DOI

https://doi.org/10.25772/ZMCK-MD94

Defense Date

2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Public Policy & Administration

First Advisor

Susan T Gooden

Second Advisor

Richard Huff

Third Advisor

Nancy Stutts

Fourth Advisor

Alex Wagaman

Abstract

Significant racial and gender differences in school performance have been a great concern in the past decades, and especially the significant differences in education performance between both Black youth and other racial groups and between Black males and Black females. Nonprofit youth programs are increasingly considered a promising intervention that can effectively improve Black youth development and education outcomes. While there is a growing body of literature evaluating the outcomes of nonprofit youth programs, little is known about gender differences in the outcomes, and specifically whether these nonprofit programs are equally effective for both Black males and females. This study fills this gap by selecting three African American-led nonprofit programs as cases to examine gender disparities in the outcomes of these programs, using implicit biases and the expectancy theory of motivation as the theoretical framework. The findings show that nonprofit youth programs did help reduce gender differences between Black females and Black males in education outcomes. Black males who participated in one of the three nonprofit programs showed less statistically significant differences from Black females in many education outcome areas, including motivation, self-regulation, resiliency, and self-esteem. However, there were still significant gender differences in the program outcomes. Black females reported higher satisfaction with the nonprofit programs and had better long-term connections with them compared to Black males. This study provides important implications for public administration and policy.

Rights

© The Author

Is Part Of

VCU University Archives

Is Part Of

VCU Theses and Dissertations

Date of Submission

12-13-2021

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