A Qualitative Exploratory Case Study of High School African American Males and Achievement

Date

2024-04

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Abstract

The problem is high school administrators have been striving to help African American males do well on high-stakes assessments, like the End of Course (EOC) assessments. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore initiatives, school leaders, and EOC teachers' roles, which instructional strategies school leaders, EOC teachers, parents of students taking or have taken an EOC, and community stakeholders (support organizations) believe work best for teaching high school African American male students. Critical race theory and transformational leadership theory were the theoretical frameworks used. The research questions that guided the study focused on the influence of school initiatives and African American males; teachers, school leaders, and community stakeholders perceive their role in the education of high school African American males; the instructional strategies teachers, parents, and school leaders perceive to be most effective for educating African American male high school students. The sample size consisted of 15 participants. Data were collected via an open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. ATLAS.ti was used for pattern analysis. Data were analyzed using a six-step thematic analysis that revealed six themes: positive and supportive school culture, student recognition and rewards, transformational leadership, instructional leadership, project-based learning, and student-centered learning. Recommendations from this research study included significant professional development for educators, school leaders, parents, and student-centered initiatives.

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Keywords

"achievement, academic achievement, engagement, high-stakes assessments, professional development, parent involvement, student engagement"

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