(2024). A Crusade and the Crowd of the Dead: Understanding the Logic of the U.S. Right's Attacks on Public Education. Review of Education, Pedagogy & Cultural Studies, v46 n1 p25-63. Recognizing that the American right, and specifically the Christian right, has achieved disproportionate power over shaping the landscape of education policy and political culture, the following engages in a twofold analysis of schooling in the United States. We consider the structural transformations that are being enacted as a result of the proliferation of (Christian) public charters and other privatization efforts as well as reactionary undertakings that have purposefully targeted the daily life of schools from administration to curriculum and pedagogy since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (for example: disruptions at school board meetings, threatening school officials, anti-LGBTQ and anti-anti-racism hysteria, among others). We put these minoritarian interjections in conversation with Elias Canetti's "crowd of the dead" and consider the effects of this political activity in producing civic and social death while seeking to destabilize public institutions and… [Direct]
(2024). Querying Queer Quantitative Educational Research: A Systematic Literature Review. Educational Review, v76 n6 p1708-1721. The past decade has seen growth in the use of quantitative methods for queer educational research. The purpose of the present study was to review research published in education journals from 2011 to 2022 that used quantitative methods and took up the language of queerness. We ultimately identified 55 such articles and analyzed them for their theoretical engagements, the inclusion of LGBTQ+ identities/people, the place of race and racism in the studies, and the analytic approaches authors took. We found that few engaged theory and there was little meaningful engagement of queer theoretical perspectives, though some authors had intentionally engaged queer theory. We also found that queer was usually a euphemism for gay, lesbian, and (more rarely) bisexual. Most focused on white participants, and when race was considered, it was almost always in comparison to white participants. We also found some examples of race-conscious work. Finally, most authors used t-tests, ANOVAs, and… [Direct]
(2023). The Effects of School Choice Competition on an Underserved Neighborhood Public School. Educational Policy, v37 n7 p1950-1988 Nov. This critical ethnography utilizes critical policy analysis and a theoretical understanding of neoliberal racism to examine the practiced reality of school choice in a public, under-resourced, and historically underperforming neighborhood elementary school attended predominantly by Latina/o/x students. Despite improvement initiatives that resulted in performance distinctions, the school under study experienced substantial enrollment decline amidst the poaching of students by charter schools within the attendance zone. Moreover, the competitive school choice market within the school's district resulted in the reshuffling of teachers, reinforcement of neoliberal improvement discourses, and even the exploitation of dual language students to raise the school's market profile. The study provides a unique, up-close representation of marketization in public schools and the residualizing effects that school choice policies can have on public education writ large…. [Direct]
(2024). Shifting the Terrain, Enriching the Academy: Indigenous PhD Scholars' Experiences of and Impact on Higher Education. Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education Research, v88 n6 p2123-2143. In Australia, much like other colonized locations such as Canada, New Zealand, and the USA, the colonial legacies embedded within higher education institutions, including the history of exclusion and the privileging of Western epistemologies, continue to make universities challenging places for Indigenous PhD scholars. Despite this, and while the numbers of Indigenous PhD scholars remain well below population parity, they are carving a space within the academy that is shifting the academic terrain and enriching the research process. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Indigenous PhD scholars working in the field of health and a qualitative survey of doctoral Supervisors and Advisory Committee Chairs, this paper explores the doctoral experience of Indigenous scholars. What becomes apparent, through this research, is that despite ongoing experiences of racism and alienation, these scholars are finding ways to circumvent inadequate supervisory processes, systems support, and research… [Direct]
(2023). Enacting Critical Cosmopolitanism in Suburban Preservice Teacher Education through Crafting a Pedagogical Third-Space of Ethics. Educational Studies: Journal of the American Educational Studies Association, v59 n1 p48-73. This paper explores critical cosmopolitan literacies as a framework to engage teacher preparation program candidates in re-conceptualizing about their work as active thinkers, ethical decision makers, and agentive global actors. The purpose of the study is to elucidate how preservice teachers, in a secondary literacy teacher education program, respond to ethics-oriented education in addressing complex and controversial sociopolitical issues, such as the dialectics of freedom, human rights, and growing racism in the neoliberal globalized context. The third space theory of ethics is used to interpret participant student teachers' intellectual epistemology based on their engagement with literary and nonliterary works, as well as multicultural media products. Data consist of observations, discussions, focus-group interviews, reflective journals, and course evaluations. This study contributes to our understanding of how critical cosmopolitan literacies is situated in the intercultural… [Direct]
(2021). Will PWIs Embrace Change in a Nation at Unrest?. New England Journal of Higher Education, Jun. The U.S. landscape of higher education has featured two types of universities: one for people of color, the sometimes formally recognized Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and the other, more informally known as predominantly white institutions (PWIs), where only white students were generally admitted. PWIs are not unlike HBCUs. In the same way the HBCUs were established for the enhancement of Black students, PWIs are doing just the same for white students. However, the fundamental distinction lies in necessity and history. While PWIs continue to serve the historically white demographic they were created to educate, HBCUs are still filling a void in higher education for Black students that was initially created because of a racist and discriminatory system. But in the latter case, supply does not meet the demand. In light of a the significant demographic shift projected by the year 2036, and the increased visibility of issues of race, racism and violence against… [Direct]
(2023). "It's Not a System That's Built for Me": Black Youths' Unbelonging in Ontario Schools. Review of Education, Pedagogy & Cultural Studies, v45 n5 p458-480. Through exploration of Black Caribbean youths' feelings of unbelonging and exclusion in Ontario schools, this paper argues that how Whiteness is systemically engrained in the education system negatively affects the learning experiences of Black youth due to predetermined measures of belonging. The present article draws on data from 32 qualitative interviews and four focus groups with 23 Black Caribbean youth. Findings reveal challenges youth commonly face when navigating relationships with peers and educators that hinder their academic success. These challenges are exacerbated for youth who are also involved in the state's child protection system. Participants described feeling disadvantaged in the education system due to perceptions that they are academically unprepared and thus unable to excel. Through a Critical Race Theory and Anti-Black Racism analytical framework, the findings illustrate how systemic barriers coupled with the normalization of low expectations impact the… [Direct]
(2021). Program Review as an Opportunity to Drive Anti-Racist Change. Pathways to Results. Implementation Partnerships Strategy Brief. Office of Community College Research and Leadership Recent iterations of the Program Review manual to guide the five-year program review process for Illinois community colleges asks institutions to disaggregate data toward identifying equity gaps, the process provides Illinois community colleges with an opportunity to utilize the review as a vehicle to implement anti-racist change. Within the context of career and technical education (CTE) programs of study, the state Perkins V plan identifies equity as a central tenet and encourages colleges to move beyond the race-neutrality of identified special populations to include "others who have been or are marginalized by education and workforce systems" (Illinois State Board of Education & Illinois Community College Board, 2020, p. 5). Even outside of the context of CTE and Perkins V, the program review templates can facilitate the examination of disaggregated data, identification of racial equity gaps, and commitment to systemic change across programs, academic disciplines,… [PDF]
(2024). Investigating Institutional Support for a Minority Engineering Program at a Historically White Institution. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Clemson University. Engineering programs at historically White institutions (HWIs) often perpetuate stereotypes and racism against Black students, impacting their experiences and opportunities in the field. Minority engineering programs (MEPs) provide support and resources to minority students in engineering, challenging stereotypes and fostering positive identity development. MEPs push back on cultural norms by rejecting the stereotypical narrative of what it means to be Black in engineering. Despite their significance, MEPs face challenges in garnering institutional support and recognition within engineering departments. It is imperative to understand what institutional support for MEPs looks like to mitigate barriers identified in the literature. To address these barriers and promote equity, this dissertation study explored the impacts of racism on the alignment between the perceived value of MEPs, institutional commitment, and MEPs' designated structures with the following overarching and… [Direct]
(2023). "It's Not Enough to Just Insert a Few People of Color:" An Intersectional Analysis of Failed Leadership in Netflix's "The Chair" Series. Educational Studies: Journal of the American Educational Studies Association, v59 n1 p93-108. Leadership roles in higher education are still held predominately by white male leaders while women of color, especially, struggle to be recognized, hired, and/or appointed as leaders. In popular culture, though there have been films and television series that focus on student life on campus, there have been few representations of life as a leader in higher education. A new six-episode Netflix series, "The Chair," about the first woman of color department chair at a liberal arts college examines issues of sexism and racism but doesn't allow for a harsh enough critique of the insidious ways the institution continues to repress women, especially women of color. I engage in an intersectional analysis of the series' representations of a department chair and argue that, while masquerading as a transformative representation, the series actually reifies the ideology of the academy (namely white supremacy and heteropatriarchy) and illustrates the ways progressive change is resisted… [Direct]
(2022). Perceptions of Professional Development Impact: White Educators' Racial Identity Development and Anti-Racist Practice. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Wisconsin – Madison. US schools have seen limited success in meliorating inequitable outcomes for students of color amid the expanding gap between student and educator racial demographics, yet there is a dearth of research on suburban schools and effective white educators of children of color. While districts and institutions of higher education work to diversify the educator workforce, they must simultaneously expand anti-racist work among existing white educators. The literature suggests that racial identity development is a critical factor in the successful implementation of anti-racist practice for white educators. This study sought to understand the impact of anti-racist professional development (PD) on white educators in predominantly white suburban districts and specifically what PD impacted their racial identity development, understanding of racism, and anti-racist practice. A five-strand conceptual framework grounded in Critical Race Theory and designed as a White Anti-Racist Educator Identity… [Direct]
(2023). Cultivating Global Leaders: A Critical Examination of the Mediating Role of Campus Climate in Asian American College Student Leadership Development. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Indiana Institute of Technology. The disparity between Asian Americans' high level degree attainment and underrepresentation in executive offices suggests that Asian American college students are achieving academically, but somewhere along the journey from college to career they are missing the connections that will transform them into global leaders. In order to prepare Asian American college students to ascend to positions of global leadership, it is imperative that collegiate student leadership development programming is informed by an understanding of how experiences with racism influence the student leadership development process. This mixed methods study addressed gaps in higher education and global leadership studies by furthering understanding of the collegiate experiences and perceptions of the diverse and complex Asian American college student population, and by examining how critical approaches to the statistical analysis of quantitative Asian American college student experience data may provide further… [Direct]
(2021). The Legacy: Coming to Terms with the Origins and Development of the Gifted-Child Movement. Roeper Review, v43 n4 p227-241. The field of gifted education, historically and contemporarily, is not well-known for being equitable for underrepresented students, specifically, Black, Hispanic, Native American, among others. In this article, we present a short history of gifted education with attention to key historical figures who have significantly shaped the field; their influence continues to impact theories and measurement to this very day. We share our reservations, along with 10 assumptions that we believe need to be countered. Given the long history of tension in the field regarding issues of racism, ethnocentrism, and classism, we offer perspectives for moving forward proactively and equitably…. [Direct]
(2021). Gatekeepers in Gifted: A Case Study of the Disproportionality of Gifted Black Youth in Elementary Programs. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, v24 n2 p64-80 Jun. Gifted identification and services, like many aspects of education, are inequitable and disproportionate in favor of White students. Obama Elementary School serves 421 students: 29% are Black and 58% are White; the school's gifted program is 10% Black and 86% White. Rebecca Johnson, the gifted teacher, brings this to the attention of her principal, who has Rebecca present to the school improvement team. Rebecca receives pushback from a culturally unresponsive and equity-illiterate group. This case study provides teaching notes on gifted identification and services as well as cultural proficiency and equity literacy, and is framed in both gifted education and anti-racism…. [Direct]
(2021). Future Proofing: Federal Leadership for Post-Secondary Education & Research. Submission to Finance Canada's Pre-Budget 2021 Consultation. Canadian Association of University Teachers The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed Canada with the country facing a public health crisis, an economic crisis, and struggling to address significant social inequities, particularly those driven by racism and colonialism. Strategic investments in universities and colleges must be made now to ensure a safe re-opening, a strong recovery and a more resilient future. This submission highlights four recommendations: (1) Develop a national plan for postsecondary education; (2) Invest in French-language postsecondary education institutions; (3) Support and expand research & science infrastructure; and (4) Improve student financial assistance. [For the 2020 Submission, see ED602804.]… [PDF]