(2020). "A Lot of Inner-City Kids": How Financial Aid Policies and Practices Reflect the Social Field of Color-Blind Racism at a Community College Urban Campus. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, v44 n1 p15-29. In the U.S. educational system of higher education, community colleges are positioned as the institutions of access, with student financial aid as the primary policy lever to drive student enrollment. However, completion rates at community colleges are the lowest of all institution types, and financial aid has not been adequate to provide full access to students most in need, who are disproportionately students of color. In light of this challenge, this study addresses the research question: How does the social field of color-blind racism function within financial aid processes and resources at a community college's suburban campus and urban campus? Utilizing case study methodology, data was gathered via brief interviews, participant observation, and in-depth interviews with students and financial aid staff. Findings reveal that resource allocation and student and staff perceptions reflected a social field of color-blind racist ideology. The under-resourcing and racist perceptions of… [Direct]
(1981). Institutional Racism and Community Competence. This is a collection of papers and research reports presented at a conference that focused on mental health issues and on individual, organizational, and community competence in relation to institutional racism. The report is divided into five sections. Section 1 discusses theoretical models of racism and community competence (community effectiveness in providing support systems for the physical and psychosocial needs ot its members). Section 2 emphasizes the importance of considering cultural pluralism in examining racism, provides a basis for understanding the cultural development and problems of minority groups, and suggests ways in which human services may serve diverse populations. Section 3 explores how forms of institutional racism vary in different settings, such as business, education, mental health, and the community as a whole, and suggests what might be done to reduce racism in particular contexts. Section 4 describes different approaches and instruments for measuring… [PDF]
(2020). Heritage-Language Education Policies, Anti-Racist Activism, and Discontinuity in 1970s and 1980s Toronto. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, v17 n1 p5-25. This paper examines the intersection of heritage-language education advocacy with anti-racist activism in the 1970s and 1980s in Toronto. The province of Ontario initiated the Heritage Languages Program in 1977. By focusing on discontinuities in the policy's implementation, the paper identifies multiple strategies that Black anti-racist activists used to expand the understanding of heritage language to be more inclusive of "all" forms of racial and linguistic difference. Although anti-racist activists may not have succeeded, we argue here, recovering their arguments can — and should — inform current efforts to deepen linguistically- and culturally-sustaining programs in Ontario schools. The first part of the paper describes the historical context in which "heritage language" became a social problem recognizable to Canadian society. It is in this context that the Heritage Languages Program emerged as a policy solution to the perceived problem of racial and… [Direct]
(2021). Racism and Discrimination Contribute to Housing Instability for Black Families during the Pandemic. Child Trends This brief is the third in a series examining timely topics that are relevant to Black families and children in the United States. It presents recent data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Black families' access to stable housing in the United States and, at the local level, in Newark, New Jersey. First, it highlights national findings from a Child Trends analysis of the Household Pulse Survey (HPS). Next, it provides a summary of findings from a study of the housing needs of Black families during the pandemic, in a predominantly Black community in Newark: the South Ward. In this brief, the national data provide context for local data to demonstrate the role of housing discrimination. It also discusses the role of discrimination in housing access and provides recommendations for local policymakers and leaders to promote the equitable distribution of housing supports as increased opportunities to address housing policy issues occur in response to the pandemic. [For the first… [PDF]
(2019). Rethinking Belonging in Western Nations: Theorizing the Public Commons as a Shared Pluralistic Community. Journal of International Social Studies, v9 n2 p75-93. Western nations are becoming increasingly socially and ethnically diverse. National policies aim to address this diversity through policies such as multiculturalism in Canada, which promotes appreciation for cultural pluralism. However, policy rhetoric can hide social issues related to increasing diversity. Using Canada as a case study discussion, this article begins by reviewing some of the issues associated with increasing social and ethnic diversity, including racism and conflict over values, and then discusses these issues in relation to contemporary political concepts which aim to build social harmony. It argues that we need to rethink how we understand diversity within a communitarian conception of community, theorized as that of the public commons. The article concludes with recommendations that aim to improve citizenship education, with a focus on increasing youth's knowledge of civic life, particularly their understanding of this concept of the public commons…. [PDF]
(2022). A Qualitative Cross-Institutional Program Evaluation on Black Male Initiative Programs at Community Colleges: A Program Evaluation. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, New Jersey City University. Black male community college students are underperforming at all levels within higher education compared to their counterparts from all major racial groups in the nation. Reasons for the declining academic performance of Black male community college students include institutional racism, lack of role models, and student isolation. Black male initiatives (BMIs) were identified in this research as a uniquely qualified intervention to address the declining academic performance of Black male community college students. I conducted interviews with seven BMI directors at community colleges from five different states to learn about the challenges and opportunities related to implementing a BMI. The key challenges identified were staffing, funding, and institutional support. BMI directors reported writing grants and collaborating with faculty and staff to address these challenges. BMI directors reported providing a variety of services, including academic advising, mentoring, coaching,… [Direct]
(2022). Visual Racial Literacy: A Not-So-New 21st Century Skill. Art Education, v75 n1 p14-19. After 2 decades and one pandemic, this millennium has brought a range of technological, educational, and social developments. Just think–social media apps, online instruction, and global protests for racial justice are rapidly becoming the norm. Therefore, a question that begs to be answered is, How are art teachers adapting their skills for this new world? Moreover, are the teaching practices of yesteryear still relevant in this changing context? What do art teachers need to know and be able to do to be effective educators in the 21st century? Joni Acuff and Amelia Kraehe come to these questions as art teacher educators, as mothers of young children, and as Black women. These identities provide an intersectional lens through which they have experienced much of the 21st century, including the pandemic of COVID-19 and the entrenched pandemic of systemic racism (i.e., White supremacism). COVID-19 may not be the source of injustices, but it has amplified and aggravated preexisting… [Direct]
(2022). Disruption, Transition, and Re-Imagining: Teaching, Learning and Development in the Midst of the Two Pandemics. International Journal on Social and Education Sciences, v4 n3 p423-445. In "Will Schools Change Forever," Waite and Arnett contend our educational system, and our society as a whole, have been confronted with two pandemics, COVID-19 and systemic racism (2020). Both of these pandemics have acerbated challenges schools must address and have exposed chronic inequities in educational systems. Our inquiry is case study of 23 novice teachers who graduated from our urban institution and their perception of how the pandemics impacted the development of their students, their own professional trajectory, and their future instruction. Semi-structured interviews focused on educators' approaches to instruction across 12-18 months of the pandemic. Data were analyzed using NVivo through open coding. Results indicated novice teachers' initial teaching experiences were disrupted by both COVID-19 and the social unrest during this time period. The challenges they faced reflected their focus as culturally responsive educators who were working to meet the needs of… [PDF]
(2023). Racialized Identity and Teacher Preparation: A Case Study of Teacher Candidates of Color. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Arkansas. This study addresses the problem concerning the lack of Teacher Candidates of Color (TCOCs) in teacher education. It examines recruitment, support, and retention by identifying promises and pitfalls of diversifying the teacher pipeline through the voices of Students of Color (SOCs) who are already enrolled in teacher education. How race and racialization processes influence TCOCs was salient to the study. Through qualitative case study, the researcher explored the lived experiences of teacher candidates with racialized identities being prepared to teach within one Predominately White Institution (PWI). Using a Critical Race Theory framework, four research questions guided this study: (1) What are the backgrounds and educational histories of Teacher Candidates of Color? (2) How have racialized identities contributed to Teacher Candidates of Color's interest in the teaching profession? (3) How are racialized identities afforded and constrained in predominantly White learning contexts?… [Direct]
(2019). Un/Doing Intersectionality through Higher Education Research. Journal of Higher Education, v90 n3 p347-372. Grounded in Black feminist and critical race theories, legal scholar Kimberl√© Crenshaw introduced the term "intersectionality" to the academy in 1989 to demonstrate how U.S. structures, such as the legal system, and discourses of resistance, such as feminism and anti-racism, often frame identities as isolated and mutually exclusive, resulting in the "theoretical erasure" of Black women who hold multiple minoritized identities. Since 1989, intersectionality has become a "traveling theory," that has crossed into and influenced almost every academic discipline, including higher education. Through this study, we examined how researchers in higher education do and undo intersectionality and, subsequently, how intersectional analyses may advance a radical social justice agenda in higher education. To explore how scholars un/do intersectionality in higher education, we conducted a summative content analysis of 97 higher education articles that used the term… [Direct]
(2023). Take My Hand, Lead Me On: An Analysis of African American Undergraduate Students' and Mentors' Perceptions of the Impact of Their Mentorship Community on College Persistence at a Predominantly White Institution. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Purdue University. Mentorship has served as an effective strategy in helping African American college students persist at predominantly White institutions of higher education (Sinanan, 2016). African American students have reported finding these campus environments to be unwelcoming, even racist. These environmental challenges along with the challenges of unfamiliar academic terrain merge to form frequently formidable barriers to their satisfaction and success. The presence of African American mentors has helped African American students overcome the wide range of challenges they face on such campuses. This qualitative study analyzed the perceptions of African American mentors and mentees about the impact of mentorship on the college persistence of the mentees. The target mentorship community was situated at a private school in the Midwest. Semi-structured interviews were used to solicit the experiential knowledge of participants about their lived experiences. The data was codified and thematically… [Direct]
(2022). Black Premedical Student Retention: Exploring Campus Support Programming through the Eyes of the Student. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of Southern California. In the United States, there is a disproportionately low number of Black physicians in comparison to the demographic composition of Black people in the nation. This underrepresentation gap is result of historic systemic racism that led to Black people being abused and left out of healthcare and medical education. Despite improvement in healthcare and educational since the Civil Rights era, the underrepresentation gap amongst physicians persists. While the causes and solutions for the underrepresentation gap are multifactorial, one avenue of exploration is in how universities support Black student persistence in premedical education. Under the framework of Critical Race Theory, this study addresses the research question "what are Black premed students' experiences and perceptions of support programming at public universities in the state of California". The purpose of this study was to identify opportunities to enhance support for Black premedical students by utilizing their… [Direct]
(2019). ALAS: An Intervention to Promote Career Development among Latina/o Immigrant High School Students. Journal of Career Development, v46 n6 p608-622 Dec. This article describes the rationale, development, delivery, and evaluation strategy of a pilot career intervention program for immigrant Latina/o high school students: Advocating for Latina/o Achievement in School. This innovative intervention aims to prevent dropout and to promote academic success and college and career readiness through a combination of academic support and enhancing critical consciousness. Shorter term goals include increasing school-related self-efficacy expectations, school connectedness, school engagement, and critical consciousness. We describe the theoretical and empirical basis for the intervention components, and how they attend to dimensions of immigrant Latina/o students' career development. We describe program logistics, outcomes, strengths, challenges, and lessons learned from delivering the intervention. We highlight unique features of the program and suggest its relevance to career education efforts in other school and national contexts in which… [Direct]
(2020). The Right to Define: Analyzing Whiteness as a Form of Property in Washington State Bilingual Education Law. Language Policy, v19 n1 p31-60 Feb. Recent studies of language policy and bilingual education have focused on federal level legislation (Wiley and Garc√≠a in Mod Lang J 100:48-63, 2016. 10.1111/modl.12303), and immediate consequences of state level policy. Although Critical Race Theory (CRT) has been employed to analyze the structural impact of local policy on minoritized communities (Davila and Aviles de Bradley in Educ Found 24:39-58, 2010), few studies have explicitly connected CRT and language policy, or applied CRT to state level law. In this study, I apply CRT, specifically the theory of whiteness as property (Harris in Harv Law Rev 106:1-63, 1993), and the theory of raciolinguistic ideologies to three Washington State laws related to bilingual education: the Transitional Bilingual Instruction Act, the Seal of Biliteracy law, and the Dual Language Grant Program Bill. I utilize a Critical Discourse Analysis to examine the laws, related legislative reports, and materials such as guidelines created by Washington… [Direct]
(2017). The Landscape of Education "Reform" in Chicago: Neoliberalism Meets a Grassroots Movement. Education Policy Analysis Archives, v25 n54 spec iss Jun. This article examines the dialectics of Chicago's neoliberal education policies and the grassroots resistance that parents, teachers, and students have mounted against them. Grounding the analysis in racial capitalism and neoliberal urban restructuring, I discuss interconnections between neoliberal urban policy, racism, and education to clarify what is at stake for communities resisting Chicago's policies. The paper describes deep and pervasive racial inequities, school closings, privatization, and disenfranchisement driving organized opposition and the labor-community alliance at the center of organized resistance. I argue that neoliberal education policy is racialized state violence, and education is a battleground for racial justice and Black self-determination. I conclude with observations on Chicago's experience so far that might be useful in other contexts…. [PDF]