High School Dropout: a Qualitative Interpretive Study of African American Males

By Dr. Heather I.H. Washington Dos Santos and Terrence P. Dillard

Dr. Heather I.H. Washington Dos Santos is a loving wife and mother of five young children who has served as a public urban school teacher and administrator for more than two decades. She has dedicated her life to studies that have served to further both her knowledge base and skillset as it relates to advocacy and public service for underrepresented and minority youth in the public school sector. As a champion for “at risk” youth in schools, Heather has worked tirelessly to remove institutional barriers that serve to detach underrepresented youth from their educational programs; thrusting them into our nation’s juvenile justice system as part of the school-to-prison pipeline. With a specific focus on the study of African American males in our nation’s schools, Heather vows to be a catalyst for change as part of her zealous pursuit of justice and equity in practice for African American males across the country.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781984564986

Dr. Heather I.H. Washington Dos Santos

Dr. Heather I.H. Washington Dos Santos is a loving wife and mother of five young children who has served as a public urban school teacher and administrator for more than two decades. She has dedicated her life to studies that have served to further both her knowledge base and skillset as it relates to advocacy and public service for underrepresented and minority youth in the public school sector. As a champion for “at risk” youth in schools, Heather has worked tirelessly to remove institutional barriers that serve to detach underrepresented youth from their educational programs; thrusting them into our nation’s juvenile justice system as part of the school-to-prison pipeline. With a specific focus on the study of African American males in our nation’s schools, Heather vows to be a catalyst for change as part of her zealous pursuit of justice and equity in practice for African American males across the country.

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Copyright © 2019 by Dr. Heather I. H. Washington Dos Santos.

Library of Congress Control Number:        2018913356

ISBN:                Hardcover                          978-1-9845-6500-6

                         Softcover                           978-1-9845-6499-3

                         eBook                                978-1-9845-6498-6

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Rev. date: 01/24/2019

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Table of Contents

List of Tables

Acknowledgments/Copyright

Abstract

I. Introduction

Problem Statement

Definition of Terms

Research Questions

Background of the Study

Exclusionary Disciplinary Practice

Low Academic Achievement

Poverty and Socio Economics

Lack of Cultural Representation

Academic Culture

Parental Support

Summary

Methodology

Research Design

Participants

Instrumentation

Data Collection

Data Analysis

Trustworthiness

Limitations/Delimitations

Limitations

Delimitations

Resulting Actions

Summary

II. Literature Review

Introduction

Exclusionary Disciplinary Practice

Implications for Grade Retention and Dropout

The School-to-Prison Pipeline

Special Education Identification

Low Academic Achievement

Racial Gaps and Academic Achievement

Perceptions for Academic Achievement

Limited Access to General Curriculum and High Quality Educators

Poverty and Socio Economics

The Disparity

The Relative Disadvantage of Poverty and Socio Economics

The School and The Disadvantage of Poverty and Socio Economics

Lack of Cultural Representation

Negative and Historical Media Portrayals

The Link to Prevailing Negative Stereotypes

Culture and the Link to Teacher Expectations

Academic Culture

Academic Socialization

Teacher Relationships

Parental Support

Parent View of Teacher Perceptions

The Misrepresentation of the African American Family

Summary

III. Methods and Procedures

Introduction and Purpose

Researcher’s Background

Research Questions

Methodology

Participants

Instrumentation

Data Collection

Data Analysis

Trustworthiness

Limitations/Delimitations

Limitations

Delimitations

Summary

IV. Findings

Introduction

Research Questions

Summary of Research Methods

Summary of Participants

Major Findings

Phase One: Initial Interviews

Theme #1: 50 Shades of Black.

Theme #2: Count Me In…Counted Out.

The Vision

Gradual Detachment

Poor Grades and Perceived Ineptitude

Theme #3: The Pendulum Swings One Way.

Exclusionary Discipline

School Discipline and Criminal Implications

Theme #4: The Riptide of Education: Pull Me Out or Let Me Drown.

Positive School Experiences

Negative School Experiences

Positive Relationships with Staff

Targeted and Stereotyped

Parental or Other Support

I Had a Role Model or Mentor

No Parental or Other Support

I Did Not Have a Role Model

Poverty and Socio Economics

Theme #5: And Then…There Was Me.

Summary

V. Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations

Introduction

Major Findings

Interpretation of Major Findings

Theme #1: 50 Shades of Black

Theme #2: Count Me In…Counted Out

Theme #3: The Pendulum Swings One Way

Theme #4: The Riptide of Education: Pull Me Out or Let Me Drown

Theme #5: And Then…There Was Me

Summary

Recommendations for Policy and Practice

Recommendations for Practice/Practitioners and for Policy Development

Recommendations for Further Research

Conclusions

REFERENCES

APPENDIXES

Appendix A: Agency Approval Letter

Appendix B: Informed Consent Form

Appendix C: Instrumentation

List of Tables

Table 1 Participant Profiles

Acknowledgments/Copyright

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

Nelson Mandela

DADDY (Marvin Washington), I could not save you, I cling to your memory, immortalize your soul, and preserve your intellect-you are ALWAYS with me.

MOMMY (Onna Moniz-John), you defy gravity, without force, you are wind! The momentum that defines who I am, and who I endeavor to be. You are my only role model, a lioness, and I, your cub. Thank you for unconditional EVERYTHING!

ADAIR (Adair Dos Santos), husband, you are the constant to my unsteady, you are selfless and solid. God sent you!

Madyson Horton, Marshall Horton, Genna Dos Santos, Gionna Dos Santos, and Dante Dos Santos, children, you are my life! I do this for you!

To my sister (Felicia Washington-Santos), brothers (Robert Williams, Rodney Williams, and Joshua Moniz-John), stepfather (Alvin John), Cuz (MaryAnn Fonseca), and all of my family and friends, thank you for unconditional love and support.

Thank you to my Major Advisor, for helping me to live in the world of my participants in order to articulate these chapters with the testimony that they deserve! Thank you to Denise Debarros, Melissa Slaiger, Mr. Deep Positivity (James McBride), and Luis Rodrigues for assisting me with this project!

To my brothers of this study, and in the memory of the late Damin Thompson and my dear cousin, the late, Ruben Roderick…the struggle is real, get up, stay up, and rise-you have no ceiling!

Thank you GOD, for without you- I am nothing!

© 2019 Dr. Heather I.H. Washington Dos Santos

Abstract

While the nation’s graduation rate, including that of African American males (AAMs), has continued to increase, the gap between AAMs and their white peers has widened (Carlson 2013; Schott Foundation, 2015). AAMs stand alone with alarming prevalence at the bottom of four-year high school graduation rates in 35 of the 48 continental states and the District of Columbia (Schott Foundation, 2015). This national trend is predicted to have significant economic, social, and financial consequences on our entire nation (Amos, 2008; Frontline, 2012).

While research supports several factors that may contribute to this phenomenon, further research is needed to explore the graduation rates among AAMs in urban school districts; since most research is concentrated in large urban school districts (Hammond et al., 2007). The purpose of this study was to identify influences indicative of the AAM dropout in urban school districts of a small northeastern state. Research questions are as follows:

1. How do AAMs, who have dropped out of high school, describe their experiences in a small urban school as compared to those AAMs who have graduated?

2. What school-related factors do AAMs who have dropped out of a small urban school identify as contributing to their decision to drop out? What factors do those AAMs who have graduated, describe as contributing to their graduation?

3. What personal, cultural, and/or socio-economic factors influence the AAM’s drop out or graduation in a small urban school setting?

In Phase One, an initial interview was conducted with research participants (N=8). In Phase Two, as a second interview, each participant was allowed to view a copy of their electronic transcript to verify the accuracy of statements as part of the process of member checking. Qualitative data were analyzed using Boyatzis’ (1998) thematic analysis framework.

Qualitative analyses revealed six themes: academic culture, the role of race and culture, academic achievement, exclusionary disciplinary practice, poverty and socio economics, and parental support.

Findings from this study may offer insight into institutional and environmental factors that contribute to this phenomenon and will support the identification of potential solutions to discourage this trend (Harper, 2012, Schott Foundation, 2015).

I. Introduction

In the United States, a student drops out of high school every 26 seconds, for a total of 7,000 students each day and over 1.2 million students per year (Miller, 2015). While the nation’s graduation rate, including that of African American males (AAMs), has continued to increase, the gap between AAMs and their white peers has widened (Carlson 2013; Schott Foundation, 2015). Research by the Schott Foundation (2015) revealed that in school year 2012-2013 where estimates could be projected, 59% of AAMs graduated from high school on time compared to 65% of Latino males and 80% of white males. The most recently documented graduation rates in school year 2014-15 were 75% for African American students and 88% for white students in comparison to the national average of 83% for all students (USDOE-Digest of Education Statistics, 2016). As a subgroup of our nation’s high school graduates, AAMs stand alone with alarming prevalence at the bottom of four-year high school graduation rates in 35 of the 48 states and the District of Columbia (Schott Foundation, 2015).

While the demands of the global economy place an emphasis on education, innovation, and skill, our country stands to lose a dangerous proportion of AAM students who will become part of the nation’s drop out statistics. This national trend may have significant economic, social, and financial consequences on our entire nation. Bureau of Labor and Statistics (2015) shows an unemployment rate of 8.6% for individuals without a high school diploma in comparison to a rate of 5.4% for those who had graduated high school. Likewise, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce-Annual Social and Economic Supplements (2013) the median income of individuals without a high school credential, aged 18 through 67, was $25,000 while individuals with a high school credential in the same age bracket earned $46,000. Research supports that implications are most disparate for African Americans. In 2015 unemployment rates for the nation averaged 5.3%, while the rate for blacks was 9.6% and 4.6% for whites (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). For black men, in particular, the unemployment rate in 2015 was 9.5% in comparison to a rate of 4.3% for white men (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015).

Problem Statement

In the urban school districts of North Springs, Valley Falls, Prudence, and Walasca (pseudo names used to protect confidentiality), in a small northeastern state, there is both a disproportionate and high dropout rate in high school for all students when compared to the state average and this disparity is more pronounced for AAMs. For the Class of 2014, this small northeastern state’s dropout rate was 8%, as compared to the average dropout rate of 15% across all four of its urban districts, with one district having a rate as high as high as 25% (XX KIDS COUNT Factbook, 2015). Similarly for the Class of 2015, the state’s dropout rate was 7% compared to the average dropout rate of 11.5% across the four urban districts (XX KIDS COUNT Factbook, 2016). For the Class of 2016, the state’s dropout rate was 8% compared to an average dropout rate of 16% for the urban districts in this state (XX KIDS COUNT Factbook, 2017). Data from The Schott Foundation (2015) further reveals that for the graduate cohort Class of 2013, the dropout rate for AAMs in this northeastern state was 32% compared to a rate of 24% for their white male counterparts.

The trend of disproportionate high school dropout rates for the four urban school districts of this northeastern state reveal a troublesome prognosis for some students in these urban core communities. Research, which also depicts significant disparities in the graduation rates between AAMs and their white male peers in these school districts, further identifies the prominent role of both gender and race in the disproportionate high school dropout rates. However, beyond gender and race, the AAMs disproportionate representation in the dropout rates in these school districts, similar to that of that of the national trend for AAMs in the nation, supports that additional factors contribute to the AAMs demise. Research supports that several factors contribute to the disproportionate high school dropout rate of AAMs in our nation:

• exclusionary disciplinary practice

• low academic achievement

• poverty and socio-economics

• lack of cultural representation

• academic culture, and

• parental support

These factors are believed to contribute to the detachment of AAMs from their educational experiences on their path towards graduation with devastating links to dropout and even incarceration (Noguera, 2008). However, further research is needed to explore this phenomenon in terms of its effect in the small urban school districts with unique diversity challenges; given most research has been concentrated in large urban school districts across the nation (Hammond, et al., 2007). This proposed study contributes to existing research on the identification of factors associated with the dropout rate of AAMs, and further examines the contribution of these factors in a small urban setting and explores these factors directly from the voice of this population. The disproportionate dropout rate is a national crisis and without remedy, the AAMs unsuccessful school experience may have devastating social, emotional, economic, and financial implications on