(2020). Dear White Teacher: This Black History Month, Take a Knee. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v33 n7 p773-789. U.S. education is built upon a system of Whiteness, entrenched in White supremacy culture, and defended by White fragility. Within this framework, even a publicly-recognizable event intended to center Blackness, the celebration of Black History Month, reinscribes White supremacy. Through the decontextualized presentation of select Black heroes and the use of pedagogies that position White teachers as authority figures who regulate the presence of Blackness, and without drawing attention to the White supremacist cultural norms that are the foundation for U.S. society, students can walk away from Black History Month with a reinforced belief in White supremacy. In order to disrupt White supremacy, White teachers must be grounded in the principles of critical race theory. White teachers must take a knee against normative Whiteness and develop as 'abolitionist teachers'. Those teachers who choose to persist with pedagogical approaches that devalue Blackness and support White supremacy… [Direct]
(2020). Voices from the Red States: Challenging Racial Positioning in Some of the Most Conservative Communities in America. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v23 n1 p74-93. Using positioning theory (PT) and critical race theory (CRT), we examine disparate power relations between White governance and faculty of color (FOC) in one rural American teacher education context. PT and CRT allow researchers to analyze how the positionings of White-Other have been historically rooted and impacting the meso-institutional policies/practices and the micro-individual relationships. Findings show that racial relations in academia does not exist in a social vacuum: the cyclical patterns of discrimination and rural racism have endured in university practices under study and shaped the current unequal power relations between White governance and FOC. We suggest changing the current policies and practices to include deliberate initiatives in hiring, retaining, and promoting FOC to leadership positions in teacher/higher education. We conclude that Whites and people of color must redouble efforts to form coalitions with one another that will advance progressive… [Direct]
(2020). Latinx Faculty Representation and Resource Allocation at Hispanic Serving Institutions. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v23 n1 p39-54. Early advocates for Hispanic-Serving Institutions argued that HSIs should require 'significant Hispanic staffing patterns at the faculty … level' and 'serious commitment to the needs of Hispanic learners.' We examine whether HSIs, nearly 40 years later, have addressed these calls by detailing rates of Latinx faculty representation and exploring how HSIs incorporate faculty in federally funded HSI initiatives. Analyses of all Title V funded HSIs from 2009-2016 (N = 167) indicate that the average Latinx student-to-Latinx faculty ratio is 146:1, whereas the corollary White student-to-White faculty ratio is 10:1. Moreover, analyses of HSI grant abstracts indicate that HSIs expend federal funding–which was initially intended to ameliorate educational inequalities–on training White faculty to become more 'culturally aware' and 'culturally engaged.' We argue these findings align with two core tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT)–namely CRT's critique of racial liberalism, and Derrick… [Direct]
(2020). Ignoring Race: A Comparative Analysis of Education Policy in British Columbia and Ontario. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v23 n2 p159-179. Racial equity in Canadian education remains elusive. Despite Canada's status as a multicultural nation, many minority students continue to be marginalised. In this article, we compare equity-related education policy in two Canadian provinces — Ontario and British Columbia — to ascertain how race and racialized students are understood in official documents. After reviewing provincial policy contexts from the early 1990s onward, we discuss the results of a content analysis of provincial education policy documents using Critical Policy Analysis and Critical Race Theory. We argue that the treatment of race and equity in these documents demonstrates 'symbolic anti-racism,' rather than substantive anti-racism, in three key ways: 1) the lack of robust education policy related to racial equity; 2) the construction of racism as an individual characteristic rather than a structural problem in the education system; and 3) the near-absence of race-related data collection. Policy… [Direct]
(2020). Race and Participation in International Experiential Learning: Case-Based Exemplar of a Habitat-University Partnership in El Salvador. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, v32 n1 p60-79 Jan. International experiential learning (IEL) has various pedagogical concerns associated with the colonial and racialized lineage underlying its Global South engagements. Drawing on critical race theory, White privilege, and globally engaged learning research as they inform IEL, this case-based study of "northern" participant perceptions of their experiences in a partnership between Habitat for Humanity in El Salvador and a Canadian university focuses on a "catalytic moment" in El Salvador. That is, a unique situation arose which prompted participant women of color (WoC) to share distinct insights and counter-stories from their positions, providing an opening for deeper attention to race for all of the participants and, we believe, for IEL practice more broadly. And in this context, the host partners saw opportunities for IEL participation both North and South to be strengthened through greater diversity in team composition and in associated host-community learning… [PDF]
(2024). Using Professional Development as a Tool to Build Teacher Capacity for Recognizing Giftedness in African American Students. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, The College of William and Mary. African American students are underrepresented in gifted programs in American public schools. This is due in part to the teachers' role in the gifted identification process. Classroom teachers are asked to refer students for evaluation for gifted services. To effectively do this, teachers must understand the unique challenges faced by gifted students from diverse populations, be able to recognize potential and be willing to explore their own perceptions about giftedness. When considering the historical plight of African Americans and their quest for an equitable education, coupled with current statistics on income, employment and educational attainment, the need to address this issue becomes clear. Students of high ability, regardless of race, must be given opportunities to realize their potential, ultimately benefiting the individual and society at large. The purpose of my study was to ascertain elementary school teachers' perceptions of giftedness toward African American students… [Direct]
(2020). What Else Do We Know? Translingualism and the History of SRTOL as Threshold Concepts in Our Field. College Composition and Communication, v71 n4 p591-619 Jun. In this article, the author uses storytelling to retell moments in the history of our field. Using personal anecdote alongside critical race theory and critical whiteness studies, she critiques the Writing About Writing movement by re-situating it in history: first narrating it as a contemporary of the Translingualism movement, and then comparing it with Mina Shaughnessy's Errors & Expectations. These two sets of narrative, historicized foils allow the author to develop a portrait of the Writing About Writing movement as a colorblind countermovement to the translingualism movement, a bid for power in the white context of academic institutions at a moment of austerity in the first decade of the 2000s. Instead of the Writing About Writing movement's colorblind and ahistorical portrait of what writing scholars know, the author tells stories that center translingualism and Students' Right to Their Own Language as central concepts to the study of rhetoric, composition, writing, and… [Direct]
(2024). Climbing the Academic Ladder While Black: Exploring the Experiences of Institutional Belongingness for Black Counselor Education and Supervision Doctoral Students at Predominantly White Institutions. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Old Dominion University. Although ample research investigates students' belongingness experiences in counselor education (CE) programs, existing literature only marginally explores the realities of Black master students, and there is a notable lack of empirical attention to Black doctoral students' belongingness experiences in counselor education and supervision (CES) programs. Investigating Black CES doctoral students' belongingness experiences at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) is critical to understanding how the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs (CACREP) accredited CES programs can address the troubling statistic that Black doctoral students are least likely to become full-time CE faculty. Consequently, this study utilizes critical phenomenology from a critical race theory perspective to explore how Black CES doctoral students experience institutional belongingness through interactions with institutional agents (i.e., faculty, peers, administrators, and… [Direct]
(2024). Administrator and Teacher Experiences Implementing Restorative Practices: A Phenomenological Study. Journal of Leadership, Equity, and Research, v10 n1 p63-86. Exclusionary disciplinary practices negatively and disproportionately impact Black students academically, socially, and emotionally and have been attributed to the school-to-prison pipeline. This research was conducted to determine the impact of restorative justice practices on exclusionary discipline by evaluating the lived experiences of school leaders and teachers. The findings of this research determined that restorative justice practices can effectively interrupt the over-suspension and expulsion of Black students if implemented as a practice as opposed to a program. Additionally, the following barriers to implementation were identified through this study: time, mindset, lack of resources, and professional development and involvement of all stakeholders. Critical race theory and labeling theory were the theoretical lenses through which this research was conducted. Sixteen school leaders and teachers were interviewed using Zoom. Interviews were transcribed and coded to identify… [PDF]
(2024). Perspectives of Administrators on Practices Leading to Discipline Disproportionality among African American Students with Disabilities. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Walden University. Discipline disproportionality among African American students with disabilities is well documented in empirical research; however, there are limited studies about school administrators' perspectives on practices leading to disproportionality for this population. The purpose of this study was to examine school administrators' perspectives on practices and issues leading to discipline disproportionality in a large southeastern U.S. state. Social justice leadership, coupled with disability studies and critical race theory, served as the conceptual framework. A basic qualitative design with open coding and thematic analysis was used to answer the three research questions. Data were collected via virtual semistructured interviews with six administrators who work in a school district with or without discipline disproportionality. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. The following themes emerged: (a) absence of mechanisms for building relationships with students and parents; (b)… [Direct]
(2024). Black Women in TESOL: Exploring the Professional Identity and Experiences of Black Female Teachers of TESOL. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Kansas. Within the field of TESOL, representation in research and pedagogical knowledge has overwhelming been representative of the White educator's narrative. Lack of representation of voices from teachers of color serves to further marginalize the experience of this group and delegitimize the knowledge and expertise that they bring to their professional and academic spaces. Drawing from literature within the fields of Critical Race Theory and Critical Feminist Theory, through use of counternarratives of experience, this qualitative study investigated the role of language, race, and gender in the construction and negotiation of five Black female TESOL teachers' racial and professional identities within professional contexts. Findings showed that Black female TESOL teachers regularly encountered microaggressions, disparaging racial ideologies, and questioning of their legitimacy and abilities as TESOL professionals based on intersecting factors of their racial, gendered, and linguistic… [Direct]
(2024). Administrators' Perceptions of Challenges When Supporting the Academic Achievement of Navajo High School Students. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Walden University. Administrators are challenged to support the academic achievement of Navajo high school students. Research concerning public school campus administrators' perceptions of these challenges is scarce. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine school administrators' perceptions concerning challenges they face when supporting the academic success of Navajo high school students, as well as the strategies they use to address these challenges. Brayboy's tribal critical race theory grounded this study. Research questions were focused on how administrators identified Navajo students' challenges and how they prioritized approaches and planning for Navajo students to achieve academically. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with eight purposively selected high school administrators in a southwestern state who held administrative licenses and had a least 30% American Indian/Alaska Native student populations in their schools. The data were analyzed using content… [Direct]
(2024). Best Practices and Perceptions of Elementary Administrators to Address the Underrecognition of Culturally, Linguistically, and Economically Diverse Students in Gifted and Talented Education Programs. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Walden University. This study addressed the problem of the underrecognition of culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse (CLED) elementary school student populations in gifted and talented (GT) programs in the United States. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to identify to what administrators in exemplar schools in the United States attribute the equitable recognition of CLED students in their GT programs. Critical race theory (CRT) informed this study and was supported by an appreciative inquiry approach. The research questions explored equitable recognition and best practices described to encourage equitable recognition of CLED students in GT programs. Elementary school administrators who served in schools with equitable recognition of CLED elementary student populations in GT education programs were targeted for participation. Data were collected via semistructured interviews with seven participants who met the criteria of (a) being elementary school administrator leaders… [Direct]
(2024). "Inclusion Is Definitely a Possibility for All": Promoting Inclusive Education through a Critical Professional Development Schools Model. School-University Partnerships, v17 n3 p285-302. Purpose: In this article, we highlight ways in which disability critical race theory (DisCrit) (Annamma et al., 2013), inclusive education and community-based participatory research (CBPR) can be used within professional development schools (PDS) to provide students with disabilities with more access to inclusive classrooms. At a grade 4-6 elementary school, we developed a model of a critical PDS to promote inclusive education and facilitate the transition of students of color with disabilities from self-contained to inclusive classrooms. We conducted semi-structured interviews and used action plan meetings with school administrators, teachers, professionals and students with disabilities and their parents to assess the impact of our critical PDS model. Findings suggest this model had a positive impact on administrators' and teachers' critical consciousness, ideological and instructional practices, students of color with disabilities' social, academic and personal outcomes, as well… [Direct]
(2024). A Catalyst for Activation against Racism: Case Study on Effectiveness of Workplace Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Conversations. Journal of Workplace Learning, v36 n8 p729-745. Purpose: This case study delves into the evolving landscape of equity, inclusion and diversity (EID) initiatives within the health-care sector, with a specific focus on the "EverybodyIN" program implemented at the Mayo Clinic, a large academic Medical Center in the USA. Against the backdrop of growing awareness catalyzed by societal events, this case study aims to explore the multifaceted aspects of workplace conversations aimed at addressing racial disparities and fostering a more inclusive environment. Design/methodology/approach: The case study relies on the application of critical race theory and a social constructionist approach to investigate the impact of a subset of voluntary educational conversations that were centered on the Black/African-American experience, on staff members' racial understanding and allyship within the health-care organization. Through thematic analysis of postevent surveys and participant sentiments, three overarching themes emerged:… [Direct]