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Master's Thesis: Do Public Schools Benefit Inner-City Black Men?
Ousley, Brandon Crishaun
Ousley, Brandon Crishaun
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African American boys—Education—United States, Urban schools—United States—Social aspects, Educational equalization—United States, Critical pedagogy—United States, Racism in education—United States
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to allow Black men the opportunity to share their stories of attending an urban public school during their youth. Black youth are the least studied demographic regarding educational outcomes and experiences. These experiences are conceptualized using the theoretical framework of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. One of his thoughts was the lack of creativity in education due to the dominant use of “banking” methods which place the teacher as the expert of the classroom and neglect the experiences that each child brings to the learning environment. Such restrictions have more implications which are conceptualized from Jean Anyon’s “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” where the lack of creativity in classroom was linked to job outcomes. Black men from a major urban city who attended the local public school were recruited to tell their experiences of when they were youth attending these schools over the course of a ninety-minute interview for a qualitative study. There was a total of 7 participants and out of these interviews emerged 3 major themes: school curriculum, teacher/administrative relationships, and family. According to Urie Bronfenbrenner, these themes are considered systems that interact with the child to influence and shape their school experience. With the interplay of racism and poverty as the backdrop of their city, these men tell their stories of what it was like to attend the local public school system and what it will mean for their children.