(2014). Letting Our Hearts Break: On Facing the "Hidden Wound" of Human Supremacy. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, v19 p31-46. In this paper I argue that education must be defined by our willingness to experience compassion in the face of others' suffering and thus by an ethical imperative, and seek to expose psycho-social processes of shame as dark matters that inferiorize and subjugate those expressing such compassion for the more-than-human world. Beginning with stories from my own life, I examine works of fiction including J. M Coetzee's "The Lives of Animals" (1999) and Wendell Berry's "Jayber Crow" (2000), as well as Berry's reflection on his family's legacy of racism in "The Hidden Wound" (2010), to explore the deep cultural wound caused by human supremacy. I further argue the need for claiming deep love and thus heartbreak in the face of suffering as the foundations for a pedagogy of responsibility…. [PDF]
(2013). Teaching for Social Justice through Embracing Identity Tensions. International Perspectives on Higher Education Research In this chapter, the author uses the interrelated knowledge base of multicultural education and critical pedagogy to offer possibilities for identity negotiations among students and educators. As an international scholar of color, she also interweaves how her own identity is negotiated by comparing and contrasting her teaching experiences in her home country and in the United States. The author argues that it is important for educators to interrogate their identity and embrace the tensions that arise in the process, in order to enact a critically engaged dialogue in their classrooms. [For the complete volume, "Social Justice Issues and Racism in the College Classroom: Perspectives from Different Voices. International Perspectives on Higher Education Research. Volume 8," see ED591557.]… [Direct]
(2017). (Re)Constituting Teacher Identity for Inclusion in Urban Schools: A Process of Reification and Resistance. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Kansas. Urban education systems serve nearly 16 million students and employ almost one million teachers in the United States. The preparation of teachers for urban settings must attend to the unique and complex historical and sociocultural context of urban communities. This includes disrupting dominant stereotypes, particularly of urban communities of color, and recognizing urban communities as vibrant and culturally rich. In addition, they must also recognize larger systems of power that influence the way in which resources are unevenly distributed between urban communities and schools. Furthermore, urban special education teacher preparation requires a comprehensive understanding of structural inequity that addresses disability and its intersection with other marginalized identities. Critical inclusive education offers an overarching framework for preparing (special) educators to critically analyze the way in which dominant ideologies (e.g., ableism, racism, sexism, etc.) to construct… [Direct]
(2015). White Racial Framing Related to Public School Financing. Forum on Public Policy Online, v2015 n1. In the 21st century, U.S. Blacks in public schools experience disenfranchisement, as did their ancestral predecessors in the 19th and 20th centuries. This research utilizes the "White Racial Frame," which essentially encompasses the cognitive racialized false stereotypes and beliefs Whites hold regarding people of color (Feagin, 2010). These stereotypes, beliefs, and values cause Whites to subconsciously and /or consciously marginalize people of color. This Frame will be discussed regarding the rationale for not justly addressing the issue of racial inequities within public school funding apportionment systems. This approach spotlights the historical and contemporary systemic targeting of U.S. Black students.2 Results of this study indicate that public school funding allotments are both historical and contemporary examples of systemic racial subjugation. This article extends earlier papers (Halcoussis, Ng, & Virts, 2009; Ng & Halcoussis, 2003) by both examining… [PDF] [PDF]
(2018). So Grows the Forest: Reconceptualizing Rural Education through Significant Memories, Epiphanic Moments, and Critical Conversations in a Post-Reconceptualist Era. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Miami University. In this project, I engage in pedagogical research, through self-study, situated in time, space, and place, and work toward reconceptualizing curriculum in which poor, rural, elementary students can unlearn and disrupt constructs of structural racism. I return to the past to explore my own educational experiences in which I failed to acknowledge what it meant to be white in a rural place that is predominantly white. I suggest that miseducation (Woodson, 1933/2010) occurs in rural places but goes unnoticed because of an unexamined commitment to white supremacist patriarchal systems of schooling (hooks, 1994). I engage in a personal healing process by drawing on Critical Race Feminist "currere" (Baszile, 2015) and place-based pedagogy (Gruenwald, 2003a, 2003b). This healing predicates and includes a personal dialogue with self about the intersection of race, class, and gender in predominantly white places of schooling and is framed in transforming and reclaiming education as… [Direct]
(2017). Exploring Relationships among Belief in Genetic Determinism, Genetics Knowledge, and Social Factors. Science & Education, v26 n10 p1223-1259 Dec. Genetic determinism can be described as the attribution of the formation of traits to genes, where genes are ascribed more causal power than what scientific consensus suggests. Belief in genetic determinism is an educational problem because it contradicts scientific knowledge, and is a societal problem because it has the potential to foster intolerant attitudes such as racism and prejudice against sexual orientation. In this article, we begin by investigating the very nature of belief in genetic determinism. Then, we investigate whether knowledge of genetics and genomics is associated with beliefs in genetic determinism. Finally, we explore the extent to which social factors such as gender, education, and religiosity are associated with genetic determinism. Methodologically, we gathered and analyzed data on beliefs in genetic determinism, knowledge of genetics and genomics, and social variables using the "Public Understanding and Attitudes towards Genetics and Genomics"… [Direct]
(2012). Surviving as Foreign-Born Immigrants in America's Higher Education: Eight Exemplary Cases. Online Submission, US-China Education Review B 2 p236-243. In every democratically heterogeneous society like America, different players are involved in contributing to the smooth running of its higher education. These players have differentiated body of knowledge with which to make America's higher education a premier one. However, that does not seem to be the case for many foreign-born African immigrants. These immigrants confront racism, xenophobia and other forms of mistreatments. In this article, the authors use six exemplary cases to discuss their plights and what can be done to maximize their fullest potential in America's higher education…. [PDF]
(1993). Elite Discourse and Racism. Sage Series on Race and Ethnic Relations, Volume 6. A new multidisciplinary discourse approach is introduced to the study of racism. It is shown that elites play a primary role in the reproduction of ethnic dominance and racism in the popular cultures of Western societies. The subtle forms of elite racism demonstrated in politics, business, academia, education, and the media are discussed. Chapter 5 focuses on academic discourse, emphasizing that influential scholars play an increasingly powerful role as academic support for other elites. Chapter 6 discusses educational discourse. Along with the mass media, the system of formal education is among the most important institutions involved in the reproduction of contemporary society. The results of educational practices are embodied in what counts as official knowledge as well as in norms, values, and other social cognitive frameworks. The portrayal of minorities and Third World peoples in elementary, secondary, and higher education textbooks is frequently stereotypical and…
(2018). Culturally Responsive Teaching–Part 1: Acknowledging Culture and Self-Cultivation. Communique, v47 n2 p1, 23-26 Oct. A persistent achievement gap between White and minority students in the United States has been monitored and reported for many decades, yet progress toward closing the gap has been remarkably slow. This is particularly consequential for the future of education in the United States considering that students of color are expected to make up 59% of the student population by 2024. However, the elementary and secondary educator workforce is still overwhelmingly White. The most recent U.S. Department of Education Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), a nationally representative survey of teachers and principals, showed that 82% of public school teachers identified as White. This figure has hardly changed in more than 15 years; in 2000, 84% of public school teachers identified as White. Education leaders are also predominantly White. In the 2011-2012 school year, only 20% of public school principals were individuals of color. This racial disparity might be a disadvantage for minority… [Direct]
(2017). A Longitudinal Model of School Climate, Social Justice Orientation, and Academic Outcomes among Latina/o Students. Teachers College Record, v119 n10. Background: Social justice orientation (SJO) is the motivation to promote justice and equity among all in society. Researchers argue that students of Color with high SJO can resist structural racism in their schools/society and have positive academic outcomes. Purpose: In the present study, a longitudinal model of cultural and environmental predictors (i.e., school relational climate, school language climate, Spanish language background, and English proficiency) and civic/educational outcomes (i.e., community engagement, grades, school engagement, school dropout) of SJO among Latina/o youths was developed and tested. Participants: The study was conducted with a subsample of Latinas/os taken from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988. Participants were enrolled in eighth grade (N = 1,472), sampled from different schools and regions in the U.S., and followed through three waves of data collection from 8th through 12th grade. Research Design: A longitudinal, correlational… [Direct]
(2012). Constructions of Race among Religiously Conservative College Students. Multicultural Perspectives, v14 n1 p38-43. The "Whites as victims" motif in conversations about race has been well documented in recent decades. When discussing affirmative action hiring policies, a common belief expressed by Whites is that people of color have been permitted to progress unfairly at the expense of harder working Whites. Whites using this discourse see themselves as victims of a political process that ignores individual responsibility and caters to people of color who are not willing to work toward their own success. Using students' Blackboard discussion forum postings, the author analyzes ideas about race expressed by students in education classes at a small denominational Christian college in the northeastern United States, and compares these students' constructions of race to those analyzed in previous research using Whites as subjects in both religious and non-religious settings. The author argues that these students do not differ in their constructions of race and racism from other Whites in… [Direct]
(2009). Invisible Racism: Male, Hegemonic Whiteness in Higher Education. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles. Within the study of higher education, the issue of racial diversity tends to focus on either the universalistic impacts of enacting diverse learning environments or the social marginalization of students of color within these institutions. Generally absent from these discussions is how White students experience multicultural campus environments as well as how they view issues of racial inequality. Using Antonio Gramsci's theory of hegemony and Paulo Friere's conception of liberatory praxis, this research examines how White male college students' racial ideologies both reinforce and challenge the existing racial paradigm. A semi-structured interview protocol was administered to 43 undergraduates at two public institutions of higher education specifically asking how they explain racial inequality and, by inference, what their racial ideologies were. The participants were also asked which college experiences they felt help shape their racial worldview. They tended to be in two distinct… [Direct]
(2013). Three Generations of Racism: Black Middle-Class Children and Schooling. British Journal of Sociology of Education, v34 n5-6 p929-946. This paper draws on qualitative data exploring the experiences of first-generation middle-class Black Caribbean-heritage parents, their own parents, and their children. We focus on the different ways in which race and class intersect in shaping attitudes towards education and subsequent educational practices. We argue that the nature of racism has changed, but it still remains, mainly in more subtle, insidious forms. We conclude that race cannot be simply "added on" to class. Race changes how class works, how it is experienced, and the subjectivities available to individuals. The paper illustrates how the two intersect, in complex ways, in different historical "moments"…. [Direct]
(2013). Teaching Race, Pushing Back, and Making Meaningful Change. International Perspectives on Higher Education Research In this chapter, I discuss my role as a White woman who studies race in the academy. I examine my ability to use my status, including my tenured status, to make change that can have a positive impact on faculty and students of color, especially African Americans. Moreover, I discuss my approach to teaching about race in the classroom. I also explore the limitations of my role and the reactions to my role by both Whites and people of color. [For the complete volume, "Social Justice Issues and Racism in the College Classroom: Perspectives from Different Voices. International Perspectives on Higher Education Research. Volume 8," see ED591557.]… [Direct]
(2018). Conceptualising Social Justice and Sociocultural Issues within Physical Education Teacher Education: International Perspectives. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, v23 n5 p469-483. Background: Physical education (PE) and physical education teacher education (PETE) have a substantial literature base that advocates for students to develop a critical consciousness, appreciate multiple perspectives, and engage in actions to enhance social justice [Tinning, R. 2016. "Transformative Pedagogies and Physical Education." In "The Routledge Handbook of Physical Education Pedagogies," edited by C. Ennis, 281-294. New York: Routledge]. Analysing sociocultural issues, critically reflecting on beliefs, knowledge, biography, and values, and developing a sense of agency to enact change, have been recognised as an integral part of the PETE knowledge base for some time [Fern√°ndez-Balboa, J. M. 1997. "Physical Education Teacher Preparation in the Postmodern era: Toward a Critical Pedagogy." In "Critical Postmodernism in Human Movement, Physical Education, and Sport," edited by J. M. Fern√°ndez-Balboa, 121-138. Albany: State University of New… [Direct]