teacher expectations. Economics of Education Review, 52,
209–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2016.03.002
Gillborn, D., & Mirza, H. S. (2000). Educational inequality: Mapping race, class, and gender: A
synthesis of research evidence.
Gorgol, L. E., & Sponsler, B. A. (2011). Unlocking potential: Results of a national survey of
postsecondary education in state prisons. Institute for Higher Education Policy, 18.
87

Groenewald, T. (2004). A phenomenological research design illustrated. International Journal of
Qualitative Methods, 3(1), 42-55.
Gutman, L. M., & Midgley, C. (2000). The role of protective factors in supporting the academic
achievement of poor African American students during the middle school transition.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29(2), 223–249.
Hammond Z., & Jackson Y. (2014). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting
authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students.
Corwin.
Harper, S. R. (2007). Peer support for African American male college achievement: Beyond
internalized racism and the burden of “acting White.” The Journal of Men’s
Studies, 14(3), 337–358.
Harper, S. R., & Davis III, C. H. (2012). They (don't) care about education: A counternarrative
on Black male students' responses to inequitable schooling. Educational Foundations, 26,
103–120.
Harris, H., Goss, J., Hayes, J., & Gumbs, A. (2017). California’s prison population. Public Policy
Institute of California. https://www.ppic.org/publication/californias-changing-prison-
population
Heckman, J. (2011). The economics of inequality: The value of early childhood education.
American Educator, 35(1), 31–35
Heissel, J. A., Levy, D. J., & Adam, E. K. (2017). Stress, sleep, and performance on standardized
tests: Understudied pathways to the achievement gap. AERA Open, 3(3).
88

Howard, T. C. (2008). Who really cares? The disenfranchisement of African American males in
preK–12 schools: A critical race theory perspective. Teachers College Record, 110(5),
954–985.
Howard, T. C. (2013). How does it feel to be a problem? Black male students, schools, and
learning in enhancing the knowledge base to disrupt deficit frameworks. Review of
Research in Education, 37(1), 54–86. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732x12462985
Johnson-Ahorlu, R. (2012). The academic opportunity gap: How racism and stereotypes disrupt
the education of African American undergraduates. Race, Ethnicity, and Education,
15(5), 633–652. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2011.645566
Johnson, K. (2019). Chronic poverty: The implications of bullying, trauma, and the education of
the poverty-stricken population. European Journal of Educational Sciences (Special),
76–101.
Jones, R. K., & Luo, Y. (1999). The culture of poverty and African American culture: An
empirical assessment. Sociological Perspectives, 42(3), 439–458.
Kaur, H. (2020, January 24). African Americans are disproportionately more likely to experience
homelessness, a government report finds. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/24/us/
african-americans-hud-homelessness-report-trnd/index.html
Kena, G., Musu-Gillette, L., Robinson, J., Wang, X., Rathbun, A., Zhang, J., Sidney Wilkinson-
Flicker, Amy Barmer, Erin Dunlop Velez & Ballard, D. (2015). The condition of
education 2015. NCES 2015-144.
KFF. (2018). Number of deaths per 100,000. https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/death-
rate-by-raceethnicity/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22
Location%22,%22sort%22:%22asc%22%7D
89

Kleinfeld, J. (1972). The relative importance of teachers and parents in the formation of Negro
and white students’ academic self-concept. The Journal of Educational Research, 65(5),
211–212.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dream-keepers: Successful teachers of African American
children (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Ladson-Billings, G. (2006). From the achievement gap to the education debt: Understanding
achievement in U.S. schools. Educational Researcher, 35(7), 3–12.
Ladson-Billings, G., & Tate, W. F. (1995). Toward a critical race theory of education. Teachers’
College Record, 97(1), 47–68.
Lambert, D. (2018). California's persistent teacher shortage fueled by attrition high demand-say
newly released studies. EdSource. https://edsource.org/2018/californias-persistent-
teacher-shortage-fueled-by-attrition-high-demand-say-newly-released-studies/602654
Ledesma, M. C., & Calderón, D. (2015). Critical race theory in education: A review of past
literature and a look to the future. Qualitative Inquiry, 21(3), 206–222.
Levin, B. (2007). Schools, poverty, and the achievement gap. Phi Delta Kappa Magazine, 89(1),
75–76. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172170708900115
Lochner, L., & Moretti, E. (2004). The effect of education on crime: Evidence from prison
inmates, arrests, and self-reports. The American Economic Review, 94(1), 155–189.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3592774
Losen, D. (2005). The color of inadequate school resources: Challenging racial inequities that
contribute to low graduation rates and high risk for incarceration. Clearinghouse
Review, 38(9–10), 616.
90

Lynn, M., Bacon, J. N., Totten, T. L., Bridges, T. L., & Jennings, M. E. (2010). Examining
teachers’ beliefs about African American male students in a low-performing high school
in an African American school district. http://www.blackmaleinstitute.org/pdf/scholarly/
Marvin%20Lynn--Black%20male%20attitudes.pdf
Machin, S., Marie, O., & Vujic, S. (2012). Youth crime and education expansion. German
Economic Review (Oxford), 13(4), 366–384. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0475.
2012.00576.x
Madyun, N. I. H. (2011). Connecting Social Disorganization Theory to African American
Outcomes to Explain the Achievement Gap. Educational Foundations, 25, 21-35.
Malecki, C. K., & Demaray, M. K. (2006). Social support as a buffer in the relationship between
socioeconomic status and academic performance. School Psychology Quarterly, 21(4),
375–395.
McFarland, J., Hussar, B., De Brey, C., Snyder, T., Wang, X., Wilkinson-Flicker, S
Gebrekristos, S., Zhang, J., Rathbun, A., Barmer, A. and Bullock Mann, F., & Hinz, S.
(2017). The condition of education 2017. NCES 2017–144. National Center for
Education Statistics.
Merriam, S., & Tisdell, E. (2015). Qualitative Research: A guide to design and implementation
(4th ed.). Jossey-Bass.
Michigan Historical Reprint Series. (2006). Acts against the education of slaves South Carolina,
1740 and Virginia, 1819. In W. Goodell (Ed.), The American slave code in theory and
practice. American & Foreign Anti-Slavery Society.
https://www.learningforjustice.org/classroom-resources/texts/hard-history/the-american-
slave-code-in-theory-and-practice
91

Milner, R. H. (2008). Disrupting deficit notions of difference: Counter-narratives of teachers and
community in urban education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(6), 1573–1598.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2008.02.011
Milner, R. H. (2010). Start where you are, but don’t stay there: Understanding diversity,
opportunity gaps, and teaching in today’s classrooms. Harvard Education Press.
Morris, E., & Perry, B. (2016). The punishment gap: School suspension and racial disparities in
achievement. Social Problems, 63(1), 68–86. https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spv026
National Center for Education Statistics (2022, September 15). National Assessment for
Education Progress. National Center Cor Education Statistics.
https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/
Noguera, P. A. (2003). Schools, prisons, and social implications of punishment: Rethinking
disciplinary practices. Theory Into Practice, 42(4), 341+.
Noguera, P. A. (2008). Creating schools where race does not predict achievement: The role and
significance of race in the racial achievement gap. The Journal of Negro Education, 90–
103.
Orgera, K., & Artiga, S. (2018). Disparities in health and health care: Five key questions and
answers. Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.
Parker, E. (2014). Closing opportunity gaps: Meeting the unique needs of high-poverty schools.
Principal Leadership, 15(3).
Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and
practice. Sage Publications.
92

Peske, H. G., & Haycock, K. (2006). Teaching inequality: How poor and minority students are
shortchanged on teacher quality: A report and recommendations by the education
trust. Education Trust.
Phelan, P., Yu, H. C., & Davidson, A. L. (1994). Navigating the psychosocial pressures of
adolescence: The voices and experiences of high school youth. American Educational
Research Journal, 31(2), 415–447.
Polite, V. C. (1994). The method in the madness: African American males, avoidance schooling,
and chaos theory. The Journal of Negro Education, 63(4), 588–601.
Pringle, B., Lyons, J., & Booker, K. (2010). Perceptions of teacher expectations by African
American high school students. The Journal of Negro Education, 79(1), 33–40.
Rovai, A., Gallien, L., & Wighting, M. (2005). Cultural and interpersonal factors affecting
African American academic performance in higher education: A review and synthesis of
the research literature. Journal of Negro Education, 74(4), 359–370.
School to Prison Pipeline (2021. March 8). ACLU. https://www.aclu.org/issues/juvenile-justice/
school-prison-pipeline
Sentencing Project. (2019). State-by-state data. https://www.sentencingproject.org/the-facts/
#map.
Sherman, D. K., Hartson, K. A., Binning, K. R., Purdie-Vaughns, V., Garcia, J., Taborsky-Barba,
S., Tomassetti, S., Nussbaum, D. A., & Cohen, G. L. (2013). Deflecting the trajectory
and changing the narrative: How self-affirmation affects academic performance and
motivation under identity threat. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104(4),
591.
93

Smith, E., & Hattery, A. J. (2010). African American men and the prison industrial complex.
Western Journal of Black Studies, 34(4).
Smithsonian National Museum of American History. (2015). Separate is not equal: Brown v
Board of Education. https://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/
Solórzano, D. G. (1997). Images and words that wound: Critical race theory, racial stereotyping,
and teacher education. Teacher Education Quarterly, 5–19.
Stanford Center for Education and political Analysis. (2023). January 13th. Racial and ethnic
achievement gaps. Stanford Center for Education and Political Analysis.
https://cepa.stanford.edu/educational-opportunity-monitoring-project/achievement-
gaps/race/
Taie, S., & Goldring, R. (2020). Characteristics of public and private elementary and secondary
school teachers in the United States: Results from the 2017–18 National Teacher and
Principal Survey. First Look. NCES 2020–142. National Center for Education Statistics.
Tichavakunda, A. A. (2019). An overdue theoretical discourse: Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of
practice and critical race theory in education. Educational Studies, 55(6), 651–666.
Tyler, J. H., & Kling, J. R. (2006). Prison-based education and re-entry into the mainstream labor
market. https://www.nber.org/papers/w12114
United States Census Bureau. (2019, July 1). Quick facts.
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/ US/PST045219
Welch, A. L. (2013). The effect of poverty on the achievement of urban African American male
students successfully completing high school.
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork/3492/
94

Whitfield, C. T. (2019). Only two percent of teachers are Black men, yet research confirms they
matter. https://andscape.com/features/only-two-percent-of-teachers-are-black-men-yet-
research-confirms-they-matter/
Whitney III, J. H. (2016). Fictive kin as capital: A case study on African American youth
aspirations for college. Rutgers School of Graduate Studies.
Wilson, D., Foster, J., Anderson, S., & Mance, G. (2009). Racial socialization's moderating
effect between poverty stress and psychological symptoms for African American
youth. Journal of Black Psychology, 35(1), 102–124.
Yuksel, P., & Yildirim, S. (2015). Theoretical frameworks, methods, and procedures for
conducting phenomenological studies in educational settings. Turkish Online Journal of
Qualitative Inquiry, 6, 1–20.
Yosso, T. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community
cultural wealth. Race, Ethnicity, and Education, 8(1), 69–91.

95

Appendix A: Interview Protocol
Thank you for taking time out to help with this research. I am investigating the nature of
relationships between teachers and African American male students. I will be asking you a series
of questions on your work with Black boys in your class past or present, and how you leveraged
your relationship with them. I am interested in both high performing and academically
challenged students, so if you want to take a few seconds to think about which students you may
want to use as your model.
Also keep in mind when I use the term successful, I am asking in regard to you, not
student outputs, in other words were you able to deliver the content to your satisfaction.
Ok, you ready?
Good afternoon, I would like to start by asking.
1. What grade level do you teach?
2. Racially how do you identify?
3. Do you feel that your race plays a part in your identity as an educator?
4. What terms would you use to describe a successful teacher?
5. Looking back on your work with Black Boys, would you consider yourself
successful? Why, or why not?
6. Do you feel that you teach differently to your Black students, why or why not?
7. How do you perceive your relationship with your Black male students?
8. Do you consider yourself a member of the community in which you work? Why or
why not?
9. Is there a difference in your relationships between Black boys and Black girls?
96

10. Do you have the same types of relationships with your non-Black students, as you do
with your Black students?
11. How do your student relationships affect classroom learning?
12. Statistics show that Academically Black students are the lowest performing
demographic of students. Why do you think that is?
13. Recently the Nation has been rocked with the George Floyd police brutality exposure,
has this influenced or changed your thinking in regard to educating young Black
men?
14. Regarding your instruction what is the difference in working with high performing
Black male students and low performing?
The camaraderie between Black people nationwide has been given the term fictive
kinship, described as shared set of experiences between Black people in response to the
oppressive behavior of Whites.
15. Do you feel an inherent bond with your Black students that may be different from
your non-Black students?
16. How would you describe that bond?
I propose in my paper that teachers are a part of the community they serve, and as part of
the community they take on roles outside of just a teacher.
17. Have you ever found yourself in a position where you took on a role outside of being
just a teacher, for any of your students?
18. What role do you feel your race plays in educating Black male students?
19. What role do you feel your race plays in communicating with your Black students’
families?
97

20. How do you feel your racial identity manifests itself when working with Black
students?
21. What is the nature of your relationships with you AA male students? What are your
perceptions of working with AA male students?
22. What are your perceptions of working with AA male students to narrow performance
gaps?
23. How do you leverage your relationships with AA students towards academic success?
24. Comparing your high achieving Black students to your low achieving, how do you
define success?
25. What strategies do you use to motivate your non-Black students?
26. What strategies do you use to motivate your Black students?
27. How do you feel your Black students respond to your classroom/academic
expectations
28. Is any latitude given towards Black students in relation to expectations?
Black students are most likely to receive harsher punishments and more suspensions
when compared to non-Black students.
29. How would you describe your classroom culture in working with Black students?
30. Do you feel that you have more than the average number of discipline issues, the
average or above the average number of discipline issues with your Black students?
Why?
31. What is your approach regarding handling discipline issues with students?
32. How does this approach differ for Black students?
98

33. How does your academic experience as a student influence your teaching style for
Black students?

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The education inequities surrounding African American students is well documented, some of the most brilliant thinkers of the past century have dedicated time and resources to present solutions, theories and other ideas to help address this issue. Previously, called the achievement gap modern day researchers have now coined the term "opportunity gap". This new language highlights the historical and systemic issues which plague the education of Black students. Lack of funding, lack of qualified teachers, lack of educational resources including school nurses and psychologists and racism, are all issues which compound to create schools and districts that not only fail to prepare Black students for future productive lives, they actively contribute to the "school to prison pipeline".
There are countless educators who despite the obstacles placed before them achieve success in working with Black male students. This research highlights the tips and strategies used by those educators to increase academic success and provide opportunities for their students. Educators in this study, placed high premiums on establishing positive relationships with students as well as listening to how their students defined success and helping them to reach those goals. Teachers listed empathy and compassion as key elements in understanding work completion and providing students with alternative means for assessment. Kinship was also one of the key strategies highlighted, by establishing a familial bond educators were able to leverage their relationships to achieve positive academic outcomes.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

Increasing representation of Black male hip-hop educators in the community colleges in California

PDF

A pathway to success: experiences of first-generation minority students in academic jeopardy

PDF

Addressing the education debt: how community college educators utilize culturally relevant pedagogy to support Black and Latinx student success

PDF

Problems and solutions for school counselors supporting Black and Latinx students in the 21st century

PDF

The importance of Black and Latino teachers in BIPOC student achievement and the importance of continuous teacher professional development for BIPOC student achievement

PDF

College academic readiness and English placement

PDF

The audacity to teach: creating access to rigor for African American and Latino high school students

PDF

The impact of programs, practices, and strategies on student academic performance: a case study

PDF

Why I can't see myself in school? Hiring and retaining ethnically diverse leadership in public schools

PDF

The barriers and facilitators of academic success for Black male students at a community college: a gap analysis

PDF

CalWORKs’ role in increasing success among immigrant students

PDF

Cultivating motivation and persistence for urban, high achieving, low-SES African American students

PDF

Monolingual and biliterate approaches to English literacy and language acquisition in U.S. public schools

PDF

Cultural competency for academic counselors in the California community college systems to increase African-American male students' success: a gap analysis

PDF

Examining how teacher pre-service/credential programs prepare teachers to teach BIPOC students

PDF

Examining the relationship between Latinx community college STEM students’ self-efficacy, social capital, academic engagement and their academic success

PDF

The handoff: the influence of higher education institutional collaboration to support traditional first-time full-time Black male transfer student success

PDF

School-to-prison pipeline: an all-out assault on Black males in U.S. K-12 public schools

PDF

Underrepresented and underserved: barriers to academic success for students of color in higher education

PDF

Leadership strategies employed by K-12 urban superintendents to improve the academic achievement of English language learners

Asset Metadata

Creator Rutledge, Damon (author)

Core Title Leveraging relationships with Black male students to increase academic success

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Degree Conferral Date 2023-05

Publication Date 06/07/2023

Defense Date 05/07/2023

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

Tag academic success,Black males,OAI-PMH Harvest,opportunity gap,school to prison pipeline,strategies for success

Format theses (aat)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Polikoff, Morgan (committee chair), Cash, David (committee member), Noguera, Pedro (committee member)

Creator Email damonrutledge@gmail.com,drutledg@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC113169224

Unique identifier UC113169224

Identifier etd-RutledgeDa-11935.pdf (filename)

Legacy Identifier etd-RutledgeDa-11935

Document Type Dissertation

Format theses (aat)

Rights Rutledge, Damon

Internet Media Type application/pdf

Type texts

Source 20230609-usctheses-batch-1053 (batch), 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 author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright.

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

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu