Term of Award

Fall 2011

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies (Ed.D.)

Document Type and Release Option

Dissertation (restricted to Georgia Southern)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Curriculum, Foundations, and Reading

Committee Chair

Marla Morris

Committee Member 1

Sabrina Ross

Committee Member 2

John Weaver

Committee Member 3

Ronald Bailey

Abstract

Intertwined, in this case, suggests that important interactions take place between teachers and students that are based on the histories that both parties bring with them into the educational relationship. I contend that individual histories are born of experiences resulting from exposure to established social and cultural dynamics. Referring to education more specifically, these social and cultural dynamics are often translated through the adopted curriculum. Using Critical Race Theory as my theoretical framework and autoethnography as the methodology, this work in field of curriculum studies will consider my experiences as a black man by examining those influences and factors, namely race and masculinity, which play a role in the continuous development of my understanding of the world and how these phenomena inform my interactions with my students. I will also attempt to flesh out common themes that exist in my own personal narratives and the stories of my African American male students I have taught over the years to elucidate my thesis that institutionalized, systemic racism in education purposely has and continues to oppress and colonize the minds of black males (some of these stories are derived from participants in a male mentoring program which I began for middle school males, covering a period of five years). More specifically I will look at the ways in which the traditional curriculum in American schools has denied black males full access to educational opportunities thus stymieing transformative thinking. I acknowledge that there have been several works that include teacher narratives as the focus of the study to explain teacher interactions; however, few have used critical race theory in combination with black masculine thought while using autoethnography as instruments in which to understand these interactions. It is my hope to add valuable insight to the existing literature into how black males understand education through their experiences as racialized and gendered participants in society.

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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