(2023). A Qualitative Study on the Impact of COVID-19 on the Transition from Classroom to Virtual Learning among Elementary School Teachers with Underrepresented Students in a Rural School District. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Arkansas State University. In the spring of 2020, the academic school year for all educational institutions was tremendously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused great concern with school administrations, teachers, parents, students, and their communities. In the fall of 2020 and the following two years, many school decision-makers responded by offering students options to attend either in-person, virtually, or both. Unfortunately, the decisions obstructed the learning capabilities of the minority student population, affecting their academic and social well-being. This qualitative case study explored how teachers rapidly pivoted from their natural face-to-face classroom settings and the challenges and barriers encountered while creating new learning environments. In addition, the study analyzed how the critical shift in the educators' teaching styles impacted their abilities to engage their underrepresented students to minimize learning gaps in the school districts they served in Northeast Arkansas…. [Direct]
(2023). Predictive Algorithms and Racial Bias: A Qualitative Descriptive Study on the Perceptions of Algorithm Accuracy in Higher Education. Information and Learning Sciences, v124 n9-10 p349-371. Purpose: This study aims to explore the perception of algorithm accuracy among data professionals in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: Social justice theory guided the qualitative descriptive study and emphasized four principles: access, participation, equity and human rights. Data collection included eight online open-ended questionnaires and six semi-structured interviews. Participants included higher education professionals who have worked with predictive algorithm (PA) recommendations programmed with student data. Findings: Participants are aware of systemic and racial bias in their PA inputs and outputs and acknowledge their responsibility to ethically use PA recommendations with students in historically underrepresented groups (HUGs). For some participants, examining these topics through the lens of social justice was a new experience, which caused them to look at PAs in new ways. Research limitations/implications: Small sample size is a limitation of the study…. [Direct]
(2024). Racial and Academic Intersectionality: Black Students Navigating Spaces of Catholic Whiteness in Academia. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Saint Joseph's University. This qualitative research study used an interpretivist approach to examine the following research questions: (a) Do Black students experience intersectionality between their racial and academic identities in Catholic institutions of higher education? (b) Do student academic pathways promote their racial identity? (c) For Black students, do racial identity and academic pursuits intersect in the classroom? Is racial identity explored through inclusive pedagogical practice? and (d) Do Black students experience antiracist pedagogy in the classroom? Using an integrated and interdisciplinary exploratory approach by reconstructing four theoretical frameworks, this study explored Black American undergraduate student experiences and racial identity development holistically at Catholic institutions of higher education. Examining the intersection of Black American student identity as a Black American and a student through the reconstruction of Cross's Model of psychological Nigrescence,… [Direct]
(2024). Phenomenological Meta-Synthesis: The Perceptions of Disproportionate Racial Discipline among Suspended and Expelled Black Male High School Students. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Jackson State University. Zero-tolerance in school disciplinary procedures impacts or contributes to the nationwide school-to-prison pipeline (STPP). According to the American Bar, school prison incarceration rates in the United States (U.S.) have been correlated to the excessive practices of school disciplinary policies. The U.S. incarcerates more citizens than any other country worldwide, more than Russia, Rwanda, or Brazil. A disproportion of the country's inmates in federal, state, and local jails are Black men whose journey often began with excessive and disproportionate school discipline, especially suspensions and expulsions. The School-to-Prison pipeline has been validated by many scholars who have often studied the phenomena from the perspectives of school administrators and teachers. Current interventions appear to be ineffective. There have been very few studies on the perspective of students being punished, expelled, or suspended. The proposed research explores the lived experiences of the most… [Direct]
(2024). Achieving Equal Educational Opportunity for Students of Color: Disrupting Structural Racism–An American Imperative. Multicultural Education Series. Teachers College Press Valencia presents the most comprehensive, theory-based analysis to date on how society and schools are structurally organized and maintained to impede the optimal academic achievement of low-SES, marginalized K-12 Black and Latino/Latina students–compared to their privileged White counterparts. The book interrogates how society contributes to educational inequality as seen in racialized patterns in income, wealth, housing, and health, and how public schools create significant obstacles for students of color as observed in reduced access to opportunities (e.g., little access to high-status curricula knowledge). Valencia offers suggestions for achieving equal education (e.g., implementing fairness of school funding, improving teacher quality, and providing students of color access to multicultural education) by disrupting structural racism. Considering the rapid aging of the White population and the sharp decline of White youth–coupled with the explosive population growth of people… [Direct]
(2018). Approaches to Teaching Language, Knowledge, and Power in a Composition Program: A Participatory Action Research Project Applying Critical Race Theory, Queer Theory, and Decolonial Scholarship. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Washington State University. For this study, I explored how Washington State University's Composition Program might further equip faculty to address the relationships of language, knowledge, and power–specifically as connected to whiteness, normativity, and colonization–within a composition class. Much scholarship within rhetoric and composition addresses these relationships in a theoretical sense (Alexander & Rhodes, 2011; Smitherman, 2015; Villanueva, 1997, 2004). Some additional scholarship discusses how individual scholars apply these theories to their classrooms (Alexander & Rhodes, 2014; Driskill, 2015; Gubele, 2015; Perryman-Clark, 2015). However, almost no scholarship discusses how to further equip teachers to address issues of language and power at the programmatic level. This programmatic piece is crucial, as otherwise individual teachers committed to this work are potentially left to address language, knowledge, and power on their own, a task that places the largely contingent workforce of… [Direct]
(2016). Awakening a Dialogue: A Critical Race Theory Analysis of U.S. Nature of Science Research from 1967 to 2013. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, v53 n10 p1546-1570 Dec. As the nation's K-12 classrooms become increasingly more racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse, it is incumbent upon the science community to seize opportunities to attend to the rhetoric of reform, namely to enhance scientific literacy for all students. Using Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a framework, this study examined 112 nature of science (NOS) research peer-reviewed studies conducted in the U. S. from (1967 to 2013). Results suggests that while White participants are being represented in the NOS research, Black, Latino, Native American and other people of color, were found to be disproportionally excluded as participants. Implications of excluding these individuals are explored and suggestions for making NOS research more equitable are discussed…. [Direct]
(2021). African American Male Perceptions on School Policies and Recidivism. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of Phoenix. The purpose of this study was to better understand the effects of punitive discipline policies on previously incarcerated African American males who recidivate after receiving therapeutic services (Nance, 2016). Examining the effects of these policies may provide insights into ways that school leaders may create policies that help create positive changes in the school environment (Nance, 2016). This qualitative narrative inquiry examined the lived experiences of seven African American males to better understand how school leaders and administers may support the African American community. The Critical Race Theory provided insight on how policies affected African American male students, who served jail time, received a disproportionate number of exclusionary disciplinary sanctions. The results revealed five common themes: anger and resentment, lack of empathy, lack of preparation by therapists and administrations, inadequate services, and non-empathetic school leaders. [The… [Direct]
(2020). The 'Angry Black Woman' as Intellectual Bondage: Being Strategically Emotional on the Academic Plantation. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v23 n4 p548-562. Using a doctoral examination question as a starting point, this paper explores the specific race-gendered challenges Black women academics face when doing research on race. I argue that the stereotypical, racialised controlling images regarding Black women are not exclusive to African-American women and this has led some, in education, to draw on epistemologies such as Critical Race Theory (CRT) because of its usefulness in illuminating patterns of racial discrimination and structural disadvantage. The paper builds on this work by exploring the impact on the researcher who might too have faced similar inequalities they are now researching. Consequently, I offer the concept strategic emotionality to pay specific attention to the conscious decisions Black women academics might make about engaging with their emotions as part of the research and analytical process and the potential impact on epistemology…. [Direct]
(2020). Cultural Competency and the Reproduction of White Supremacy in Occupational Therapy Education. Health Education Journal, v79 n6 p633-644 Oct. Background: In this two-part paper, critical race theory is used as an analytic tool to examine how anti-Blackness, anti-Indigenous colonial relations and Orientalism have and continue to influence the ways in which occupational therapy is taught and practised in Canada. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to incite reflection on the ongoing oppressive narratives that pervade occupational therapy education and support culturally unsafe practices. Methods: Through the lenses of liberal multiculturalism, liberal recognition politics and neoliberal capitalism, the author demonstrates how notions of 'cultural competency' are the logical product of an institutionalised racism that functions as a tool for the reproduction of White supremacy and racism in healthcare and healthcare education. Conclusions: Findings challenge the ongoing use of cultural competency frameworks in healthcare systems and education and propose a radical shift towards critical and structural frameworks…. [Direct]
(2020). For Whose Benefit? Black and Minority Ethnic Training Programmes in Higher Education Institutions in England, UK. British Educational Research Journal, v46 n3 p500-515 Jun. Inequalities continue to exist in higher education, with Black and minority ethnic (BME) academics less likely to be professors or occupy senior decision-making roles compared to their White colleagues. In order to increase BME representation in senior decision-making roles, specific programmes targeted at BME groups have recently been introduced in higher education institutions (HEIs). This article draws on research carried out on two such programmes in England. By using principles of critical race theory (CRT), I argue that racism continues to play a key role in the lack of BME groups in senior leadership roles and that such programmes benefit HEIs rather than contributing to a commitment to inclusion, equity and creating a diverse workforce. Furthermore, such programmes work for the benefit of HEIs to perpetuate and reinforce White privilege, rather than addressing structural inequalities…. [Direct]
(2020). SEN Policies and Migrant Children in Italian Schools: Micro-Exclusions through Discourses of Equality. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, v41 n6 p887-900. This article analyses the underpinnings and implementation of Special Educational Needs (SEN) policies in Italy, within the internationally celebrated policy arena of "Integrazione Scolastica" (i.e. school integration), through an equity prism. The aim is to explore the extent to which SEN policies in Italy foster inclusion and equity in education, particularly when targeting migrant children. In doing so, the paper intends to advance critical thinking about the recent phenomenon of over-representation, or 'SENitization', of students from migrant backgrounds within the SEN macro-category in Italy, by examining policy narratives both nationally and locally. Analysing the policies through the intersectional lens of Disability Critical Race Theory in education framework, this article suggest that Italian SEN policies legitimates forms of micro-exclusions of migrant students in mainstream classrooms, despite discursive promises of equality for all students…. [Direct]
(2020). Race and the Politics of Educational Exclusion: Explaining the Persistence of Disproportionate Disciplinary Practices in an Urban School District. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v23 n1 p134-157. Educational research has established a link between zero tolerance disciplinary policies and increases in racial disproportionality in suspensions and expulsions of students of color. This article reports on a critical ethnography of Rivertown, a school district with urban characteristics, where we have been working with parents of color whose children are subjected to exclusionary discipline. Using the framework of Critical Race Theory in education, specifically Derrick Bell's interest-convergence principle, we argue that several interrelated barriers prevent movement toward racial equity: a culture of colorblindness and white fragility that silences race talk; contested definitions of the problem that obfuscate its racialized nature; and the persistence of a zero tolerance framework even with the implementation of a restorative justice pilot. We conclude by discussing our ongoing strategies for creating interest-convergence between White power-holders and communities of color in… [Direct]
(2022). Four Decades after Casta√±eda: A Critical Analysis of Bilingual/Dual Language Education in Colorado. Language Policy, v21 n3 p357-379 Sep. The "Casta√±eda" Standard was handed down in 1981. We use this Standard along with Latino Critical Race Theory (Solorzano & Yosso, 2001) and Ruiz's Language Orientations (1984) to conduct a historical analysis of bilingual education in Colorado from 1976 to 2019 to examine the availability of bilingual/dual language education for Latinx students over four decades. Our historical analysis resulted in dividing Colorado's bilingual history into four time periods (1976-1981; 1981-2000, 2000-2018 and 2019-present). Findings indicated that other than a brief period (1976-1981) the history of bilingual education and all other program types in Colorado has been oriented toward language as a problem and toward systemic racism with regard to language policies and practices. However, the community also developed resistant capital to maintain bilingual education despite formidable odds. This is particularly true for Spanish speaking Mexican origin children and families. Moreover, we… [Direct]
(2024). Latina Leadership: A Holistic Approach of Reframing Leadership on the Path to the Presidency and Provostship. ProQuest LLC, D.Phil. Dissertation, The University of Utah. This study examines the lack of Latina representation in senior positions within 4-year higher education institutions in the United States. It utilizes Latina/o Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) and testimonio methodology to delve into the experiences of seven Latina leaders who have reached the roles of president and provost. The research investigates how various aspects of Latina senior leaders' identities–such as race, gender, language, and immigration status–affect their career paths and leadership approaches. Through the lens of LatCrit, the study analyzes systemic biases and institutional barriers that contribute to Latina underrepresentation, challenging conventional leadership models that perpetuate exclusion and marginalization. The testimonios of Latina leaders serve as powerful narratives, shedding light on the complex obstacles they encounter and the strategies they employ to overcome them. These testimonios demonstrate their resilience and offer alternative perspectives… [Direct]