(2024). Critical-Race Elementary Schooling: Critical-Race Teacher Change Agents Are Challenging Whiteness in Elementary Schools. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, City University of New York. Children in elementary schools think, talk, and reason in big ways that reflect how they live and experience race, racism, and racialization. Some elementary school teachers — or critical-race teacher change agents — intentionally include this work in their classrooms. My aim is to find out what motivates critical-race teacher change agents to challenge Whiteness in their classrooms and understand what they say they do to challenge Whiteness with young children. An emphasis on racial-justice work in elementary schools has often been overlooked by teacher education and has been further pushed back by the recent backlash on critical race theory across many states. The data for this study was collected qualitatively through interviews and document analyses followed up by iterative coding before co-constructing a grounded theory. The motivations found to drive the work of critical-race teacher change agents stem from different forms of racial witnessing, understanding that Whiteness is… [Direct]
(2019). "Do We Teach Subjects or Students?" Analyzing Science and Mathematics Teacher Conversations about Issues of Equity in the Classroom. School Science and Mathematics, v119 n7 p405-416 Nov. Teachers involved in a Master's level course in diversity participated in virtual, synchronous, anonymized discussions around issues of ethnic and racial diversity, gender, and stereotypes that could impact their students' participation in fields related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Guided by theoretical frameworks from Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) and Critical Race Theory (CRT), a convenience sample of 14 science and mathematics teachers participated in a series of virtual chats using open-ended questioning and facilitated by two university instructors. Using conversation and critical discourse analyses, three primary themes emerged: understanding of issues related to stereotypes, encouragement of females and minorities to pursue careers in STEM, and the place for diversity discussions in science and mathematics classrooms. The teachers felt burdened by curricular and administrative constraints that inhibit their ability to participate in… [Direct]
(2012). Using Critical Race Theory to Analyze Science Teachers Culturally Responsive Practices. Cultural Studies of Science Education, v7 n2 p341-374 Jun. Culturally responsive science teaching is using knowledge about the culture and life experiences of students to structure learning that is conducive to their needs. Understanding what teachers need to prepare them to be culturally responsive is a matter of continuous debate. As the focus of multicultural education ventures farther away from its roots, advocating the civil rights of historically oppressed groups, concerns about the gravity of racial inequity on schooling continues. How will this shift in focus influence teachers' capacity to accommodate students' needs resulting from racial inequities in this society, particularly African American students? What knowledge is essential to their effectiveness? This qualitative study examined the instructional practices of two effective middle school science teachers deemed culturally responsive by their administrator on the basis of classroom observations, students' responses and standardized assessment results. Both teachers'… [Direct]
(2019). Amplifying Voices of the Unheard: Counternarratives of African American Males in Community College. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Washington State University. The goal of this narrative research is to contribute to the body of literature regarding African American males in higher education. This research challenges the deficit majoritarian narrative that historically has perpetuated a negative image of the contributions African American males bring to education. As a conceptual framework, Critical Race Theory is used to critique the historical narrative and challenge the impact of race and inequities in education. Utilizing counternarratives as a way to include a comprehensive picture of the Community Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2005) students possess through lived experiences, aspirations, challenges, obstacles, resilience and dreams, this research analyzes six accounts of African American males in the community college. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using guiding questions to complete educational histories of students and their interactions with community colleges. The results of this study affirm the strengths that African… [Direct]
(2018). Transforming Education for Students of Color: Reenvisioning Teacher Leadership for Educational Justice. SoJo Journal: Educational Foundations and Social Justice Education, v4 n2 p25-40. Drawing on the theories of critical race theory (Ladson-Billings & Tate, 1995), transformative leadership (Shields, 2018), and critical teacher leadership (Bradley-Levine, 2018), this qualitative study explored the teacher leadership perspectives, manifestations, and experiences of nine high school teachers committed to social justice in one large urban school district in California. Through the use of questionnaires, one-on-one interviews, teacher journaling, and document collection, these equity-oriented teachers reported to work to increase the learning opportunities of their students of color through challenging schooling stratification systems and organizing student organizations focused on student identity, community engagement, and educational justice. The findings also pointed to the challenges facing these teachers' leadership efforts including high workloads and a perceived disconnected leadership at the district and state level. The study calls for a need to reimagine… [Direct]
(2019). Black Teachers of English in South Korea: Constructing Identities as a Native English Speaker and English Language Teaching Professional. TESOL Journal, v10 n4 e478 Dec. This study uses critical race theory as a lens and narrative inquiry as a methodological tool to examine how the term native English speaker (NES) is socially constructed when subscribed to two Black teachers of English (BTE) working in South Korea's secondary educational system. In addition to examining how these two BTEs interpret themselves as NESs, this study analyzes how being a NES influences pedagogical approaches in the classroom and their identity as an English language teaching (ELT) professional. Data from this study are taken from a larger research project comprising five participants' ELT experiences as a NES in South Korea. Data collection consists of a questionnaire survey and Skype interviews as a means of reporting how these teachers construct their identities. Research shows participants navigating constructs of privilege and marginalization as a NES and ELT professional. Participants reported being cultural ambassadors of not only the English language but also… [Direct]
(2019). Teacher Candidates' Experiences Taking up Issues of Race and Racism in an Urban Education Fellowship Program. Action in Teacher Education, v41 n2 p99-116. This study contributes to ongoing conversations about mechanisms to support preservice teachers, especially those who are White and middle class, in learning about race and racism in preparation for teaching in diverse settings. We use the frameworks of Critical Race Theory and racial literacy to inquire into the ways that two cohorts of undergraduate students took up issues of race and racism during an urban education fellowship. This qualitative study uses data from a program in which participants attended professional conferences, teacher inquiry community meetings, and on-campus meetings over the course of one semester. Using field notes, interview transcripts, and artifacts, thematic analyses indicate that each space of the fellowship offered a unique opportunity to learn about race and racism. Conference spaces introduced fellows to new frameworks, while inquiry community meetings spaces offered fellows visions of practicing teachers grappling with race-related challenges, and… [Direct]
(2019). Southern Assumptions: Normalizing Racialized Structures at a University in the Deep South. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v22 n3 p355-373. Informed by critical race theory (CRT), we examine how African-American and white college students, at a predominantly white, structurally diverse, Southern US university, understand their cross-racial experiences. Black-white interactions are understood within the context of the so-called 'post-racial' environment, against the backdrop of high-profile cases of racial injustice, and within the added context of the historical legacy of slavery and Jim Crow segregation in the rural Southern United States. Our study suggests that many students, regardless of race, recognized the persistence of racial segregation, especially in nightlife and campus Greek letter organizations (GLOs). African-American students were the most vocal and troubled by this division. Unexpectedly, however, students appeared to take for granted that in the American South, racism is persistent and indestructible. Building on Bell's (1991) notion of racial realism and Bonilla-Silva's (2013) notion of naturalization,… [Direct]
(2019). Love Is at the Root of Resistance: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Inquiry into the Lived Experiences of Black College Athlete Activists. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D./HE Dissertation, Azusa Pacific University. The college campus is a prime opportunity for Black college athlete activists to engage with their campus community, gain a sense of belonging, identity, and development as leaders. To conduct an in-depth examination on the motivations and experiences of this unique subgroup, the research was guided by the following question: What are the lived experience of Black college athlete activists in times of racial and social injustice? Relevant literature on Critical Race Theory and Black campus activism served as the foundation, and hermeneutic phenomenology was the methodological approach to document and describe the meaning of 9 individual experiences of Black college athlete activists as a part of the reemergence of Black athlete activists. Birthed from the narratives of the participants, a conceptual leadership model known as the Black Athlete Activist Leadership Model (BAAL) was introduced to provide guidelines and items to consider when serving and working with Black college athlete… [Direct]
(2019). A Phenomenological Study of How Organizational Structures Affect Gender and Racial Inequalities Experienced by Black Faculty in North Carolina Community Colleges. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. For years now, reports by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) on local and national community colleges consistently show how the number of Black faculty employed at community colleges is relatively lower than the number of White faculty. Recent data show that Black faculty represent only 7.4% of all instructional staff in community colleges, compared to 75.9% of White faculty (American Association of Community Colleges [AACC], 2016). These findings challenge the efforts of many colleges and universities that have created programs, initatives, and strategies to increase the representation of racial/ethnitic minority faculty in their institutions in order to mirror their diverse student population. Due to an increasingly diverse student population and the need to employ and retain Black faculty in today's community colleges, it is important to explore the everyday lived experiences of Black faculty. The purpose of this study was to explore how organizational structures… [Direct]
(2019). A Narrative of Undergraduate Latina Students' Resilience. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Florida Gulf Coast University. This research study investigated the educational experiences of seven Latina undergraduate students. Although Latinx/a/o students are the fastest growing group in U.S. public schools and comprise more than one in four in K-12 public schools today (Krogstad & Lopez, 2015), their dropout rates among Latino students remain unacceptably high and their performance rates are the lowest in all measures of academic progress (Espinoza-Herold & Gonzalez-Carriedo, 2017, p. 48; Krogstad, 2016; National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 2016). Recent trends prove that Latinas and Latinos are entering the university in larger numbers than in the past, yet retention and graduation remain areas for improvement and evaluation (Cerda-Lizarraga, 2015; Martinez, 2014; Solorzano, Villalpando, & Oseguera, 2005). Latina undergraduate students, especially, face challenges that are often exacerbated by cultural norms for their gender and families contradictory expectations. The methodology… [Direct]
(2018). The Rise of the Far Right in Japan, and Challenges Posed for Education. London Review of Education, v16 n2 p250-267. This paper examines emerging far-right movements and xenophobia, and the challenges they pose for justice in education in Japan. It illustrates discourses on nationalism and cultural diversity in both education and wider society from the perspective of critical race theory. It explores the voice of educators, particularly about their concerns and uncertainties regarding xenophobia, and examines their perceptions and reactions. By focusing on the narratives of interviewees from different ethnic backgrounds, this paper investigates far-right extremism and its challenges to education from different viewpoints. Data from interviews reveals different perceptions among both majority and minority teachers regarding the culturalization and personalization of problems in the classroom. This data also suggests that due to the absence of collective strategies and visions to challenge racism, approaches to combating racism depend largely on individual teachers. Drawing from these findings, this… [PDF]
(2018). The Intersection of Language and Race among English Learner (EL) Leaders in Desegregated Urban Midwest Schools: A LangCrit Narrative Study. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, v17 n6 p371-387. This inquiry examines how district English Learner (EL) leaders negotiate and shape their linguistic and racial identities within the landscape of racially desegregated urban school districts. Girded by the theory of LangCrit, an intersection between critical language studies (CLS) and Critical Race Theory (CRT), this study illuminates how EL leaders position language and language learning as their primary leadership aim. This language-centered focus resists the institutional practices of their desegregated districts that are principally shaped by binary racial frameworks of Black and white. Resisting the racialization of language, EL leaders negotiate their leadership actions through colorblind, colormute and nativist lenses that are shaped by their respective linguistic and racial identities. Implications within this narrative study assert that inter and intra-racial and cross-linguistic dialogue is necessary among EL leaders with other leaders of color to deconstruct equitable… [Direct]
(2018). It's Heart Work: Critical Case Studies, Critical Professional Development, and Fostering Hope among Social Justice-Oriented Teacher Educators. Multicultural Perspectives, v20 n4 p229-239. As social justice-oriented teachers and teacher educators, it can seem as if we are fighting a losing battle against neoliberal education policies designed to disrupt and dismantle our field. In this article we draw upon traditions of critical race theory, counterstorying, and critical hope to examine the complex realities of contemporary teacher education and envision an alternate reality in which our profession develops and thrives. To do so, we first present a series of autoethnographic critical case studies that highlight dilemmas of practice. We then invite readers to examine each case through multiple lenses, as they grapple with the complexities of a visionary path forward. In so doing, we offer tools for critical professional development that articulate, deconstruct, and reimagine social justice-oriented teacher education and activism in this changing landscape. We close with recommendations to increase our collective capacity as social justice teacher educators, placing a… [Direct]
(2018). The Sistah Network: Enhancing the Educational and Social Experiences of Black Women in the Academy. NASPA Journal About Women in Higher Education, v11 n2 p151-170. The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of women in the Sistah Network, an affinity group at a predominantly White institution, with mentoring goals to enhance the educational and social experiences of Black women in master's and doctoral programs and their mentors. The authors interviewed 18 women (faculty, staff, and students), conducted observations at Sistah Network meetings, and analyzed exit ticket data to get insight on how the program influenced the academic and social experiences of the women. Critical race theory and Black Feminist Thought were used as theoretical frameworks to interpret the findings. Findings suggest four main themes: (a) the Sistah Network advances identity and empowerment, (b) the Sistah Network contributes to social advantages, (c) the Sistah Network affords emotional benefits, and (d) the Sistah Network promotes academic success. Findings suggest that efforts can be made to implement and sustain variations of mentoring programs for… [Direct]