donald ray brown, jr., dissertation proposal defense, dissertation chair, dr. william allan...

8/14/2019 Donald Ray Brown, Jr., Dissertation Proposal Defense, Dissertation Chair, Dr. William Allan Kritsonis

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EXPLORATORY QUAILITATIVE INVESTIGATION OF

REDUCING RECIDIVISM RATES FOR AFRICANAMERICAN MALES ENROLLED INMIDDLE SCHOOL DISCIPLINARY ALTERNATIVE

EDUCATION PROGRAMS

A Dissertation Proposal

by

DONALD RAY BROWN, JR.

Dissertation Chair

William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

PhD Program in Educational Leadership



DAEP Structure

The structure of the DAEP’s both physically(by location separation) and operationally isintended to be a deterrent.

The average length of stay is between 16-45days(IDRA,1999).

Most DAEP’s Operate on a Point System thatserves as an indicator of when the child mightbe ready to exit the program (TEA,2007)



Student Cultural Dynamics

When looking at structure on a variety of culturallevels, there may be an underlying indication to the

African American student that this setting is moreculturally conducive to his learning experience. For the African American male, this environment

may be an educational environment where theyreceive individualized education assistance in a

smaller group setting. The ridged structure of a DAEP can be difficult totransition out of when students return to their homecampus/school of origin.



Student Cultural Dynamics

Multiple researchers have indicated thatthere is an overrepresentation of AfricanAmerican males in DAEP settings and in our prison systems (Tobin & Sprague, 2000;TEA, 2007; Abramson, 2008)

There is a correlation between thesedisciplinary experiences for African Americanmales (Parham & McDavis, 1987; Blake&Darling 1994; Texas Appleseed, 2007).



Institutionalization

These issues specifically influence the African

American male, because of the culture of

institutionalization in the black community.

Institutionalization conveys the messages of external

loci of control, hopelessness and cyclical

degradation of the individual experiencing it.

the structure and practices an African American male

experiences in the DAEP can in some instances, be

the expected cultural norm



Statement of the Problem

There are DAEP structural factors such as programming,operational styles and intervention components that could

contribute to the over representation of recidivism for AfricanAmerican Males in DAEP’s. The recidivism rate of 6th-8th grade African American males

returning to alternative school settings is a growing problem ineducation (IDRA, 1999).

Students who experience multiple transitions between DAEP’s

and Regular Education Settings (RES’s) tend to have difficultyadjusting in Americas Public Education System and life’schallenges (Perkins, 1991).



Statement of the Problem

Disciplinary Alternative Education Program

Literature related to overrepresentation of African American male 6th-8th grade Middle

School students does not adequately reflect

structural factors that could reduce recidivism

rates.



Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate factors

that reduce or eliminate high rates of recidivism for

African American male students enrolled in

alternative education programs.

Ultimately identifying best practices that produce low

to no recidivism rates for African American male

students enrolled in alternative education programs.



Research Questions

RQ1 How does each program structure model affect AfricanAmerican male student recidivism rates in an alternative

setting? RQ2 Is their a relationship between Teachers’ Sense of

Efficacy score and African American male student recidivismrates in disciplinary alternative education settings?

RQ3 What aspect of parental involvement influences AfricanAmerican male student recidivism rates?

RQ4 To what degree of influence does the social skillscurriculum have on African American male student recidivismrates?



Theories Guiding the Study

Reciprocal Determinism

Symbolization

Logic

Abstract Thought

Problem Solving

Social &

Cultural

Influence

Bandura Piaget

RQ1 How does each program structure model a ffect African American

male student recidivism rates in an alternative setting?

RQ2 Is their a relationship between Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy score and

African American male student recidivism rates in disciplinary alternative

education settings?RQ3 What aspect of parental involvement influences African American

male student recidivism rates?

RQ4 To what degree of influence does the social skills curriculum have on

African American male student recidivism rates?

RQ1 How does each program structure model affect African American

male student recidivism rates in an alternative setting?

RQ4 To what degree of influence does the social skills curriculum have on

African American male student recidivism rates?




Bandura’s Reciprocal Determinism Theory

Behavior influences and is influenced bypersonal factors and social environment

Most external influences affect behavior

through cognitive processing

Behavior is conditioned through the use of

consequences




Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory:

Formal Operational Stage Begins at age 12 and lasts through adulthood

Thinking hypothetically, conceptualization,

outcomes and consequences

Organized approach to problem solving



Significance of the Study

Data gathered in this study will highlight structural

procedures and interventions that help to reduce or

eliminate the percentage of African American males whoreturn to the alternative education program after a

successful completion.

This study will provide information that can help improve

alternative education for all students.



Assumptions

Piaget and Bandura paradigms support the

assumption that institutionalization impacts: 1. Interpersonal communication

2. Worldviews

3. Social and cultural interactions



Assumptions

DAEP’s maintain institutional structure and

programming by utilizing discipline measures that

stagnate development processes related to logic,abstract thought and problem solving skills that occur

during adolescence.

As such, identifying and improving upon structure,

program components and Teachers’ Sense of Teacher Efficacy can only lead to improvements in

DAEP visit outcomes.



Limitations of the Study

This study will be limited to investigatingAfrican American male middle schoolersenrolled in DAEP’s located in South EastTexas

demographics such as social economicstatus, parent marital status and the extent towhich the home schools are recognized byTEA and were not taken into account for thisstudy



Statement of Hypothesis

It is hypothesized that their will be nosignificant difference in the structure of theDAEP’s, the interventions used in theDAEP’s and the Teachers’ Sense of Teacher Efficacy of the teachers working in theDAEP’s and their impact on reducing the rate

of recidivism for African American males ingrades 6-8 enrolled in alternative educationprograms.



Sampling Methods

Homogeneous cases: only Alternative

Education Programs will be selected for thisstudy

With in the study Criterion case sampling will

be used in each alternative setting to identify

this studies population to be researched.



Themes from Literature

How DAEP’s were formed (Zweig 2003;TEA2007)

DAEP Structure and Program (Aron, 2003) Best Practice Guidelines (McCreight, 1999;

TEA, 2007)Overrepresentation of students in DAEP setting

(IDRA,1999; Skiba, Michael & Abra 2000;Zweig, 2003)



Research Design

This will be a exploratory qualitative study- allows

the researcher to first collect qualitative data and

use the findings to give direction to quantitative data

collection (Frankel & Wallen, 2006).

Interviews will be coded for the emerging and

contrasting themes

Surveys will be scored using a likert scale



Population and Sample

The target population for this study will be AfricanAmerican male 6th-8th grade DAEP Middle Schoolers

Active Participants include Principals, Counselorsand Teachers

Participants for the study were selected throughpurposive sampling-subjects are selected because

of some characteristic (Patton 1990)



Instrumentation and Pilot Study

Permission was obtained from Dr. Anita HoyWoolfolk Hoy to use the Teachers’ Sense of Teacher

Efficacy Scale A nine question pilot study will be performed to

identify program structure characteristics, programpractices – such as the level of parental involvementand the utilization of social skill curriculums and their relationship to a successful one time visit to analternative education program for the AfricanAmerican male 6th-8th grade DAEP middle schoolers



Data Collection

Surveys

Pilot Interview Questions To ensure confidentiality, each DAEP

campus was coded with alpha and number

Existing TEA Data



Data Analysis

Quantitative data will collected on Teachers’ Senseof Teacher Efficacy retracted from their responses to

the instrument, Teachers’ Sense of Teacher Efficacy Scale

Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale is designed tomeasure efficacy in student engagement,instructional practices and classroom management

Each item is measured on a 9-point scale anchoredwith the notations: “nothing, very little, someinfluence, quite a bit, a great deal”



Data Analysis

Data will be collected on DAEP program structure,teachers’ sense of efficacy scale, parental

involvement and social skills curriculum for eachschool. A Pearson r correlation coefficient will calculated to

determine if a relationship existed between thevariables and African American male recidivismrates.

Sirkin (2006) describes Pearson’s r as a “coefficientthat is used when both variables are an interval or aratio level of measurement” (p. 446)



Data Analysis

RQ1 How does each program structure model affect AfricanAmerican male student recidivism rates in an alternativesetting? Administrator interview questions, TEA DAEP Data

RQ2 Is their a relationship between Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy score and African American male student recidivismrates in disciplinary alternative education settings? Teacher Self Efficacy Scale, TEA DAEP Data

RQ3 What aspect of parental involvement influences AfricanAmerican male student recidivism rates? Administrator

interview questions, TEA DAEP Data RQ4 To what degree of influence does the Social Skills

Curriculum have on African American male student recidivismrates? TEA DAEP Data, Type of social skills curriculum



Summary

The purpose of this study is to investigate factors thatreduce or eliminate high rates of recidivism for AfricanAmerican male students enrolled in alternative educationprograms. Ultimately identifying best practices that produce lowto no recidivism rates for African American male studentsenrolled in alternative education programs.

Data gathered in this study will highlight structuralprocedures and interventions that help to reduce or eliminate

the percentage of African American males who return to thealternative education program after a successful completion.This study will produce the groundwork needed to help reformalternative education.

donald ray brown, jr., dissertation proposal defense, dissertation chair, dr. william allan...

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