Caring for Black Males in Schools: An Ethnographic Exploration of Educational Experiences of Black Males in a GED Program

Authors

  • Julia C Ransom PolicyLab at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Abstract

Black males are more likely than others to attend alternative education programs and schools (McCall, 2003; Howard, 2008). Alternative high schools and programs tend to serve a disproportionate number of male students, students of color, at risk students, and economically disadvantaged students  (McNulty & Roseboro, 2009; Watson, 2011). This ethnographic study focused on Black male students who have dropped out of traditional high school prior to attending an alternative GED program in a Northeastern city. The findings in this article are excerpted from the larger ethnographic study that addressed the following question: How do Black males’ perceptions of caring and educational experiences in an alternative GED program differ from experiences in their former traditional high school? The ethic of care theoretical framework was used to guide analysis. Findings indicated that students experienced more caring environments in the alternative GED program.

Author Biography

Julia C Ransom, PolicyLab at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Julia Ransom is a research associate at PolicyLab at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Currently, her research focuses on understanding education outcomes for students in the School District of Philadelphia.

Her previous work includes research on out of school youth, and persistence and engagement in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) subjects for students of color. Ms. Ransom received her MSEd at the University of Pennsylvania, and received her PhD in Urban Education at Temple University.

 

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Published

2016-05-18