(2021). White Fear, White Flight, the Rules of Racial Standing and Whiteness as Property: Why Two Critical Race Theory Constructs Are Better than One. Educational Policy, v35 n2 p259-273 Mar. Despite earning the highest grade point average (GPA) in her graduating class at the recently integrated Cleveland High School (CHS) in Cleveland, Mississippi, Ms. Jasmine Shepard, an African-American female, was named "co-valedictorian" with Ms. Heather Bouse, a White female, who had a lower GPA. Utilizing Derrick Bell's rules of racial standing theory and Cheryl Harris' analytical construct whiteness as property, this article examines Ms. Shepard's lawsuit against the Cleveland School District. In addition to explaining how White flight was deployed as a policy distraction to justify the inequitable treatment of Ms. Jasmine Shepard, this article posits that the specter of Ms. Shepard becoming Cleveland High School's first Black valedictorian triggered area Whites' fear of losing the property value of their whiteness…. [Direct]
(2018). Making the Invisible Visible: Advancing Quantitative Methods in Higher Education Using Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v21 n2 p180-207. We appeal to critical race theory and intersectionality to examine achievement gaps at a large public university in the American southwest from 2000 to 2015. Using white, high-income women as our reference group, we report linear combinations of marginal effects for six-year graduation rates and developmental course taking across 20 distinct social locations varying according to race-ethnicity, gender, and class. We find substantial achievement gaps that remain unseen in conventional models treating such characteristics as independent. Nearly every group has a significantly lower likelihood of graduation compared to the reference group, and there is substantial variation in estimated achievement gaps. Low-income, American Indian men are approximately 45 percent less likely to graduate within six years relative to the reference group. For high income, black men this gap is approximately 30 percent. Our paper proposes a method and praxis for exploring the complex, interdependent… [Direct]
(2024). The Perspectives of Black Teachers and Administrators on Identity and Career Opportunities. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of Southern California. This narrative qualitative research study delved into the perspectives of Black teachers regarding the accessibility of school leadership and the barriers encountered by school leaders during their transition into school leadership roles. Its objective was to highlight the underrepresentation of Black educators, particularly Black administrators. Since the 1954 "Brown v. Board of Education," the percentage of Black educators has significantly declined. The ruling failed to provide clear guidelines for integrating Black and white schools and staff, resulting in a widespread exodus, demotion, and dismissal of Black educators. Seventy years later, Black educators remain significantly underrepresented. Previous research has inadequately considered the perspectives of Black educators concerning their identity and career paths, along with the barriers face by Black school leaders in attaining administrative roles. Utilizing a narrative design allowed the researcher to collect… [Direct]
(2022). Moving into Critical Spaces: Making Meaning of One Rural Educator's Experiences Working with Latinx Immigrant Students. Rural Educator, v43 n1 Article 3 p13-23 Feb. This research highlights the experiences of one rural educator in a Midwestern elementary school. Initially grounded in Swanson's middle range theory of caring (1991, 1993), the author sought to make meaning of how the participant worked with immigrant students, specifically undocumented Latinx students, through an ethic of care. As tensions emerged from classroom-based observations and interviews, the author chose to draw upon Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a way of examining how racism operates within educational spaces. Guided by Clandinin and Connelly's (2000) narrative form, through the description (telling) and reflection (retelling), the author makes meaning of racial biases, microaggressions, and the exclusion of undocumented Latinx students…. [PDF]
(2024). Unsettling the Unimaginable: A Genealogical Counterstory of Early Care and Education in the United States. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, v32 n4 p885-903. A critical reappraisal of the origin story of early care and education (ECE) in the United States, this article unsettles dominant narratives by investigating the carceral foundations and liberatory strategies that characterise the emergence and sociopolitical evolution of ECE. Integrating Foucauldian counter-historical genealogy and counterstorytelling, a tool from Critical Race Theory, this article advances a "genealogical counterstory" that (1) traces the carceral foundations of ECE across three sites typically exiled from public memory and origin storytelling: plantations, off-reservation boarding schools, and incarceration camps; and (2) describes three emergent themes of womanist anti-carceral praxis evident across the sites: redefinition of educational philosophy, creation of educational third spaces, and fortification of culturally relevant epistemologies. Confronting dominant narratives of ECE origins, this genealogical counterstory illustrates tensions and… [Direct]
(2024). Reclaiming the Radical Roots of Adult Education: Toward Community-Based Anti-Racism Education through Participatory Action Research. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, n182-183 p13-25. In this article, we revisit the radical roots of adult education for social change by developing community-based anti-racism education through participatory action research. Drawing on critical race theory (CRT) as its theoretical framework, we incorporate principles of participatory action research (PAR) to conceptualize community-based anti-racism education where community members and academics collaborate as equal partners throughout the process. Three key features emerged out of this analysis to characterize this approach: using people's lived experiences as an entry point to understand contemporary forms of racism, underscoring the importance of participation at the grassroots level, and prioritizing an action-oriented feature of community-based anti-racism education. By combining synergies between CRT and PAR, this approach has the potential to contribute to facilitating collaborative, equitable partnerships in practicing anti-racism education in diverse communities and… [Direct]
(2024). "What's Unexpected?" Interventionist Explanations of Dyslexia. Journal of Literacy Research, v56 n3 p242-267. This phenomenological study explored how five participants used their Texas state-approved definition of dyslexia to identify children with dyslexia as different from those with other global reading difficulties. Drawing on theories from disability studies in education and dis/ability critical race theory, I interviewed participants who identified dyslexia in terms of sociocultural differences, beliefs about intelligence, and reading ability. They frequently left unexamined concerns of race and how explanations of dyslexia privileged white, middle-class children over children of color and children in low-income schools. This study contributes to research that critically examines how these definitions of dyslexia segregate students with reading difficulties based on beliefs about intelligence, sociocultural factors, and the lack of conversations about race. Implications suggest that a growing focus on dyslexia may exacerbate inequalities already present in school systems. Stakeholders… [Direct]
(2024). The Commodification of Men of Color Initiatives: Community Colleges Directors' Experiences with Non-Performative Commitment. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v37 n7 p2004-2022. Program directors at community colleges must navigate institutional rhetoric to effectively support Men of Color. This study considers how administrators often exhibit a non-performative commitment to diversity, in that stated commitment might not equate to action. Utilizing a framework grounded in critical race theory and cognitive frames regarding diversity, deficit, and equity, the authors of the study interviewed directors of men of color programs to explore their administrators' commitments to support the work. They also explored the ways that diversity rhetoric affected the success of their programs. Findings revealed that rhetoric often took the place of tangible action, that diversity rhetoric might contradict directors' experiences, and that directors regularly acted as commodities to do the work of diversity with little support. Through this research, the authors offer several implications related to the need for more explicit institution-wide practices that center on… [Direct]
(2024). Black Graduate Students' Counternarratives and Interrogations of a Hate Crime. Journal of Higher Education, v95 n4 p425-449. Hate crimes across the country are becoming more prevalent, and there are growing concerns for higher education and college campuses. White supremacy has been noted as a potential driving force escalating hate and discrimination at disproportionate levels, especially for Black students on predominantly white campuses. This qualitative study described the murder of 2nd Lieutenant Richard Collins III by a white supremacist student, Sean Urbanski at a bus stop at the University of Maryland College Park. I used critical race theory in education and critical race methodology to analyze Black graduate students' counternarratives and interrogations of a hate crime through semi-structured interviews. I described how the juxtaposition of this hate crime influenced campus and national conversations about Black students' proximity to white supremacy. Lastly, participants' counternarratives attested to widespread trauma, which adds a new layer to existing literature on Black graduate students'… [Direct]
(2024). Breaking the Cycle of Couscous Pedagogy: Are Future Teachers Empowered to Teach in Multicultural Societies?. Journal of Education for Teaching: International Research and Pedagogy, v50 n3 p435-449. Despite the increasing racial diversity within British and Spanish societies, teacher education and school curricula continue to be Eurocentric and taught by predominantly White teachers. This quantitative research sought to explore the perceptions of student teachers in relation to their attitudes and preparedness to teach in ethnically diverse school contexts. Data were gathered at two universities, one in Southern Spain and the other in Northwest England. The article employs critical race theory and critical whiteness studies as frames to understand outcomes of an online questionnaire. The majority White student teacher sample across both countries register an acceptance of racial diversity and report the need for better preservice teacher education in this respect. Despite preservice teachers' positive responses to racial diversity, teacher education in both countries fails to equip them for increasingly diverse classrooms. This failure serves to replicate the enactment of… [Direct]
(2024). Art and Crisis: Preservice Teachers' Coping amid Constantly Changing Landscapes. Art Education, v77 n1 p22-30. As our world endures multiple crises, educators have turned their eye to what does and does not work effectively to assist students in the school environment, regardless of changing landscapes, such as lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-critical race theory legislation, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, personal crises students face, as well as other social and political movements that alter public discourse and impact education. This article, which J. Scott Baker coauthors with four of his preservice teachers (PTs), examines the use of retrospective and prospective reflection through artmaking as a coping mechanism to engage, disrupt, embrace, explore, or confront mitigating factors of multiple crises. With these two types of reflection in mind, this article questions: (1) as preservice teachers ponder their past, present, and possible selves, how do they perceive crises as influencing their teacher identity? and (2) how can teacher educators use art to assist preservice… [Direct]
(2024). "Why Don't We Learn about the Black Social Work Pioneers?" The Erasure of Black Social Workers' Histories and Contributions–Implications for Social Work Education. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, v44 n1 p64-79. While there is mounting research on the well-known white founders of social work, documentation of Black social work pioneers and their contributions is scarce — in both social work education and the broader telling of the profession's history. Given the systemic exclusion of Black social workers in the dominant narrative of social work history, there is a critical need to understand how social work education perpetuates and centers whiteness in the teaching of historical and contemporary social work. This article uses Critical Race Theory to interrogate the role of racism and white supremacy in maintaining the Eurocentric hegemony undergirding the pedagogical and epistemological canons of social work. Moreover, the authors call for a radical shift from social work's white- centered discourse and curricula to an equitable praxis, centering Black social work pioneers and their contributions to the profession. Implications for decolonizing pedagogy and anti-racist practice in social… [Direct]
(2024). Tensions and Pitfalls in the Depiction of Biracial Characters in Children's Picturebooks. Multicultural Perspectives, v26 n2 p112-129. This critical content analysis used critical literacy and critical race theory to examine eight children's picturebooks to reveal patterns in the depictions of Black-white biracial characters. Analysis attended to protagonists' skin tone, hair texture, and facial features. Findings identify a pattern in the text of the protagonists' skin tone and hair texture being referenced as part of the storyline. However, the text of the picturebooks did not discuss the protagonists' Afrocentric or Eurocentric facial features even though the illustrations depicted them. Three other trends were identified: (1) comparing Black-white biracial characters' skin and hair to food; (2) presenting only two self-concepts for the Black-white biracial protagonists–either being "just right" or "mixed up;" and (3) portraying interracial families as either contentious or idyllic. The findings highlight how power differentials and racial socialization are embedded in the picturebooks and… [Direct]
(2024). Black Male Brilliance as (Ill)Legible: Challenging and Changing Societal and Educational Narratives. Urban Education, v59 n8 p2245-2268. In this study, we examine how race and racism impact the schooling of African American males by analyzing the first-person perspective of hip-hop superstar, Nasir "Nas" Jones. We selected Nas due to his unique yet prevalent educational trajectory and perspectives. Critical race theory is employed as a framework as well as notions of Sankofa methodology and literary analysis to investigate his music, documentaries, and an open letter whereby he critiques the public school system while providing academic ideas to engage and inspire Black students. Studies about Black males routinely focus on their subpar academic performance with the intention of "correcting" these behaviors. We utilize the experiences of Nas to reframe the conversation and provide nuanced insight into Black educational experiences instead of perpetuating recycled, bleak narratives. This article concludes with suggestions for educators to better serve African American males in the Pre K-12 academic… [Direct]
(2024). School Leadership Waterloo Region Must Show Black Youth Their Lives Matter. Journal of School Leadership, v34 n1 p47-66. This paper amplifies the voices of Black youth based on findings from a study on schooling experiences of Black youth in the Region of Waterloo, a mid-size Canadian community. Data for the qualitative study was collected using elder-facilitated youth dialogue (adaptation of focus group and Afrocentric sharing circles) and in-depth individual interviews. The findings show that the Black youth participants did not feel their lives matter in the eduational system due to discrimination, alienation, non-inclusive curriculum, absence of Black teachers and failure of school leadership to address systemic racism. Framed by Afrocentric and critical race theories, these findings enabled recommendations on how teachers can take leadership for supporting Black learners by recognizing and mitigating the effects of anti-Black-racism through culturally responsive teaching, emancipatory pedagogy, and politicized caring. The study contributes to an understanding of the need for equitable outcomes,… [Direct]