African American Males and Education

CITATION: Stinson, D. W. (2004). African American male students and achievement in school mathematics: A critical postmodern analysis of agency (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses: A & I. (ATT 3194548).

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to shed light on the schooling experiences of African American male students who embraced school, academics, and mathematics. In particular, the study examined the influence of sociocultural discourses on the agency of 4 African American men in their early 20s who demonstrated achievement and persistence in school mathematics. Agency in this context was defined as the participants’ ability to accommodate, resist, or reconfigure the available sociocultural discourses that surround African American males in order for them to effectively negotiate these discourses in their pursuit of success.

The study used qualitative action research methodology (Kemmis & Wilkinson, 1998) located within a critical postmodern theoretical frame (Kincheloe & McLaren, 1994). More specifically, the participants of the study were asked to read, reflect on, and respond to current research literature regarding the schooling experiences of African American male students. Their responses were analyzed using an eclectic theoretical framework that included poststructural theory, critical race theory, and critical (postmodern) theory. Poststructural theory provided a frame for rethinking and redefining key concepts such as person, agency, and power, among others. Critical race theory provided a frame for understanding how the discourse of race and racism operates within U.S. social structures. And critical (postmodern) theory provided a frame for discussing the purposes of education research.

The reporting and analysis of the data revealed that the participants had acquired robust mathematics identities (Martin, 2000), identities that positively impacted their sense of agency. How the participants acquired such uncharacteristic mathematics identities for African American male students was to be found, in part, in how they understood the sociocultural structures and discourses of U.S. society and how they accommodated, resisted, or reconfigured the specific discourses that surround African American males. Although at times the responses from the participants were similar, their responses were never monolithic—not across participants, and not even within participants. Present throughout the responses from each participant, however, was recognition of himself as a discursive formation (Foucault, 1969/1972) who could actively accommodate, resist, or reconfigure sociocultural discourses as a means to subversively repeat (Butler, 1990) his constituted “raced” self.

It is sometimes argued that the non-therapeutic, non-consensual alteration of children’s genitals should be discussed in two separate ethical discourses: one for girls (in which such alterations should be termed ‘female genital mutilation’ or FGM), and one for boys (in which such alterations should be termed ‘male circumcision’). In this article, I call into question the moral and empirical basis for such a distinction, and argue that all children—whether female, male, or intersex—should be free from having parts of their genitals removed unless there is a pressing medical indication.

This study explores the experiences of urban African American males at a first year singlegender charter school in the Southern region of the United States. The present case study was based on interviews and focus groups with parents, teachers, students, and the school administrator, and a participant observation of Excel Academy [pseudonym]. The findings of this study suggest that there were four critical instructional complexities that emerged: expectations dissonance, disguised engagement, differential engagement, and expectations overload. Remarkably, these issues were being addressed by a school value created by students and institutionalized by teachers--To Never Quit. Recommendations to address each instructional complexity are explored.

Convocation Address at Bethel University, August 29, 2016 about recent troubles in Minnesota, particularly the shooting of Philando Castille, and our responsibility as followers of the Gospel. There is an audio link also available. After you click the link, it's the first one in the queue; fast-forward to 15:00:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/2016-2017-chapel-college-arts/id1148681753?mt=10

The mission and goal of Africana Studies is the development of cultural grounding, academic excellence, and social responsibility. Building the Basics: A Handbook for Developing Academic Excellence in Africana Studies focuses on the goal of developing students academically. Throughout students’ academic career, they will take a variety of courses and learn the course content. Many students enter higher education at different levels of preparation. Regardless of content or preparation, students should always build and develop the basics.

Building the Basics provides students with strategies, tips, and approaches to maximize learning. The handbook discusses the basics of working at home, critical thinking and questioning, skilled and critical reading, scholarly writing, working collaboratively in groups, and studying for quizzes and examines. Each chapter begins with guiding questions and key terms to prime students for what is to come in the chapter. In addition, each chapter concludes with activities for students. Building the Basics offers pragmatic strategies and approaches to master the fundamentals every student needs to enhance student learning in pursuit of academic excellence. 

https://he.kendallhunt.com/product/building-basics-handbook-pursuing-academic-excellence-africana-studies

What is at stake, here, is the quest for equilibrium versus disequilibrium in a society that marginalizes human beings into substandard racial groups. Identifying and counteracting the biopsychosocial and behavioral consequences of actual or perceived racism, gendered racism, and racial battle fatigue is a premier challenge of the twenty-first century. The term “racial microaggressions” was introduced in the 1970s to help psychiatrists and psychologists understand the enormity and complications of the subtle but constant racial blows faced by African Americans. Today, racial microaggressions continue to contribute to the negative experiences of African American boys and men in schools, at work, and in society. This chapter will focus on the definition, identification, and long-term effects of racial microaggressions and the resultant racial battle fatigue in anti-black misandric environments.

Diagnosable mental illnesses and related behavioral problems have risen dramatically among adolescent African-American males in recent years. African-American males in contemporary American society face major challenges to their psychological development and well-being. In addition to dealing with the physical, mental and emotional issues typically experienced during adolescence, adolescent African-American males are confronted with unique social and environmental stressors.

The most compelling reason to change college admission procedures is the profound effect it has on society. It has recently come to my attention that not enough people understand how great the most compelling reason to change college admission procedures, is the effect it has on our society and then to our lives. The long-term effect of the social & cultural factors, economic factors dealing with the relationship between admissions tests, and the political side.

Commentators have suggested that Nella Larsen’s Passing rejects the view that there is some sort of black essence. I want to challenge this reading. Since Irene is the most vocal advocate of an essence in respect to which all blacks are homogeneous, much of the evidence for thinking that Passing is skeptical about such an essence amounts to evidence for not trusting Irene’s judgment in general, and for not trusting her judgment on this matter in particular. My arguments, then, will often involve explaining why Passing is not leading the reader to mistrust Irene’s judgment on this matter. Now, what exactly is meant by a black essence is, explicitly in this book, mysterious. Nevertheless, I hope to shed some light on how Passing understands the nature of this something, this je ne sais quoi, peculiar to blacks. My tentative interpretation is that this something is an intangible and indefinite manner of being that is neither a conscious choice nor an inborn fact of biology, but rather a given of culture. I take this, in effect, blackness manner to be, so Passing seems to indicate, a function of one’s belief that one is black in a milieu of pervasive anti-black prejudice. Passing, as I see it, thus has something to offer those of us today who struggle to adjudicate between a pull towards essentialism and a pull towards constructionism. What Passing emphasizes in this discussion is the possibility that, in addition to biological and societal influences, one’s mind state is a crucial ingredient to one’s racial identity.

Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: The primary purpose of this study is to examine the research and literature on African American male enrollment, experiences, and degree completion trends at four-year HBCUs. The secondary goal is to recenter the gendered dialogue that occurs within HBCU undergraduate student research, such that barriers specific to African American men are identified and examined, with the expectation of better promoting their postsecondary success.

Research Design: Analytic essay, cross-sectional data analysis.

Data Collection and Analysis: First, we conducted a review of historical and contemporary literature to identify the role and contribution of four-year HBCUs on African American males over time. In addition, we employed a secondary data analysis of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System to identify six-year graduation rates for one cohort of African American male and female student at HBCUs.

Findings/Results: Critical analysis of historical data from the mid-19th to early 21st century indicates that African American males have indeed been neglected in research on undergraduate enrollment, experiences, and degree completion at four-year HBCUs. African American males face a number of issues that are not absolved on matriculation to HBCUs merely because their environments are predominantly Black. Our analysis suggests that in general, the nurturing and supportive environment on HBCU campuses, when harnessed by African American male (and female) students, can promote postsecondary matriculation and success.

Conclusions/Recommendations: HBCUs have undoubtedly afforded African American males a route by which to gain access to postsecondary education. However, the lack of attention toward their struggles has served to silence their gendered experience and perpetuate a lack of accountability for African American male underachievement within the higher education establishment. Future gendered analyses of HBCU undergraduates ought to address both the male and female experience on these campuses using a variety of appropriate methodological approaches.

Abstrac t— The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to understand how Black male doctoral degree recipients’ make sense of their professional identity. Three major research questions guided our analysis: (a) How do Black male doctoral degree recipients define their professional identity? (b) What factors do Black male doctoral recipients attribute to the development of their professional identity? (c) What is the role of race in the development of Black male doctoral degree recipients’ professional identity? Three major themes were identified. Implications for research, theory, policy and several campus constituencies, including graduate faculty and mentors/advisors are noted. Key Terms— Black Men, Higher Education, Professional Identity

CITATION: Stinson, D. W. (2006). African American male adolescents, schooling (and mathematics): Deficiency, rejection, and achievement. Review of Educational Research, 76(4), 477–506.

ABSTRACT: The academic achievement gap, particularly the mathematics achievement gap, between Black students and their White counterparts has been well documented with numerical facts. As mathematics education researchers attempt to develop theories and practices that assist in eradicating the gap, they would serve mathematics education well if they would expand the sphere of their research into the sociocultural arena. To assist in expanding the sphere, this article presents a review of key historical and current theoretical perspectives regarding the schooling experiences of African American students, with an emphasis on African American male students, borrowed from the disciplines of anthropology, social psychology, and sociology. The review is organized around three discourse clusters: the discourse of deficiency, the discourse of rejection, and the discourse of achievement. The author suggests that researchers move away from the discourses of deficiency and rejection and toward the discourse of achievement when developing sound education theories and classroom practices that assist in eradicating the academic (and mathematics) achievement gap.

In regard to male and female learning styles, there are two main streams of thought, biological and cultural (Ransaw, 2013). The biological stream reports that brains of males and females are just wired dfferently (Cleveland, 2011). To that point, a research paper from the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda,
Maryland, asserts that girls are developmentally ahead of boys by at least two years in the early stages. However, the same paper asserts that boys begin to surpass girls by the age of fourteen (Sax, 2006). The point is that boys and girls mature differently, and therefore behave differently, which in turn plays an important role in their learning styles and preferences.

As an outreach tool, The Boys of Baraka can spark discussions about the role of private educational foundations and educational reform. It can also help people confront the reality of American children who are lost to their families and communities because their childhood is erased by poverty, drugs, crime, absent parents, unstable homes, or violence. Finally, the film can inspire. Through their courage to change, the boys and their families provide hope for a better future.

FILM SYNOPSIS: The Boys of Baraka follows four boys from Baltimore to rural Kenya, where a teacher-student ratio of one to five, a strict disciplinary program and a comprehensive curriculum form the core of an extraordinary journey in their transformation to men.

*Served as one of the guide producers.

While many initiatives have emerged to increase the presence of Black males in schools, there is still little known about our experiences. Through the use of autoethnographic vignettes and counterstorytelling, I highlight the successes and challenges Black male educators may face during the hiring process as well as in the classroom. While this account cannot be generalized for all Black male educators, this study emphasizes the important role they play in the lives of their students. I conclude the article with an argument for the use of counterstorytelling in research as a transformative and therapeutic method for Black male educators and scholars to analyze their experiences and challenge
deficit narratives.

Building relationships between teachers, school administrators, parents, and students is an ongoing process, and the core component of such relationships is teaching and learning. There is much to learn about developing supportive relationships that encourage today’s diverse students and their parents in the U.S. However, there is an ongoing argument that few schools adequately equip preservice and in-service teachers with the necessary tools to prepare students to function in today’s literate and global societies. For instance, some teachers mirror the dominant culture, which often follows a White savior mentality of seeking to “save” students who are considered less fortunate, or they subscribe to a deficit view model that perceives stereotypical biases and creates low expectations of students of color. In this article, we introduce the term “teaching in a culture of love” to debunk these models and instead seek to value diverse students and families’ lives both within and outside school communities. Situated in Yosso’s community cultural wealth framework, this work brings an awareness of the cultural capital that Black and Brown students already employ to leverage and improve their experiences in schools around the use of technology and literacy. This article combines community cultural wealth with recommendations for educators concerning (a) culturally appropriate pedagogical practices, (b) diverse and global literature for student development and engagement, and (c) digital literacy practices that create cultural relationships for 21st century learners.

This qualitative phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of 22 male assistant professors of color as they navigated the tenure-track while working in various disciplines at four-year institutions nationwide. The notion of intersectionality provided a theoretical framework to unearth how participants’ experiences were shaped. The guiding questions for the study included: 1) How do male tenure-track assistant professors of color describe their experiences in navigating academia? (2) How does intersectionality theory assist with better understanding their experiences? Findings revealed overarching themes related to how they negotiated and struggled with their various work and personal roles and responsibilities, understandings of their unique experiences within academia, and how they recreated their perceptions of self and how others viewed them given their personal and professional roles and multiple social identities. Findings reiterate that the experiences of male faculty of color cannot be unraveled from their intersecting social identities, nor from the contexts in which they live and work. Supportive environments that allowed for fluid understandings of what male faculty of color can and should be doing were appreciated and seen in varying instances, although less common.

For this essay, I have taken it upon myself to read the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, and will examine the traumatic situations in which he both witnessed and experienced first-hand as a slave in America and how it still affects our country today. I will also explain why I believe this piece of literature is important for people of all ethnic backgrounds to read and why it should be included in grade school curriculum.

Most sociological research on racial discrimination has had an “inter-racial” focus. That is, researchers have been principally concerned with the disparate treatment that people of color receive relative to Whites in different social contexts. However, recent theoretical work emerging from legal studies sug- gests that an alternative conception of “intra-racial” discrimination exists that extends beyond colorism. This theory of intra-racial discrimination stipulates that many organizations in the “post-racial” era desire some measure of racial diversity. Yet, in their efforts to achieve this racial diversity they screen people of color based on their degree of racial salience. Whether a given person of color is hired, promoted, or in the case of college admissions, accepted, is a function of whether or not Whites within the organization consider them racially palatable, or not overly concerned with race. This creates an incentive for people of color to work their identity to allay any concerns among Whites that they may be too racially salient. In this paper I critically review this work and attempt to further buttress its claims by highlighting how this process has clear historical precedent. I conclude by showing how the audit method can be used to empirically examine this practice contemporarily.

Urban public universities play a critical role in the higher education enterprise. In this article, Strayhorn draws on Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and semi-structured interview data to provide a national portrait comparing predominantly White and historically Black public universities, as well as identifying factors that influence the persistence and success of Black men in urban public universities. Findings suggest the importance of background traits, academic readiness, and the ways that urban public universities provide access, support systems, and close connections with communities for students and society. Implications for practice, policy, and research are included. College access has increased dramatically over the past few decades. Access has opened for women and historically underrepresented racial/ethnic minorities (URMs) across the higher education enterprise, but participation rates

Psychology has many applications including psychological testing. In this paper, an attempt is made to identify the types of tests used in Ghana and discuss the problems associated with the current state of psychological testing in Ghana. It was concluded that the current state of psychological testing has been too Eurocentric and Westernized. As a result, it limits the applicability and usefulness of the tests in the Ghanaian setting. After this critical evaluation, suggestions were then made for the improving psychological testing in terms of construction of Ghana-centric tests and validation of imported tests. Though this paper focuses on Ghana, it is expected that the discussions and recommendations would equally be relevant for other non-European and non-American populations of world.

Considering the promise with which NCLB came to prominence as a panacea to improve education as systemic reform, it is an important exercise to contextualize the impact of the reform on urban education over the past decade. We then use postcolonial theory to conceptualize why NCLB failed to close the achievement gaps in urban schools due to its hegemonic approach to educational policy. Approaches to reform that find their origins in postcolonial educational apparatuses were never meant to serve vanquished, marginalized populations, rather only to exploit them. As alternative to NCLB for urban education, we then revisit structural issues that have been largely ignored during the NCLB era and also pose a new community-based direction for accountability that is counterhegemonic.

(We believe this is the first place in print where the idea for community-based, multiple-measure local accountability was discussed— which became the LCAPs in California)

ABSTRACT

The lived experience of African American male educators is the topic of this qualitative phenomenological study.  The intent of the research was to address and identify themes that inform and influence dialogue about this under represented population of educators. The researcher examined the lived experiences of 7 educators who were African American and male, taught at least 3 years in urban and suburban K-12 Metro-Denver schools, and how these educators used counter storytelling to share their professional lived experiences as black male teachers. Each participant was individually interviewed by the researcher. The researcher synthesized participant interviews based on commonalities found in each educators responses using qualitative research strategies; like clustering and triangulation. Themes generated from the research revealed sub themes for potential recruitment and retention opportunities for this population of educators. The researcher concluded that these men were able to establish unique relationships with their students based on having shared lived experiences, and used counter stories to debunk myths and stereotypes about African American men, and encouraged their students in a trusting authentic manner.

This research aims to contribute to understanding what criminalization for boys of color looks like in urban elementary school settings and offering insights into what we must do to disrupt criminalization in urban schools. Using multiple sources of data from four elementary schools across a two-year period, we found that boys of color in the study were subjected to criminalization as part of their daily educational experiences. Their bodies and behaviors were hyper-policed, disparately punished, and routinely labeled with criminalizing terms. Further, we found masternarratives framing boys of color as disrespectful and habitually truant to be ambiguous and empirically false.

An eery silence on this subject has fallen. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people .-Ephesians 5:3 1 Corinthians 6:18 ESV Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Hebrews 13:4 ESV Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 ESV For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do know God; Matthew 5:28 ESV But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Ephesians 5:3 ESV But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Galatians 5:19 ESV Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV The intention of the writers seems to be to discourage human sexual activity.

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were created to provide educational opportunities for African Americans when other higher education venues restricted their participation. HBCUs are credited with nurturing and producing leaders who embraced W. E. B. Du Bois's concept of the "Talented Tenth," and exhibiting fortitude in advancing social equality for all. Over the years, as legalized segregation was overturned and efforts were made to expand opportunities for African Americans, some have questioned the continuing
need for HBCUs. A study of 11 African American men attending a public, urban HBCU, indicated that the university's rich supply of social capital (a direct consequence of its mission and history) makes it a unique fixture in the landscape of higher education, one whose special features have not been replicated by historically White institutions.

European existentialism and Hindu Gandhiianism were originally interlaced throughout the basic ideologies of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). I am interested in how the rise of 1960's Existentialism in Western Europe, and particularly how this ideology, contributed to the ideas of SNCC in becoming a mobilized organization. Furthermore, I am interested in the rather surprising coincidence of how this organization eventually dissolved within only six years of its inception. Moreover, how the dissolving of this movement is directly proportionate to the intrinsic nature of Existentialism itself. I will discuss at length a critical analysis of Sartrian thought that encompasses specific philosophic rationale, and how this rationale could have only comparatively attributed to a collapse within this radical social movement. We will see an eventual breakdown of the initial foundational ideology within SNCC, and see how important it is to stay on track with these basic values. It becomes evident that the shifting away from those core values sends the organization into a tailspin by the end the 1966. We will see how existentialism maybe an enticing ideological plane for one to adhere, but when one is trying to put into action principles of metaphysics in the real world, there is a definite chance of failure within the misconception of ideological perception.

Legal outcomes often depend on the adjudication of what may appear to be straightforward distinctions. In this article, we consider two such distinctions that appear in medical and family law deliberations: the distinction between religion and culture, and between therapeutic and non-therapeutic. These distinctions can impact what constitutes ‘reasonable parenting’ or a child’s ‘best interests’ and thus the limitations that may be placed on parental actions. Such distinctions are often imagined to be asocial facts, there for the judge to discover. We challenge this view, however, by examining the controversial case of B and G [2015]. In this case, Sir James Munby stated that the cutting of both male and female children’s genitals for non-therapeutic reasons constituted ‘significant harm’ for the purposes of the Children Act 1989. He went on to conclude, however, that while it can never be reasonable parenting to inflict any form of non-therapeutic genital cutting on a female child, such cutting on male children was currently tolerated. We argue that the distinctions between religion/culture and therapeutic/non- therapeutic upon which Munby LJ relied in making this judgment cannot in fact ground categorically differential legal treatment of female and male children. We analyse these distinctions from a systems theoretical perspective - specifically with reference to local paradoxes - to call into question the current legal position. Our analysis suggests that conventional distinctions drawn between religion/culture and the therapeutic/non-therapeutic in other legal contexts require much greater scrutiny than they are usually afforded.

The goal of this qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of high
school age Black males (N = 22) regarding factors that influence or deter their consideration of becoming teachers. Participants were enrolled in a yearlong, precollegiate course designed to introduce high school students to the teaching profession. Qualitative analysis of students’ interviews revealed that negative school experiences, including low expectations, racial stereotypes, and microaggressions, deterred consideration of becoming a teacher. Positive interactions with encouraging teachers and the opportunity to have direct teaching experience in the community helped students see themselves as potential future teachers. Implications for practice are discussed.

Background: Worldwide male circumcision is undertaken for religious, cultural, social and medical reasons (Collins, 2013). The World Health Organization estimates that, worldwide, about 30% of men aged 15 and over have been circumcised. In 2008 the government of Kenya introduced a policy document which wanted circumcision to be promoted and delivered to male of all ages in a manner that is culturally sensitive to minimize stigma that may be associated with an uncircumcised person (KAIS, 2009) and therefore the VMMC initiative.

Purpose of the study: The study was purposely conducted among the youth in South Teso due to the fact that Tesos did not traditionally circumcise their males. Therefore, the study focused on exploring what affects the uptake of the VMMC services in South Teso district.

Methodology: A cross sectional quantitative explorative study design was employed. This study design combined both quantitative and qualitative enquiries. The study was conducted in South Teso district. South Teso district is in the heart of Teso South constituency in the larger Busia County, Western province, Kenya with the target population of this study was the inhabitants of South Teso district.

Results: The general findings of the research indicated the proportion of males in South Teso who are circumcised stand at 59.9% while the uncircumcised were 41.1%.

Conclusion: This indicated that the un-circumcision level in South Teso is still high due to several factors such as Socio-cultural factor, Knowledge, Attitude, Cost and Religion.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the effects of different suspension methods on the interface stress inside the prosthetic sockets of transtibial amputees when negotiating ramps and stairs. DESIGN: Three transtibial prostheses, with a pin/lock system, a Seal-In system, and a magnetic suspension system, were created for the participants in a prospective study. Interface stress was measured as the peak pressure by using the F-socket transducers during stairs and ramp negotiation. RESULTS: Twelve individuals with transtibial amputation managed to complete the experiments. During the stair ascent and descent, the greatest peak pressure was observed in the prosthesis with the Seal-In system. The magnetic prosthetic suspension system caused significantly different peak pressure at the anterior proximal region compared with the pin/lock (P = 0.022) and Seal-In (P = 0.001) during the stair ascent. It was also observed during the stair descent and ramp negotiation. CONCLUSIONS: The prostheses exhibited varying pressure profiles during the stair and ramp ascent. The prostheses with the pin/lock and magnetic suspension systems exhibited lower peak pressures compared with the Seal-In system. The intrasystem pressure distribution at the anterior and posterior regions of the residual limb was fairly homogenous during the stair and ramp ascent and descent. Nevertheless, the intrasystem pressure mapping revealed a significant difference among the suspension types, particularly at the anterior and posterior sensor sites.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24919079 
http://journals.lww.com/ajpmr/Abstract/2015/01000/Interface_Stress_in_Socket_Residual_Limb_with.1.aspx

Using the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002
(ELS: 2002), this study investigates predictors of Black male students’
educational attainment and bachelor’s degree completion. Regression
results showed that above and beyond the effect from socioeconomic
status (SES), students’ expectations and math teachers’ expectations
were statistically significant in predicting Black male students’ educational attainment, and students’ expectations was the only significant
predictor of bachelor’s degree completion. Independent sample t-tests
also found significant differences between Black male students who
completed their bachelor’s degree and those who did not with regard to
their expectations of academic achievement, teacher-student relationships,
parental involvement and expectations, and influence of friends.
Implications for K–12 and higher education are discussed.

Media spectacle has become one of the important ways countries, culture, and commerce is expressed in the global marketplace. Media spectacle is a combination of power and capital and in its final form produces ideology. The U.S. is the global leader in the production and distribution of media, accounting for one-third of more than $30 billion annually in worldwide film distribution alone. These U.S. media representations can be distinctive in their racial dialogue and International college students with little exposure to the U.S. outside of its depiction in media arrive here with racial perceptions that may be detrimental to campus climate. Supported by two qualitative studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, this paper interrogates how media representations have implications for cross-cultural interactions, and how campus climate and diversity initiatives may suffer. We identify ways U.S. colleges and universities are addressing campus climate issues that cause racial discomfort, and how those efforts may not be enough. Finally, we call for an increase in required diversity training that cuts across all curricula and addresses the need for greater tolerance of race, gender, age, country of origin, and sexual orientation.

In this article, we show that the retention and graduation rate of Black male students at institutions of higher education is dismal when compared to other groups. Approximately, 30% of Black college males who enroll in a four-year institution earn a college degree compared to 57% of White male students (Bohrnstedt et al., 2015). Black men find it difficult to persist and complete a college degree, and reasons behind it should be explored. The purpose of this study is to explore student and administrator perceptions of retention strategies for Black male students attending a Predominantly White Institution (PWI).

This blog post explores the history of Storer College, from its humble beginnings as a primary school founded in 1865 by the Reverend Nathan Cook Brackett to educate the children of former slaves, to its development as a fully fledged college granting degrees to African American men and women, Storer College became the first institution of higher learning for African-Americans in the State.  Located in Harper’s Ferry near the site of John Brown’s 1859 attack on the Federal Armory, Storer College represented the freedom Civil War African-Americans hoped to achieve.