Abstracts Category : Other

Mentoring Black Males| Discovering Leadership Strategies That Improve Their Future

by Jessie L Small

Within the last 25 years, Black males have experienced systematically devastating results in social, educational, and economic outcomes at a higher rate than any other racial or ethnic group; devastation that has led to Black males experiencing failure on educational, economic, and freedom levels. The purpose of this study was to identify and examine the leadership strategies used in a selected mentoring program in the southeastern United States to determine why these strategies have been effective in improving Black males ability to navigate life's challenges. The conceptual framework for the study was Houses path-goal theory of leadership. The research questions focused on the identification and characterization of successful leadership strategies in mentoring, the essential characteristics of successful mentor/mentee relationships, and the exploration of the factors critical for the implementation of successful leadership strategies for mentoring Black males. Interviews of purposeful samples of 12 mentors and 10 mentees provided the research data. Data were analyzed using a constant comparative method. In this qualitative case study, understanding the mentee population, honesty, and developing trust were strategies that participating mentors believed to be important to helping Black males navigate lifes challenges. These strategies enlightened program participants to their possibility of success; an enlightenment that created an unyielding desire to improve themselves and their communities. The results of this study may contribute to social change by motivating society and scholars alike to move beyond simply identifying the existence and persistence of the problem to implementing strategies based on the study findings to correct the historical inequality Black males face in higher education, economic gains, and freedom retention in America.