Capstone Intervention

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) are experiencing low retention rates with first generation college students. The students are not graduating within a four to six year enrollment period, and or are not returning after their freshmen year. As the American workforce looks to colleges and universities to fulfill the workforce pipeline with educated diverse workers, HBCUs are in the spotlight to produce qualified minority graduates. Moreover, HBCU’s are looking to refine their methods of inclusion and buy-in, this will in-turn manifest a higher level of retention amongst first generation college students.

I plan to use the input and assistance of my principal, administration, and other colleagues to assist me with necessary portions of my action research project. I will develop a written plan of action further in the project, monitor the project reflective, and prepare a research summary research report of the results of my action research project addressing the effectiveness of the implementation of the PBIS program at Otter Creek Middle School. My plans are for my research to be implemented further along with my principal internship after I have completed the course as well.

The school of education offers a doctorate of philosophy (PhD) and a professional doctorate (EdD). The EdD focuses on applying action research methodologies to specific situations to generate localized solutions that must then be supported through a review of the literature. The product of the PhD process and EdD process differ, although scholarly effort is the same. The PhD process is a five-chapter dissertation, which explains the background and significance of the research, contextualize the research within the existing literature on the topic, describes the research methodologies, and presents the results, conclusions, and the recommendations of the research. The five-chapter dissertation combines the outcome with a description of the process by which that answer was developed.

Today's education is often viewed as failing in its goal of educating students, especially those students characterized as minorities, including African American, Hispanic, and Appalachian students (Quiroz, 1999). Among the minority groups mentioned, African American males are affected most adversely. Research has shown that when Black male students are compared to other students by gender and race they consistently rank lowest in academic achievement (Ogbu, 2003), have the worst attendance record (Voelkle, 1999), are suspended and expelled the most often (Raffaele Mendez, 2003; Staples, 1982), are most likely to drop out of school, and most often fail to graduate from high school or to earn a GED (Pinkney, 2000; Roderick, 2003).

Based on my prior knowledge and this week’s resource, I see a little clear why action research can help me address the needs of my students better. This week I have learned the difference between action research/teacher inquiry and education traditional research. Also, I have learned the relationship between action research and teacher professional growth and decision making. Last, I have been able to see what teacher inquiry/action research look like, how they are similar and different.

For African American men, a crisis is occurring as institutions continue to observe dismal graduation rates. As a continue to learn about African American male student success in higher education, it has become more imperative that I understand my institutional efforts to address this issue. Like institutions across the nation, California State University, Northridge (CSUN), acknowledges the disparity in retention and graduation rates for students of color specifically African American male students. There have been many initiatives directed at supporting students of color persistence. CSUN has several programs directed towards improving African American

In order for a researcher to conduct an action research analysis several factors must be determined. The specific purpose for the research, the components, and stakeholders. My action research project is to address a specific problem my agency has with employee retention within the patrol division during the past three years. In conducting a critical mass analysis it is important to determine who has influence and can assist with making suggestions on changes or give necessary data. Stringer (2007) states, "action research is a systematic approach to investigation

Recently, Dr. Terry Echols- Program Director and Founder was recognized by Noel-Levitz for his outstanding commitment and success in the creation of the Minority Male Initiative. More institutions around the country have started to implement similar programs that focus on the success and retention of males of color including the creation of the Federal Title III Predominantly Black Institutions Grant which is currently offered at many community colleges. Retention, Graduation Rates and Academic Success are focus areas that should be addressed and improved, and the Minority Male Initiative provides a great model to research.

African American males are being admitted to college, however they are not being retain and graudating at the same rates of their peers. There are cultural and social factors that affect students. The purpose of this study is to look at the

Apply principals of effective teaching based on educational theory, laws, county and school policy, and ethical practice in the comprehensive

With the rising high school graduation rates among the African-American student body, African-American students are still underrepresented in institutions of higher education (Stinnett, Perkins, Parla, Monson & Ready, 2017). Despite the increasing trends in high school graduation rates among African-American students, immediate college enrollment has not increased significantly since 1990 (Stinnett et al., 2017).

Student involvement has been identified in some cases as positive factor in African American male retention. Astin (2003) emphasized the psychological and behavioral dimensions of being involved on campus and underscored the importance of involvement to student retention and persistence. To contrast, Flowers (2006) found that Black men were less integrated academically and socially than their same race counterparts in four-year institutions, indicating a need to increase campus engagement for Black male community college students.

The leaders and managers are the pillars of any educational setting on which the success and failure of the setting depend. Before discussing the leadership and

Masters of Arts in educational leadership is a study field that interested me deciding on the master program to pursue (Green, 2010). The program is essential in academic institutions since it views leadership as a relational process. In other words, it has an all-inclusive attitude towards people and their diverse points of views sharing a common goal and vision among individuals in the institution. The strong interest and desire of pursuing the art program resulted from the interest of understanding the cultural aspects of people that leads to their diversified points of view. Additional interests in educational leadership arose from the increased urge of expounding knowledge on leadership. Furthermore, based on the dynamic nature of the modern society, pursuing the master program aimed at understanding different management styles and required skills for these styles (Green, 2010). The discussion paper has the objective of expounding and reflecting on the different aspects of educational leadership learnt in the MA in educational leadership program.

Werkman.R and Boonstra J, ‘Action research as a method for improving the effectivity of change processes and stimulating learning in organizations’, retrieved 31 December 2015