Experiences Of African American Males Research Articles

The Experiences of African American Male Caregivers.

Aging of the population has led to an increasing number of caregivers. While research has been conducted on caregiver experiences, less is known about the experiences of African American males in the U.S. This qualitative descriptive study describes the experiences of 13 African American men who acted as caregivers to adult chronically ill or debilitated loved ones, the majority of whom provided care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The revised Sociocultural Stress and Coping Model (R-SSCM) guided this study. Individual interviews were conducted via the Zoom application. Content analysis revealed four themes: (1) “My time to take the reins”, (2) “It’s a male thang”, (3) “Caring amid a pandemic”, and (4) “Effects of the caregiver’s journey”. This study’s findings in relation to the literature provide overdue attention to the African American male caregiving experience, especially in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. The implications of our findings include the need for more culturally congruent support services for African American male caregivers, as well as increased efforts to encourage trust in the healthcare system—especially in relation to vaccination for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Interrogating the collegiate experiences of African American males formerly in foster care: A critical qualitative analysis

Interview data from 11 African American male collegians formerly in foster care attending a PWI were analyzed using the constant comparison method. Three major themes were identified using this approach. Participants reported feeling isolated from most others on campus and keenly aware of differences between them and their peers, as well as worrying frequently about having basic needs met; basic needs ranged from health care coverage to housing, from sense of belonging to safety and transportation. They also identified three protective factors that sustained them in college: role models and mentors, engagement in race-conscious campus clubs and organizations, and an unwavering personal drive to persist despite adversity. Findings have significant implications for educational research, practice, and policy. Information from this study may also provide clues for future intervention efforts.

K–12 School Counselors Utilizing Critical Race Theory to Support the Racial Identity Development and Academic Achievement of African American Males

This article examines the role of racial identity development in the academic achievement of African American adolescent males. Through the lens of critical race theory (CRT), we highlight how K–12 school counselors may support and enhance the schooling experiences of African American males by understanding and acknowledging how racial identity development may impact academic achievement. A focus on CRT in education emphasizes the continual persistence of racism ingrained in K–12 education located within the educational opportunities, curriculum, representation, and teacher perception of African American males. We offer insight into how school counselors may work to decrease barriers to achievement by analyzing the effect race and gender have on the identification, retention, and underachievement of their African American male students.

Pursuing Peace Amidst the Mass Incarceration of Black Males

There can be no peace in this nation without first addressing the crisis of massincarceration among Black males. To address this concern, it is necessary toexplore the experiences of those affected through community engaged research andinvolve these individuals in developing solutions to address this problem. I am agraduate student in the IU School of Education at IUPUI pursuing a doctorate inUrban Studies. I am studying about the impacts on communities when Black boysare poorly educated in leaky K-12 pipelines and grow up to be disproportionatelyincarcerated. My research asks, what were the motivations, barriers and resourcesimpacting the experiences of African American males who were incarcerated andthen decide to pursue an education after they have been released into ourcommunities. I want to know in what ways does achieving more education, gettinga high school diploma or a bachelor’s degree, affect their lives and ourcommunities? Community engaged and community based participatoryresearchers need to ask questions about the effects of this phenomenon.

Taking it to the stage: Performing arts education and African American male academic identity development

Author(s): Walton, Calvin Wesley | Abstract: This case study examines the relationship between school-based performing arts participation and academic identity development for African American male high school students. Participants addressed how their engagement in a school-based performing arts program influenced their academic achievement and school experiences. The researcher used African American Male Academic Identity Development theory, a proposed framework, to address the following questions: What are the experiences of African American males who participate in school-based performing arts programs? How do performing arts education experiences influence the academic identity development of African American male high school students? Based upon the data derived from this study the author argues that school-based performing arts participation may improve academic performance, engender positive school experiences and encourage affirmative racial identity development for African American male high school students. Findings from this study contribute to the body of literature on the relationship between arts education and academic achievement among African American males.

African American Male College Students' Transitioning Experiences at PWCUs and their Coping Strategies

Qualitative methodology was used to explore the transitioning experiences of African American males at a large public university in the Midwest. Researchers facilitated a focus group in which seven African American male students described their transitioning experiences and coping strategies attending a predominantly White college and university (PWCU). An interpretative phenomenological approach (IPA) guided by grounded theory was used to analyze the data. Results are discussed with recommendations for researchers and university practitioners.

"I Know It (Racism) Still Exists Here:" African American Males at a Predominantly White Institution (PWI)

This qualitative study examined the experiences of African American males at a PWI (Predominantly White Institution). The focus on African American males is deliberate because, as a group, they have the highest attrition rate of any college demographic. Utilizing in-depth interview data from 12 African American males at a PWI, this project delineated the nefarious station of black males who experienced racism and racial microaggressions in a purportedly post-racial, colorblind society. Qualitative analysis of the data revealed the following two themes: (1) Racism and Racial Microaggressions and (2) The African American experience is not important to faculty and the university. Recommendations for how PWIs can foster the academic success of black males will be provided.

Reflections of Academic Experiences From Formerly Incarcerated African American Males

ABSTRACTThis research examines academic experiences of African American males (ages 18–25) who attended urban schools in southern California. The participants were incarcerated for at least one year prior to being housed in a pre-release program where they reflected on their academic experiences and perceptions of the school environment. The participants' academic experiences reflect many of the stories of young African American males in public schools. Data were collected from individual and group interviews, questionnaires, observations, and short writing responses providing a unique perspective within a critical race theory framework. Participants' early academic experiences were most positive during kindergarten and declined as they grew older. The academic experiences of these young men seemed to profoundly impact their social, cultural, and psychological development as well as their life choices, which may have led to incarceration.

<em>Understanding Research Methods to Study African American Males in College</em>

This article will explain the research methods conducted to study the experiences of Black males in college, specifically exploring the recent qualitative and quantitative studies that contribute to the understanding of this population. The piece begins with a review of the recent and current qualitative methods used to explore African American males in college. Such qualitative studies are prevalent in recent research on this population and focus on understanding the social, interpersonal, and intrapersonal transitions of Black males. The article then explores the recent quantitative methods used to understand this population. Quantitative approaches are less common in recent studies on African American males. These studies primarily measure rates of college satisfaction on the basis of grades, support, and identity. Overall trends in both qualitative and quantitative studies seek to measure academic completion or persistence to graduation as the focal point of research on African American males.Readers will notice many more qualitative articles presented than quantitative. While this is not a meta-analysis of the literature, it is a presentation that is representative to the current state of research on African American males in college. The studies selected for this review were generated as the result of a comprehensive examination assignment to explore the current methods used to study the critical transitional experiences of the aforementioned population. In execution of this contextually broad assignment, literature queries include combinations of general and common search terms (e.g., African American, Black, college, higher education, males, men, transition, and university). The presentation of findings in this article represents an outline of the research material deemed most relevant. Moreover these results outline the prevalence of qualitative research methods over quantitative methods in recent literature on this topic, a large respective discrepancy that needs to be addressed in future research.QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODSMany of the most current studies on the transitional experiences of African American males in college rely on qualitative research that focuses on comprehending dynamics, meaning, and context (Weiss, 1998). According to Creswell (2009), qualitative research provides the opportunity to explore and understand the meaning that individuals and groups assign to social and human problems:The process of research involves emerging questions and procedures; collecting data in the participants' setting; analyzing the data inductively, building from particulars to general themes; and making interpretations of the meaning of the data. The final written report has a flexible writing structure. (p. 232)Interviewing is a primary method of data collection that supports qualitative research. Many studies on African American males in college incorporate a qualitative research approach as means to identify and understand the experiences of this group on the basis of race, academics, and social experiences. Consequently the interview is a very common and versatile approach for collecting qualitative data (Weiss, 1998).InterviewsMany research studies on the experiences of Black males in the college setting use interview techniques to analyze this population. Bonner (2001) used interview tactics to conduct a study on 'academically gifted' African American males, comparing student perceptions of institutional support between a historically Black college and university (HBCU) and a predominantly White institution (PWI). The purpose of this study is to understand the factors that contribute to the success of academically gifted African American male college students. Using one selected participant from each institution, Bonner's data collection includes interviews of the academically gifted students, as well as interviews of 'critical others,' which include student peers, instructors, and administrators at each institution. …

BOOK/MEDIA REVIEWS

Black Males in Postsecondary Education: Examining Their Experiences in Diverse Institutional Contexts, edited by Adriel A. Hilton, J. Luke Wood, and Chance W. Lewis. Charlotte, NC: Information Age, 2012, 231 pp., $85.99, hardcover; $45.99, paperback.As an African American male who persisted through the Ph.D., I often wonder, what are the salient supports that influenced my postsecondary experience that other African American males need as approximately two-thirds-who even make it to college-drop out? Is it faith, family and friends, mentors, peers, institutional choice, self-motivation, or engagement? Adriel A. Hilton, J. Luke Wood, and Chance W. Lewis, explored these same issues in their edited volume, Black Males in Postsecondary Education: Examining Their Experiences in Diverse Institutional Contexts. The text is composed of eleven chapters, each exploring the experiences of African American males who attend diverse institutional types.Lewis, in Chapter one, noted that scholarship examining the experiences of African American males in higher education has virtually ignored the impact of institutional context and culture. He concluded the chapter with an overview of the remaining 10 chapters.In Chapter two, Wood and Hilton conducted a meta-synthesis of the literature on Black males at community colleges over the past 40 years. They stated that three types of factors influence the experiences of Black males at community colleges: (a) economic, (b) academic, and (c) external. They concluded with policy recommendations included in the literature, presenting them by levels or groups (i.e., high school, institutional, state, federal), and called for additional research noting (at the time) that only eight peer-reviewed journal articles were published on Black males at community colleges in the past 40 years.Chapter three, written by Fountaine, included a literature review and overview of for-profit colleges and the access they provide African Americans. For example, Fountaine noted the University of Phoenix-Online Campus was the producer of Black associates, bachelor's, and master's degrees. Because literature concerning African American males at for-profit colleges is narrow, at best, she concentrated on African American trends, generally. However, her overview of for-profit institutions was extraordinary as research and scholarship on these institutions is limited.A personal favorite, Chapter four by Berhanu and Jackson qualitatively investigated the experiences of two African American males who attended an Ivy League institution for master's degrees using an aspiration theoretical framework. The authors found that the males chose their institution because of prestige, they were engaged partly to deconstruct stereotypes about African American males, and faced issues of race and racism on the campus.Gasman, Lundy-Wagner, and Commodore, in Chapter five, wrote about experiences of Black males studying at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The authors reviewed literature, and provided a descriptive overview of Black males at HBCUs using the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS, see https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds). They noted that Black males make up the majority of students at two-year HBCUs, and HBCUs are vital for Black males who transfer from two-year to four-year colleges.In Chapter six, Newman, Mmeje, and Allen explored the experiences of African American males at predominantly White institutions (PWIs), analyzing existing literature and exploring trends at the top 50 national universities. They noted that Rice University had the highest graduation rate for African American students and California Institute of Technology had the highest percentage of males among African American students (81.8%). Newman, Mmeje, and Allen provided the most detailed list of recommendations for practice in the volume. …

When Aspiration Meets Opportunity: Examining Transitional Experiences of African American Males in College Readiness Programs

The lack of postsecondary success for African American males has garnered significant attention from academic scholars and public policy leaders. While this scholarship provides a strong portrait on issues related to African American males, there are still significant gaps to be addressed. Most notably, current research tends to focus on students entering four-year institutions and rarely presents student narratives about their educational experiences. The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences of African American males in various stages of transition from high school to their local community college. Students discuss three main areas—encouragement for their postsecondary aspirations, assistance with navigating multiple pathways to access, and persisting through stereotypes and perceived barriers. Discussion connects findings with theoretical frameworks to enhance our understanding of the experiences of this traditionally marginalized population.

Heman Sweatt Symposium on Civil Rights: Awareness to Action: The African American Male Experience

The 26th annual Heman Sweatt Symposium on Civil Rights was held in February 2012 at the University of Texas at Austin. The symposium is born of the efforts of a committed team of faculty, students, and staff in recognition of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Sweatt v. Painter and the subsequent barrier-breaking admission of Heman Sweatt to the university, the first African American student admitted to the University of Texas Law School. The case began when Sweatt was denied admission on the basis of his race in 1946. Ultimately the court’s ruling on the matter challenged the prevailing “separate but equal” doctrine of racial segregation and, in turn, led the way toward the desegregation of public education institutions, along with a series of subsequent Supreme Court cases.1 The 2012 symposium’s opening events included several panel discussions, which drew scholars and community leaders from across the country to speak on the topic of “Advancing Solutions for Men of Color in Higher Education and the Crisis Facing America.” The symposium continued the next month with a third dialogue and panel event titled, “Awareness to Action: The African American Male Experience.” The audio clip in this issue of Spectrum features the dialogue from this panel, which includes speakers Gregory Vincent, James L. Moore, III, and Leonard Moore. Gregory Vincent, vice president of the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at UT Austin, provided the opening remarks, recounting the powerful influence of the Sweatt family on education, and states that the panel will offer solutions to the issues facing Black males in education. He continues by speaking on the state of educational attainment in terms of the intersection of race and gender, social justice issues, student health for Black males, as well as the influence of the Sweatt and Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court rulings. Acknowledging recent national news headlines on race matters and studies demonstrating the pervasive educational disparities between White and Black students, the speakers collectively acknowledge the need to address the experiences

The Struggle for Identity for African American Adolescent Males in a Predominantly White, Affluent School

Rarely do researchers choose to focus on the schooling experiences of African American males, and almost never are their experiences understood from the African American male perspective regarding race and racism in predominantly White and affluent neighborhoods and schools. This article aims to discuss qualitative research that indicates African American males at Sunnyside High School do not experience race in the same way. The article begins with a discussion regarding the importance of understanding how race manifests in high school as adolescence is a particular time when youth are making meaning about race and identity. The 15 participants are described, as well as the qualitative methods used to gather data (i.e., focus groups and interviews). Findings for this article are discussed in terms of the most salient theme emerging from open coding (i.e., racist stereotyping) and are framed in terms of how racist stereotypes manifest, as well as how they are defined and understood at Sunnyside by the participants. Last is a discussion of the findings, providing further insight into the ways in which participants navigate racist stereotypes, and the implications it has for the emerging identities of the participants.

Special Issue: Challenges, Disparities and Experiences of African American Males

The need for more research involving African American males across the life course has never been in greater demand than the present. Multiple indicators of health and well-being continue to suggest that this segment of the population is confronted by a host of environmental, psychological, and social challenges. Consequently, African American males tend to fare poorly with regard to social indicators of health and well-being – regardless of age. Recent studies have indicated that African American infants and young children between 0–4 years of age are approximately four times more likely to be a victim of homicide than their White counter-parts (Bennett et al., 2006). Moreover, the most recently available data provided by the Centers for Disease Control National Center for Injury Prevention and Control indicates that homicide is the leading cause of death for African American males between the ages of 15 and 24 (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 2010). Further, recent data suggest that patterns of homicide offending among African American male adolescents and young adults are similar to patterns of homicide victimization for this group (Snyder & Sickmund, 2006). That is, African American males are not only disproportionately victims of homicide, but also commit violent offenses (including homicide) at a rate disproportionate rate as well. The challenges faced by African American males are not limited to violence. There is a wide disparity in the public high school graduation rates of White and African American students. In 2003, the national graduation rate for White students was 78%, compared with 55% for African American students (Greene & Winters, 2006). This disparity is even more pronounced when one examines graduation rates by race and gender. Nationally, about 5% fewer White male students graduate than their female counterparts. While 59% of African American females graduated, only 48% of African American males earned a high school diploma (Greene & Winters, 2006). The relatively low high school graduation rate among African American males is believed by some to be directly linked to the rapid growth of the number of young African American males whose educational opportunities are truncated in elementary and middle school because of multiple suspensions and expulsions, referral to special education curricula (Day-Vines & Day-Hairston, 2005) as well as involvement and/or incarceration in the criminal/juvenile justice system (Mincy, Charles, Lewis, & Han, 2006). Moreover, some have argued that employment and earnings of African American males may be negatively affected by a prior history of incarceration (Western, 2002; Western & Pettit, 2005). Further, high rates of incarceration among African American males may even reduce employment prospects for those African American males with no criminal background (Holzer, Raphael, & Stoll, 2006). African American males are also confronted with a number of challenges related to their physical health. For example; recent data indicates that the incidence rate of cancer among African American males is 19% higher than that of White males. Moreover, the mortality rate of cancer is 37% higher among African American males than it is for White males (Jemal et al., 2008). Further, African American males have the highest incidence and mortality rates of prostate cancer in the world and die from the disease at a rate 2.3 times that of White men (Woods, Montgomery, Belliard, Johnson, & Wilson, 2004). African American males have also been found to be at increased risk for hypertension (Hefferman, Jae, Wilund, Woods, & Fernhall, 2008), diabetes (Liburd, NamageyoFuna, Jack, & Gregg, 2004), heart attack, and stroke (CDC – Office of Minority Health, 2009). Consequently, African American males have an average life expectancy of 69.7 years compared to 77.7 years for all US population groups (Arias, 2010; Harper, Lynch, Burris, & Smith, 2007). Mental health is yet another area of challenge for African American males. The onset of chronic stress, depression, somatization, and other forms of mental illness may be linked

Who Really Cares? The Disenfranchisement of African American Males in PreK-12 Schools: A Critical Race Theory Perspective

Background/Context Despite recent gains from a number of students in U.S. schools, African American males continue to underachieve on most academic indices. Despite various interventions that have attempted to transform the perennial disenfranchisement, their school failure has persisted. Conversely, their failure in schools frequently results in poor quality of life options. Purpose/Objective/Focus of Study The objective of this study was to use critical race theory as a paradigmatic lens to examine the schooling experiences of African American males in PreK-12 schools. The focus of the study was to shed light on how African American males believe race and racism play as factors in their schooling experiences. Research Design The article includes qualitative data from a case study of African American males who offer counterstorytelling accounts of their schooling experiences. This article also explores the utility and appropriateness of critical race theory as a methodological tool to examine and disrupt the disenfranchisement of African American males in U.S. public schools. Findings/Results The results from this study revealed that the participants were keenly aware of how race shaped the manner in which they were viewed by their teachers and school administrators. The data also revealed how the participants explicitly fought to eradicate negative racial stereotypes held about African American males. Finally, the use of counter-storytelling within a critical race theory framework seemed to provide the participants a platform to discuss race-related issues in a manner that many of the participants felt was lacking in their school environments. Conclusion/Recommendations The findings from this study reveal some of the difficult obstacles that many African American males seek to overcome in order to become academically successful. Moreover, the findings suggest that educators must become more conscious of the role that race and racism plays in their schooling environments. Furthermore, educational researchers who are concerned with disrupting school failures of students of color and from low-income backgrounds should consider conceptual and methodological frames that place race, class, and gender at the center of their analysis.

Introduction

This special theme issue, Beyond Brown: New Approaches to Addressing Inequities in Education for African American Males, addresses not only a major void in the research literature, but serves as a catalyst for better understanding the educational plight and its social implications for African American males throughout the United States. The editors of this special issue assembled some of America's best and brightest social scientists and researchers to examine the contemporary experiences of African American males in education, as well as to offer new approaches to addressing these educational and societal issues. To this end, the contributors were asked to use the monumental court decision as a point of departure and move beyond Brown to examine the constellation of variables that may explain the general condition for African American males in education.

Strong Teens: A School-Based Small Group Experience for African American Males

This article describes the school-based, small group adaptation of the existing Strong Teens Curriculum (STC) for African American male adolescents in high schools. The STC was created to equip adolescents with skills that promote more effective social interaction and enhance personal emotional and psychological wellness. The authors present a twelve-session small group school counseling experience based on the STC for use with African American adolescent males in a high school. Within the small group sessions, attention was given to the unique African American male experience in adolescence and in schools. Based on African American cultural values, historical figures were used as role models in helping to illustrate session concepts, and activities were modified to better connect group members with one another for social support in and outside of the school environment.

The Prove-Them-Wrong Syndrome: Voices from Unheard African-American Males in Engineering Disciplines

Using the grounded theory approach as a conceptual framework, this study sought to explore the phenomenon of persistence. More specifically, the purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions, attitudes, and experiences of African-American males who were able to persist in engineering at a predominately White institution (PWI) located in the southeastern part of the United States. This study revealed, through extensive individual and group interviews, that persistent African-American male students possess personality characteristics that help them persist in engineering majors. The “prove-them-wrong syndrome” is offered as an explanation to better understand the phenomenon of persistence for the African-American males in the study.

Constructions of provider role identity among African American men: An exploratory study.

This exploratory study examined the identity constructions of African American men using a qualitative research methodology. Seven African American men, ranging in age from 20 to 47 years and whose education levels ranged from a 1st-year university student to a PhD, were interviewed for this study. Central to how all of these men defined themselves was the breadwinner or provider role. Participants emphasized education as "insurance" against discrimination and an awareness of educational and occupational opportunities. For these participants, education was a means of ensuring opportunity, which afforded fulfillment of the provider role. This study supports the work of N. Cazenave (1979, 1981), who demonstrated the salience of the provider role among African American men. The implications of the provider role among African American men for research are also discussed. The data also suggested diversity within the African American male experience. As 1 participant described African American men. "We come like flowers, you know. Some in bouquets, and some wild." By providing constructions of identity that diverge from existing negative stereotypes of African American men, this study attempted to deconstruct those stereotypes. Finally, this study provided a voice to an underrepresented group in the research literature.

An Empirical Assessment of Four Perspectives on the Declining Fortunes of the African-American Male

The authors use data from the Los Angeles Survey of Urban Inequality to empirically test the utility of four perspectives advanced to explain the declining social and economic fortunes of the African-American male over the past quarter century: the spatial isolation hypothesis, the cultural capital/employer preference hypothesis, the search-and-destroy hypothesis, and the social capital hypothesis. They assess the utility of these hypotheses by exploring the labor market experiences of African-American males in metropolitan Los Angeles, focusing specifically on the determinants of labor force participation and comparing their experiences with those of their white and Hispanic male counterparts.