A Causal Comparative Investigation of Traditional vs. Specialized Public Secondary Programs' Effectiveness in Preparing Black Students for College
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Date
2019-10-25
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Department
Advanced Studies, Leadership, and Policy
Program
Doctor of Education
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Abstract
This causal comparative study examined the effectiveness of three secondary public-school types in preparing Black (categorized as African American, people of African descent living in America, Caribbean, and/or Hispanic of African descent, and Bi-Racial) students for college. More specifically, this study compared college readiness variables at traditional versus specialized (magnet and career technical education—CTE) public secondary programs’ effectiveness in preparing Black students for college. This study described the basic characteristics of the above-mentioned school types, characteristics of effective schools, and key characteristics of college and career readiness (CCR) and used the results of this study to see which schools seemed more effective in preparing Black students for college, and, ultimately, for careers.
Historically, Black students have not been equally prepared in grades k-12 for them to have the same post-secondary or workforce options as their non-Black peers. For several decades, traditional public schools have served predominantly the Black urban poor, and their educational attainment has remained stagnant at an all-time low. If traditional public schools educate the largest percentage of Black and minority students in the country, it seems logical to conclude traditional schools are failing a majority of Black and brown students. Thus, the framework used for this research was Dr. David Conley’s Four Keys to College and Career Readiness and Dr. Ronald Edmonds’ Effective Schools Theory. This was a unique way of looking at Black students’ college preparedness based on school types.