The effects of school desegregation and resegregation on gifted African American inner city elementary school students

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the experiences of gifted African American, inner city elementary school students who were bused to desegregate a predominantly White school and then returned to their neighborhood. Students were interviewed about their experiences at both elementary schools and were asked to compare their experiences focusing on the trip to school, the classroom environment, classmates, and school resources. Three teachers, who were identified as exemplary, were interviewed about their education philosophies, teaching methods, classroom management strategies, classroom curriculum, and experience with resegregation. Students were selected for this study after participating in bibliotherapy using literature that dealt with discrimination and prejudice. Student interviews were video and audio taped to capture both verbal and nonverbal communication. The teachers' interviews were audio taped. The results of this study indicated that the students involved in this study experienced considerable anger with their experience with desegregation. The results of this study also had several implications including the need for the preparation of students and teachers participating in desegregation and resegregation, the importance of teachers being culturally competent and using culturally relevant teaching strategies, and the need for cultural competency when researching African American students.