Date of Award
2024
Type
Dissertation
Major
Doctor of Education
Degree Type
Doctor of Education In Curriculum and Leadership
Department
Teacher Education
First Advisor
Patricia Patrick, PhD
Second Advisor
Mary Hendricks, PhD
Third Advisor
Charlotte Mundy-Henderson, PhD
Abstract
My qualitative narrative inquiry described how five graduates of Spencer High School and one historically sage educator experienced the transition of desegregation in Columbus, Georgia in the United States. Brown v. Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas, and Brown, II were landmark court decisions that made segregated schools unconstitutional in 1954 and 1955. Columbus did not transition to fully desegregating schools until 1971. The five graduates and one educator cite their experiences about the educational process during segregation and reflected on the transition of the desegregation of schools. My theoretical framework is the Experiential Learning Theory (ELT). Learning is a ubiquitous process. Learning is an unending cycle of human experiences that includes feelings, perceptions, and choices. The six interviewees' reflections on their knowledge and experiences created discoveries about life during desegregation. The study utilized conversational semi-structured interviewing techniques as I posed questions to selected participants. Using the narrative analysis process, I analyzed the data. I discovered three prominent themes and sub-themes from the participants’ responses: the political theme of activism and the influence of Black teachers, the social theme of community relationships and memories, and the cultural theme of a lack of accessibility, colorism, and the power of the messages within the music in church. The extrapolation of these findings was important because they encapsulated all of the participants' anecdotal material about segregation and desegregation. The most salient finding was that on a cultural level, Blacks were more of a threat to themselves than their counterparts.
Recommended Citation
Brown, Kimberly J., "A Narrative Analysis of Desegregation at Spencer High School In Columbus, GA" (2024). Theses and Dissertations. 539.
https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/539
