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African American male teachers are increasingly becoming an endangered species among the profession of education in the public, private, and higher sectors. Working with African American males at a predominately white institution (PWI), these students are often overlooked and overburdened with outliving stereotypes that are expected of them via the media montage that has been presented by mainstream America. Fortunately, these men often arise and surpass the status quo and become what W.E.B. DuBois surmises as the talented tenth. In a candid interview with the two African American males, out of the 1,200 students who are in the teacher education program at this PWI, the students talk explicitly on how to recruit and retain African American males, like themselves, through examples, mentors, and role models that will affect the decision of future male teachers and cultivate the African American male teachers who are currently in the program. Using a qualitative research design, the students will answer several hypotheses that will allow one a closer look into the world of young African American male teacher perspectives in the PWI.

African American females make up two-thirds of African American postsecondary enrollments and 60% of all African Americans with at least a bachelor's degree. How do brothers and sisters with shared experiences have such markedly different outcomes? I find that African American females are more likely than African American males to apply to college, to attend college, and to attend two-year colleges, four-year colleges, and selective colleges. Students' backgrounds, academic achievement, and Catholic school attendance explains the differences in the type of colleges African American females and males attend, but fail to explain differences in college application and attendance rates.

This chapter focuses on successful strategies for increasing the number of males who enter and succeed in science at the college level. These strategies reflect lessons we have learned over the years from the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, launched in 1989, for high-achieving African American students in science and engineering at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).

This chapter reports on findings from a study that explored the experiences of African American young men who graduated from Du Bois Academy, an all-boys public charter secondary school in the Midwestern region of the United States. The chapter considers issues of African American male persistence and achievement and how they are impacted by school culture. Specifically, the author discusses how school culture can help shape these students’ educational experiences and aspirations. Using student narratives as the guide, a description of how Du Bois Academy successfully engaged these African American male students is provided. The students articulated three critical components of school culture that positively shaped their high achievement and engagement: (a) sense of self, (b) promotion of excellence, and (c) community building. The student narratives provided a frame for promoting positive school culture that enhances the educational experiences and academic aspirations of African American male students.

African American male students have traditionally received the most negative treatment by public educators. This study seeks to assess whether a school known to help disadvantaged students to become successful students will include African American males. The study used Henderson and Milstein's Six Trait Resiliency Model (2003): increase pro-social bonding, set clear and consistent boundaries, teach life skills, provide caring and support, set and communicate high expectations and provide opportunity for meaningful participation. This study examined the relationships between 12 African American male students in grades 3–8 and their 10 classroom teachers (nine Caucasians and one African American).

There has been a substantial increase in the number of successful African Americans. However, many students, especially African American males, continue to encounter numerous academic obstacles. This chapter focuses on the factors (e.g., social, academic, personal, and familial) that African American males often have to navigate throughout their PreK-12 schooling. Hindrances, such as poverty, lack of academic readiness, poor school experiences, teacher quality, and peer influences, often negatively impact the academic progress of these students and their access to higher level or gifted instruction. In this chapter, the authors discuss strategies that best counter these factors and support and supplement gifted black boys’ educational experiences. Additionally, educational practice and policy recommendations are provided.

School transitions have long been associated with drops in academic motivation. Literature is reviewed on both the transition from elementary school to middle school and the transition from middle school to high school, showing how changes in school context, combined with developmental changes in the child, may lead to either positive or negative changes in academic motivation. We summarize literature on school transitions for American youth in general as well as the limited literature on these transitions and their motivational consequences among African American youth. Contextual changes that occur with school transitions (e.g., race composition of schools and classrooms) co-occur with youths’ growing awareness of race, influencing the identity development and academic motivation of African American youth through several mechanisms. Three such mechanisms are discussed in detail. Race and gender academic stereotypes have the potential to shape youths’ self-perceptions, values, and goals. Racial discrimination occurs both at an institutional level (e.g., differences in school quality that place African American youth at a disadvantage) and at a personal level (e.g., a teacher’s failure to recommend a high-achieving Black child for an honors class). Racial identity can serve both as a protective factor and as a risk factor. Suggestions for future research include a closer study of specific aspects of school contexts that shape motivation, the role of families, ways in which school policies and pedagogical practices affect transition experiences, and the examination of ways in which school transitions are opportunities for fresh starts and positive change in African American youth.

This book chapter uncovers the black box of PreK-12 African American male students’ experiences and outcomes as a result of their participation in career and technical education. Theoretical and scientific literature – related to benefits and challenges of African American male students’ educational experiences in career and technical education and school reform initiatives that may contribute to their educational outcomes – is discussed. Additionally, recommendations for educational research, practice, and policy are summarized providing future directions for educational and noneducational stakeholders to consider on how career and technical education may serve the unique needs of African American males.

There are a sufficient number of African American males in higher education that could shape the foundation of scholarship which addresses African American society (Cook & Cordova, 2007). This foundation could be further strengthened through the reliance on African American faculty members. Whether they arrive as athletes, TRIO or multicultural program participants, or the sons and daughters of alumni, the key factor is forging a common understanding. The models and proposals that the authors are addressing have implications for broadening the pool of African American males to include those who are untapped and neglected through the educational process. This is consistent with the historical comments of educators, sociologists, and historians such as William Julius Wilson, who challenged the American educational system to become more inclusive and not reliant on the system to be perpetual, expecting the growth and productivity of African Americans to evolve solely from those who have prominent roles in society.

The pipeline to the professoriate in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields for African-Americans has been at best a leaky faucet. It is a common knowledge that if more African-Americans are to enter the professoriate, they must first graduate from four-year institutions in these fields. The literature is clear that historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are uniquely positioned to increase the pipeline to the professoriate for this population even in the midst of questions concerning the viability of these institutions. As a result, this study examines a unique population (i.e., African-American, academically gifted, millennial students) in HBCUs to understand the factors that facilitate successful degree attainment. On the basis of the findings of this study, recommendations will be provided for several constituents to move this population through the pipeline to the professoriate.