Perceptions of school experiences and belonging among African-American high school male students

Doctorate in Educational LeadershipNo Child Left Behind has created federal and state accountabilities for districts and schools in an effort to increase student achievement.As a result, teachers have to meet particular criteria to be identified as "high qualified".Although the testing data is disaggregated by ethnicity and there are penalties involved for schools and districts for the underperformance of subgroups, the criteria to become highly qualified does not include training to address these populations, particularly African American students.The achievement gap that exists between African Americans and other subgroups is the largest.The National Assessment of Educational Progress reports that the average eighth grade student of color performs at the same level of academic proficiency as the average fourth grade White student (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2003).The current study examined the nature of the achievement gap through interviews with nine African American high school males.The results of the study discuss how these students have perceived their educational experiences in public schools up to their junior and senior years in high school.The researcher believes that a better understanding ix of school belonging for African American males would allow educators to create school improvements and reform efforts from a more informed perspective.How do African American experience and perceive their sense of school belonging in a suburban high school?How does their perception influence their academic engagement?Parental Informed Consent Form