Pedagogies of experience: a case of the African American male teacher

Numerous scholars have illustrated how African American teachers’ past experiences provide them a philosophical vision committed to teaching for social and educational change for African American students. This article draws from this body of work by looking at the diverse ways five African American male teachers used their past experiences to shape their vision for working with African American male students. However, this article also extends this body of work by illustrating that while the teachers in this study had similar commitments to working with African American males, their varied life experiences and social locations provided them different sources of practical and philosophical knowledge. These findings illustrate the diversity of experiences these teachers drew from, thus troubling the common sense discourses that essentialize African American male teachers as one-dimensional monolithic role models.     

The more things change,the more they stay the same: African American English,language policy,and African American learners

Abstract

Despite the substantive body of research on African American Language (AAL), designating it a meaningful, rule-governed language system and the first language of many African Americans, schools in the US have systematically failed to integrate a language policy related to African American English learners (AAELs). In this article, we employ a critical discourse and policy analysis to examine two major policies related to AAL and AAELs – the Martin Luther King Junior Elementary School Children et al. v. Ann Arbor School District, a federal district case in Michigan known as the Ann Arbor Decision, and the Ebonics Resolution adopted by the Oakland California Board of the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). Our analysis reveals three themes across these texts – they affirm AAL as a ‘home and community language’ in its own right, mandate teachers to take ‘appropriate action’ in teaching AAL speakers, and dispel notions that AAL stems from cultural, social, and economic deprivation.     

Loud and Clear: The Importance of Telling the Stories of African American Male Preservice Teachers

ABSTRACT

The shortage of African American male teachers has been a consistent issue in education. However, there is still much to learn about the experiences and perspectives of African American men on the teaching pathway. By placing a spotlight on the complex positioning of African American men in education, this essay expounds on the importance of capturing the stories of African American males enrolled in teacher education programs.     

身份建构中的双重话语——谈美国黑人女作家的创作思想和作品主题

美国黑人女作家的创作思想和作品主题突出反映了黑人女性积极建构种族文化身份以及女性身份的愿望,揭示了黑人女性所受的双重苦难———种族压迫和性别歧视。黑人女小说家的创作思想集中表现在她们的作品之中,反映了黑人女性在白人为主导和男权统治的社会环境中积极建构种族身份、寻找自我的经历。这些小说家们的努力不仅促进了黑人女性意识的发展,也推动了美国文学的进步。     

母亲：黑人民族的脊梁——评析美国黑人诗歌对母亲形象的称颂

在美国黑人历史上,母亲是维系整个民族发展的脊梁,但她们的社会地位却未受到应有的认同和尊重。诗歌是黑人表达心声的重要艺术手段,诗人们在作品中赞美了黑人母亲的伟大。通过解读黑人诗歌对母亲形象的描绘,文章着重评析作品对黑人母亲多维动态身份的解构和称颂。     

“Doing the Best We Could”: African American Teachers’ Counterstory on School Desegregation

National narratives on the movement to desegregate Southern schools, as construed by dominant cultural forces, focus on school desegregation from the vantage point of dominant culture; portraying school desegregation as a singular and inevitable event emanating from jurisprudence and principles of democracy, with little attention to the complexities of those most impacted. This article argues the importance of including counterstory to such narratives, specifically highlighting the narratives of African American teachers. Using qualitative methods, the study this article demonstrates how African American teachers’ personal narratives of school desegregation provide a window into the complexities of school desegregation illuminating the ways in which race, social class standing, gender, and personal relationships compounded individual support, views, resistance, and participation in the movement to desegregate Southern schools.Jeannine E. Dingus in an Assistant Professor of Margaret Warner School of Education and Human Development in University of Rochester.     

African–American Mentoring Program (AAMP): addressing the cracks in the graduate education pipeline

In this conceptual article, we focus on mentoring as a strategy to mend the cracks in the education pipeline for African American graduate students. Our article highlights the African American Mentoring Program (AAMP) model and examines the unique methods it uses to support the retention and graduation of African American graduate students from a university and their transition to the workforce. AAMP operates from a Transitional Cultural Framework and strives to bridge the gap between the students’ culture and the culture of the university. AAMP’s uniqueness is harnessed in its deep roots in culture, history, collectivism, and inter-generational sharing of knowledge. We end with implications and recommendations for universities and future research.     

Relationship Between Psychosocial Factors and Academic Achievement Among African American Students

Abstract

The authors of this cross-sectional study used surveys based on the noncognitive model of W. E. Sedlacek and C. G. Brooks (1976) to determine psychosocial factors associated with African American students' high school achievement Psychosocial variables explored included community service, academic motivation, social support, and students' methods of handling unfair treatment. Results showed that after gender and absenteeism were controlled for, only the method of handling unfair treatment was positively associated with grade point average (GPA), p < .05. Those findings suggest that students who talk to others about being treated unfairly instead of keeping it to themselves are more likely to have higher GPAs; the findings also have important implications for individuals involved in the counseling and education of high school students. Sedlacek and Brooks's model provides an effective guide for predicting academic achievement and for developing programs to improve academic achievement among students of color. Further research is needed into psychosocial factors and their effects on academic achievement.     

《日用家当》——美国黑人文学双重文化的反映

美国黑人文学既继承了非洲的文化传统又成长于美国文明的土壤中,有着双重文化的特点,本文通过对美国黑人文学《日用家当》的分析,透视了黑人文学中双重文化的特点.     

《日用家当》-美国黑人文学双重文化的反映

美国黑人文学既继承了非洲的文化传统又成长于美国文明的土壤中，有着双重文化的特点，本文通过对美国黑人文学《日用家当》的分析，透视了黑人文学中双重文化的特点。     

Diversifying Kinesiology: Untapped Potential of Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Increasing the involvement of African Americans in the field of kinesiology has been an ever present issue. While many colleges and universities are making attempts to diversify their undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty, many are finding this a difficult task due to the lack of minority undergraduate kinesiology majors pursuing advanced degrees. There is a body of evidence that suggests that kinesiology programs should find ways to recruit African American students to undergraduate and graduate programs as a basis for diversifying the field. The three related problems discussed in this article are: (a) how to attract quality African American physical education teacher education students to the field of kinesiology; (b) how to identify African American students with the potential to thrive in graduate level coursework; and (c) how to recruit exceptional African American students to participate in professional organizations, such as the National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education (NAKHE). Ultimately, I provide suggestions for recruiting African Americans to the field of kinesiology and ideas for involving them professionally in NAKHE.     

Preschool to kindergarten transition patterns for African American boys

This study focused on the transition patterns of African American boys from preschool to kindergarten using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) dataset. Analyses were conducted to examine whether socioeconomic status, parenting (i.e., emotional support, intrusiveness), and attendance in a center-based program predicted likelihood of being in a particular transition pattern. Four patterns emerged from the data: (1) Increasing Academically, (2) Early Achiever: Declining Academically & Socially, (3) Low Achiever: Declining Academically, and (4) Consistent Early Achiever. There was heterogeneity in the school transition patterns of African American boys, with many showing stability from preschool to kindergarten. Family income and parenting practices and interactions were associated with an increased probability of being in the group that showed a significant increase in academics, suggesting the importance of parents’ provision of enriching opportunities and experiences for African American boys as they transition from preschool to kindergarten.     

“I May Be Crackin’, But Um Fackin’”: Racial Humor in The Watsons Go To Birmingham—1963

This article examines the utilization of racial humor in Christopher Paul Curtis’ novel, The Watsons Go To Birmingham—1963. The theoretical perspectives that inform the analysis include critical race theory and humor theory. The results of the analysis reveal that the use of humor in this book is influenced to a significant degree by race and racism.     

《土生子》(2019)中的人物重塑与叙事操控

电影《土生子》(2019)改编自非裔美国作家理查德·赖特1940年出版的同名长篇小说。作为该书的第三度银幕改编,影片对原著的人物形象与叙事体系进行了大刀阔斧地重构。影片彻底改造了别格原本恶劣的人物形象,以使其更加符合当代美国左翼社会要求的"理智的受害者"的个性特征;并通过改变叙事视角与叙事框架从结构层面为主人公别格的犯罪事实进行辩解及掩饰。隐含在这一系列变更背后的是该影片乃至整个美国电影市场对美国当代身份政治理念的唯命是从,以及在处理作为反英雄形象的黑人角色时的畏首畏尾的态度。     

High school students’ implicit theories of what facilitates science learning

Background: Research has primarily concentrated on adults’ implicit theories about high quality science education for all students. Little work has considered the students’ perspective. This study investigated high school students’ implicit theories about what helped them learn science.

Purpose: This study addressed (1) What characterizes high school students’ implicit theories of what facilitates their learning of science?; (2) With respect to students’ self-classifications as African American or European American and female or male, do differences exist in the students’ implicit theories?

Sample, design and methods: Students in an urban high school located in south-eastern United States were surveyed in 2006 about their thoughts on what helps them learn science. To confirm or disconfirm any differences, data from two different samples were analyzed. Responses of 112 African American and 118 European American students and responses from 297 European American students comprised the data for sample one and two, respectively.

Results: Seven categories emerged from the deductive and inductive analyses of data: personal responsibility, learning arrangements, interest and knowledge, communication, student mastery, environmental responsiveness, and instructional strategies. Instructional strategies captured 82% and 80% of the data from sample one and two, respectively; consequently, this category was further subjected to Mann-Whitney statistical analysis at p < .05 to ascertain ethnic differences. Significant differences did not exist for ethnicity but differences between females and males in sample one and sample two emerged.

Conclusions: African American and European American students’ implicit theories about instructional strategies that facilitated their science learning did not significantly differ but female and male students’ implicit theories about instructional strategies that helped them learn science significantly differed. Because students attend and respond to what they think and perceive to be important, addressing students’ implicit theories may be one way to enhance science education reform.     

Learning to Develop Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: A Lesson About Cornrowed Lives

This article describes the process of using African American children's literature through culturally relevant pedagogy. It chronicles how two teachers carefully plan a lesson using the literature, and then describes how one of the teachers enacts the lesson using pedagogy relevant to her students' cultural background. A framework that focused on the cultural patterns of the students' lives was used to help guide the planning process. The components of the lesson include a prereading activity, read aloud, group discussion, journal writing, and a follow-up activity. In the end, the teachers found that tailoring instruction to fit the textual, social, cultural, and personal lives of their students is largely about seeing pedagogy through the norms and practices of their students' lives.     

Statistics Anxiety Among Female African American Graduate-Level Social Work Students

ABSTRACT

Studies have found that statistics anxiety among female and minority graduate students is higher than that of their Caucasian counterparts. Both gender and culturally sensitive approaches to teaching statistics need to be developed to reduce student anxiety, especially in graduate programs that are dominated by women and minorities. The current study presents data on pre- and post-course statistics among female African American MSW students enrolled in a gender and culturally sensitive statistics course. A series of t-tests revealed that students had significantly lower levels of anxiety about statistics after the course. Implications for integrating gender and culturally sensitive approaches into the curriculum are discussed, and recommendations for future research are provided.     

African American Educators’ Perspectives on the Advanced Placement Opportunity Gap

This study examines perspectives of educators on the advanced placement opportunity gap for African American students. Using interviews with 11 educators from 10 high schools, we explored their perceptions regarding the impact of a local academic achievement program on the enrollment of African American students in honors and advanced placement courses. Results of the analysis suggest that there is a perceived and real gap in the participation of African American students in AP courses. Findings also revealed that educators were concerned about the lack of access for African American students to AP courses. Further, issues of belonging and operational citizenship within the school environment were raised. Recommendations for pedagogical techniques are presented as well as suggestions for future research. Jocelyn D. Taliaferro is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work at North Carolina State University. Dr. Taliaferro earned her BA degree in Psychology with minors in African American Studies and English from University of Delaware and her MSW from Howard University in Washington, D.C. She returned to University of Delaware to earn her PhD in Urban Affairs and Public Policy. Dr. Taliaferro’s teaching and research interests include African American student achievement, social policy, community development, and family support. Jessica T. DeCuir-Gunby is an Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at North Carolina State University, CB#7801, Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA. Dr. DeCuir-Gunby earned her BS degree with a double major in Psychology and Spanish from Louisiana State University. She earned both her MA and PhD degrees in Educational Psychology at the University of Georgia. Dr. DeCuir-Gunby’s research and theoretical interests include race and racial identity development in education, Critical Race Theory, mixed methods research, and emotions.