The purpose of this study was to gain and examine the parent and caretaker perspectives of African American male students and their out-of-school suspensions during middle school. African American male students are similar to an archipelago; although this group of students are a part of the school, they are slowly drifting away. The participants in this study included six African American parents from Midwestern Michigan whose sons did not primarily experience out-of-school suspensions prior to middle school. All of the participants voluntarily provided candid insight and background information on their son’s agency and school experience. The parents also provided school-related reasons for their son’s school suspensions as well as personal reasons they believe attributed to their son’s behavior in school. I interpreted the parent responses through the critical race theory and the ecological theory lens and methodological frameworks. Exploring the findings of the parents provided depth and scope into a phenomenon that has been researched for over 30 years. It also served to broaden the understanding of societal factors that have impeded and negatively influenced educational stakeholders, with the hope of future positive school-related outcomes for African American male students.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study was to gain and examine the parent and caretaker perspectives of African American male students and their out-of-school suspensions during middle school. African American male students are similar to an archipelago; although this group of students are a part of the school, they are slowly drifting away. The participants in this study included six African American parents from Midwestern Michigan whose sons did not primarily experience out-of-school suspensions prior to middle school. All of the participants voluntarily provided candid insight and background information on their son’s agency and school experience. The parents also provided school-related reasons for their son’s school suspensions as well as personal reasons they believe attributed to their son’s behavior in school. I interpreted the parent responses through the critical race theory and the ecological theory lens and methodological frameworks. Exploring the findings of the parents provided depth and scope into a phenomenon that has been researched for over 30 years. It also served to broaden the understanding of societal factors that have impeded and negatively influenced educational stakeholders, with the hope of future positive school-related outcomes for African American male students.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ivey, Faith"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Leadership and Counseling","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Ronald Williamson, PhD, Chair","David Anderson, PhD","Patrice Bounds, PhD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:40Z","subjects":["African American males","Black boys","middle school","parent perspectives","school suspension","school-to-prison pipeline","Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1053","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Ronald Williamson, PhD, Chair","David Anderson, PhD","Patrice Bounds, PhD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ivey, Faith"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2021-02-16T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Leadership and Counseling"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["African American males","Black boys","middle school","parent perspectives","school suspension","school-to-prison pipeline","Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1053"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study was to gain and examine the parent and caretaker perspectives of African American male students and their out-of-school suspensions during middle school. African American male students are similar to an archipelago; although this group of students are a part of the school, they are slowly drifting away. The participants in this study included six African American parents from Midwestern Michigan whose sons did not primarily experience out-of-school suspensions prior to middle school. All of the participants voluntarily provided candid insight and background information on their son’s agency and school experience. The parents also provided school-related reasons for their son’s school suspensions as well as personal reasons they believe attributed to their son’s behavior in school. I interpreted the parent responses through the critical race theory and the ecological theory lens and methodological frameworks. Exploring the findings of the parents provided depth and scope into a phenomenon that has been researched for over 30 years. It also served to broaden the understanding of societal factors that have impeded and negatively influenced educational stakeholders, with the hope of future positive school-related outcomes for African American male students.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["What happened to my son: Parent perspectives of African American male students and their out-of-school suspensions during middle school"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Ronald Williamson, PhD, Chair","David Anderson, PhD","Patrice Bounds, PhD"],"dc:creator":["Ivey, Faith"],"dc:date.available":["2021-02-16T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study was to gain and examine the parent and caretaker perspectives of African American male students and their out-of-school suspensions during middle school. African American male students are similar to an archipelago; although this group of students are a part of the school, they are slowly drifting away. The participants in this study included six African American parents from Midwestern Michigan whose sons did not primarily experience out-of-school suspensions prior to middle school. All of the participants voluntarily provided candid insight and background information on their son’s agency and school experience. The parents also provided school-related reasons for their son’s school suspensions as well as personal reasons they believe attributed to their son’s behavior in school. I interpreted the parent responses through the critical race theory and the ecological theory lens and methodological frameworks. Exploring the findings of the parents provided depth and scope into a phenomenon that has been researched for over 30 years. It also served to broaden the understanding of societal factors that have impeded and negatively influenced educational stakeholders, with the hope of future positive school-related outcomes for African American male students.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1053"],"dc:subject":["African American males","Black boys","middle school","parent perspectives","school suspension","school-to-prison pipeline","Education"],"dc:title":["What happened to my son: Parent perspectives of African American male students and their out-of-school suspensions during middle school"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Leadership and Counseling"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:40Z"}