(2017). Efficient Social Justice: How Critical Race Theory Research Can Inform Social Movement Strategy Development. Urban Review: Issues and Ideas in Public Education, v49 n5 p729-745 Dec. Critical Race Theory (CRT) scholars in Education, like activists, are intent on dismantling racism in education (and society at large), and often do so by engaging the problem of racial injustice through social science research. CRT research creates a wealth of awareness about how racism functions, and as a result, inspires social agency to create a more just society. This conceptual piece explores how CRT research, when joined with the efforts of activists, is even more potent with capacity to realize social justice. In the paper, the tenets of CRT in Education are outlined, and serve as the foundation of a model that reveal how each tenet can shape research designs, that inform decision making in social movement strategy development. The model is inspired by the author's personal experiences with combining CRT research with social movement strategy development, and is intended to serve as an impetus for increased dialogue about how CRT social science research, particularly in… [Direct]
(2022). An Exploration of Higher Educational Experiences for Mixed Blood American Indian Males in the Santa Clara Valley. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of San Francisco. This dissertation investigates the availability of higher educational opportunities in the Santa Clara Valley for mixed blood American Indian males in the Santa Clara Valley from lower middle class and middle-class backgrounds born between the early 1980's and early 1990's who enrolled in community college courses but did not graduate. The study uses Critical Race Theory as the guiding theoretical framework but focuses on Tribal Critical Race Theory pioneered by Brayboy (2005) to understand the educational and societal experiences of American Indian people from their unique ethnic prism. The dissertation uses Red People's Oral Tradition as the methodology, drawing from the Red Pedagogy concept presented by Grande (2004). The dissertation delves into the educational experiences of American Indian people in the 1990's and 2000's and what prevented American Indian mixed blood males from excelling in their scholastic endeavors. The study expounds on how the portrayal of Red people in… [Direct]
(2021). Bridging the Gap: A Closer Look at Educational Inequities and Strategies to Support African American Students. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of Missouri – Saint Louis. This autoethnography shares our personal experiences, narratives and counter-stories as we view the social justice issues of inequities in the education of African American students. Through our journey we highlighted our personal views and real scenarios as seen through the eyes of a reading specialist, social worker and college level administrator. Critical Race Theory in Education (CRT) served as our primary guiding force allowing us to focus on the following tenets: counter-stories, permanence of racism, whiteness as property, interest convergence and critique of liberalism (Dixson, Anderson & Donnor, 2017). Critical Race Theory (CRT) is the framework in Social Sciences that examines society and culture as it relates to categorization of race, law and power (Lynn & Dixson, 2013). The purpose of our study was to take a closer look at inequities that are ignored or not effectively solved for the betterment of African American students. Educational settings serving African… [Direct]
(2021). Bridging the Gap: A Closer Look at Educational Inequities and Strategies to Support African American Students. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of Missouri – Saint Louis. This autoethnography shares our personal experiences, narratives and counter-stories as we view the social justice issues of inequities in the education of African American students. Through our journey we highlighted our personal views and real scenarios as seen through the eyes of a reading specialist, social worker and college level administrator. Critical Race Theory in Education (CRT) served as our primary guiding force allowing us to focus on the following tenets: counter-stories, permanence of racism, whiteness as property, interest convergence and critique of liberalism (Dixson, Anderson & Donnor, 2017). Critical Race Theory (CRT) is the framework in Social Sciences that examines society and culture as it relates to categorization of race, law and power (Lynn & Dixson, 2013). The purpose of our study was to take a closer look at inequities that are ignored or not effectively solved for the betterment of African American students. Educational settings serving African… [Direct]
(2021). Bridging the Gap: A Closer Look at Educational Inequities and Strategies to Support African American Students. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of Missouri – Saint Louis. This autoethnography shares our personal experiences, narratives, and counter-stories as we view the social justice issues of inequities in the education of African American students. Through our journey, we highlighted our personal views and real scenarios as seen through the eyes of a reading specialist, social worker, and college-level administrator. Critical Race Theory in Education (CRT) served as our primary guiding force allowing us to focus on the following tenets: counter-stories, the permanence of racism, whiteness as property, interest convergence, and critique of liberalism (Dixson, Anderson & Donnor, 2017). Critical Race Theory (CRT) is the framework in Social Sciences that examines society and culture as it relates to the categorization of race, law, and power (Lynn & Dixson, 2013). The purpose of our study was to take a closer look at inequities that are ignored or not effectively solved for the betterment of African American students. Educational settings… [Direct]
(2022). Remnants of Educational Leadership and Desegregation Etched in the Memories of Black Educational Leaders: An Oral History. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of South Florida. In this study the experiences of Black (a.k.a. African Americans/ Negroes) educational leaders were explored focusing on the period during the transition to a more desegregated public- school setting in the state of Florida. Using retrospective storytelling and reflections of 'leading' during desegregation, the lived experiences of those in educational leadership roles were captured in the form of oral histories and analyzed using critical race theory. The effects of desegregation is recounted from their vantage point, from the dissolution of the 'all Black' schools to the impact it had on the communities. The research question was: "What are the stories told by Black people in educational leadership roles about leading during the school desegregation era?" The sub-questions were: "How did school desegregation efforts affect their experiences as Black educational administrators?" "How do counter-narratives about educational leadership manifest in their… [Direct]
(2020). Utilizing Latinx Cultural Wealth to Create a College-Going Culture in High School. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, v48 n4 p210-230 Oct. Capitalizing on Latinx students' aspirational, linguistic, social, navigational, familial, resistant, perseverant, and spiritual community cultural wealth (CCW) can help school counselors empower Latinx students. We outline and integrate critical race theory and CCW and demonstrate how communities of color bring assets and protective factors with them to their educational settings. We also examine how school counselors can utilize these eight forms of CCW to promote postsecondary opportunities for Latinx youth…. [Direct]
(2020). The Salience of Black Mentors on the Teaching Praxis of Latino Male Teachers. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v23 n3 p414-431. Despite the growing population of Latino students, little has been done to recognize the potential cultural assets and resilience that Latino communities and Latino teachers can bring to the educational environment. Using Critical Race Theory, in this article, each participant shares their experiences with their Black mentors. This article shares the ways in which Black teachers continue to exemplify Black teaching excellence now with a group that isn't Black…. [Direct]
(2024). Leveraging Dissent: A Policy Narrative's Power to Sow Distrust. Educational Theory, v74 n5 p682-695. The rise of political polarization and disagreement within the United States and other democracies indicates an erosion of the social contract, a deterioration exacerbated by the balkanization of social media, that can negatively impact our social relationships. Recent anti-Critical Race Theory (CRT) narratives in education provide insights into how policy narratives can be used to sow distrust in an educational context. In this paper Jane Lo and candace moore argue for the ways policy narratives can sow "dis"trust as opposed to "mis"trust. Mistrust points to an ongoing process of determining trustworthiness, while distrust connotes a more decisive and deliberate lack of trust in a person or institution. Lo and moore argue that educational research should pay more attention to the building of trust or mistrust in schools in the current context, where the anti-CRT policy narrative, through amplifying and manipulating existing anxieties and fears in order to… [Direct]
(2024). School-to-Prison Pipeline and School Policing of African American Students: A Phenomenological Study. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Northcentral University. Topic: School-to-Prison Pipeline and the School Policing of African American Students. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to explore the lived experience of teachers of African American pupils who are at risk of being moved into the School-to-Prison Pipeline. African American students are being dismissed from public school classrooms by their teachers via expulsions or suspensions. This problem is impacting African American students. Critical race theory is the guiding theoretical framework. Critical race theory examines the roles and lived experiences of teachers of at-risk African American students involved with the School-to-Prison Pipeline programs. The data highlights the pro-Caucasian American analysis of teachers of African American school pupils assigned for expulsion or suspension. The investigation is centered on teachers' voices regarding their lived experiences in educating African American students. The elongated history of African American pupils… [Direct]
(2018). QuantCrit: Education, Policy, "Big Data" and Principles for a Critical Race Theory of Statistics. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v21 n2 p158-179. Quantitative research enjoys heightened esteem among policy-makers, media, and the general public. Whereas qualitative research is frequently dismissed as subjective and impressionistic, statistics are often assumed to be objective and factual. We argue that these distinctions are wholly false; quantitative data is no less socially constructed than any other form of research material. The first part of the paper presents a conceptual critique of the field with empirical examples that expose and challenge hidden assumptions that frequently encode racist perspectives beneath the fa√ßade of supposed quantitative objectivity. The second part of the paper draws on the tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) to set out some principles to guide the future use and analysis of quantitative data. These "QuantCrit" ideas concern (1) the centrality of racism as a complex and deeply rooted aspect of society that is not readily amenable to quantification; (2) numbers are not neutral and… [Direct]
(2024). A Counterstory of a Black Girl's Forms of Resilience in a Standards-Based Mathematics Classroom. Journal of Urban Mathematics Education, v17 n1 p48-83. Scholars have called for critical research that positions Black girls in a positive light while centering their constructed meanings and resistance against stereotypes and dominant discourses in mathematics spaces, particularly in reform-oriented instructional contexts. Black girls may resist deficit master-narratives about the intellectual ability of Black women and girls (macro-level) in moment-to-moment classroom interactions (micro-level). In this article, we tell a counterstory of how sensemaking and silence became forms of resilience for a Black girl during a standards-based whole-class mathematics discussion. Using theoretical perspectives rooted in critical race theory and positioning theory, we operationalized Black girls' forms of resilience as repeated acts of resistance, which were evidenced by negotiated or rejected positions. Amari's mathematical brilliance was centered in this counterstory while showcasing how forms of resilience emerged from repeated acts of… [PDF]
(2024). Enwhitened Spaces: A Critical Race/Critical Whiteness Content Analysis of Whiteness, Disinformation, and Amazon Reviews. Thresholds in Education, v47 n1 p69-87. Since September 2020, Fox News spawned an anti-critical race theory (CRT) disinformation campaign, that has reverberated in the whitestream's echo chamber. The disinformation largely appeals to white people who refuse to see racism, unless they feel it is impinging their rights. The campaign against CRT has penetrated the e-tailer site Amazon.com where books identified by Fox News as CRT texts have experienced increasingly hyperbolic and disinformed customer reviews. Encountering these reviews, we questioned how Amazon reviewers used a mundane platform to reify whiteness, while feigning hurt and ignorance. In this article, we present results from a qualitative critical race content analysis of Amazon.com customer reviews of four books identified by Fox News. A dialectical engagement between the tenets of CRT and key concepts of critical whiteness studies guided our analysis to describe how Amazon reviews enforced en/whitened postdigital spaces. Our results indicate that reviewers… [PDF]
(2024). Disability Representations and Portrayals in Picture Books with the Coretta Scott King Award. Reading Horizons, v63 n1 Article 2 p1-39. This study analyzed how people with disabilities are portrayed in picture books with the Coretta Scott King Award (CSKA) to address the intersectionality of African/African American racial identity and disabilities. Disability critical race theory was foundational for this study. The pool of 134 picture books that received the CSKA from 1971 to 2020 was used as the data for the systematic content analysis. For analysis, the researchers utilized a qualitative approach that guided axial coding and selective coding in looking for emerging themes. They found that 13 picture books portrayed African/African American characters with disabilities. The majority of these books did not necessarily emphasize the disabilities of these characters. When focusing on other dimensions of identity such as gender, age, disability type, and so on, the researchers found underrepresentation, invisibility, and marginalization issues, which led them to discussions of power relations. This study calls for… [Direct]
(2024). A Call for QuantCrit Methodologies: Unpacking the Need for a Critical Lens in School Psychology Research. School Psychology International, v45 n3 p254-279. School psychology has heavily relied on quantitative methodology to create and sustain our knowledge of best practices regarding academic, behavioral, and mental health outcomes for students. Nevertheless, underlying assumptions of the neutrality of quantitative data have obfuscated how school psychology research has perpetuated oppressive ideologies and practices, which directly harm students from marginalized identities. This paper demonstrates the need for employing a critical lens when engaging in and consuming school psychology research that utilizes quantitative methods. One such framework is QuantCrit, developed in the United Kingdom, which intentionally integrates Critical Race Theory tenets into the development, analysis, and interpretation of quantitative data. We explore specific examples of the insidious ways that 'presumed neutral' quantitative approaches have led to the perpetuation of oppressive practices in the following key areas of school psychology research: (a)… [Direct]