Because the Majority of the Students Are Not White: A Critical Race Case Pedagogy of Urban Youth Who “Drop Out” and Return to High School

• In Event: Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: Special Education, Special Needs, and Disproportionality Related to Race, Gender, and Empowerment

Abstract

Researchers have examined how student perceptions of race influence their academic achievement in school. In terms of dropout rates, students of color have been termed "at-risk", unteachable, and a menace to society. Limited research has examined youth that dropout and then return. This study explores the counterstories of sixteen Black and Hispanic youth that dropped out of the public school system and re-enrolled using Critical Race Case Pedagogy. Findings indicated that the students’ understandings of race, gender, and social class influenced how they perceived of school when returning.

Author

• Dorothy E. Hines, University of Kansas