Protección de los inversores

and state educational mandates. Can this problem be specifically attributed to students’ family members (parents, grandparents, guardians, etc.) who lost their education from 1959-1964?

The insight from the participants who had been impacted or lived through this period in the county’s history, there was a need to address this question as to whether there was a generational effect from the closure of schools on those family members who went through the five year closure. The relevance of this questions helped to

substantiate the prevailing viewpoint by many who felt that generational loss of education was a perspective that was passed down by the parents, grandparents, and guardians of Black students today (Bandura, Barbaraneli, Caprara & Pastorelli, 1996; Green, 2015; Titus, 2011).

This study focused on a single instrumental case study approach (Creswell, 2007) to illustrate the educational and societal concern, which was a unique episode in

American educational history. The research that was conducted sought to gain a better understanding as to the residual impact of the five-year public school closure in Prince Edward County. The use of the case study developed and investigated in-depth

descriptions and addressed any negative influence school closure had on Black students’ educational achievement in the last two decades (Creswell, 2007). There were two primary sources of evidence used to conduct the research for this case study. The first being the use of local and state archival documents and records which offered stable, unobtrusive information that could reviewed repeatedly and contained precise dates, names, and events related to the case study topic (Yin, 2003; Creswell, 2007; Yin, 2009). The second source of evidence was interviews that were conducted individually and in small group interview sessions. The interview process for this case study gave targeted focus about the studies’ topic and offered a level of insightful information from

participants with inferences and explanations which could assist the creation of related patterns in the data (Yin, 2003; Creswell, 2007; Yin, 2009).

Those sources of evidence were used to determine how current Black students’ motivations and educational successes in that school division had any correlation to the closure of public schools for Blacks over 50 years earlier, which has been the perception of many local educators and leaders. This single instrument case study was conducted to focus on real life themes and with in-depth perspectives from the lives of impacted families who lost their education, as well as former teachers and community leaders who experienced the transition for racial integration in the public schools in Prince Edward County. The sample size was ten participants who were selected based on their experience with either the closure or integration of schools in Prince Edward County. There was a desire for 12 participants, but many persons who were asked to assist were not willing to participate or were deceased. This study was completed by conducting face-to-face interviews, and focus group sessions which were recorded for information accuracy (Creswell, 2007; Stake, 2006; Yin, 2009).

This single instrumental case study was confined to the unique circumstances of educators and community leaders, and for those individuals and families who were familiar with the transformation of public schools in Prince Edward County. Participants were limited to those listed above who had insight into the closure of schools there. The boundary that defined the premise of this study was to not receive information from retired or current educators who did not work in or attend schools in Prince Edward County at the time of school closure. There were fewer than ten educators who met the criteria who worked or attended public schools in neighboring Cumberland and

Buckingham Counties at the time of integration in the late 1960s. Those educators had great understanding of the situation in Prince Edward County but did not work directly in that school division. Therefore, their perspectives did not offer the accuracy of the

experiences and perceptions that their counterparts in Prince Edward had to contend with while teaching.

A major limitation for this case study was the factors needed to establish validity from a sample of participants less than 100. An additional limiting factor was the physical and mental state of some of the older family members, retired educators, and community leaders. If their mental capacity or physical state was impaired or diminished significantly, it would have been detrimental to this research study to use their

perspectives as part of the data (Creswell, 2007).

Another limitation was the lack of trust of the researcher being from a

neighboring community and therefore unwilling to assist the study. This was detrimental

as their assistance would have been of significant relevance to the research.

Definitions

In order to give the reader a clearer understanding of this case study, it was necessary to offer key definitions that were used throughout. The terms below have significant meaning to this study, especially in chapters two and three.

1. Desegregation – The process in American society of not dividing races of people which was instituted by federal mandates, especially in the areas of education, business, and employment (Bonastia, 2012; Ferguson, 2012; Green, K., 2015; Heaton, 2008; Holland, 2012; Titus, 2011).

2. Integration – The process in American society of including others who are different to include race, gender, and sexual orientation. For this study the term is being referred to racial inclusion (Allen, 2012; Bonastia, 2012; Green, K., 2015, Titus, 2011).

3. Massive resistance – The strategy used in southern states, especially in the state of Virginia, by White leaders who refused to allow shared access of Blacks citizens. This was primarily in the area of education and was prevalent from the 1950s through 1970s (Bonastia, 2012; Green, K., 2015; Heaton, 2008; Titus, 2011).

Summary

The purpose of this single instrumental case study was to gain a better

understanding of how the closure of public schools in Prince Edward County for Blacks county continues to impact present and post-secondary school successes and social advancement for Black students since the start of integrated public schools from the perspectives of impacted families who lost their education, as well as former teachers, administrators and community leaders who experienced the transition for racial integration (Bonastia, 2009; Heaton, 2008; Holland, 2012; Sanchez, 2012; Sullivan, LaSalle, & Yellin, 2009). The historical implications of this event required in-depth background information of its impact today, even though school closure occurred over 50 years ago. Having experienced school integration and knowing many citizens in Prince Edward County, this study is very important in bringing answers to long perceived ideas about the schools in that county, especially at its high school. The need to have research conducted is of utmost importance.

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW