Shaping Black Boys: Exploring School Construction of Masculinity and the Impact on Black Male Scholastic Perceptions Toward Academic Achievement and Schooling

African American boys face unique challenges. They are more likely to be suspended or expelled from school than any other racial group (Losen, 2015). Equally disturbing, African American male students are largely suspended for more subjective and ambiguous reasons such as appearing “threatening or disrespectful” (Verdugo, 2007, p. 60). Research on teacher bias in the classroom has indicated that “African American males are generally viewed as possessing characteristics incongruent with academic success (e.g., laziness), valuing athletics over academic accomplishments, and having a propensity toward aggression and violence” (Thomas & Stevenson, 2009, p. 162). These issues experienced by African American males underscore the important role of education, which is likely to be predictive of life trajectory. Using a qualitative case study design, this study sought to: (1) explore how young African American males conceptualize masculinity, (2) how they make sense of the school’s role in constructing Black masculinity, and (3) its impact on their feelings and attitudes toward school. Results of this study indicated that teachers had a vital role in shaping and reinforcing negative constructions of Black masculinity and that African American boys’ perceptions of Black masculinity strongly paralleled these negatively perceived teacher constructions. In addition, the intersectionality of race and gender had a major role in instances of teacher favoritism relative to girls and during occasions of relational aggression, in which teachers did not intervene when girls bullied boys. Implications are presented along with recommendations

Using Student Voice to Respond to Middle School Bullying: A Student Leadership Approach

Bullying prevention and intervention are ongoing challenges for all educators, school psychologists included. A lack of research exists regarding the potential role of middle school students as direct actors in bullying prevention and intervention. This article describes a novel student leadership group for seventh graders in which the primary leadership task was the creation of bullying prevention ideas for their school. The details of this group are described, as are the results of postgroup student interviews. Results indicate that the students found the group to be valuable. However, the broader collaborative effort between educators at this school and the university researchers to maintain a comprehensive bullying prevention system did not survive the school’s reorganization. This article addresses the lessons learned and the potential implication of this project for school psychology practice