Date of Award
2018
Access Restriction
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctorate in Education
Department
Education
School or College
School of Education
First Advisor
Elizabeth Reilly
Second Advisor
Terese Aceves
Third Advisor
William Parham
Abstract
Historically, African American male students have been disproportionately overrepresented in special education under the eligibility categories emotional disturbance, and behavior disorders. Additionally, African American male students with disabilities have consistently underperformed academically. If a student does not perceive that the teacher cares for him, it may be more difficult for a teacher to be successful in engaging the student in the learning experience. The literature indicates that care is a basic need that is grounded in relationships. In schools, those relationships are based on the interaction between the student and teacher. There is a lack of data that specifically addresses the care of African American male students with special needs in nonpublic-school settings. This qualitative study utilized interviewing as a methodology to better understand how the care of a teacher supported the educational experience of African American males for the purpose of informing teachers and leaders in how to work with this specific population of students by addressing the following research questions: (a) How do African American male secondary school students with special needs define care? (b) To what extent do African American male secondary school students with special needs’ perceptions of teacher care affect their educational experiences? (c) Based on African American male secondary school students' with special needs perceptions of teacher care, how are the components of the ethic of care demonstrated in the classroom by the teacher? (d) How are the three suppositions of culturally relevant pedagogy demonstrated by the classroom teacher, according to the perceptions of African American male secondary school students with special needs?
Recommended Citation
Watts, Didi, "In Our Own Voices: Perceptions of Teacher Care Among African American Male Secondary Students with Special Needs" (2018). LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations. 539.
https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd/539
