The Experiences of Students of Color in a Predominately White Urban School Environment

Research indicates that students of color often have negative experiences and can face unique challenges as a result of attending schools where the faculty, administrators, and/or student body are predominantly white. It also suggests that students who have these experiences may become disinterested in their school success. The results of this study are presented in this poster. The basis of this study was to examine the experiences of students of color who attended a predominately Caucasian public high school through semi-structured interviews. The six interviewees ranged from 14-18 years old. The researcher met with three girls and three boys of color. The researcher met with each individual once and conducted a large focus group to process the experience together and to discuss any issues related to the study. The focus of this research was to discover any common themes that students described in their experiences of attending this type of setting. The primary goal was to accurately understand their experiences in a predominantly Caucasian school because information about this specific population is quite limited. Another objective of this project was to have more data to better serve and support this populace. Results and implications of this topic will also be presented