Researching and writing from an African‐American perspective: reflective notes on three research studies

Abstract

The author discusses several culturally sensitive qualitative research approaches, revisits the Culturally Sensitive Research Framework, a theoretical framework for conducting culturally sensitive research in African‐American communities and provides examples of research that has employed culturally sensitive approaches. The discussion then shifts to reflections on her use of the Culturally Sensitive Research Framework in three research studies: a case study of a first‐year African‐American teacher, the role of African‐American principals in facilitating the professional and personal competence of novice teachers, and research on African‐American parental engagement. The author concludes the article with reflections on situating herself as an indigenous‐insider (and sometimes outsider) in the research process.

Notes

1. I am using the terms people of African descent, colored, African‐American and Black interchangeably in this article. McCarthy (1998) suggests that these terms have, to some extent, come about through ‘the same practices of inclusion and exclusion that the “others” of colonial America—the enslaved African peoples—were defined as “Negro” or “Black”’ (p. 59). According to McCarthy, these racial categorizations ‘redefined and homogenized the plural identities of disparate African people whose ‘ethnic origins’ were Ibo, Yoruba, Fulani and so on. For other discussions on the origins and uses of these terms, see Kershaw (1992), Hilliard (2001), and Berry and Blassingame (1982).

2. A limited number of articles on conducting research in African‐American communities have appeared in journals such as the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Educational Researcher and Qualitative Inquiry. Additionally, Stanfield (1994) and Ladson‐Billings (2000) have contributed to the first and second editions of Handbook of Qualitative Research. However, there has been limited visibility of the work of other African‐American scholars who conduct insider research in mainstream educational research literature.

3. Asante’s five Afrocentric canons are derived from the Swahili language. They are (a) ukweli (truth); (b) utulivu (justice); (c) uhaki (harmony); (d) ujamaa (community); and (e) kujitoa (commitment).

4. According to Banks, the indigenous‐insider endorses the unique values, perspectives, behaviors, beliefs and knowledge of his or her primordial community or culture. He or she is also perceived by significant others and opinion leaders within the community as a legitimate member of the community who has a perspective and the knowledge that will promote the well‐being of the community, enhance its power, and enable it to maintain cultural integrity and survive. The indigenous‐outsider was socialized within the cultural community but has experienced high levels of desocialization and cultural assimilation into an outside or oppositional culture or community. The values, beliefs, perspectives and knowledge of this individual are indistinguishable from those of an outside culture or community. The external‐insider was socialized within another culture and acquires its beliefs, values, behaviors, attitudes and knowledge. However, because of unique experiences, such as personal experiences within an outside culture or community or marginalization within the culture into which he or she was socialized, the individual rejects many of the values, beliefs and knowledge claims of the community in which he or she was socialized. The external‐outsider was socialized within a community different from the one in which he or she is doing research. He or she has a partial understanding of and little appreciation for the values, perspectives and knowledge of the community he or she is studying. Because of a lack of understanding of and empathy for the culture or community that is being studied, the external‐outsider often misunderstands and misinterprets the behaviors within the community, distorts when comparing them with outside behaviors and values, and describes the studied community as pathological or deviant (p. 8).

5. Banks discusses the work of Kenneth B. Clark and John Hope Franklin whom he considers indigenous‐insiders, and Franz Boas, Ruth Benedict and Otto Kleinberg whom he considers external‐insiders.

6. Kenneth Clark is most noted for his research on the racial attitudes of Blacks and Whites in the United States and how these attitudes affected Black children. He used his work to influence public policy and was a key figure in the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision. According to Banks (1998), Clark identified expert witnesses who would testify before the Supreme Court in the Brown case, and his research is cited in footnote 11 of the Brown decision. For more extensive readings on the work of Kenneth Clark, see Clark (1963, 1965, 1993).

7. Dillard (2000) uses the word ‘endarkened’ in her conceptualization of an ‘endarkened feminist epistemology’ and notes, ‘I use the term endarkened feminist epistemology to articulate how reality is known when based in the historical roots of Black feminist thought, embodying a distinguishable difference in cultural standpoint, located in the intersection/overlap of culturally constructed socializations of race, gender, and other identities and the historical and contemporary contexts of oppression and resistance for African‐American women’ (p. 662).

8. The 12 largest city school districts by race and ethnicity are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Houston, Philadelphia, Detroit, Dallas, San Diego, Memphis, Milwaukee and Baltimore. Six of the school districts have majority African‐American student enrollments: Chicago (50.9%), Philadelphia (65.3%), Detroit (90.1%), Memphis (87.0%), Milwaukee (58.96%), and Baltimore (87.7%).

9. For an extensive discussion of the historical and contemporary contributions of African American principals, see Tillman (2004), ‘African American principals and the legacy of Brown,’ Review of Research in Education, 28, 101–146.

10. I am using the term ‘formal mentoring’ to mean purposefully designed arrangements where mentors are assigned to a novice teacher and participate in a series of structured conversations and activities, as opposed to ‘informal mentoring’ where novice and veteran teachers choose to participate in supportive relationships. These informal mentoring relationships may develop based on a number of factors including same‐race or gender affiliation, same subject‐matter or grade‐level expertise, or a common planning period.

11. During a recent visit to the school district, the principal told me that the merger was accomplished with few problems. She also thanked me for facilitating the beginning of increased parental engagement at the school.