The purpose of this study was to allow students to make meaning of and understand their positionality within an academic setting while providing teachers and instructional staff with insight into personal experiences of African American middle school male students within the context of eligibility. Student voice was the primary form of description for this research. Each individual had a different perspective based on class, culture, age, religion, and environment, among other factors. The individual differences impacted the students’ and my own construction of meaning. The paper is organized as follows: (a) Chapter One: Introduction; (b) Chapter Two: Review of the Literature; (c) Chapter Three: Methodology; (d) Chapter Four: Results; and (e) Chapter Five: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations. The phenomenological method was utilized in order to conduct interviews and observations of the students within a school setting.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study was to allow students to make meaning of and understand their positionality within an academic setting while providing teachers and instructional staff with insight into personal experiences of African American middle school male students within the context of eligibility. Student voice was the primary form of description for this research. Each individual had a different perspective based on class, culture, age, religion, and environment, among other factors. The individual differences impacted the students’ and my own construction of meaning. The paper is organized as follows: (a) Chapter One: Introduction; (b) Chapter Two: Review of the Literature; (c) Chapter Three: Methodology; (d) Chapter Four: Results; and (e) Chapter Five: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations. The phenomenological method was utilized in order to conduct interviews and observations of the students within a school setting.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Bryan, Augustina"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ed.D. Doctor of Education","degree_level":"Dissertation - Public Access","degree_discipline":"Curriculum, Advocacy, and Policy","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Dawn Coffin","Dr. Carla Sparks","Dr. Christie McMullen"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-09-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-09-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:57Z","subjects":["Black male students","black male adolescents","lived experiences with Black males","Black middle school boys","Black male student voice","Curriculum and Social Inquiry"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/523","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Dawn Coffin","Dr. Carla Sparks","Dr. Christie McMullen"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Bryan, Augustina"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-10-07T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Curriculum, Advocacy, and Policy"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Public Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Black male students","black male adolescents","lived experiences with Black males","Black middle school boys","Black male student voice","Curriculum and Social Inquiry"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/523"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study was to allow students to make meaning of and understand their positionality within an academic setting while providing teachers and instructional staff with insight into personal experiences of African American middle school male students within the context of eligibility. Student voice was the primary form of description for this research. Each individual had a different perspective based on class, culture, age, religion, and environment, among other factors. The individual differences impacted the students’ and my own construction of meaning. The paper is organized as follows: (a) Chapter One: Introduction; (b) Chapter Two: Review of the Literature; (c) Chapter Three: Methodology; (d) Chapter Four: Results; and (e) Chapter Five: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations. The phenomenological method was utilized in order to conduct interviews and observations of the students within a school setting.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Understanding the Lived Experiences of African American Males in a Middle School: What Makes Them Achieve"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Dawn Coffin","Dr. Carla Sparks","Dr. Christie McMullen"],"dc:creator":["Bryan, Augustina"],"dc:date.available":["2020-10-07T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study was to allow students to make meaning of and understand their positionality within an academic setting while providing teachers and instructional staff with insight into personal experiences of African American middle school male students within the context of eligibility. Student voice was the primary form of description for this research. Each individual had a different perspective based on class, culture, age, religion, and environment, among other factors. The individual differences impacted the students’ and my own construction of meaning. The paper is organized as follows: (a) Chapter One: Introduction; (b) Chapter Two: Review of the Literature; (c) Chapter Three: Methodology; (d) Chapter Four: Results; and (e) Chapter Five: Discussion, Conclusions, and Recommendations. The phenomenological method was utilized in order to conduct interviews and observations of the students within a school setting.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/523"],"dc:subject":["Black male students","black male adolescents","lived experiences with Black males","Black middle school boys","Black male student voice","Curriculum and Social Inquiry"],"dc:title":["Understanding the Lived Experiences of African American Males in a Middle School: What Makes Them Achieve"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Curriculum, Advocacy, and Policy"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:20:57Z"}