Perceptions, motivations, and achievement of African American students enrolled in a middle college high school

Historically, African American students have been underserved in our nation's public schools. Due to the accountability expectations of the 2001 No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, greater awareness and attention has been given to the racial achievement gap and disparities among high school dropouts and postsecondary education. The Middle College High School design has been in existence since 1972, beginning with LaGuardia Community College in Long Island, New York. NCLB accountability has brought more attention to secondary school achievement and a sense of urgency regarding school reform and nontraditional school designs and structures.; Although college campuses are more diverse today than they were 40 years ago, access to postsecondary education, retention, and graduation rates are still closely aligned with income, race, and family educational background. In the past three decades of the middle-college high school concept, the goals of reducing the drop-out rate, increasing graduation and college attendance rates, and improving student performance and self-esteem have been researched and proven effective. A variety of instructional strategies are used to help students make the connection between high school graduation and college or work in a "seamless" curriculum. The primary goals of this nontraditional concept are to focus on the entire student, including nonacademic needs, increase career aspirations, provide positive role models on a college campus, enable students to experience success more often, and instill a hope for the future.; The North Carolina Education Cabinet has set a goal of eliminating the minority achievement gap by the year 2010 as part of the first America Initiative. Failure of public schools to meet the needs of underserved students, many of whom are poor and minority has recently prompted philanthropists such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to commence the Early College High School Initiative, extending the 1972 Middle College concept.; In this study, 12 African American seniors that attended Guilford Technical Community College (GTCC) Middle College High School (MCHS) in North Carolina were interviewed about their perceptions regarding their school experiences. Student interviews, school records, and school archival documents were used to analyze the data within the blended theoretical framework of resiliency and self-efficacy theory created by the researcher. The primary research question in this study was: How do students perceive that the Guilford Technical Community College Middle College High School structure impacted their academic achievement and internal motivation to achieve educational success in high school and pursue postsecondary educational opportunities?; The analysis of the collected research data offered emerging themes, implications for practice, and recommendations from which educators may improve their professional practice. The interpretation of the data revealed four overarching themes from the voices of the 12th grade African American student participants, finding that the school structure at GTCC MCHS: (a) enabled healthy relationships between and among teachers and students, (b) enabled students to identify themselves as smart and mature, (c) gave students close access to college courses and resources to pursue postsecondary opportunities, (d) enabled students to embrace personal responsibility and the self-efficacy necessary to achieve their educational goals...