Urban Education Policies, Practices, and Beliefs That Work for African American Males in Urban Schools

• In Event: Education and Student Development in Cities SIG Business Meeting

Abstract

The educational status and outlook of African American adolescent males often is presented in terms of their failure compared to other racial and gender groups. Understandably, the educational data is overwhelming relative to the number of dismal reports about African American males’ outcomes in public schools. The reliance of such data, albeit useful for developing interventions for reform and improvement, belies the resilience and efforts that the high achieving subgroup of African American males make to persist in the face of exceptional odds against them within the public education system (Schott, 2010). This work reaches beyond the common stories of failure about African American males and the educators that serve them and highlights correlates of academic success for such students.

Authors

• Sophie Maxis, University of North Florida

• Bernard Oliver, University of Florida

• Christopher A. Janson, University of North Florida

• Mary Lai Rose, University of North Florida