Identifying With School: The Case Studies of Two African American Boys

• In Event: Roundtable Session 73
  In Roundtable Session: The Challenge of Schooling With Males at Every Level

Abstract

This qualitative study uses observation and interview data to examine the patterns of engagement and attitudes toward school of two African American elementary age boys attending a school that serves predominantly low SES families. The study is rooted in the idea that patterns of participation and attitudes toward academics start to develop in the early years of schooling and serve as the foundation for an emerging identification with academics. Focused on the daily experiences and voices of the boys, initial analysis suggests that each of these boys is struggling academically and socially and is in jeopardy of disidentifying from school.

Author

• Vicki A. Vescio, University of Florida