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Reaching Beyond the Classroom: Forging School-Community Ties to Shape Black Adolescent Boys’ Perceived Mattering

Thu, April 24, 1:45 to 3:15pm MDT (1:45 to 3:15pm MDT), The Colorado Convention Center, Floor: Terrace Level, Bluebird Ballroom Room 3B

Abstract

School-community connections positively impact adolescent Black boys’ well-being and school achievement. Social psychological “mattering” emerges from perceiving value and significance from positive interpersonal engagements in ways that underscore adolescents’ well-being. Yet little is known about how school-community connections foster adolescents’ perceived mattering. We deployed in-depth focus groups with five Black adolescent boys through our school-university partnership called The Black Boy Mattering Project. Findings draw from the boys’ description of interactions within school, illustrating how a poor connection to Black boys valued, or important, communities, elicits a sense of “marginal'' mattering. Implications support scholars and educators in fostering affirming schools where Black boys’ can perceive their “comprehensive” mattering.

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