Browsing by Subject "Deficit thinking"
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Item Dropouts and a Dropout Recovery Program at a Suburban High-poverty High School Near a Large Urban Area(2013-12-11) Butler, Pamela WThe decision to drop out of high school is a serious problem for the individual making the decision to drop out, but it also has dramatic implications for their families, their communities, and the economic health of the greater community. As a result, the literature on the causes of dropouts is prolific. However, I find that much of this literature is focused on blaming the students and their families for dropping out of high school. Thankfully, there is also much critique of the mainstream view as to the causes of dropouts. This critique of the mainstream literature places significant blame on our schools for causing students to drop out and considers schools?rather than students?at-risk for failing our students and actually pushing students out of school before they graduate. This critical view of the mainstream viewpoint focuses on the economic, social, and personal issues that cause students to be pushed out of school before they graduate. While this study surveys the mainstream literature on the subject of dropouts, the focus of this study supports the critical approach. The purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to conduct an in-depth study of the students, and dropout prevention and recovery efforts in place at a high-poverty high school during the 2007 through 2013 academic years. A goal of the study was to create a profile of a dropout at the school during that time period and to begin to create a plan that will reduce the number of students who drop out of the high school as well as the other four high schools in the district. Accordingly, for this study I examined quantitative data regarding students who dropped out of a high-poverty high school in order to look for patterns in the data that may help in creating a profile of a dropout at the school. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with professional staff that worked at the school and students who recently attended the school. Half of the students interviewed had not dropped out of high school and the other half chose to drop out. The purpose of the interviews was to hear the perspectives of key individuals who have personally experienced the drop out problem in hopes that their voices would further contribute to the creation of a profile of a dropout and ultimately assist with solutions to the problem. Findings support other research that shows there is no single predictor or indicator of what causes a student to dropout of high school. In fact, the data in the quantitative section about each individual dropout indicate that the dropouts possessed some or several of the typical dropout at-risk indicators such as being poor, have low-academic achievement, being previously retained, having a history of discipline problems, and having high absenteeism. While some of the students I interviewed possessed some of these same characteristics, not all did and in fact, interview data indicate that each student saw the importance of graduating and were frustrated that school and personal circumstances prevented this accomplishment. Another finding was that the adult interview data indicated traces of deficit thinking in how they were addressing the dropouts from their schools. Solutions suggested include addressing the deficit thinking, academic programming, and systems that need to be in place in order to better assist students who are at-risk for dropping out of high school.Item The perceptions and experiences of white special education teachers certified through an ACP program at a HBCU(2010-05) Budd, Eric Eugene; Sorrells, Audrey McCray; Garcia, Shernaz; Schaller, James; O'Reilly, Mark; Moore, AliciaThis research study explored and analyzed the perception and attitudes of first year White special education teachers’ experiences as they successfully matriculated through an alternative teacher certification program with a concentration in Special Education. The certifying entity for this teacher preparation program was a historically Black university (HBCU). It was the intent of this study to gather data on how White first year special education teachers view multiculturalism and diversity. This studied explored the rationale for why White pre-service teachers would select a HBCU to prepare them to enter the teaching field. This was a qualitative study using a naturalistic inquiry approach to learn about the perception of the participants. There were five participants selected to participant in this study. A set of guiding questions were used in order to maintain a focus, provide structure and give consistency to the interview process. The participants all were teaching in special education classrooms in large urban school districts. The classrooms they taught in were culturally and linguistically diverse. The data collection methods used included interviews, small group discussions and surveys. These interactions were audio taped then transcribed. The transcriptions were then reviewed by the participants to incorporate a member checking mechanism for the study. All five of the participants believed they benefitted from receiving their teaching certification from the HBCU. Their goal was to work in an urban setting and they agreed the certification program they attended helped them to become aware of the importance of celebrating diversity in their classes. All of the participants described an awakening to the challenges faced by students from low socio-economic, culturally and linguistically diverse students. Along with this epiphany the participants discussed the need to close the cultural gap between themselves and the students they teach. They all realized the importance of closing the gap in order to build mutual trust in their classrooms. The implications for future research include a broader study of the strategies used by White teachers to connect with culturally and linguistically diverse students in their classrooms.