Black male partial (in)visibility syndrome: a qualitative study of the narratives of Black masculine identities at the Pebbles School

Laing, Tony

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Description

Title

Black male partial (in)visibility syndrome: a qualitative study of the narratives of Black masculine identities at the Pebbles School

Author(s)

Laing, Tony

Issue Date

2015-01-21

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Mayo, Cris

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Mayo, Cris

Committee Member(s)

• McCarthy, Cameron R.
• Baber, Lorenzo
• Hamer, Jennifer

Department of Study

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Discipline

Educational Policy Studies

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Black males
• Masculinity
• Gender
• Sexual Orientation
• K-12 Education
• Single-Gender Schools

Abstract

This dissertation explores how 12 diverse Black males who attend or graduated from the Pebbles School—an urban all-male public combined middle and high school—constructed, perceived, and negotiated their identities as males. Examining the relationship between masculinity and education, my study is situated at the intersection of education policy, gender and ethnic studies, and draws on work in Black Masculinity Studies for analyzing narratives and messages of participants. I found that these Black males faced enormous pressures to adopt hegemonic traits of masculinity, but also had to regularly define their own, complicated masculinities, which was relational to family, peers and teachers’ expectations for their masculinity constructions. Additionally, this study uncovered that many of the stereotypes that routinely define Black males’ perceived masculinities in co-educational schools didn’t lessen because of their enrollment in an all-male, majority-Black male school. By focusing on the diverse experiences of young Black males in single-gender schools designed for their educational needs, I argued complex masculinities needs to be reflected in curricula, pedagogy, and policy.

Graduation Semester

2014-12

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/73099

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2014 Tony A. Laing

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