| This study presents the perceptions of a sample of educators from Imhotep Institute Charter High School regarding African-centered education. The goal was to understand the definition of the term African-centered, the principles of African-centered thought, and the how they are currently being integrated into the curriculum and culture of the school. Additionally, this study sought to discover the challenges present in maintaining an African-centered philosophy in a charter school setting.; This study identified literature pertaining to the theoretical frameworks of the underachievement of Black youth, the history of independent Black institutions, the principles of African-centered thought, and the implications of African-centered charter schools. This information was corroborated with the perceptions of the sample of educators within the African-centered school setting.; These perceptions were gathered through a 23 item, five point Likert type scale, a seven item open-ended writing survey, and individual interviews. The data were organized, analyzed and transcribed. The data were then presented to the participants to ensure that the researcher drew accurate perceptions. Triangulation was employed to validate the study. This consisted of the literature, the survey data, and the interview data.; The results indicated that most of the participants' perceptions of African-centeredness were consistent with the literature. Likewise, the characteristics of African centered schools that were described by the respondents as embedded into the culture of their school were consistent with those presented in the literature. Most of the literature presented on African-centered schools did not have scientific quantitative data support their claims of success. However, Imhotep Charter High School has achieved academically as reported by the Pennsylvania State test scores.; There were several challenges presented by the respondents in reference to maintaining African-centered principles and simultaneously meeting the Federal and State charter school mandates. However, there were also respondents who felt that there were no challenges in incorporating the two disciplines. There were suggestions made for the improvement of the African-centered program as well as recommendations for further research. |
