The voices of Black male students labeled as having an emotionally disorder (ED) are seldom heard regarding their perspectives on education. By excluding their opinions, educators are missing an important aspect that could improve educational services for Black males with ED. This study was undertaken to determine the implications of web-based mentoring for Black male students with ED on factors that affected their behaviors and academic achievement. Mentoring through technology was used to engage students with ED and to provide a platform to share their thoughts. Using a case study approach, two Black males with ED in high school participated in web-based mentoring. Results of the study reveal that the participants’ behaviors and achievement were affected by negative school and home environments, but that web-based mentoring was a positive venue to support their needs.
AchenbachT. M.RescorlaL. A. (2001). Manual for the ASEBA school-age forms & profiles. Burlington: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth & Families.
2.
BarnesJ. E.BentrupN.EkmanM.BradyM. (2004). Unequal education. U.S. News and World Report, 136, 66–75.
3.
CartledgeG. (1999). African-American males and serious emotional disturbance: Some personal perspectives. Behavioral Disorders, 25(1), 76–79.
4.
CarverB. (1999). The information rage: Computers and young African American males. In PoliteV. C.DavisJ. E. (Eds.), African American males in school and society (pp. 20–33). New York: Teachers College Press.
5.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2006). Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 2005. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 55(SS-5), 1–112. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr
6.
CooperR.JordanW. J. (2003). Cultural issues in comprehensive school reform. Urban Education, 38, 380–397.
7.
CravensJ. (2001). Online mentoring: Programs and suggested practices as of February 2001. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 21, 85–109.
8.
CullinanD.SaborniE. J. (2004). Characteristics of emotional disturbance in middle and high school students. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 12, 157–167.
9.
DavisJ. E. (2003). Early schooling and academic achievement of African American males. Urban Education, 38, 515–537.
10.
DavisL. E.JohnsonS.CribbsJ. M.SaundersJ. (2002). A brief report: Factors influencing African American youth decisions to stay in school. Journal of Adolescent Research, 17, 223–234.
DuncanG. A. (2002). Beyond love: A critical race ethnography of the schooling of adolescent Black males. Equity & Excellence in Education, 35, 131–143.
13.
GayG.HowardT. C. (2000). Multicultural teacher education for the 21st century. Teacher Educator, 36(1), 1–16.
14.
GibbsJ. (Ed.). (1988). Young, Black and male in America. An endangered species. Dover, MA: Auburn House.
15.
HirschB. J.MickusM.BoergerR. (2002). Ties to influential adults among Black and White adolescents: Culture, social class, and family networks. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30, 289–303.
16.
HowardT. C. (2001). Telling their side of the story: African-American students’ perceptions of culturally relevant teaching. Urban Review, 33, 131–149.
17.
IpkaV. W. (2003). At risk children in resegregated schools: An analysis of the achievement gap. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 30, 294–304.
18.
JohnsonL. J.LaMontagneM. J. (1993). Research methods. Using content analysis to examine the verbal or written communication of stakeholders within early intervention. Journal of Early Intervention, 17(1), 73–79.
19.
KarcherM. J. (2005). The effects of developmental mentoring and high school mentors’ attendance on their younger mentees’ self-esteem, social skills, and connectedness. Psychology in the Schools, 42(1), 65–77.
20.
KazdinA. E. (1982). Single case research design: Methods for clinical and applied settings. New York: Oxford University Press.
21.
KrezmienM. P.LeoneP.AchillesG. M. (2006). Suspension, race, and disability: Analysis of statewide practices and reporting. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 14, 217–226.
22.
LandrumT. J.TankersleyM.KauffmanJ. M. (2003). What is special about special education for students with emotional or behavioral disorders?Journal of Special Education, 37, 148–156.
23.
LaneK. L.CarterE. W. (2006). Supporting transition-age youth with and at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders at the secondary level: A need for further inquiry. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 14, 66–70.
24.
LaneK. L.WehbyJ.Barton-ArwoodS. M. (2005). Students with and at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders: Meeting their social and academic needs. Preventing School Failure, 49(2), 6–9.
25.
LarsonR. (2006). Positive youth development, willful adolescents, and mentoring. Journal of Community Psychology, 34, 677–689.
26.
LeeP. W. (1999). In their own voices: An ethnographic study of low-achieving students within the context of school reform. Urban Education, 34, 214–244.
27.
LegumH. L.HoareC. H. (2004). Impact of a career intervention on at-risk middle school students’ career maturity levels, academic achievement, and self-esteem. Professional School Counseling, 8, 148–155.
28.
LoY.LoeS. A.CartledgeG. (2002). The effects of social skills instruction on the social behaviors of students at risk for emotional or behavioral disorders. Behavioral Disorders, 27, 371–385.
29.
LosenD.OrfieldG. (2002). Racial inequity in special education. Massachusetts: Harvard Education Press.
30.
MillerH.GriffithsM. (2005). E-mentoring. In DuboisD.Karcher MichaelJ. (Eds.), Handbook of youth mentoring (pp. 300–314). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
31.
MonroeC. R. (2006). African American boys and the discipline gap: Balancing educators’ uneven hand. Educational Horizons, 84, 102–111.
32.
NogueraP. (2003). The trouble with Black boys: The role and influence of environmental and cultural factors on the academic performance of African American males. Urban Education, 38, 431–459.
33.
OliverW. (2006). “The streets”: An alternative Black male socialization institution. Journal of Black Studies, 36, 918–937.
34.
ParrishT. (2002). Racial disparities in the identification, funding, and provision of special education. In LosenD. J.OrfieldG. (Eds.), Racial inequity in special education (pp. 15–39). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
35.
PattersonK. B. (2005). Increasing positive outcomes for African American males in special education with the use of guided notes. Journal of Negro Education, 74, 311–320.
36.
PattonJ. M. (1998). The disproportionate representation of African Americans in special education: Looking behind the curtain for understanding and solutions. Journal of Special Education, 32, 25–31.
37.
PoliteV. C.DavisJ. E. (Eds.). (1999). African American males in school and society: Practices and policies for effective education. New York: Teachers College Press.
38.
PoussaintA. F.AlexanderA. (2000). Lay my burden down: Unraveling suicide and the mental health crisis among African Americans. Boston: Beacon.
39.
PriceM. A.ChenH. (2003). Promises and challenges: Exploring a collaborative telementoring programme in a preservice teacher education programme. Mentoring and Tutoring, 11, 105–117.
40.
ScottM. S. (2006). Can young Black men be saved?Black Enterprise, 36(11), 214–222.
41.
SinclairM. F.ChristensonS. L.ThurlowM. L. (2005). Promoting school completion of urban secondary youth with emotional or behavioral disabilities. Exceptional Children, 71, 465–482.
42.
SmithV. G. (1997). The effects of caring on the achievement of African American males: Case studies. Challenge: A Journal of Research on African American Men, 8(1), 1–15.
43.
TaylorP. B.GunterP. L.SlateJ. R. (2001). Teachers’ perceptions of inappropriate student behavior as a function of teachers’ and students’ gender and ethnic background. Behavioral Disorders, 26, 146–151.
44.
U.S. Department of Education. (2003). 25th annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. Washington, DC: Author.
45.
U.S. Department of Education. (2005). 27th annual report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. Washington, DC: Author.
46.
VillegasA. M.LucasT. (2002). Educating culturally responsive teachers: A coherent approach. New York: SUNY.
47.
WagnerM.NewmanL.CametoR.LevineP.GarzaR. (2006). An overview of findings from wave 2 of the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2). Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.
48.
Webb-JohnsonG. (2002). Are schools ready for Joshua? Dimensions of African-American culture among students identified as having behavioral/emotional disorders. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 15, 653–671.
49.
WeinsteinC. S.Tomlinson-ClarkeS.CurranM. (2004). Toward a conception of culturally responsive classroom management. Journal of Teacher Education, 55, 25–38.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
