Godbolt, R C (2011) Black and blue: African Americans, blue-collar bias, and the construction industry in Prince George's County, Maryland. EdD thesis, University of Phoenix, USA.
Abstract
A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted to determine if blue-collar bias in the African American community was why young African American males were not seeking careers in the construction industry. Participants in the research were African American parents, high school guidance counselors, and young African American males in Prince George’s County. The focus of the research was to determine if the Booker T. Washington (industrial or craft education) versus W.E.B. Du Bois (liberal arts education) opposing and competing ideologies existed in the African American community of Prince George’s County and prevented young African American males from seeking a career in the construction industry. Research information resulted in themes highlighting the blue-collar conditions of the construction industry without indicating the value of skilled training, educational opportunities, and career advancement opportunities in the industry. The results of the discoveries led to the recommendation that community leaders and educational institutions collaborate with the construction industry to enhance the image of the industry. Discussing and marketing the benefits of training and education opportunities within construction career ladders will lead to a different image of the construction industry. The research results provide an insight into the biases within the African American community that hinders the reduction of the unemployment rate among young African American males.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Arduengo, N |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | bias; careers; education; marketing; phenomenological study; training; unemployment |
| Index terms: | construction industry, marketing, phenomenological study, unemployment, bias, career |
| Subjects: | methods and analysis, professional development, economic analysis, probability and distributions, industry analysis, business |
| Topics: | Business Strategy, Information Management, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 CTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here