This dissertation's purpose was to better understand how messages received through different cultural mediums influences the development of social success skills. Black male students were chosen as the focal participants for this year-long study because they are included among the groups whose social success skills development are thought to…

Within urban elementary schools are Black students who continue to challenge the normative deficit characterization of the educational opportunities of students like them. This study attempts to provide a more holistic picture of the scholarly trajectories of 13 African American males who are particularly talented in mathematics and who attended…

Encounters with racism, racial stereotypes, microaggressions, and low expectations from professors and others undermine their academic outcomes, sense of belonging, and willingness to seek help and utilize campus resources. At predominantly White institutions, men of color may often be in classes where they are one of few students from their…

An erroneous assumption is often made that Black men, one of the most stereotyped groups on college and university campuses, all share common experiences and backgrounds. Using Celious and Oyserman's (2001) Heterogeneous Race Model as a conceptual framework, we explored within-group differences among Black male undergraduates at three private…

Retention of minority students continues to be a problem for many institutions of higher education. Despite increasing enrollments of minority students in higher education, there are still disparities between completion rates of non-minorities and completion rates of minorities. The disparities are perhaps more evident in low retention rates of…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the experiences of African American male students in community college and to explore their decision-making process to persist. The study sought to describe these experiences and to discover any impact these experiences might have on decisions regarding completing a degree. The research…

This paper examines student cross-group relationships in a comprehensive high school in Baltimore County, Maryland, between 1985 and 2000. The findings of this research, situated at the intersections of three lenses of inquiry--oral historical analysis, ethnography, and critical studies--bring to light how institutional norms, broader demographic…

Because ethnicity is a basis for defining peer crowds in ethnically diverse American high schools, some may question whether crowds foster discrimination and stereotyping or affirm minority youths' positive ties to their ethnic background. Through examination of both self- and peer ratings of crowd affiliation among 2,465 high school youth aged…

The U.S. District of Columbia's Federal Circuit Court decision in "Hobson v. Hanson" (1967) case eliminated racial discriminatory tracking practices in the nation's capitol's public schools. The court ruled that D.C. Public Schools' tracking violated African American and low income students' rights to equal opportunities to education…

Due to a negative stigma that has been established about African Americans, many live their entire lives trying to "refute the degrading, humiliating and offensive racial images and stereotypes" that have plagued their race in scientific fields and in other areas of life. The images that are perpetuated have caused frustration as well as…

This study investigated whether African American high school freshman students experience stereotype threat when taking a test that is seen as a predictor of their success on a high-stakes test. The authors conceptually replicated a previous study by Kellow and Jones (2005) using a true experimental design, as opposed to a quasi-experimental…

One explanation for the widening achievement gap in America and throughout Europe between ethnic minorities/immigrants, and Whites is the influence of cultural stereotypes on attributions made by both educators and students. This paper explores some factors that increase the likelihood that educators will consciously or unconsciously rely on…

Perceived racial microaggressions by White supervisors were examined through a qualitative analysis of 10 self-identified Black doctoral supervisees in counseling and clinical psychology. Results indicated 7 microaggression themes directed toward this group: (a) invalidating racial-cultural issues, (b) making stereotypic assumptions about Black…

Researchers have called attention to the racism and stereotypes experienced by black undergraduates on predominantly white campuses; provided evidence of how race-specific organizations and programs help neutralize the oppressive ethos of these institutions; and proven empirically that historically black colleges and universities foster more…

Numerous researchers have devoted their careers to school reform. At the same time, many politicians have gotten elected by promising to fix failing schools. Although a lot of time, energy, and money have been invested in tackling this problem, the problem persists: Too many schools in the United States are failing to prepare too many students for…