(2017). Law and Order in School and Society: How Discipline and Policing Policies Harm Students of Color, and What We Can Do about It. National Education Policy Center Systemic violence and disparate school discipline policies hinder equitable, just, and safe schooling. They also restrict access to social opportunities and civil liberties. Research shows that schooling contexts and social policies set up the conditions for young people of color to experience violence in regularized, systematic, and destructive ways. This policy report centers on questions of race and disparate racial impacts. The authors draw from critical race theory (CRT) to redirect how educators might talk more productively about students' social contexts, violence, and school discipline. They also explore how CRT might help educators consider how attempts to achieve "law and order" unfairly target students of color with a systemic form of violence that harms their ability to secure equitable, just schooling, and social opportunity. The report ends with recommendations for shifting state and local policy to better reflect research evidence on the best approaches to… [PDF]
(2017). "I Haven't Lost Hope of Reaching Out …": Exposing Racism in Sport by Elevating Counternarratives. International Journal of Inclusive Education, v21 n11 p1097-1112. This paper tells the "back story" to the development of a local soccer hub, which focuses on the experiences of a predominantly South Sudanese team called the Western Tigers. We use a counter-story telling approach anchored in critical race theory, to develop a composite story that brings together biographical and autobiographical accounts gathered during an ethnographic study. These accounts are narrated from the vantage point of David, a player/coach, whose experiences expose everyday racism and its effects, while also illuminating responses to racism in the context of sport. This composite story challenges dominant narratives about sport in Australian society particularly those that position sport as the great equaliser and a pathway to "integration" and belonging. Our analysis sheds light onto how the dynamics of racialisation and exclusion take the form of a slow violence for young people of refugee background, shaping their experiences and trajectories on… [Direct]
(2017). Equity and Music Education: Euphemisms, Terminal Naivety, and Whiteness. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, v16 n3 p15-47 Nov. In this paper, I advocate for the use of explicit language for discussions of race and call for music education to move out of terminal naivety (Vaugeois 2013) toward a heightened consciousness of political issues and racial oppressions. Employing critical race theory (CRT) as a theoretical framework, this paper examines race-related silences and the importance of using direct language to identify structural and systemic racism. I offer practical suggestions for initiating "race talk" in school music, in postsecondary music education, and in music education scholarship. These practical implications emerge from the experiences of four Toronto teachers who participated in a multiple case study on social justice and anti-racist work in music education (Hess 2013), the literature on race and silencing inside and outside music education, and my own experiences as a former public school music teacher and music teacher educator. With the surge of hate crimes and unmasked white… [PDF]
(2017). Educated Feet: Tap Dancing and Embodied Feminist Pedagogies at a Small Liberal Arts College. Feminist Teacher: A Journal of the Practices, Theories, and Scholarship of Feminist Teaching, v27 n2-3 p196-210. In this article, the author examines tap dance as an embodied feminist pedagogy through a course she teaches called Critical Race Feminisms and Tap Dance at Colby College, a small liberal arts college (SLAC) in Waterville, Maine. The course combines introductory tap dancing with elements of critical race theory and black feminist thought. Students learn to tap dance and perform the "Shim Sham Shimmy," a dance known as the national anthem of tap dancers. They also learn how the dominant history of tap tends to highlight the contributions from black male tappers in the early twentieth century, and the recovery of the tap tradition by white/nonblack female performers in the late twentieth century. The author uses this history of tap as a paradigm for "all the women are white, all the blacks are men, but some of us are brave" whereby tap is either authenticated through the black male experience or legitimated as a form of art by white female performers. In Critical… [Direct]
(2021). Culturally Responsive Teaching in the Classroom. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The purpose of this study was to determine the challenges and successes that educators encounter when incorporating Culturally Responsive Instruction (CRI) in their classrooms. I conducted a basic qualitative study involving four teachers and two administrators in the Washington County School District to assess teachers' experiences incorporating cultural responsiveness within their practice. Participants provided background information about themselves within the interviews, such as their own racial identity and experiences. Also, participants provided their level of education and professional development experiences. Additionally, they responded to specific questions about Culturally Responsive Instruction and provided examples of success and challenges that they have encountered in their classrooms. The research study answered one prevailing question: "What does culturally responsive instruction look like when it is implemented in an elementary school classroom?" The… [Direct]
(2021). Transforming Learning: Improving Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Student Engagement and Retention through Culturally Responsive Pedagogy; a Metasynthesis. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Delaware State University. This qualitative Metasynthesis sought to identify and critique how the application of culturally responsive pedagogy/teaching methods and practices transform the opportunities of learning experiences in K-12 urban school classrooms. The critical race theory, culturally responsive pedagogy/teaching and constructivist learning theory were use as the primary lens for this study, and the social activism theory, and Zaretta Hammonds student engagement framework serves as secondary framework to three main theories used to complete this research. This Metasynthesis was guided by three research questions, what are the core methods or practices used in culturally responsive pedagogy/teaching in urban public K-12 systems? How do culturally responsive pedagogy/teaching impact culturally and linguistically diverse student engagement and retention in K-12 systems? And how will professional development on culturally responsive teaching impact current teachers' use of retention strategies in K-12… [Direct]
(2021). "The School for the Travellers and the Blacks": Student and Teacher Perspectives on "Choosing" a Post-Primary School with a High Concentration of Disadvantage. Education Sciences, v11 Article 777. Since the formation of the Irish State, the participation and attainment in education of members of the Irish Traveller community have been low. In terms of school-related factors, research points to Travellers perceiving the curriculum as irrelevant, experiencing problematic relationships with peers and teachers, a strong sense of not belonging, and low teacher expectations. This paper draws on the findings of a wider study which explored how an intercultural approach to education was conceptualised and enacted, with particular reference to Travellers, in one urban DEIS (disadvantaged) post-primary school in the West of Ireland (St. Greg's) with a highly diverse student population. Located in the interpretivist/constructivist paradigm, and informed by critical race theory, an in-depth qualitative case study research design was employed. Data collection involved twenty-eight semi-structured interviews with teacher and student participants, including Traveller and "other"… [PDF]
(2021). The Experiences of Black Students Attending Predominantly White High Schools. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Gwynedd Mercy University. This phenomenological study examines the ways Black students attending predominantly White high schools were connected to their school environment. Set in a suburban county located outside of a large urban city, this study included 15 participants who self-identified as Black American and had graduated between 2017 and 2020 from schools where Black students accounted for 10% or less of the total district population. Their experiences as racial minorities shaped their outlooks on life, as well as their school and community connections. Using critical race theory's tenet of counter-storytelling and culturally relevant pedagogy as the conceptual framework, I collected data using one-to-one interviews. Participants shared experiences with instructional programming and perceptions of caring, inclusive learning communities. Analyzed using inductive coding, data found that Black students in predominantly White high schools sought out spaces in their schools where they felt safe and loved by… [Direct]
(2021). Making a Way out of No Way: An Antideficit Approach to Financial Literacy. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles. Student loan debt in the United States exceeds $1.5 trillion. The enormity of student loan debt has received extensive media attention, with reports presenting the sheer mass of student loan debt as a national crisis. Borrowing patterns among undergraduates indicate that this is a pronounced issue among Black students who are more likely to finance college with loans. Existing research purports that deficits believed to be intrinsic to Black students and their families are to blame for the disparate borrowing patterns along racial lines. This view is incomplete and focuses too narrowly on perceived deficits based on a white, middle-class notion of financial literacy. The purpose of this study was to provide a more complete view of financial literacy through the lens of 12 Black undergraduate students. Using Critical Race Theory and an antideficit achievement framework results from this study suggest systematic and structural inequality contribute to divergent types of financial… [Direct]
(2024). Black Males Teaching Toddlers?! An Examination of How Black Male Youth Participating in a Grow Your Own (GYO) Teacher Pipeline Program Made Decisions Concerning a Long-Term Career in Early Childhood Education. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. Despite research (Cormier et al., 2022; Lindsay & Hart, 2017) highlighting the positive impact Black male educators have on Black students, and Black male students in particular, the representation of Black, non-Hispanic male teachers in the U.S. public and private K-12 teaching workforce remains notably low at 1.3% (Taie & Lewis, 2022). This scarcity is evident across the entire PK-12 education continuum, which includes early childhood education (ECE). This qualitative study examined the experiences of eight Black male youth who participated in The Young Black Male Teacher Project (TYBMTP), a grow-your-own (GYO) teaching exposure pipeline program that affords young Men of Color, ages 18-24, the opportunity to explore teaching as a viable career option by working alongside a lead or licensed certified teacher providing early literacy intervention instruction to students in PreK-3 and PreK-4 classrooms for an academic school year. The study explored how participants, known as… [Direct]
(2016). My Identities Are Flexible: Narrating the Lived Experiences of a Group of Educators. Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research, v10 n4 p271-290 Sum. This study uses a microcosmic ethnographic epistemology, critical theory (CT), critical race theory (CRT), critical ethnography (CE), and critical discourse analysis (CDA), to show the nuances of the lived experiences of a diverse group of educators as they negotiated and renegotiated their self-labeling, identity, and culture, and reflected on the importance of education across a spectrum of scales. We examined how participants negotiated and renegotiated their educator identity, as contextualized by their lived experiences and family socialization, and the impact of these on the lens through which they perceived the world. The research question investigated how self-identification affects the ways in which one operates within selected socially constructed institutions. Research findings indicated that the participants were critically conscious of their individual cultural citizenship and identities, and how these have fostered in them the ability to meaningfully respond to the… [Direct]
(2016). The Value of a Triangle: Mathematics Education in Industrial and Classical Schools in the Segregated South. Journal of Negro Education, v85 n4 p444-461 Fall. This article presents findings from a larger on-going study examining the mathematics and science education of African Americans from 1854-1954. The overarching research question was "What type of mathematics education experiences did Blacks living in the South have during de jure segregation?" Archival materials from nine historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) were interrogated using critical content analysis to describe mathematics content and learning for Blacks during segregation; an unexplored history. Critical Race Theory was used to frame the study and make meaning of the findings. Analysis of archival data suggests three important findings: (a) mathematics education for Blacks during de jure segregation reflected two distinct philosophies– classical (liberal arts) and industrial (technical); (b) Black students were trained in pure and applied mathematics, and mathematics education; and (c) Black students engaged in rigorous mathematics. Answers may… [Direct]
(2016). Overcoming Cultural Differences: Teachers' Perspectives and Values in American Indian Reservation Schools. AERA Online Paper Repository, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Washington, DC, Apr 8-12, 2016). This multiple case study unpacks White teachers' experiences of perceived cultural differences in their classrooms and deciphers their readiness to work with American Indian students. Situating our study using Tribal Critical Race Theory and culturally responsive teaching and using a developed conceptual model of Teacher Readiness to Work with American Indian Students as a guide, we interviewed five White teachers from a junior high school located on an Indian Reservation in Northeastern Arizona. Through constant comparative analysis and theoretical memo writing, we found that teachers' perceptions and classroom experiences are nested within their personal value systems, which often align with hegemonic, mainstream frameworks of education, rather than local, Indigenous knowledge systems. While findings show the constant influence of teachers' values on classroom practices, we also discuss the potential long-term influences of classroom exchanges on teachers' values as well as the… [Direct]
(2016). Saving the Lost Boys: Narratives of Discipline Disproportionality. Educational Leadership and Administration: Teaching and Program Development, v27 p53-80 Mar. In this article, I explore how discriminatory adult practices disproportionately involve Latino boys in the juvenile justice system. I use the critical methodologies of critical ethnography, critical discourse analysis and Critical Race Theory (CRT) to provide a race-centered analysis of decision-making in student discipline. My findings reveal that ideologies/narratives of white innocence and Latino male criminality led adults to more frequent surveillance of Latino male students which, in turn, contributed to their overrepresentation in the referral process and punitive disciplinary outcomes from suspension to removal, as well as greater contact with law enforcement. I highlight the case of Galvan, a Latino male student, as an example of the practices of inequitable student discipline. I conclude with an explanation of effective research-based practices that reduce racial disproportionalities in student discipline and create safer, more equitable schools. [NOTE: Page 61 was removed… [PDF]
(2016). Racing Tradition: Catholic Schooling and the Maintenance of Boundaries. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v19 n3 p524-545. This article seeks to add to the underdeveloped strain of inquiry on the raced social experience of students in private and parochial institutions. We examine the role Catholic schools in the city of Chicago play in the maintenance and creation of racially problematic policies, spaces, and rhetoric. The research uncovers a multitude of responses framing African American students as an exotic other in mission and action through the leveraging of liturgical, ideological, and political language and practice. Using Cultural Studies and Critical Race Theory the work seeks to create a discursive space for representation and resistance in the repositioning of dominant and sanguineous narratives about Catholic schooling both in the US and globally. We use moments when race became particularly and often painfully salient in our experiences of Catholic schooling to expose the structural and racial inequity perpetuated in establishing and enforcing racial barriers to success through… [Direct]