(2022). "We Don't Feel Like We Belong": Graduate Students' of Color Racialized Experiences in Hybrid HESA Graduate Programs. Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity, v8 n2 p78-114. Using Critical Race Theory and sense of belonging, we examined the racialized experiences of 17 graduate Students of Color in hybrid higher education and student affairs (HESA) graduate preparation programs in the United States to understand how faculty members contribute to their sense of belonging. The experiences of graduate Students of Color in hybrid HESA programs are complex and multi-layered; therefore, this study used a critical phenomenological approach to examine how their racialized experiences influence their experiences in hybrid classrooms. Graduate Students of Color racialized experiences were shaped by three factors, which are illustrated in the findings: faculty ability to discuss acts of racism, racialized experiences with faculty, and including diverse perspectives in the classroom. Participants' experiences illuminate the importance of applying culturally conscious approaches to program development, curriculum, advising, and pedagogical practices, especially for… [PDF]
(2022). Teacher Candidates of Color Experiences and Perceptions of Culturally Responsive Teaching within Teacher Education: "They Hit the Target, Not the Bullseye". Journal for Multicultural Education, v16 n4 p374-386. Purpose: This study aims to examine how teacher candidates of Color (TCoCs) experienced and perceived culturally responsive teaching across three teacher education programs at a predominately White institution in the USA. At the time of the study, the campus was reeling from a series of racist incidents on- and off-campus, and the teacher education programs were attempting to recruit more TCoCs. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on a critical race theory counternarrative approach and qualitative research focus-group interviews, the authors centered the voices of seven TCoCs and their experiences with culturally responsive teaching in their coursework. Findings: The TCoCs experienced and perceived culturally responsive teaching as promising yet fleeting, missing the mark, and a misuse of culture and language that resulted in harm. The TCoCs urge teacher education to hire racially-ethnically-linguistically diverse faculty, provide affirming spaces for TCoCs, and curricular… [Direct]
(2022). The Lived Experiences of Black Male High School Students Diagnosed with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders: A Qualitative Study on Self-Concept. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Minnesota State University, Mankato. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how the lived experiences of four Black male high school students in a setting-four program diagnosed with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) impact their self-concept. Through a multi-case study method, participants engaged in two interviews responding to questions in reference to lived experiences and self-concept. Critical Race Theory tenets counter-storytelling and intersectionality were applied to further and more deeply analyze the content from the interviews. A cross-case analysis of four cases produced overarching themes: I was treated inhumanely; I benefit from invested staff who build individualized connections with me; I require responsive support; I independently need to cope. Conclusively, the students navigated and persevered in a school system not built for them to succeed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited… [Direct]
(2017). Conceptualizing Color-Evasiveness: Using Dis/Ability Critical Race Theory to Expand a Color-Blind Racial Ideology in Education and Society. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v20 n2 p147-162. Color-blind racial ideology has historically been conceptualized as an ideology wherein race is immaterial. Efforts not to "see" race insinuate that recognizing race is problematic; therefore, scholars have identified and critiqued color-blindness ideology. In this paper, we first examine Gotanda's (1991) identification and critique of color-blind racial ideology, as it was crucial in troubling white supremacy. We then explore literature in both legal studies and education to determine how scholars have built upon Gotanda's intellectual theoretical foundations. Finally, using a Dis/ability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) framework, we end by expanding to a racial ideology of color-evasiveness in education and society, as we believe that conceptualizing the refusal to recognize race as "color-blindness" limits the ways this ideology can be dismantled…. [Direct]
(2022). Reforming for Racial Justice: A Narrative Synthesis and Critique of the Literature on District Reform in Ontario over 25 Years. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, n198 p35-54. Ontario school districts are struggling to respond to racism in schooling and society. How has the literature on school district reform in Ontario addressed these ongoing and growing concerns? Through a narrative synthesis and a systematic literature review, we map and characterize the existing literature on school district reform in Ontario in the past 25 years. By combining systematic searches in main online databases with key journal and author search, we analyzed and coded a total of 95 documents. Framed through Critical Race Theory (CRT) and in conversation with recent studies on anti-racist district reforms in the United States, we conceptualize four approaches to district reform literature in Ontario: The Politics of Race Evasion, the Politics of Illusory Equity, the Politics of Representation and Recognition, and the Politics of Anti-Racist Resistance. The authors conclude with a commentary on the use of these conceptualizations in district operations and policies, as well as… [PDF]
(2015). Critical Race Theory, Disability Microaggressions and Latina/o Student Experiences in Special Education. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v18 n4 p443-468. This research draws upon critical race theory (CRT) to explore the experiences of Latina/o students in special education. It seeks to extend the theoretical construct of racial microaggressions and illustrate the additional layer of disability as I present data that are particular to the context of special education and the assigned label of students with disabilities. In this article, I draw upon three academic semesters of ethnographic observations and present observed cases of disability microaggressions that occur against Latina/o students in special education. The types of disability microaggressions include low expectations, disregard, and bullying. Students often did not challenge these microaggressions, but they occasionally resulted in students' refusal of academic services, providing an additional barrier to their academic success within the context of a program intended to facilitate it. And given the close-knit, intimate environment of the learning center, disability… [Direct]
(2024). Reclaiming the Story: Youth Participatory Action Research in the Rural Social Studies Classroom. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, San Francisco State University. The particular issue presented in this research intersects tensions surrounding critical race theory (CRT) in the classroom, using the social studies classroom as a high area of contention. Antiracist educators have faced extreme scrutiny from state policies, administrators, and white parents who have misinterpreted the importance of understanding race and racism in the United States (Schwartz, 2023). This study emphasized linguistic and ethnic diversity of the student populace as crucial in this project because most of the students in this study were bilingual in English and Spanish. The rural United States has been left out of the conversation of spaces where educational transformation can occur and has been perceived through a deficit lens. This study contributes to the discourse of what action and progress looks like when white educators act and address race and racism in remote geopolitical and disenfranchised spaces. This study between a teacher and youth used the date of… [Direct]
(2024). Building Culturally Situated Relationships with BIPOC Children through a Communal Ethic of Care. Early Childhood Education Journal, v52 n5 p935-948. The landscape of how to best prepare minoritized young children for the uncertainties of an inequitable American society demands a change in the way we view the connection between early childhood educators' lived experiences and their pedagogy. Using the theoretical frameworks of critical race theory, Black feminist thought, and intersectionality, the purpose of this narrative inquiry was to examine how five Black women early childhood educators' lived experiences inform their use of culturally relevant pedagogy to enact a communal ethic of care with students in pre-k to third grade. This study took place at an elementary public charter school serving students in pre-kindergarten to third grade in the southeast sector of Fort Worth, Texas. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews, sister circle collective gatherings, Photovoice, and researcher produced life notes. Data was analyzed using Polkinghorne's narrative mode of analysis to produce life story… [Direct]
(2024). Power of One: The Journey of an Asian Undocumented Student. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Northern Illinois University. While little research has been conducted on Asian undocumented students in higher education, it was the powerful story of an Asian undocumented high school student, Tereza Lee, that inspired Senator Richard Durbin to co-author immigration legislation known as the 2001 DREAM Act. Tereza's story represents an important counter-story to what many perceive as the dominant narrative and a widely-held misconception that issues of undocumented immigrants and undocumented students only affect Latinos. The purpose of this study is to include Tereza's narrative as a solution to the problem of its exclusion in higher education. Asian critical race theory centers the voices and work of Asian Americans in research and is used as a theoretical framework. A qualitative research approach is used with Tereza's narrative embedded in a single case study, and in-depth interviews were conducted with seven individuals who know Tereza. Findings indicated that Tereza's story impacted federal and state… [Direct]
(2024). What Do Bans on CRT in Education Mean for Native Education? Two Teacher Educators Share Their Counterstories. Thresholds in Education, v47 n1 p40-52. Despite the recent anti-CRT (Critical Race Theory) movement within U.S. education, teachings of Native histories and perspectives have never been accurately taught, or even taught. From their perspectives as teacher educators in predominantly white institutions (PWI), the authors share counterstories from their existing IRB-approved research projects to explore the impacts of CRT bans on teacher education and how the bans continue to perpetuate systemic erasure of Native perspectives. They review how legislators in the Western U.S. passed anti-CRT laws as well as its impact on teacher education. Using the TribalCrit framework with an emphasis on the first tenet, "colonization [being] endemic to society" (Brayboy, 2005, p. 430), the authors discuss how Native invisibilization and erasure are perpetuated in predominantly white classrooms by silencing Native perspectives in policy making and curriculum implementation, banning Natives in public education, and explicit refusal… [PDF]
(2017). Critical Race Theory in India: "Theory Translation" and the Analysis of Social Identities and Discrimination in Indian Schooling. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, v47 n5 p665-683. This article examines ethical and philosophical considerations in "theory translation," i.e. translating a theoretical framework from its original place to another national context. Critical race theory (CRT) was developed in the United States through significant struggle in order to analyze everyday racism. Marginalized groups have historically shared postcolonial critiques, conceptualizations of social justice, and methods for mass resistance across national borders. Through an analysis of the literature on CRT and contemporary India, this article explores whether CRT's principles and methodology can be employed to research discrimination within India's school system. Can CRT be sensitive to the differences in context and still retain its philosophical center? This analysis reveals that CRT may be particularly helpful in highlighting the educational discrimination experienced by Dalits via use of CRT's "social construction thesis" to conceptualize caste and… [Direct]
(2015). The Digital Divide through the Lens of Critical Race Theory: The Digitally Denied. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Missouri – Saint Louis. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine African American community college students' availability to technological resources and how that availability affects their success. In this study, technological resources include access to the internet, software, hardware, technology training, technology support, and community resources. This study included six community college professors and six African American community college students enrolled in a Midwest community college. A major tenet of Critical Race Theory, storytelling, was used to give voice to students who lack sufficient access to technological resources referred to as the digitally denied. Data from this study can create an awareness of students that lack technological resources at community colleges, universities, and community libraries. This study could also be useful to community college leadership who set policies and procedures and determine curriculum requirements that call for technological… [Direct]
(2023). Safe When Centered: A Critical Race Critique of Campus Climate and Belonging for First-Generation Students of Color at Historically Black Colleges & Predominately White Institutions. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Eastern Michigan University. The purpose of this research is to assess whether and how higher education campus climate, policy, and practice influence belonging for first-generation students of color. Through the lens of critical race theory, the study further juxtaposes those experiences through the testimony of students at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Grounded theory informed my qualitative survey and interview tools through which I examined belonging through three standards: social, which explored belonging through peers, groups, and the environment; personal, which explored belonging through the respondent's thoughts, feelings, and emotions; and institutional, which explored belonging through practice, policy, norms, and traditions. The subsequent evaluation of narrative trends and emerging themes illustrates a poignant corollary between spaces that center Whiteness and Eurocentric standards and challenged acclamation and belonging for… [Direct]
(2014). Understanding Critical Race Theory as a Framework in Higher Educational Research. British Journal of Sociology of Education, v35 n4 p506-522. This paper reviews the existing literature to discuss how critical race theory has been applied as a theoretical framework to higher educational research in the United States and what its contributions are. To provide necessary context, I will discuss race and racism in the United States, the background of US higher education in relation to race, the emergence of critical race theory and its application in US higher education…. [Direct]
(2023). Bended Womanhood Bended Back: The Intersection of Race, Gender, and Culture in Women of Color Veterans and Their Transition into Higher Education. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, v16 n3 p261-272 Jun. Despite the increasing attention given to veterans in higher education, few studies have explored the transitional experiences of women of color student veterans (WOCSVs). This study examines the gendered and racialized experiences of WOCSVs and the impact of their intersecting identities on the transition through higher education. Considering the overlapping marginalities of the WOCSV participants, we grounded this study in the concept of Intersectionality, intrinsically aligned to Critical Race Theory. Based on the thematic analysis of 10 participants' narratives, this study revealed four interrelated themes that characterize their transition journey: (1) suppressed and redemanded identity; (2) fighting for visibility; (3) marginalized academic identity; and (4) no belonging. The sense of no belonging is evident through the participants' transition experiences, thus setting them apart from other groups of student veterans. However, the participants showed critical insight and… [Direct]