(2022). Context, Counter Storytelling, and Game Changers for Black Female Students Attending Predominantly White Institutions. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Southern Nazarene University. The campus climate of predominantly White institutions (PWIs) is often saturated by norms and traditions that are deeply rooted in oppression and exclusivity. The purpose of this qualitative study was to provide context and share counter storytelling of Black female students who successfully navigated these campus spaces and places, and shared their counterstories that challenged dominant narratives. Through a blend of tenets from both Critical Race Theory and Social Identity Theory, this theoretical framework was used to explore the participants' lived experiences and identify four themes that emerged from the data collection. Narrative inquiry was the chosen research method. Through a series of interviews with three Black females students who had completed their first year at a small, predominantly White institution, it was evident their ability to persist can be hindered by the absence of social capital, lack of finding a place of affinity or belonging group, as well as classroom… [Direct]
(2022). A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study of the Lived Experiences of Black Contingent Faculty at Institutions Belonging to the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D./HE Dissertation, Azusa Pacific University. The population of marginalized Christian Black contingent or adjunct faculty was the focus of this study. The purpose of the study was to understand the lived experiences of Black contingent (adjunct faculty) at member institutions of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) to help explain high turnover, pay disparities, and consistently inequitable outcomes regarding (re) appointment. Additionally, the goal was to understand how Black contingent (adjunct) faculty perceive and describe the impact of race and gender on their experiences. The study was grounded in Critical Race Theory as the primary framework. Twenty-one participants representing 12 CCCU campuses in the United States were interviewed for 60 minutes via ZOOM. The data were analyzed, and distinctive themes emerged known as the 7Ps: Purpose, Preparation, Protege, Posture, Partiality, Positivity, and Profession. The findings led to 8 recommendations for policy and practice, which, if implemented, will… [Direct]
(2021). Collective Visioning for Equity: Centering Youth, Family, and Community Leaders in Schoolwide Visioning Processes. Peabody Journal of Education, v96 n4 p465-482. The importance of schoolwide visions is widely accepted and emphasized across the educational-leadership literature. The visioning process and resulting written vision and mission statements can have consequential impacts on the daily life of schools, particularly decisions related to instruction, curriculum, budget, and other key issues. For educators and researchers committed to advancing educational equity, questions about whose perspectives and voices are included in this process matter. Yet, we know little about the extent to which youth, families, and community members, particularly from communities of color and low-income backgrounds, are included in schoolwide visioning processes. To explore the potential role of youth, family, and community stakeholders in schoolwide visioning, we engage in a dual analytical approach informed by critical race theory. First, we critically examine leadership literature concerning visioning and research on youth, family, and community… [Direct]
(2021). Leading Inclusive Schools: Principal Perceptions, Practices, and Challenges to Meaningful Change. Educational Administration Quarterly, v57 n1 p3-48 Feb. Background: For over 50 years, special education has been used as a tool to maintain racial segregation, particularly in schools located in low-income communities of color. This study utilized tenets found in disability critical race theory (DisCrit) and inclusive school leadership literature to examine the perceptions, practices, and challenges associated with meaningful change in inclusive schools. Purpose: The purpose of this article was to understand how six elementary school principals, identified as effective inclusive leaders, perceived students with disabilities within a low-income Mexican American immigrant community along the U.S.-Mexico border. Findings: Our study highlights the important role principals play in creating inclusive schools and the ways in which race, disability, family background, language, and immigration status effect principals in their efforts to promote inclusion. While each principal recognized the noted factors above and confronted a multitude of… [Direct]
(2021). Pygmalion in the 'hood: Reflecting on Enhancing Job Interview Performance at an Urban Community College. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, v21 n3 p79-91 Oct. Self-presenting effectively at job interviews presents significant challenges for students at urban community colleges, especially those identified as low-income Black and Latinx. Current practices provide minimal support, if any, for enhancing the self-presentation of these students at job interviews. Too often, instead, students simply do not perform well, fail to achieve their job objectives, and remain marginalized by society. This article describes the experiences of urban community college students involved in an innovative effort to enhance their performance in job interviews. This innovative approach features identity work and highlights the value of role play and improvisation in a range of dramatic activities. It utilizes insights gained from research into Freirian conscientization, critical pedagogy, and critical race theories as well as participatory action research (PAR) methodology. This study highlights the eloquent voices and dramatic concerns of the students involved… [PDF]
(2021). Exploring Mathematics of the Sociopolitical through Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in a College Algebra Course at a Historically Black College/University. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, v14 n1 p45-70 May. In collegiate mathematics, college algebra continues to be a barrier to graduation for students (specifically non-science, mathematics, engineering, and science majors). Each year, nearly half of enrolled students struggle to "pass" this course with a grade of C or better (Herriott, 2006). Using innovative constructed lessons geared towards African American students, this research study was designed to investigate the effects of a sequence of such lessons grounded in the principles of culturally relevant pedagogy on students enrolled in an introductory college algebra course at a historically Black college/university. Using critical race theory as a lens, along with culturally relevant pedagogy, this study explored students' abilities to apply mathematics to address contentious and present-day sociopolitical problems through eight in-depth semi-structure student interviews. Further, findings also suggest the need for collegiate mathematics instruction to have more emphasis… [PDF]
(2021). Why Are All the White Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: Toward Challenging Constructions of a Persecuted White Collective. Education Sciences, v11 Article 679. In the context of ongoing antagonism on college campuses, attacks on Critical Race Theory, and widespread backlash against racial justice initiatives, this paper underscores the growing need to recognize co-optation and other counterinsurgent strategies used against racial justice to make room for transformative scholarship. By presenting qualitative interviews from 15 white HBCU students, we illustrate how diversity research, advocacy, and organizing previously used to advocate for racial justice has instead constructed distorted understandings of race and racism and has been used to expand ideologies of whiteness. The findings show what CRT scholars have cautioned about for decades–when left uninterrupted, ahistorical approaches to racial diversity programming and research may lend to the co-optation of justice-focused diversity language and the appropriation of BIPOC strategies of resistance. This not only inhibits and detracts from racial justice work, but can function to expand… [PDF]
(2021). Narrating the Immigrant Experience: Three Adult Educators' Perspectives. Adult Learning, v32 n1 p40-49 Feb. In this collaborative autoethnography, three immigrant adult education scholars examine diverse ways in which their experiences with racialization as immigrants in the United States have informed their scholarship and practice. The three authors originate from different parts of the world and use different theoretical frameworks–critical literary studies; critical theory; and postcolonial and Critical Race Theory, respectively–to complicate the immigrant Self and story. They argue that the use of autoethnography in adult education has the potential to illuminate issues of class, race, gender, and nationality to disrupt the typical immigrant narrative and allow for the advent of new immigrant stories and Subjects. Each narrative is unique; however, they do share the following commonalities: Critique of the postcolonial condition and the colonization of the Subject and culture; complicating the Black-White binary paradigm of race; centering anti-racist praxis; and suggestions for… [Direct]
(2021). Mirrors to the Soul: Elementary Preservice Teachers' Critical Reflections of Situating Race, Racism, and Antiracism within the Literacy Curriculum. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Research that engages preservice teachers in critical reflective practices may reveal the level at which they understand and confront their own biases when addressing race within the institutions and societies they interact. This study was conducted to understand the depth in which elementary preservice teachers critically reflect on their own racialized experiences and beliefs and how they situate race within the literacy curriculum through the lens of critical race theory. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 preservice teachers. Findings indicated that preservice teachers believe antiracist themes should be integrated into literacy. However, due to lack of exposure, limited coursework, and curriculum mandates, they were not fully prepared to address race, racism, and antiracism within literacy instruction. Future research should focus on revising teacher education programs to include a more concrete focus on race and racism, specifically ways to navigate those topics… [Direct]
(2022). Researching Medical Education, 2nd Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc "Researching Medical Education" is an authoritative guide to excellence in educational research within the healthcare professions presented by the Association for the Study of Medical Education and AMEE. This text provides readers with key foundational knowledge, while introducing a range of theories and how to use them, illustrating a diversity of methods and their use, and giving guidance on practical researcher development. By linking theory, design, and methods across the spectrum of health professions education research, the text supports the improvement of quality, capacity building, and knowledge generation. "Researching Medical Education" includes contributions from experts and emerging researchers from five continents. The text includes information on: (1) Developing yourself and your practice as a health professions education researcher; (2) Methods and methodologies including ethnography/digital ethnography, visual methods, critical discourse analysis,… [Direct]
(2021). Trailblazers, Reciprocity, and Doctoral Education: The Pursuit of Critical Race Praxis and Survivance among Doctoral Students of Color. Journal of Higher Education, v92 n2 p227-251. This study utilized a mixed-methods, survey research design to explore the experiences and motivations of Students of Color who pursue doctoral studies in colleges or departments of education and the agential decisions they make to carry out their motivations. Data collection included dissemination of a 61-item survey via Qualtrics inclusive of Likert-based and narrative items. Participants included 40 respondents who were either doctoral students, candidates, postdoctoral scholars or early career scholars within two years of obtaining their doctoral degrees. Critical Race Theory and Vizenor's concept of survivance frame an understanding of how race and racism impacted the lives of doctoral Students of Color and how they enacted an active presence in their doctoral studies in spite of obstacles. Findings based on participants' narratives revealed (a) high levels of interest in addressing educational inequities and the collective advancement of Communities of Color, and (b) recurring… [Direct]
(2021). Success for All? A Call to Re-Examine How Student Success Is Defined in Higher Education. CBE – Life Sciences Education, v20 n1 Essay 3 Mar. A central focus in science education is to foster the success of students who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). However, representation and achievement gaps relative to the majority still exist for minoritized students at all levels of science education and beyond. We suggest that majority groups defining the definitions and measures of success may exert "soft power" over minoritized student success. Using a hegemonic and critical race theory lens, we examined five years of research articles in "CBE–Life Sciences Education" to explore how success was defined and measured and what frameworks guided the definitions of student success. The majority of articles did not explicitly define success, inherently suggesting "everyone knows" its definition. The articles that did define success often used quantitative, academic outcomes like grade point average and exam scores, despite commonly cited frameworks with other metrics. When… [Direct]
(2021). "I Would Have Become Wallpaper Had Racism Had Its Way": Black Female Professors, Racial Battle Fatigue, and Strategies for Surviving Higher Education. Peabody Journal of Education, v96 n2 p206-217. In 2019, AdvanceHE reported that there were just 25 UK Black female full professors in British universities. Black women are less likely to occupy a role at this level than their male and White counterparts. Despite this, Black women remain relatively absent in institutional initiatives to advance gender equality, and there is little commitment amongst UK universities to explicitly address structural inequalities of race as they affect the experiences of academic staff. Black female academics remain under-represented and invisible in UK higher education. This article draws on the first known qualitative study into the career experiences and strategies of twenty of these Black female professors. Specifically, it engages Critical Race Theory and Bourdieu as principal theoretical frameworks to explore how their academic journeys, shaped as they are by an existence at the intersection of race and gender, result in racial battle fatigue, feelings of isolation, and disillusion with the… [Direct]
(2021). Navigating Emotion Work by Using Community Cultural Wealth: Student Teaching Experiences of Teacher Candidates of Color. Equity & Excellence in Education, v54 n3 p252-270. When teacher candidates learn to teach for equity and social justice during their practicum, they must learn to deal with the emotional conflict and tension that arise from fraught racial dynamics. Because limited research has focused on teacher candidates of Color during their practicum, little is known about how they agentively navigate conflicting emotions vis-√ -vis the racial power dynamics at their field placement. Informed by critical race theory and its conceptualization of emotion work and capital, in this study, I examined what types of emotional tensions one Latinx and two African American teacher candidates experienced during their practicum. I drew on counter-narrative methodology and used written reflection, interview, and field note data for the analysis. The participants often drew on their community cultural wealth–the knowledge, skills, abilities, and contacts possessed and utilized by communities of Color to survive and resist macroscale and microscale forms of… [Direct]
(2021). Using QuantCrit to Advance an Anti-Racist Developmental Science: Applications to Mixture Modeling. Journal of Adolescent Research, v36 n5 p535-560 Sep. How researchers use statistical analyses shapes their research toward or away from an anti-racist agenda. In this article, we demonstrate how developmental scientists can use the QuantCrit framework to critically examine the process of conducting quantitative analyses. In particular, we focus on mixture modeling to clearly demonstrate how the integration of QuantCrit can be achieved within a statistical technique. We first summarize the tenets of QuantCrit and how it has turned the lens of critical race theory onto quantitative methodology. Second, we provide a summary of the key concepts of mixture modeling. The main section of the article is organized according to three "moments" that occur in quantitative research: (1) development of the research question(s) and identification of analysis variables; (2) decision-making about the role of race in planned analyses; and (3) interpretation of the results through a theoretical framework. We describe each moment, illustrate how… [Direct]