Reconstructing ʻdrop-outʼ : a critical ethnography of the dynamics of Black students' disengagement from school

Based on the narratives of Black and non-Black students, teachers, parents, and community workers, this book examines the dilemma of African-Canadian students who lose interest and leave school.

As many as one million untrained youths will enter the Canadian labour market by the year 2000. And yet, 60 per cent of jobs being created in Canada require at least a high school education. The drop-out rate is one of the most crucial issues that Canadian educators face.

Traditionally, we have pinned dropping out on individual failure or specific situations such as pregnancy, substance abuse, and family troubles. The authors of this book suggest that the problem is more complex. Race, class, gender, and other forms of social difference can affect how education is delivered. For Black students, whose drop-out rate is disproportionately high, race is a key element in disengagement. The authors turn to the experiences of Black and non-Black students, teachers, parents, and community workers to try and reconstruct the social, structural, and institutional practices that lead Black youth to lose interest in and leave school.

Based on a three-year study in the greater Toronto area, Reconstructing 'Dropout' establishes a new frame of reference for understanding the dilemma. It is a call for social action and transformation that should not be ignored by researchers, teachers, administrators, and the Black community at large.

As many as one million untrained youths will enter the Canadian labour market by the year 2000. And yet, 60 per cent of jobs being created in Canada require at least a high school education. The drop-out rate is one of the most crucial issues that Canadian educators face. Traditionally, we have pinned dropping out on individual failure or specific situations such as pregnancy, substance abuse, and family troubles. The authors of this book suggest that the problem is more complex. Race, class, gender, and other forms of social difference can affect how education is delivered. For Black students, whose drop-out rate is disproportionately high, race is a key element in disengagement. The authors turn to the experiences of Black and non-Black students, teachers, parents, and community workers to try and reconstruct the social, structural, and institutional practices that lead Black youth to lose interest in and leave school. Based on a three-year study in the greater Toronto area, Reconstructing 'Dropout' establishes a new frame of reference for understanding the dilemma. It is a call for social action and transformation that should not be ignored by researchers, teachers, administrators, and the Black community at large Contents 5 Foreword 7 Preface 11 Acknowledgments 15 Chapter One: Introduction 17 Chapter Two: Research Methodology 47 Chapter Three: The Social Construction of a ‘Drop-out’: Dispelling the Myth 62 Chapter Four: Understanding Student Disengagement 80 Chapter Five: Intersections of Race, Class, and Gender 101 Chapter Six: Authority, Power, and Respect 122 Chapter Seven: Streaming and Teacher Expectations: Social Change or Reproduction? 131 Chapter Eight: Curriculum: Content and Connection 153 Chapter Nine: Framing Issues of Identity and Representation 166 Chapter Ten: The Colour of Knowledge: Confronting Eurocentrism 185 Chapter Eleven: Family, Community, and Society 205 Chapter Twelve: Visions of Educational and Social Change 215 Chapter Thirteen: The Missing Link 236 Appendices 271 References 285 Author Index 297 Subject Index 301 "Based on a three-year study in the greater Toronto area, Reconstructing 'Drop-out' establishes a new frame of reference for understanding the drop-out dilemma. It is a call for social action and transformation that should not be ignored by researchers, teachers, administrators, and the Black community at large."--Résumé de l'éditeur "Based on a three-year study in the greater Toronto area, Reconstructing 'Drop-out' establishes a new frame of reference for understanding the drop-out dilemma. It is a call for social action and transformation that should not be ignored by researchers, teachers, administrators, and the Black community at large."--Jacket