The causal-comparative research study examined if academic achievement differs between African American 8th-grade students in schools where they constitute the majority versus the minority in Clarendon County, South Carolina. The research questions investigated 8th-grade African American students' academic performance in English Language Arts and…

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that motivate effective teachers to remain in their high-needs, predominantly Black schools. Data shows that schools enrolling majority populations of low-income students of color experience high teacher attrition rates, which contribute to scarcities in the workforce. These scarcities often…

Culturally responsive pedagogy is a dynamic approach shown to be effective when attempting to increase learning opportunities for racially minoritized groups, particularly African-Americans. While there is a growing amount of evidence suggesting teachers incorporate cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of ethnically diverse…

The present study investigated the perceptions of upper elementary and high school general education teachers towards special education programming and whether they felt prepared to meet the needs of students with Individualized Education Plans. The literature review provided a comprehensive synthesis of existing research on the topic researched,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate if there is a relationship between school accountability ratings and levels of cultural connectivity of teachers, especially White teachers, employed in HBSD schools. HBSD public schools in Mississippi with an MDE performance rating of A, B, D, or F for the 2018-2019 school year were examined in this…

The research question asked in this paper is: "How can white activists working within person of color led food justice organizations examine their own privilege to more effectively support and contribute to food justice work?" The topics of literature used to inform this study were Whiteness Education/Anti-Racism, Food Justice,…

Building on the work of sociologist Arlie Hochschild (1979, 1983), studies have shown that Black people and other people of color engage in more emotion work than their White counterparts in predominantly White settings (Wingfield 2010, 2019). Although we know much about the way in which emotion work is gendered and how emotion work can be…

This dissertation explores everyday interactions and opportunities for teachers and families to collaborate in spite of forces that often put Black families and schools at odds in one predominantly Black elementary school. I examine interactions among Black families and teachers to consider how organizational norms, values, and routines influence…

This phenomenological study examined the experiences of twelve female African Americans enrolled as fulltime undergraduate engineering students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, an historically Black university, and seven female African Americans enrolled as undergraduate engineering students at Purdue University in…

The African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church, like many historically black denomination over the years, has been actively involved in social change and racial uplift. The concepts of racial uplift and self-determination dominated black social, political, and economic thought throughout the late-eighteenth into the nineteenth century. Having…

This evaluation was conducted at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, located approximately 40 miles south of the Virginia state line. ECSU, a historically Black institution of higher learning, was founded in 1891 and is one of 17 constituent universities in The University of North Carolina system. The…