AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES’ DESCRIPTIONS OF STEREOTYPES IN
CLASSROOMS: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY Donald L. Stewart Jr.
Liberty University School of Education
You are invited to be in a research study of African American male descriptions of stereotypes in classrooms. You were selected as a possible participant because you are an African
American male between the ages of 18 and 28 who attended public school K-12 in San Antonio, Texas.
Please read this form and ask any questions you may have before agreeing to be in the study. Donald L. Stewart Jr., a doctoral candidate in the School of Education at Liberty University, is conducting this study.
Background Information: The purpose of this study is to describe the lived experiences of
select African American males who experienced stereotyping in their K-12 education. The study seeks to answer three central questions:
1. How do African American males describe their experiences with stereotypes in a
South Texas K-12 classroom?
2. How, if at all, did participants’ experiences with stereotypes in the classroom
contribute to their academic achievement?
3. What, if any, emotions toward classroom stereotypes did participants
describe experiencing?
Procedures: If you agree to be in this study, I would ask you to do the following things:
1. Complete a questionnaire that should take you approximately 30 minutes. 2. A one on one interview that will be audio recorded. The interview should take
approximately 1 hour. The individual interview can take place over the phone or other electronic method if the participant prefers.
3. If selected, participate in a focus group interview comprised of 4 to 6 participants that is audio recorded. Focus group interviews will last approximately one hour.
Risks and Benefits of being in the Study: The risks involved in this study are minimal as
the research questions focus on participants describing their lived experiences in public education. During interviews participants may share information that is personal and upon reflection have an emotional connection to experiences of the past.
Participants should not expect to receive a direct benefit from taking part in this study. The information being gathered will assist current practitioners in the field of education. Benefits to
society include a better understanding of the role stereotypes are perceived and described by African American males.
Compensation: Participants will not be compensated for participating in this study. Confidentiality: The records of this study will be kept private. In any sort of report, I
might publish, I will not include any information that will make it possible to identify a subject.
Research records will be stored securely, and only the researcher will have access to the records.
• Questionnaire, Interview and Focus group responses will remain in a locked safe. The information will be kept for a minimum of three years. Once a three-year time frame has been met all participant responses will be destroyed.
• All audio recordings of interviews and the focus group will be stored digitally on a hard drive, a flash drive and the cloud in Microsoft format. Each digital form of data collected requires a password to retrieve the data.
• Audio recordings will be transcribed by a professional transcriptionist. The
transcriptionist is also required to sign a confidentiality agreement to secure the data provided by all participants. The transcriptions of the audio recordings will be destroyed after three years as well.
• During the focus group, participants will describe their experiences with other participants. During this process there are limits to assuring confidentiality of participant’s responses as other participants in the focus group may share information discussed, though it will be discouraged. Participation in the focus group is not mandatory.
Voluntary Nature of the Study: Participation in this study is voluntary. Your decision
whether or not to participate will not affect your current or future relations with Liberty
University. If you decide to participate, you are free to not answer any question or withdraw at any time without affecting those relationships.
How to Withdraw from the Study: If you choose to withdraw from the study, please contact
the researcher at the email address/phone number included in the next paragraph. Should you choose to withdraw, data collected from you, apart from focus group data, will be destroyed immediately and will not be included in this study. Focus group data will not be destroyed, but your contributions to the focus group will not be included in the study if you choose to
withdraw.
Contacts and Questions: The researcher conducting this study is Donald L. Stewart Jr.
You may ask any questions you have now. If you have questions later, you are
contact the researcher’s faculty advisor, Dr. Kimberly Lester, at [email protected]
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this study and would like to talk to someone other than the researcher, you are encouraged to contact the Institutional Review Board, 1971 University Blvd., Green Hall Ste. 1887, Lynchburg, VA 24515 or email at
Please notify the researcher if you would like a copy of this information for your records.
Statement of Consent: I have read and understood the above information. I have
asked questions and have received answers. I consent to participate in the study.
(NOTE: DO NOT AGREE TO PARTICIPATE UNLESS IRB APPROVAL INFORMATION WITH CURRENT DATES HAS BEEN ADDED TO THIS DOCUMENT.)
The researcher has my permission to audio-record me as part of my participation in this study.
Signature of Participant Date
APPENDIX D: QUESTIONNAIRE