Presented by Ronald W. Whitaker, Duquesne University June 2013 CPED Convening

1. Dissertation In Practice
“Beyond the Slam-dunks and Touchdowns”
Poster By:
Ronald W. Whitaker, II M.S. ED; M.B.A.
Doctoral Candidate in Educational Leadership

2. PROBLEM OF PRACTICE
My problem of practice
focuses on the psychological
effects of projected negative
stereotypes and how that
might impact the academic
and social experiences for
African American male
student athletes who attend
predominately White
institutions (PWI’s).
(Whitaker, 2012).
.

3. RENDERING AN ACCOUNT
“Badnews” is a 19 year old running back
from Eastern, Virginia. If there ever was a
poster child for the perceived “young Black
thug,” “Badnews” would be it. Short in
stature, dark-skin, muscular, and known for
his intimidating facial expression,
“Badnews’” persona is reminiscent to the
character “O-Dog” from the movie, Menace
II Society. Apparently “Badnews” is also
cognizant of how he is viewed by his peers
and others. Recalling a time when an Asian
student (who he did not know) asked him
for a car ride back to campus, “Badnews”
said, “I didn’t think anybody would ask me
for a ride that was crazy!”
(Whitaker,2012)

4. DESIGN FOR ACTION
Research design and procedures
The Purpose of this study is to explore
how revenue playing Black male
student athletes experience and
perceive the climate on their campus.
This study will be guided by a
phenomenology approach to qualitative
inquiry, which focuses on understanding
the human experiences of individuals
who have experienced a similar
phenomenon (Creswell, 2007). The
researcher hopes to, “understand better
what it is like for someone to experience
that” (Polkinghorne, 1989, p.46).

5. GENERATIVE IMPACTS
“Every system is
perfectly
designed to
deliver the results
it produces.”
(Langley, et.al., 2009, p.79)

6. References
Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquire and research design: Choosing among five
approaches. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
DuBois, W. E. B. (1903). The souls of Black folk. Kraus International Publications.
Edwards, H. (1969). The Revolt of The Black Athlete. New York: The Free Press
Langley, G.J., Moen, R.D., Nolan, K.M., Nolan, T.W., Norman, C.L., & Provost, L.P. (2009).
The Improvement Guide: A Practical Approach to Enhancing Organizational Performance.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Polkinghorne, D. E. (1989). Phenomenological research methods. In Existential-phenomenological perspectives in
psychology. New York: Plenum.
Steele, C. M. (2010). Whistling Vivaldi: and other clues to how stereotypes affect us. New York: W.M. Norton & Company
Whitaker, R. W. II. (2012). Boy “shut up” you just here to win games: The harsh realities of African American male student
athletes who attend predominantly white institutions. (Unpublished doctoral paper). Duquesne University, Pennsylvania.
Williams, D.A. (2013). Strategic Diversity Leadership: Activating Change and Transformation in Higher Education. Sterling,
VA: Stylus.