(2022). Thoughts, Reflections, and Perceptions of African American Students about Becoming Teachers in a Small Urban School District. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2020), in 1999, 84% of teachers were white, and 8% of teachers were African American. Unfortunately, these statistics have not changed much in two decades. In 2018, 79% of teachers were white, and 7% of teachers were African American. In order to change the experiences in our schools for African American students, we must find a solution to grow more African American teachers. Waiting to recruit African American adults to become teachers seems to be an afterthought. Researching the thoughts, reflections, and perceptions of African American students about becoming teachers provides insight and recommendations to minority teacher recruitment and retention programs at both the collegiate level and K-12 schools. To increase the number of African American teachers, school districts will need to change what they are currently doing to recruit and retain African American teachers. Through qualitative student focus group interviews,… [Direct]
(2015). The 20th-Year Anniversary of Critical Race Theory in Education: Implications for Leading to Eliminate Racism. Educational Administration Quarterly, v51 n5 p791-833 Dec. Purpose: Though the first published application of critical race theory (CRT) to education occurred 20 years ago, implications of CRT for educational leadership did not occur until L√≥pez conducted a CRT analysis of the politics of education literature in 2003. No publications explicitly identify the implications of CRT for leadership practice. Given the gap in the literature, the research question that anchors this article asks, "How can CRT inform educational leadership to eliminate racism?" Research Method: To address the research question, I conducted a literature analysis of CRT in educational leadership, identified the CRT tenets that guided each publication, and derived six primary, interrelated CRT tenets from this analysis. I also extracted from the publications explicit and implicit implications for leadership practice as these implications related directly to each of the six CRT tenets. Findings/Implications: I describe each of the CRT tenets and explain how each… [Direct]
(2019). "No One Wants to Believe It": Manifestations of White Privilege in a STEM-Focused College. Multicultural Perspectives, v21 n2 p102-111. The lagging behind of underrepresented minority (URM) students in higher education, and particularly in the STEM fields, is well documented. In this paper we draw on critical race theory in education to frame and present counter-narratives of URM students in STEM fields, to explicate the function of the interactions that occur between these students and their (mostly White) instructors and peers. Focus group interviews with URM students (and staff) at a STEM focused college identify three ways in which White privilege is enacted through these interactions: in group projects; in cheating accusations; and in the grading process. Our participants illuminate particular manifestations of White privilege in STEM classrooms and on campus, and we place these within the context of "colorblind" changes in higher education in the U.S…. [Direct]
(2019). Moving beyond Resilience Education: Musical Counterstorytelling. Music Education Research, v21 n5 p488-502. Education discourse has recently turned toward resilience and grit. This article critiques the neoliberalism embedded in resilience education and the manner in which a resilience focus encourages docility, adaptation and vulnerability in youth in response to oppressive conditions rather than addressing oppression directly. As a site of resilience for marginalised youth, music is implicated in resilience education's failure to address systemic oppression. Drawing on Critical Race Theory (CRT), as a music educator, I challenge the tendency of resilience education to pathologise youth and individualise systemic issues and put forward songwriting within music education as a means to shift a pedagogy of vulnerability to a pedagogy of oppression that interrupts dominant narratives. I assert that a pedagogy of oppression through songwriting allows youth to create powerful musical counterstories that shift deficit discourse to focus on strengths…. [Direct]
(2019). Can We Say the "r" Word?: Identifying and Disrupting Colorblind Epistemologies in a Teacher Education Methods Course. Educational Studies: Journal of the American Educational Studies Association, v55 n6 p633-650. Several educational researchers have critiqued the increasing marginalization of foundations coursework in teacher education programs within the United States. Situated within a teacher certification program at a Predominately White Institution without foundations courses, this self-study examined an English methods course designed to address this curricular gap and prepare candidates to teach racially and culturally diverse students attending urban schools. Through a conceptual framework grounded in critical race theory, interpretive analysis of student work relative to course material evidenced a consistent pattern of omitting themes, discussions, and reflection about race and racism. This finding–consistent with the literature on colorblind epistemologies–led me to implications about pedagogy and curriculum in teacher education centered around opportunities for candidates to develop racial literacy in their methods courses and across their programs…. [Direct]
(2019). Rural Indigenous Teachers' Lived Experiences in Mother Tongue Education in the Philippines: Counter-Stories of Resistance. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, v17 n3 p132-169 Dec. Conceptualized with Critical Race Theory, this study analyzed the lived experiences of indigenous, rural teachers in implementing a mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) policy in the Philippines. Qualitative data from interviews, classroom observations and focus group interviews were obtained from ten teachers from three school districts considered sub-urban and rural contexts in the northern region of the Philippines. Phenomenological methods of data analysis were employed to obtain collective composite stories from the teachers' experiences. Framed as composite counter-stories, teachers' narratives revealed deeply-embedded pedagogical challenges that they encountered, resulting from the policy implementation in their classrooms. Specifically, their counter-stories demonstrated resistance towards the top-down policy that complicated learning for their students. As their stories disrupt majoritarian narratives on MTB-MLE, implications for reconsidering the policy are… [PDF]
(2019). Desirablizing Whiteness: A Discursive Practice in Social Justice Leadership That Entrenches White Supremacy. Urban Education, v54 n5 p656-676 Jun. This article conceptualizes "Desirablizing Whiteness" as a discursive practice. Desirablizing Whiteness occurs when equity efforts aim to include racially minoritized students in actions, situations, formats, and settings where they have been absent or underrepresented, and which have been the "property" of Whites. The literature on discourse, discursive practices, and emotions serve to explain the nature of Desirablizing Whiteness as a complicated and contradictory construct. Tenets from critical race theory highlight the fundamentally racist effect of this discursive practice. Because Whiteness' property value is both tangible and psychic, the presence and role of emotions are key to understanding how Desirablizing Whiteness has a dialectical relationship with human interactions and decision making, ultimately undermining social justice efforts. Practical recommendations for school leaders and scholars concerned with urban education close the article…. [Direct]
(2019). Our Younger Selves: QPOC Student Affairs Professionals Supporting QPOC Students. Equity & Excellence in Education, v52 n4 p409-423. Queer student affairs professionals of color serve as key institutional agents who support students with marginalized identities and backgrounds, especially queer students of color. While institutions of higher education often create opportunities for employment, queer student affairs professionals of color exist and labor at the organizational fringes. They often find themselves without much support across differences of race, class, gender, and sexual identity, among others. This interpretive exploratory study uses grounded theory, validation theory, and critical race theory to elevate these experiences of QPOC students through the lens of QPOC student affairs professionals who are responsible for finding ways to support QPOC students in college. Our participants detailed their calling for this work and the challenges faced by QPOC students. They also offered recommendations for institutional leaders seeking strategies to support this marginalized population…. [Direct]
(2021). Lies, Myths, Stock Stories, and Other Tropes: Understanding Race and Whites' Policy Preferences in Education. Urban Education, v56 n10 p1619-1636 Dec. Despite being academically unqualified for admission to the University of Texas at Austin, Abigail Fisher, a White female, argued that she was not admitted due to the university's diversity policy. In addition to framing postsecondary admissions as a zero-sum phenomenon, Ms. Fisher intentionally frames students of color who are admitted to the University of Texas at Austin as academically unqualified. The purpose of this article is to examine Ms. Fisher's arguments against the University of Texas' diversity policy as presented in "Fisher v. University of Texas" from a critical race theoretical perspective. In addition to obfuscating the fact that admission to the top colleges and universities in the United States has become more competitive, Ms. Fisher's anti-diversity arguments are also consistent with a racial ideology and socially conservative agenda that frames people of color as undeserving of the opportunities traditionally associated with White people. The goal of… [Direct]
(2024). Playing by White Rules of Racial Equality: Student Athlete Experiences of Racism in British University Sport. Sport, Education and Society, v29 n8 p966-982. Inequalities related to racial identity are consistently reported across social institutions, not least education, and sport. These inequalities consistently challenge 'post-race' narratives that rationalise racism down to individual prejudices and poor decision-making. This paper presents part of the findings from a wider a twelve-month research project commissioned by British University and Colleges Sport (BUCS) to explore race equality. This wider research privileged the voices of non-White students and staff in an exploration of race and equality in British UK university sport. 'Non-white' was chosen as a race identifier to focus on Whiteness, the normalised, raceless power that reproduces itself both knowingly and unknowingly, to ensure racial 'others' remain subordinate. This paper presents the findings of the student voices. In this study a research team of academic and student researchers explored the experiences of 38 students across five universities. Generating case… [Direct]
(2024). STEM U.N.I.T.Y.: Uplifting Non-Dominant Voices in Teacher Professional Development and Youth STEM Spaces for Black Girls through Antiracist Practices and Experiences. ProQuest LLC, D.Ed. Dissertation, American University. The lack of intentional professional development for STEM stakeholders and culturally relevant STEM spaces that are inclusive of Black girls' identities in the K-12 educational system contributes to the continual widening gap of the lack of Black girls' retention and interest in science and math spaces. If this systemic problem is to be reformed, district and campus leaders within a school system must work together collaboratively and strategically. Leaders from a macro and micro level must work together to curate STEM spaces that develop Black girl STEM identities, create experiential learning opportunities, design culturally relevant inclusive learning spaces, and provide differentiated professional development to STEM educators rooted in culturally relevant instructional practices. This dissertation of practice is unique, for we address this problem holistically, utilizing our positionalities as district and campus leaders within an urban charter network. Recognizing the multiple… [Direct]
(2024). STEM U.N.I.T.Y.: Uplifting Non-Dominant Voices in Teacher Professional Development and Youth STEM Spaces for Black Girls through Antiracist Practices and Experiences. ProQuest LLC, D.Ed. Dissertation, American University. The lack of intentional professional development for STEM stakeholders and culturally relevant STEM spaces that are inclusive of Black girls' identities in the K-12 educational system contributes to the continual widening gap of the lack of Black girls' retention and interest in science and math spaces. If this systemic problem is to be reformed, district and campus leaders within a school system must work together collaboratively and strategically. Leaders from a macro and micro level must work together to curate STEM spaces that develop Black girl STEM identities, create experiential learning opportunities, design culturally relevant inclusive learning spaces, and provide differentiated professional development to STEM educators rooted in culturally relevant instructional practices. This dissertation of practice is unique, for we address this problem holistically, utilizing our positionalities as district and campus leaders within an urban charter network. Recognizing the multiple… [Direct]
(2024). We're Rooting for You: Exploring the Lived Experiences of Gifted Black Girls in White-Dominated Academic Spaces. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Georgia. According to the Civil Rights Data Collection, during the most recent data collection for 2020-2021, Black girls were nationally represented in gifted education at 9%. While White girls were defined at 55%, Hispanic/Latina girls at 19%, and Asian girls at 10%, Black girls appear in gifted education as the most underrepresented major subgroup in the United States of America. As Black girls appear as minorities in gifted classrooms, they navigate gifted settings from a lens that is not common or widely known by others who do not share similar demographics. Black girls and Black women experience intersectionality as they encounter oppression at the points of being Black and female. Many of them are often either the only Black girl or one of a few in gifted spaces, and their experiences with academically rigorous environments are usually marked by isolation, battling stereotype threat, and being exceptional (Harmon and Ford, 2013). Though there is a wealth of literature that explores the… [Direct]
(2017). The (Dis)inclusion of Latina/o Interests from Utah's Dual Language Education Boom. Journal of Latinos and Education, v16 n4 p276-289. Utah's state planned model of dual language education has grown and spread rapidly. Drawing on critical race theory and LatCrit, we examined state policy documents and promotional materials for their discursive portrayal of Latinas/os. Our analysis revealed a pattern of centering the interests of the White, English-dominant majority and those without an ethnic connection to the target language, while marginalizing or silencing Latina/o interests. Implications for dual language education stakeholders are discussed…. [Direct]
(2017). Narratives of Black d/Deaf College Alum: Reflecting on Intersecting Microaggressions in College. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, v54 n1 p15-27. There is limited research on the experiences of Black d/Deaf (Bd/Deaf) students, and a historical legacy of discrimination. The purpose of this article is to move minoritized communities' stories, Bd/Deaf college graduates, from the margins to the center, addressing the ways they experience racist and audist microaggressions as undergraduate students. Using critical race theory and critical Deaf theory, the findings show how educators contribute to how Bd/Deaf students experience microaggressions as invisibility and trivialization…. [Direct]