(2022). Preparing Educators Who Save Lives: What Can US Schools of Education Do?. Journal for Multicultural Education, v16 n3 p225-236. Purpose: Aided with critical-race theory (Ladson-Billings, 1998), culturally responsive pedagogy tenets (Gay, 2002), and culturally sustaining pedagogy philosophy (Paris, 2012). The purpose of this paper is to make a two-pronged argument that: the killing of blacks has taken many forms, physical, moral, intellectual, cultural, and financial; and through its endorsement of racist policies, the education domain is a covert partaker in the killing of black lives. The author proceeds to tell her story of how lived experience, i.e., related to racism and inequities, inspired her to implement a curriculum that saves lives. She then proposes actionable measures that leaders of schools of education can take to show that they are allies of anti-black-racism and racial equity voices in education. Design/methodology/approach: Methodologically, this paper is situated in the intersection of three methodological models, which share the use of narrative as a source of evidence–critical… [Direct]
(2019). To Challenge the Settler Colonial Narrative of Native Americans in Social Studies Curriculum: A New Way Forward for Teachers. History Teacher, v52 n2 p291-318 Feb. For many non-native people, Native Americans are one large homogenous group. A fairly simple "group" to understand. Indigenous people are commonly presented and understood through long-enduring imagery via movies, advertising, product naming, and mascots. Through these processes, indigenous peoples are labeled, named, and historically placed as entities stripped of their humanity. They are made caricatures. These actions of presentation de facto allow large numbers of people to ignore or opt out of examining the historical experiences, present realities, geographies, and cultural manifestations of indigenous peoples. Engaging a critical framework about and for Native Americans in social studies curriculum is a necessary challenge to a course of study that is much more than a set of standards to learn; it is a reproduction of consciousness and a substantiation of misrepresentations. What is offered within this essay is a call for teachers to utilize the TribalCrit framework… [PDF]
(2019). Interrogating Disability Epistemologies: Towards Collective Dis/Ability Intersectional Emotional, Affective and Spiritual Autoethnographies for Healing. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v32 n3 p243-262. Special education labeling ignores historical, emotional, spiritual, sociocultural effects of labeling Black and Brown students with disabilities. Utilizing critical disability studies, critical race theory and spiritual paradigm, we interrogate construction and expression of differences of Learning Disability and Speech and Language Impairment. We asked: "How does being labeled with a special education disability category, as Black and Brown people impact emotional, affective, and spiritual development in and around schools?" Reminded about our disability labels relationship to (re)production of racism and ableism, our counter-narratives deconstruct the normativity of racism and ableism in and around schools. Our findings illuminated how emotion, affect and spirituality played a role in our intersectional oppressions and non-normative construction of our differences. We call for collective emotional, affective and spiritual autoethnographies for change at the nexus of… [Direct]
(2019). Intersectionality & Higher Education: Research, Theory, & Praxis, Second Edition. Peter Lang Publishing Group Intersectionality is a term coined by Kimberl√© Crenshaw in 1989. Crenshaw, a scholar of law, critical race theory, and Black feminist legal theory, used intersectionality to explain the experiences of Black women who–because of the intersection race, gender, and class–are exposed to exponential and interlocking forms of marginalization and oppression often rendering them invisible. The second edition of "Intersectionality & Higher Education: Theory, Research & Praxis" further documents and expands upon Crenshaw's articulation of intersectionality within the context of higher education. The text includes (a) theoretical and conceptual chapters on intersectionality; (b) empirical research and research-based chapters using intersectionality as a framework; and (c) chapters focusing on intersectional practices, all within higher education settings. The volume may prove beneficial for graduate programs in ethnic studies, higher education, sociology, student affairs,… [Direct]
(2019). Faculty of Color Unmask Color-Blind Ideology in the Community College Faculty Search Process. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, v43 n10-11 p702-717. This qualitative study explored the systemic barriers to hiring faculty of color in the community college. A phenomenological design was used to examine the community college full-time faculty search process from the perspective of 10 full-time faculty of color who actively participate in racial justice advocacy. The participants represented five community college districts throughout California and have participated on multiple full-time faculty search committees. This study utilized critical race theory as a guiding framework. An analysis of the participants' interviews identified that color-blind ideology is pervasive, despite institutional commitment to diversity and nondiscriminatory laws. The leadership and agency of faculty of color strategically challenged the dominant ideology to advocate the hiring faculty of color. Actionable recommendations are presented to combat color-blind ideology in hiring policies and practices at the national, state, and local levels…. [Direct]
(2019). Barriers and Assets to External Funding for African American Faculty. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v32 n10 p1250-1269. External funding is required for promotion and tenure in many disciplines, especially at research intensive universities. The purpose of this study was to identify barriers and assets to external funding for African American faculty at a research intensive university. A phenomenological approach was used to capture the voice of 16 African American faculty through focus groups and interviews. Data were interpreted through the lens of Critical Race Theory. The three primary themes were: (1) barriers, (2) influence of race, and (3) assets. Barriers included lack of mentors and collaborators; teaching load and lack of protective time; scarcity of funding; and lack of administrative support and infrastructure for getting grants out. Faculty reported several assets for securing funding. These included both personal (e.g. good training, innovation) and external (e.g. collaborations with community members) assets. Recommendations for addressing barriers are provided…. [Direct]
(2019). Front Streeting: Teacher Candidates of Color and the Pedagogical Challenges of Cultural Relevancy. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, v50 n2 p135-150 Jun. Educational research widely neglects the effectiveness of multicultural education courses among teacher candidates of color (TCCs). In this article, the experiences of six Black preservice teachers enrolled in a diversity course are explicated to unearth nuanced pedagogical missteps that hinder their development as students of asset pedagogies. Undergirded by the five principles of critical race theory, findings reveal that TCCs exhibit varied forms of resistance to monolithic content that frame minoritized groups in the deficit. In this particular study, Front Streeting refers to the vulnerability teachers of color experience when their minoritized identities are fetishized in diversity classrooms, through an expectation of confirmed lived experiences or expert knowledge of their demographic groups. The article explores the general privileging of whiteness in multicultural education curriculum and instruction while challenging teacher educators to reconsider how to engage students… [Direct]
(2019). 'Just Say No': Public Dissent over Sexuality Education and the Canadian National Imaginary. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, v40 n3 p343-357. Scholars of sexuality have argued that 'moral panics' about sexuality often stand in for broader conflicts over nationality and belonging. Canada has spent decades cultivating a national image founded on multiculturalism and democratic equality. The Ontario sexuality education curriculum introduced in 2015 drew audible condemnation from a variety of groups. Drawing from Critical Discourse Analysis and Critical Race Theory, we argue that the public discourse surrounding these protests exposed the limits of Canadian pluralism, fuelling a meta-debate about the 'Canadianness' of recent immigrants and the incompatibility of liberal values with those of non-Westerners, especially Muslims. We explain this in terms of contextual factors such as Ontario's publicly funded Catholic school system and anti-Muslim xenophobia in the post-9/11 era. Our analysis speaks to the importance of intersectional social justice efforts as part of the movement for comprehensive sex education…. [Direct]
(2019). Under the Cloak of Professionalism: Covert Racism in Teacher Education. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v22 n3 p319-337. This study focuses on manifestations of racism and colonialism in teacher education. I build on the theoretical framing of Critical Race Theory and decolonization in order to expose racist and colonial assumptions at the core of teacher education. I highlight in particular the work of covert racism under the cloak of teachers' professionalism. I focus on what I call 'professional microaggressions': subtle forms of racism and colonialism hidden beneath professional definitions. By interviewing graduates of a well-established Indigenous teacher education program in British Columbia, Canada, I examine the mechanisms that still hinder the success of Indigenous teacher candidates in teacher education and in the school system. The study highlights the resilience, resistance, and strategic planning that Indigenous teachers use to challenge the system while advancing their position within it. Lastly, I suggest ways to support Indigenous teacher candidates in teacher education…. [Direct]
(2022). Chicana/o/x Educational Pipelines as Critical Race Heuristics: Tools for Pedagogy, Politicization, and Praxis. Teachers College Record, v124 n2 p33-59 Feb. Background/Context: Since 2005, critical race theory (CRT) scholars have crafted educational pipelines that compare educational attainment across racial groups in the United States. These visual models offer concise pictorial narratives about the discrepancies that fall along racial lines, particularly the underperformance of Chicana/o/x students over the last two decades. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: This article conceptualizes educational pipelines comparing the educational attainment of Chicana/o/x, White, Black, Asian, and Native students as critical race heuristics, or exegetic visual instruments and pedagogical tools used by CRT scholars to concisely depict structural inequities predicated on racial hierarchies. Critical race heuristics elicit understandings of systemic oppression, foster critical awareness, and inspire action. Population/Participants/Subjects: There were more than 100 participants in 16 focus groups, and 10 individual interviews were… [Direct]
(2023). English as an Additional Language (EAL): Decolonising Provision and Practice. Curriculum Journal, v34 n1 p62-82 Mar. This paper examines ways in which approaches to English as Additional Language (EAL) can be decolonised in schools. In an attempt to break traditional divides between academic research and pedagogical practice in this area, this article adopts a collaborative perspective, between an EAL advisory and support teacher and an academic member of staff working in university. Drawing on dialogues and co-analysis with EAL practitioners, this article reflects on limitations of current provision and practice and suggests alternative, decolonial and anti-racist approaches to the education of EAL students. At both school and university level, 'one size fits all approaches' tend to negate the deep historical, social and political roots and contexts which underpin the experiences of 'EAL students' at different levels of education. Issues related to equitable assessment, inclusion, linguistic support and anti-racism tend to be side lined in favour of a focus on language proficiency and attainment,… [Direct]
(2023). The Reentry Program and Its Effect on the Lives of African American Males after They Are Released from Prison: A Phenomenological Study. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Delaware State University. African American males have been overrepresented in the prison system in the United States since the 1970s. This comprehensive survey examines the influence of the prison reentry program on the lives of African American males after they are released from jail and prison in the United States. Jail is a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody "specifically": such a place under the jurisdiction of a local government (such as a county) for the confinement of persons awaiting trial or those convicted of minor crimes. A prison is a place for the confinement of a person in lawful detention. "To detain in custody: imprison" (American Heritage, 1969, 1970,1976, p.700). Many states incarcerate five times as many African Americans as White people. The literature has identified several hypotheses to explain why the mass incarceration of African American males in the prison system continues. The aim of this qualitative research is to examine the perceptions of… [Direct]
(2018). Blowing Hot and Cold about Diversity: White Middle-Class Gentrifiers and Ethnically Mixed Schooling in Belgium. Whiteness and Education, v3 n1 p32-55. It has been argued that white middle classes act in the best interest of their offspring, even when these actions clash with their values. In urban contexts, parents often do this by avoiding ethnically diverse educational settings. Drawing on 35 interviews, this article aims to gain a deeper understanding of the school-choice process of white gentrifiers going against a dominant, white middle-class norm by selecting an ethnically mixed school in the context of Ghent (Belgium). Making use of critical race theory, it is suggested that, although these white gentrifiers have in their actions gone against the grain, they have done less so in their motives, as these are permeated by instrumental reasons…. [Direct]
(2022). Young, Black and (Mis)Educated: A Narrative Inquiry Study of Black Student Leadership at Predominantly White Institutions. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Northeastern University. Black student leaders attending predominantly White institutions face difficulties that have not been addressed during their collegiate experience. Black students who attend predominantly White institutions often participate in groups/organizations that embrace their ethnic and racial background more than those that do not. Clubs and Organizations such as the Black Student Union, African Student Alliance, and Caribbean Student Network provide Black student leaders with a place in which they feel safe and secure demonstrating their leadership skills. However, there is often a lack of support provided to these students at predominantly White institutions. This research study addressed the following questions: (1) How do Black students' understandings of leadership impact the type of leadership positions pursued by Black students at predominantly White institutions, and (2) How do everyday images of leadership impact the type of leadership positions pursued by Black students at… [Direct]
(2013). Analyzing Poverty, Learning, and Teaching through a Critical Race Theory Lens. Review of Research in Education, v37 n1 p1-53 Mar. In this article, the author explores poverty as an outside-of-school factor and its influence on the inside-of-school experiences and outcome of students. He considers the interconnected space of learning, instructional practices, and poverty. In particular, he uses critical race theory as an analytic tool to unpack, shed light on, problematize, disrupt, and analyze how systems of oppression, marginalization, racism, inequity, hegemony, and discrimination are pervasively present and ingrained in the fabric of policies, practices, institutions, and systems in education that have important bearings on students–all students–even though most of the studies reviewed did not address race in this way. He analyzes the interrelationship between race and poverty. His point in using race as an analytic site is not to suggest that people are in poverty because of their race but to demonstrate how race can be a salient factor in how people experience and inhabit the world and consequently… [Direct]