African American Male Theory (AAMT)

Lawson Bush and Edward Bush developed AAMT, which is a theoretical framework that can be used to articulate the position and trajectory of African American boys and men in society by drawing on and accounting for pre and post enslavement experiences while capturing their spiritual, psychological, social, and educational development and station.

Bronfenbrenner Ecological Systems Theory (EST)

This theory looks at a child’s development within the context of the system of relationships that form his or her
environment. Bronfenbrenner’s theory defines complex “layers” of environment, each having an effect on a child’s
development. This theory has recently been renamed “bioecological systems theory” to emphasize that a child’s own
biology is a primary environment fueling her development. The interaction between factors in the child’s maturing
biology, his immediate family/community environment, and the societal landscape fuels and steers his development.
Changes or conflicts in any one layer will ripple throughout other layers. To study a child’s development then, we
must look not only at the child and her immediate environment but also at the interaction of the larger environment
as well