Black male partial (in)visibility syndrome: a qualitative study of the narratives of Black masculine identities at the Pebbles School

This dissertation explores how 12 diverse Black males who attend or graduated from the Pebbles School—an urban all-male public combined middle and high school—constructed, perceived, and negotiated their identities as males. Examining the relationship between masculinity and education, my study is situated at the intersection of education policy, gender and ethnic studies, and draws on work in Black Masculinity Studies for analyzing narratives and messages of participants. I found that these Black males faced enormous pressures to adopt hegemonic traits of masculinity, but also had to regularly define their own, complicated masculinities, which was relational to family, peers and teachers’ expectations for their masculinity constructions. Additionally, this study uncovered that many of the stereotypes that routinely define Black males’ perceived masculinities in co-educational schools didn’t lessen because of their enrollment in an all-male, majority-Black male school. By focusing on the diverse experiences of young Black males in single-gender schools designed for their educational needs, I argued complex masculinities needs to be reflected in curricula, pedagogy, and policy.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Policy Studies

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Laing, Tony

Contributors dc:contributor

• Mayo, Cris
• McCarthy, Cameron R.
• Baber, Lorenzo
• Hamer, Jennifer

• Black males
• Masculinity
• Gender
• Sexual Orientation
• K-12 Education
• Single-Gender Schools

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2014 Tony A. Laing

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/73099

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/73099