Games Girls Play: A Critical Feminist Ethnographic Exploration Of Online Learning Environments Supporting (en)gendered And (a)gentive Selves

Abstract

ABSTRACT CLEOPATRA ELAINE WARREN GAMES GIRLS PLAY: A CRITICAL FEMINIST ETHNOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION OF ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS SUPPORTING (En)GENDERED AND (A)GENTIVE SELVES Under the direction of WYNNETTA SCOTT-SIMMONS, Ed.D

Educators continue to seek and discover effective strategies that improve student academic proficiency in the classroom. For female African American students, the debate continues regarding successful instructional, culturally appropriate techniques that best address their academic performance and engagement during a most critical developmental stage. Relatively little research on the multiliterate practices of female African American adolescent students exists. This research study draws on Black feminist thought, culturally responsive pedagogy, and multiliteracies theory. The purpose of this study was to understand the interactive cultural patterns of female African American students in online learning environments. The researcher conducted a qualitative analysis to focus on the oral-kinetic and embodied tradition of handclapping games as a metaphorical framework to examine sociocultural experiences and technology-mediated practices of African American female students in online learning spaces. The study examined distinct, culturally constructed school experiences and critical postures of African American girls who critically interact with technology in multimodal learning environments. The methodology presented empirical qualitative evidence through four fundamental venues that argue for inclusion of culturally congruent curriculum and instruction in responsive classroom environments, which can effectively contribute to student academic performance of African American female adolescents. The discussion points to the primary role of the narrative as a meaningful communication tool in conveying the lived experiences of female African American adolescents across modalities. The findings of this study demonstrated that students’ academic lives were represented in dual worlds, physical and virtual. The conclusion of the study indicated that African American women and girls are constantly negotiating their identities across a paradigm of intersecting oppressions.