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My Existence Didn't Make No Difference to Them: Perceptions of Teacher Expectations Among African-American Students and Their Families

Malone, Larissa
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3802-3780
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1428617534

Abstract Details

2015, PHD, Kent State University, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration.
The purpose of this qualitative research was to understand the perceptions of African-American students and their families regarding teacher expectations and the experiences that shaped these perceptions. The study sought to understand the ways in which members of the African-American community processed and responded to schooling based on their interpretation of educational institutions' expectations. Critical Race Theory served as the theoretical framework which posited that culture is critical to human agency and race is relevant, salient, and is an undeniable influence on the structure of all American institutions, including schools. Findings revealed African-Americans perceived that educational institutions of America, as a whole, are inherently designed to obstruct progress towards social justice. The emergent themes of ethnic identity, racial socialization, cultural mistrust and resilience and their relevance to and the way in which they informed perceptions of teacher expectations and the discourse surrounding majority-minority relations and cultural negotiations are discussed. This inquiry concluded that the perceptions of teachers' lower expectations influenced both African-American students' approach to schooling, but did not deter them from high achievement and encouraged African-American parents' activism in countering racial biases to guide their students through school. Implications for diverse school communities include systemic efforts of inclusion, equitable treatment of all students and racial reconciliation as an integral part of increased African-American student achievement.
Vilma Seeberg, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Tricia Niesz, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Joann Dowdy, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
212 p.
Education
teacher expectations; critical race theory; ethnic identity; cultural mistrust; racial socialization; resilience; racial reconciliation

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Malone, L. (2015). My Existence Didn't Make No Difference to Them: Perceptions of Teacher Expectations Among African-American Students and Their Families [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1428617534

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Malone, Larissa. My Existence Didn't Make No Difference to Them: Perceptions of Teacher Expectations Among African-American Students and Their Families . 2015. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1428617534.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Malone, Larissa. "My Existence Didn't Make No Difference to Them: Perceptions of Teacher Expectations Among African-American Students and Their Families ." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1428617534

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1428617534
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© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.