Abstract:

This research examines academic experiences of African American males (ages 18-25) who attended urban schools in southern California. The participants were incarcerated for at least one year prior to being housed in a pre-release program where they reflected on their academic experiences and perceptions of the school environment. The participants’ academic experiences reflect many of the stories of young African American males in public schools. Data were collected from individual and group interview, questionnaire, observations and short writing responses providing a unique narrative within a critical race theory framework. Participants’ early academic experiences were most positive during kindergarten and declined as they grew older. The academic experiences of these young men seemed to profoundly impact their social, cultural, and psychological development as well as their life choices, which may have led to incarceration.This project used qualitative methods to examine the elementary school through high school experiences of six African American males (ages 18-25) who attended urban schools in San Diego, California. All six men were incarcerated for at least one year before participating. The research study attempted to answer the following three questions: What are the educational experiences of African American males who have been incarcerated? How do African American males, who have experienced incarceration, perceive themselves and their identity development in California’s urban schools? What perceptions do African American male students have of their urban schoolteachers’ expectations? Data were collected through individual interviews, a group interview, questionnaire, short writing responses, and observations. Content analysis was utilized to analyze the data to capture the essence of what subjects said and how they expressed it. The benefit of collecting data from oral interviews, questionnaires, and written responses was that it offered participants both a public and private means of communicating their thoughts and feelings.

Keywords:

Education, Incarceration, Black boys, Urban Education.