A Qualitative Study of Relationships between Middle Grade African American Males Who Are Underachieving and Their Teachers

Abstract

This study explores the perceptions of underachieving African American male students about their schooling experiences and their relationships with teachers. Using narrative analysis, portraiture, and heuristic inquiry, data were collected to examine whether factors exist that circumvent relationship building between African American male students and their teachers and have some bearing on learning. Data collection included interviews of six African American male students, analysis of documents such as their grades and discipline referrals, and classroom observations of them. These six African American male students were questioned about their schooling experiences, their perceptions of relationships developed with teachers, and how those relationships influenced the way they feel about themselves. Overall, the panelists had positive feelings about school. They realized schooling was an essential element for their success in life. The panelists sought affirmation by their teachers and wanted their teachers to care about them as well as their schoolwork. The students enjoyed attending classes where positive relationships existed with teachers. In those classes, the students were recognized and had a sense of purpose. Panelists did not necessarily do all assignments in classes where positive relationships existed, but they felt they were learning. Often, they submitted assignments all at once in order to make up grades. When attending classes where negative relationships prevailed, the students would often sabotage their own learning in order to misbehave and give back the pain they believed they received from the teachers. Panelists determined whether or not they were successful in school based largely on whether they were sent out of class or out of school, not on their learning. The use of learning as a measure was second. This was largely because for schools, in many cases, the adherence to rules outweighed learning. Even though some rules may have been trivial, their disregard was deemed large enough to have panelists removed from the learning environment or inhibit learning in some manner. This research did not offer remedies for the panelists; however, they were able to reflect and identify actions they could perform or not perform that would increase their chances of remaining in class to learn