Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

1431

Date

2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major

Leadership and Policy Studies

Concentration

Educational Leadership

Committee Chair

Reginald Green

Committee Member

Larry McNeal

Committee Member

Lou Franceschini

Committee Member

Vivian Morris

Abstract

When presented with 15 social perceptions, teachers differed in the extent to which they ranked such perceptions as having the most and least impact on Black male students' learning as well in the extent to which they judged these perceptions to be subject to correction. Across all repsondents, the perceptions deemed most negative concerned Black males' reputed propensity for violence and disruption, while those deemed least negative concerned Black male' alleged tendency to be more church-and -religion-oriented than their peers, as well as their reutation for being more athletically gifted than their peers. In terms of these perceptions being correctable, the respondents felt that it was relatively easy to demonstrate that Black males were not less intelligent, less articulate, and less interested in education than their peers of other ethinic groups. To the extent to that the respondents believed that the perception was at least partially grounded in the fact-as for exampple, Black male students being less than optimally "articulate" or "interested in education and self-improvement"-they also recommended specific reform strategies that educators could put in place. When grouped by positiion, ethnicity, age, years of experience, highest degree, and level of students served, respondents did not in general differ in how they ranked the perceptions, a noteworthy exception concerning respondednt ethnicity and the ones deemed most negative. By ethnicity, there were as many as seven statistically significant differences observed in the most negative rankings of non-White and White respondents, with non-Whites especially concerned about the perceptions of Black male student as being "innately less intelligent" and "better suited to vo-tech than academic classes" with respect to such students' success in school.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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