Polite, V. C. (1994). The method in the madness: African American males, avoidance schooling, and chaos theory. Journal of Negro Education, 588-601.
The social context of schooling is examined, drawing on a case study of 115 African-American boys attending a metropolitan high school 1986-1989, using chaos theory developed in quantum physics, documented changes at the school 1970-1990, school progress records, & on-site observations. Two central assumptions of chaos theory were explored: (1) seemingly minor & remote conditions within or outside a system can have profound consequences for the system (the “butterfly effect”), & (2) phenomena are best understood by examining the interrelationships of the components rather than the components themselves. In the students’ case, seemingly insignificant actions (eg, class disruptions, physical fights), policies, & procedures (eg, course selection) contributed to poor academic preparation, schooling avoidance, & an overall chaotic school environment. Parents of black males had abandoned their role in education, students had peer pressure to resist schooling, teachers & counselors did not demonstrate caring, & administrators did not display leadership. These conditions had a nonlinear effect on the poor academic achievement of the black youth. 1 Table, 2 Figures, 23 References. M. Pflum

Full article can be found here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2967297