Never Quit: The Complexities of Promoting Social and Academic Excellence at a Single-Gender School for Urban African American Males

This study explores the experiences of urban African American males at a first year single-gender charter school in the Southern region of the United States. The present case study was based on interviews and focus groups with parents, teachers, students, and the school administrator, and a participant observation of Excel Academy [pseudonym]. The findings of this study suggest that there were four critical instructional complexities that emerged: expectations dissonance, disguised engagement, differential engagement, and expectations overload. Remarkably, these issues were being addressed by a school value created by students and institutionalized by teachers--To Never Quit. Recommendations to address each instructional complexity are explored

Kindling the Spark of Black Male Genius through Education

This essay examines the nature of inopportunity associated with blackmaleness, synthesizes the narratives of the other contributors to this issue of the journal, and offers recommendations for how education can support Black males' academic, social, and cultural maturation. While African American males face daunting economic and educational challenges, James and Lewis argue that they can navigate through them to obtain academic and career success while still maintaining their identity as Black males

Ecologies of Hope: Understanding Educational Success Among Black Males in an Urban Midwestern City

The American Psychological Association\u27s Task Force on Resilience and Strength in Black Children and Adolescents (2008) called for resilience frameworks particularly designed to understand African American development. Thus, the present study explores the lives of seven academically successful Black males in an urban midwestern city. Using a Critical Race Theory framework, the researchers center the counterstories of men of color who matriculated through college from a failing high school in a challenging urban community. Using constant comparative analysis, two critical themes emerged: extended family and extended kinship support networks. A synthesis of these themes resulted in an emergent framework entitled Ecology of Hope, which advances resilience theory (APA, 2008) through centering the strengths vested within African American families, community organizations, and social networks

Education no longer deferred: the possibilities of educating urban african american males in a single gender school.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the emerging school culture of Excel Academy for Boys [Pseudonym] located in the Southwestern region of the United States, and how it contributes to the social and academic development of urban African American male students. This case study was based on interviews and focus groups with parents, teachers, students, and the school administrator. Additionally, the researcher conducted participant observations of school meetings, new parent orientations, new teacher interviews, and reviewed student academic and behavioral records. This exploratory analysis consisted of two separate; but interrelated, qualitative studies relevant to educating urban African American males. The first inquiry featured a case study of Excel Academy for Boys, a singlegender middle school serving urban African American males. This detailed examination of Excel Academy’s organizational habitus yielded the Building African American Males Model. This organizational process was characterized by four essential factors that included: (1) educational justice; (2) expectations monitoring; (3) expectations casting; and (4) a culture of Effort. Particular attention was given to how each factor promoted community-school synergy or organizational synergy. These processes were essential for creating a school culture and climate that promoted the emotional, social, and academic maturation of students. Implications for protecting and strengthening the organizational habitus of Excel Academy were offered and broader implications for the emerging African American males’ school movement were discussed. The second study of Excel Academy uncovered four complexities that teachers, parents, and the school leader encountered as they sought to meet the social, emotional, and academic needs of urban African American males. These four critical complexities emerged through observations of the educational processes at Excel Academy, and were labeled: 1) expectations dissonance; 2) disguised engagement; 3) differential engagement, and 4) expectations overload. The emergence of each factor was detailed, and recommendations were offered to address each complexity

Pedagogias trans/plurilíngues: Uma Multietnografia

Trans/plurilingual theory and pedagogies have been generating extensive attention within global English language teaching and teacher education. This article responds to the burgeoning area of trans/plurilingual pedagogies, outlining diverse pedagogical practices and perspectives from a group of English language educators at a large, cosmopolitan Canadian university. Considering recent assertions that there are onto-epistemological differences between multilingualism, plurilingualism, and translingualism, this article looks to demonstrate how (or even if) these differences manifest in the pedagogical practices of diverse faculty within the same language teaching and teacher education programs. Drawing on multiethnographic data, this article concludes with a discussion of the potential and limitations of critical pedagogies, the affordances of multiethnography as an accessible methodology for use by researchers and pedagogues, and a call for greater bi-directional knowledge flow between language researchers and classroom instructors.A teoria e as pedagogias trans/plurilíngues têm gerado uma atenção extensiva dentro do ensino global da língua inglesa e formação de professores. Este artigo responde à crescente área de pedagogias trans/plurilíngues, esboçando diversas práticas e perspectivas pedagógicas de um grupo de educadores de língua inglesa em uma grande e cosmopolita universidade canadense. Tomando como ponto de partida a afirmação recente de que existem diferenças epistemológicas entre multilinguismo, plurilinguismo e translinguismo, este artigo procura demonstrar como (ou mesmo se) essas diferenças se manifestam nas práticas pedagógicas de diversos docentes dentro de um mesmo programa de ensino de línguas e de formação de professores. Este artigo conclui com uma discussão sobre o potencial e as limitações das pedagogias "críticas", as possibilidades da multietnografia como uma metodologia acessível para uso por pesquisadores e pedagogos, e um apelo para um maior fluxo de conhecimento bidirecional entre pesquisadores de idiomas e instrutores de sala de aula

Total Marginality: Cumulative Marginality among African American Students at a Predominantly White Institution

This study examines the cumulative nature of marginality felt by African American undergraduates attending a Predominantly White institution (PWI). In-depth semi-structured interviews with ten African American college upperclassmen revealed the need for conceptualization of student marginality at PWIs. The participants detailed their exposure to varying levels of marginality in campus spaces, classrooms, course curriculum, residence halls, the community surrounding the institution, elements of their home environment, and interracial and intraracial interactions with students. This study moves beyond descriptive analyses (Feagin, Vera, & Imani 1996; Davis, Dias-Bowie, Greenberg, Klukken, Pollio, Thomas, & Thompson, 2004; Lewis, Ginsberg, Davis, & Smith, 2004) and offers total marginality as an emergent theory affirming the collective weight of marginality on student development. Recommendations for redressing total marginality are provided

A Baseline Study on the Quality and Safety of Consumption of a Pest Species (Sarotherodon melanotheron) in Bataan, Philippines: Basis for Its Productive Utilization in the Fisheries Sector

The baseline study profiled Black-chin Tilapia (Sarotherodon.melanotheron), a fish farm pest species in Bataan, Philippines, in terms ofyield (processing and fillet), proximate composition (moisture, ash, crudefat, and crude protein), heavy metal load (cadmium [Cd], lead [Pb], arsenic[As], and mercury [Hg]), and microbial count (aerobic plate, Escherichiacoli, and Staphylococcus aureus counts). The purpose was to establish thespecies’ safety and quality for consumption and potential utilization inthe processing of higher value fishery products. A completely randomizedexperiment using two factors, fish size (standard and small sizes) andcollection season (dry and wet seasons), was employed. The collected datawere also compared against food consumption and processing standardsand/or previous reports on more valuable species. The results showed thatthe species has a comparable yield and mineral load with the more popularfarmed Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). It has high moisture andprotein compositions. It is a lean fish that can serve as a cheaper functionalraw material for processed fishery products. Moreover, the results showedthat the species have no As, Cd, and Pb contamination, although traces ofHg, far below the permissible limits, were detected. The Hg load variesacross collection season and fish maturity suggesting its manageability.For the microbial contents, the species’ aerobic plate, Escherichia coli, andStaphylococcus aureus counts were far below the standard limits, althoughbest post-capture practices are still suggested due to the kind of microbialparameters measured. It was concluded that the Sarotherodon melanotheroninfesting Bataan farm ponds can be consumed safely and has the qualityof potential raw material for processed fishery products. However, furtherinformation is still needed to establish the best post-capture handling on thespecies. Also, more studies must be done to determine the impact of storageand processing on its stability