“Traditions Are Not for Me”: Curriculum, Alternative Schools, and Formerly Incarcerated Young Black Men’s Academic Success

Charles H Lea,Henry Joel Crumé,Demond Hill

doi:10.3390/socsci9120233

Charles H Lea, Henry Joel Crumé + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci9120233

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Abstract

Literature suggests that culturally promotive curricula can counter the effect of anti-Blackness in United States (U.S.) schools by cultivating Black students’ cultural, social, and academic development and fostering learning environments in which they feel respected, connected, and invested in their school communities. However, Black students, especially young Black men, who return to school following a period of incarceration, face discrimination and numerous barriers to school reentry and engagement. While some enroll in alternative schools as a last option to earn a diploma, little is known about how curricula in these educational settings can facilitate positive school reentry experiences and outcomes among this population. As such, this intrinsic qualitative case study explored how one alternative school’s culturally promotive curriculum fosters and cultivates educational resilience among formerly incarcerated young Black men. Data collection included observations, interviews, and document reviews, and utilized a thematic analytic approach that included grounded theory techniques. Results indicate that teaching content that formerly incarcerated young Black men perceived as truthful and relevant to their lived experiences augmented their school engagement. The young men reported feeling empowered by the school’s curriculum structure and culture that allowed them to self-direct learning goals and course content toward themes that affirmed their cultural and social identities. The curriculum also appeared to facilitate positive relationships with the instructors, leading to the development of a positive school climate where the young men felt safe, appreciated, and supported. These findings highlight the important role space, place, and relationships can play in bolstering formerly incarcerated young Black men’s educational resilience through a culturally promotive curriculum in the context of an alternative school.

Highlights

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has raised awareness of the endemic racial injustice BlackAmericans experience (Taylor 2016)
Given the limited knowledge concerned with the protective mechanisms within alternative educational settings that can enhance the academic success of formerly incarcerated Black students, the present study explored how a culturally promotive curriculum in one alternative school bolsters the resilience of young Black men who reentered school following a period of incarceration
In the following quote, Chris, a formerly incarcerated young Black man who attended multiple traditional schools prior to enrolling in New Directions, identifies the important role the non-traditional curriculum plays in his school reentry process

Summary

Introduction

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has raised awareness of the endemic racial injustice BlackAmericans experience (Taylor 2016). The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has raised awareness of the endemic racial injustice Black. Anti-Black racism is embedded in all social systems in the United. States (U.S.) and is acutely evident in the criminal justice and education systems (Alexander 2010). Traditional public education in the U.S often perpetuates multiple forms of racism that target Black students and are associated with young Black men’s dramatic overrepresentation in the criminal justice system (Baldridge et al 2017; Dumas 2016; Hooks 2014; Ladson-Billings 1995a). A potential means of counteracting the pervasive anti-Black educational discrimination and structural racism in U.S schools is the adoption of culturally promotive curricula—which center racial equity and positive racial identity development. Promotive curricula have been shown to have.

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