Navigating the margins
How a culturally responsive and relevant pedagogical framework can inform the creation of a positive developmental context for African American male youth
Keywords:
African American, youth, culturally relevant, out-of-school programsAbstract
This article explores how a program that provides race-specific training and mentoring to African American male adolescents aligns with the principles of culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy. The paper draws on data from qualitative fieldwork conducted in 2011 and 2012 with 16 youth participants of an out-of-school program called the STRIVE Empowerment Program for African American Boys. Findings suggest that while STRIVE attempts to promote the positive development of African American male youth in a culturally relevant and responsive manner, the program is structured in such a fashion that it may complicate this process and, perhaps, even negate key outcomes associated with positive developmental outcomes for the adolescents it serves.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Barbour, R. S. (2001). Checklists for improving rigour in qualitative research: A case of the tail wagging the dog? BMJ : British Medical Journal, 322(7294), 1115–1117.
Brooks-Gunn, J., Duncan, G., Klebanov, P., & Sealand, N. (1993). Do neighborhoods influence child and adolescent development? American Journal of Sociology, 99, 353–395.
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage.
Collins, Patricia Hill. (2006). From Black Power to Hip Hop: Racism, Nationalism, and Feminism. Pennsylvania: Temple University Press.
Covington, J. (2010). Crime and Racial Constructions: Cultural Misinformation About African Americans in Media and Academia. Maryland: Lexington Books.
Deutsch, N. (2008). Pride in the Projects: Teens Building Identities in Urban Contexts. New York: New York University Press.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1903). The Souls of Black Folk. Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co.
Eccles, J. S., & Gootman, J. A. (2002). Community Programs to Promote Youth Development. National Academies Press.
Epstein, T., Mayorga, E., & Nelson, J. (2011). Teaching about race in an urban history class: the effects of culturally responsive teaching. Journal of Social Studies Research, 38, 1–28.
Erikson, E. H. (1959). Identity and the Life Cycle: Selected Papers. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Fenning, P., & Rose, J. (2007). Overrepresentation of African American students in exclusionary discipline: The role of school policy. Urban Education, 42, 536-559.
Ferguson, A. A. (2001). Bad Boys: Public Schools in the Making of Black Masculinity. Michigan: University of Michigan Press.
Gambone, M. A., Yu, H. C., Lewis-Charp, H., Sipe, C. L., & Lacoe, J. (2006). Youth organizing, identity-support, and youth development agencies as avenues for involvement. Journal of Community Practice, 14, 235–253.
Garabarino, J. (1995). Raising Children in a Socially Toxic Environment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Gay, G. (2000). Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
Ginwright, S. (2004). Youth Organizing: Expanding Possibilities for Youth Development (No. 3). New York, NY: Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing.
Ginwright, S., & Cammarota, J. (2006). Reframing youth resistance: Building theories of youth activism. In P. A. Noguera, S. Ginwright, & J. Cammarota (Eds.), Beyond Resistance! Youth Activism and Community Change: New Democratic Possibilities for Practice and Policy for America’s Youth. New York: Routledge.
Ginwright, S., & James, T. (2002). From assets to agents of change: Social justice, organizing, and youth development. New Directions in Youth Development, 96, 27-46.
Hanlon, T. E., Simon, B. D., O’Grady, K. E., Carswell, S. B., & Callaman, J. M. (2009). The Effectiveness of an After-school Program Targeting Urban African American Youth. Education and Urban Society, 42, 96–118.
Howell, J. C. (1995). Guide for Implementing the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders. US Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/guide.pdf
Huizinga, D., Loeber, R., Thornberry, T., & Cothern, L. (2000). Co-occurrence of Delinquency and Other Problem Behaviors. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Jackson, T. O. (2011). Developing sociopolitical consciousness at Freedom Schools: Implications for culturally responsive teacher preparation. Teaching Education, 22, 277–290.
Jennings, L. B., Parra-Medina, D. M., Hilfinger-Messias, D. K., & McLoughlin, K. (2006). Toward a critical social theory of youth empowerment. Journal of Community Practice, 14, 31–55.
Kayitsinga, J., & Villarruel, F. (2008). The social context of after-school programs in Michigan. Latinos in Michigan. Michigan: The Julian Samora Research Institute.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). But that’s just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory into Practice, 34, 159–165.
Ladson-Billings, Gloria. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32, 465–91.
Lee, C. D., Spencer, M. B., & Harpalani, V. (2003). “Every shut eye ain’t sleep”: Studying how people live culturally. Educational Researcher, 32, 6–13.
Lerner, R., Almerigi, J., Theokas, C., & Lerner, J. (2005). Positive youth development: A view of the issues. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 25, 10–16.
Mahoney, J. L., Larson, R. W., & Eccles, J. S. (2005). Organized Activities as Contexts of Development: Extracurricular Activities, After School and Community Programs. New Jersey: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, Inc.
Mendel, R. (2011). No Place for Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration. Washington, D.C.: Anne E. Casey Foundation.
Nissen, L. B. (2011). Community-directed engagement and positive youth development: Developing positive and progressive pathways between youth and their communities in Reclaiming Futures. Children and Youth Services Review, 33, S23–S28.
Noguera, P. A. (2008). The Trouble with Black Boys: And Other Reflections on Race, Equity, and the Future of Public Education. California: John Wiley & Sons.
Reclaiming Futures Seattle–King County WA (2010). Program materials. Retrieved from http://www.reclaimingfutures.org/sites_washington_king
Riggs, N., Bohnert, A., Guzman, M., & Davidson, D. (2010). Examining the potential of community-based after-school programs for Latino youth. American Journal of Community Psychology, 45, 417-429.
Schott Foundation for Public Education. (2004). Public Education and Black Male Students: A State Report Card. Cambridge, MA: Schott Foundation for Public Education.
Sharp, E. H., & Coatsworth, J. D. (2012). Adolescent future orientation: The role of identity discovery in self-defining activities and context in two rural samples. Identity, 12, 129–156.
Skiba, R. J., Peterson, R. L., & Williams, T. (1997). Office referrals and suspension: Disciplinary intervention in middle schools. Education and Treatment of Children, 20, 295–315.
Testa, A. (2007). Statistically speaking: Disproportionate minority contact within the juvenile justice system. Children’s Legal Rights Journal, 27, 70–72.
Thomas, O., Davidson, W., & McAdoo, H. (2008). An evaluation study of the Young Empowered Sisters (YES!) Program: Promoting cultural assets among African American adolescent girls through a culturally relevant school-based intervention. Journal of Black Psychology, 34, 281–308.
U. S. Census Bureau. (2010). American Community Survey 2010: Selected Social and Economic Characteristics. U. S. Census Bureau. Retrieved from http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
U. S. Department of Education. (2012). Civil Rights Data Collection. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Education.
Vandell, D. L., Pierce, K. M., & Dadisman, K. (2005). Out-of-school settings as a developmental context for children and youth. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 33, 43–77.
Villegas, A. M., & Lucas, T. (2002). Preparing culturally responsive teachers: Rethinking the curriculum. Journal of Teacher Education, 53, 20–32.
West, H. (2010). Prison inmates at midyear 2009: Statistical tables. U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved from http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=2200
Brooks-Gunn, J., Duncan, G., Klebanov, P., & Sealand, N. (1993). Do neighborhoods influence child and adolescent development? American Journal of Sociology, 99, 353–395.
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide through Qualitative Analysis. London: Sage.
Collins, Patricia Hill. (2006). From Black Power to Hip Hop: Racism, Nationalism, and Feminism. Pennsylvania: Temple University Press.
Covington, J. (2010). Crime and Racial Constructions: Cultural Misinformation About African Americans in Media and Academia. Maryland: Lexington Books.
Deutsch, N. (2008). Pride in the Projects: Teens Building Identities in Urban Contexts. New York: New York University Press.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1903). The Souls of Black Folk. Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co.
Eccles, J. S., & Gootman, J. A. (2002). Community Programs to Promote Youth Development. National Academies Press.
Epstein, T., Mayorga, E., & Nelson, J. (2011). Teaching about race in an urban history class: the effects of culturally responsive teaching. Journal of Social Studies Research, 38, 1–28.
Erikson, E. H. (1959). Identity and the Life Cycle: Selected Papers. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Fenning, P., & Rose, J. (2007). Overrepresentation of African American students in exclusionary discipline: The role of school policy. Urban Education, 42, 536-559.
Ferguson, A. A. (2001). Bad Boys: Public Schools in the Making of Black Masculinity. Michigan: University of Michigan Press.
Gambone, M. A., Yu, H. C., Lewis-Charp, H., Sipe, C. L., & Lacoe, J. (2006). Youth organizing, identity-support, and youth development agencies as avenues for involvement. Journal of Community Practice, 14, 235–253.
Garabarino, J. (1995). Raising Children in a Socially Toxic Environment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Gay, G. (2000). Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
Ginwright, S. (2004). Youth Organizing: Expanding Possibilities for Youth Development (No. 3). New York, NY: Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing.
Ginwright, S., & Cammarota, J. (2006). Reframing youth resistance: Building theories of youth activism. In P. A. Noguera, S. Ginwright, & J. Cammarota (Eds.), Beyond Resistance! Youth Activism and Community Change: New Democratic Possibilities for Practice and Policy for America’s Youth. New York: Routledge.
Ginwright, S., & James, T. (2002). From assets to agents of change: Social justice, organizing, and youth development. New Directions in Youth Development, 96, 27-46.
Hanlon, T. E., Simon, B. D., O’Grady, K. E., Carswell, S. B., & Callaman, J. M. (2009). The Effectiveness of an After-school Program Targeting Urban African American Youth. Education and Urban Society, 42, 96–118.
Howell, J. C. (1995). Guide for Implementing the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders. US Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/guide.pdf
Huizinga, D., Loeber, R., Thornberry, T., & Cothern, L. (2000). Co-occurrence of Delinquency and Other Problem Behaviors. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Jackson, T. O. (2011). Developing sociopolitical consciousness at Freedom Schools: Implications for culturally responsive teacher preparation. Teaching Education, 22, 277–290.
Jennings, L. B., Parra-Medina, D. M., Hilfinger-Messias, D. K., & McLoughlin, K. (2006). Toward a critical social theory of youth empowerment. Journal of Community Practice, 14, 31–55.
Kayitsinga, J., & Villarruel, F. (2008). The social context of after-school programs in Michigan. Latinos in Michigan. Michigan: The Julian Samora Research Institute.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). But that’s just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory into Practice, 34, 159–165.
Ladson-Billings, Gloria. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32, 465–91.
Lee, C. D., Spencer, M. B., & Harpalani, V. (2003). “Every shut eye ain’t sleep”: Studying how people live culturally. Educational Researcher, 32, 6–13.
Lerner, R., Almerigi, J., Theokas, C., & Lerner, J. (2005). Positive youth development: A view of the issues. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 25, 10–16.
Mahoney, J. L., Larson, R. W., & Eccles, J. S. (2005). Organized Activities as Contexts of Development: Extracurricular Activities, After School and Community Programs. New Jersey: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates, Inc.
Mendel, R. (2011). No Place for Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration. Washington, D.C.: Anne E. Casey Foundation.
Nissen, L. B. (2011). Community-directed engagement and positive youth development: Developing positive and progressive pathways between youth and their communities in Reclaiming Futures. Children and Youth Services Review, 33, S23–S28.
Noguera, P. A. (2008). The Trouble with Black Boys: And Other Reflections on Race, Equity, and the Future of Public Education. California: John Wiley & Sons.
Reclaiming Futures Seattle–King County WA (2010). Program materials. Retrieved from http://www.reclaimingfutures.org/sites_washington_king
Riggs, N., Bohnert, A., Guzman, M., & Davidson, D. (2010). Examining the potential of community-based after-school programs for Latino youth. American Journal of Community Psychology, 45, 417-429.
Schott Foundation for Public Education. (2004). Public Education and Black Male Students: A State Report Card. Cambridge, MA: Schott Foundation for Public Education.
Sharp, E. H., & Coatsworth, J. D. (2012). Adolescent future orientation: The role of identity discovery in self-defining activities and context in two rural samples. Identity, 12, 129–156.
Skiba, R. J., Peterson, R. L., & Williams, T. (1997). Office referrals and suspension: Disciplinary intervention in middle schools. Education and Treatment of Children, 20, 295–315.
Testa, A. (2007). Statistically speaking: Disproportionate minority contact within the juvenile justice system. Children’s Legal Rights Journal, 27, 70–72.
Thomas, O., Davidson, W., & McAdoo, H. (2008). An evaluation study of the Young Empowered Sisters (YES!) Program: Promoting cultural assets among African American adolescent girls through a culturally relevant school-based intervention. Journal of Black Psychology, 34, 281–308.
U. S. Census Bureau. (2010). American Community Survey 2010: Selected Social and Economic Characteristics. U. S. Census Bureau. Retrieved from http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
U. S. Department of Education. (2012). Civil Rights Data Collection. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Education.
Vandell, D. L., Pierce, K. M., & Dadisman, K. (2005). Out-of-school settings as a developmental context for children and youth. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 33, 43–77.
Villegas, A. M., & Lucas, T. (2002). Preparing culturally responsive teachers: Rethinking the curriculum. Journal of Teacher Education, 53, 20–32.
West, H. (2010). Prison inmates at midyear 2009: Statistical tables. U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved from http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=2200
Additional Files
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Navigating the margins: How a culturally responsive and relevant pedagogical framework can inform the creation of a positive developmental context for African American male youth. (2014). Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, 2(2), 60-80. https://ojed.org/jise/article/view/1484
