Boys to Men: Reflections on Building Resilience in Young Black Male Students

Abstract

Boys to Men: Building Resilience in Young Black Male Students Stuart Rhoden Doctor of Philosophy Temple University, 2013 Will J. Jordan, Ph.D. Chair The main purpose of this research was to help identify persistence as reported by Black male college students who were the inaugural graduates of the Class of 2011 from a predominantly Black, all-male Charter High School in the Mid-Atlantic region. Examining this population of students was significant because too often Black male educational choices have been examined through the lens of deficit models. This study adds to the growing body of data which has begun to identify positive attributes of Black male role models at the secondary and postsecondary level. Identifying relevant factors which helped Black male students successfully navigate through high school despite these traditional challenges and achieve academically, has the potential to give educators strategies to help increase the likelihood of more Black males attaining higher educational achievement. One of the ways young Black males countered the toxicity of negative influences and expectations was through persistence. Thus, despite the fact that these young Black males often had to navigate through a history of racial discrimination in this country, challenges in family structure, low income, and in many cases, extremely violent neighborhoods, communities and schools, they had still experienced positive supports and maintained positive attitudes that carried them through to positive academic achievement. Central to this persistence and positive attitude was trust. In order to create more positive educational outcomes, it is critical to examine why some young Black males succeed in the face of adversity while many of their peers do not. This study was conducted qualitatively through interviewing ten graduates of a predominantly Black, all-male charter high school in the mid-Atlantic region of the country. Interviews focused on subjects background experiences growing up, their high school experiences while at DuBois Charter High School (pseudonym) and their experiences either currently attending or formerly attending college. A group interview with two key administrators, the CEO and the College Counselor at DuBois Charter high school also took place. These interviews provided contextual background information on the participants' high school experience. The significant actors who helped these young Black males achieve and attain positive academic outcomes are threefold; parent(s), peers who attended their high school, teachers and administrators of their high school. Some of the actions these mentors took to help them achieve college attendance included; teaching them how to seek academic assistance when needed, helping them become self-advocates, showing them how to learn from setbacks and move forward, helping them to present themselves in a manner that was both authentic to their culture, as well as to their academic abilities, teaching them to rise above perceived expectations of what it meant to be Black and male, and guiding them through the navigation process in a new, unfamiliar environment and being successful. Conclusions drawn from this study included; 1. Trust was essential to overcoming perceived and real structural inequalities. Educational resilience can only be demonstrated when institutions are willing to provide a safe, nurturing environment which allows for failure to contribute to positive growth. 2. Seeking academic and social assistance from peers and adults was constructive in contributing to increased positive academic achievement. 3. Cultural capital and exposure to an expansive array of experiences can help minimize the negative effects of poverty if done purposefully and reflectively. 4. Family, peers, and individual agency were critical in sustaining persistence throughout the identity development which resulted in the demonstration of resilience. 5. Understanding and nurturing the social-emotional, racial and gender identity of young Black men was an essential component to positive academic and social achievement.