This article presents the findings from a qualitative research project about a group of Black women scholars who discuss their experiences as academics in a predominantly White setting. The scholars represent fields including anthropology, education, Pan African studies, art education, and language studies. The themes found across the interviews include the value of education among their parents and families, the philosophy of mentoring that they espouse, their commitment to service in and beyond the campus, and their productivity within the rubric that Boyer (1990) described as scholarship of discovery, integration, application, and teaching.
This case study focuses on the experience of a Black woman who returned to school for her General Education Diploma (GED) certificate after 32 years away from formal schooling. Through the reflections of Montana and her social network, six women who supported her during and after the GED exam, we are able to see the way in which Montana changes the network and herself over time. We are also able to see some of the ways in which Montana positively affects her children and husband through her pursuit of the GED. The 11 interviews reveal the themes of improved literacy skills, heightened confidence, community activism, and youth leadership, as Montana circulates in her community and congregation a year after the GED. It is also possible to glean from the study the kind of opportunities that adult literacy educators may create by involving a students social network in the active support of increased literacy skills at the GED level.
The GED Scholars Initiative (GEDSI) is a federally funded project of the Ohio Literacy Resource Center at Kent State University (KSU). The Ohio Literacy Resource Center (OLRC) serves as resource center for adult educators and practitioners who provide direct services to adults enrolled in adult basic literacy education (ABLE) classes. The OLRC and the Academic Success Center (ASC), a division of Undergraduate Studies at KSU are the principal partners in the development of the GEDSI. The Initiative is currently being piloted at the Kent and Stark campuses. The GEDSI was established to create and enhance academic, technology, and financial supportive services for GED graduates. This article focuses on females who have obtained their GED and are full‐ or part‐time students at KSU. The women in this study participated in one‐on‐one interviews and a formal questionnaire that included these items: They were homeschooled or dropped out of high school and began a GED program at a later date. The results of this preliminary investigation have led to the establishment of a peer mentor group, a computer lab and technology workshops, a shadowing program for interested GED graduates in the community, and closer collaboration with the GED Scholars at Kent State in the planning for the second year of the federally sponsored Initiative.
The Media Project was created to facilitate the journey of "inner city" high school students as they learned to make their first short films. Their leader chose to enlist the support of a professional cinematographer, production manager, editor, and director, to see that the final short films are of a high quality. The six teenagers experienced the project as members of an extensive social network that consisted of Nick, the video production company that sponsored the project, the community members who provided acting talent, the professionals from the film and video community, and Grant State University that provided services for the young filmmakers. Through these people and the circles of support that they represent, the students achieved success as young filmmakers who are valued and celebrated by their elders, peers and family members. The experience of the six Black filmmaking students, in the context of an African-based family system that is created and managed by a Black male filmmaker, has many important features to be noted and studied more deeply for the potential it promises as a model of instruction for other media projects involving youth.
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