A study of the lived experiences of academically high achieving black male high school students in an urban district

Abstract

This qualitative study examined the school experiences of nine academically high achieving Black males in urban schools to understand how this group is able to succeed in school when others perform so poorly. The theoretical perspective of dominant and non dominant cultural capital and the narrative inquiry approach provided the foundation for this study. Data collection involved semi structured open ended interviews. The themes that emerged from the students' providing insight into their school achievements were, high sense of self-efficacy, resiliency, believing that high school is not the end, but a step to higher education, positive relationships, participation in AVID, involvement in extracurricular activities and high expectations from family.