(2015). Indigenous Knowledge Realized: Understanding the Role of Service Learning at the Intersection of Being a Mentor and a College-Going American Indian. in education, v21 n2 p89-106 Aut. The article explores the experiences of 13 undergraduate American Indian college students who served as mentors through a service-learning course while attending a 4-year, predominantly White institution (PWI). This chapter elucidates how serving as a mentor allowed participants to draw on three culturally relevant persistence factors in higher education: relationship, community, and power. Previous research demonstrates that service learning actively involves college students and encourages them to build a connection and a sense of commitment to the community (Lee & Espino, 2011; Rhoads, 1998). Through a Tribal Critical Race Theory lens, the purpose and function of service learning is deconstructed and redefined to fit the needs of North American Indigenous college students. This article reveals that Indigenous undergraduate students tapped into their own supply of Indigenous knowledge in relating their mentoring experience to building meaningful relationships, to being a… [PDF]
(2015). Disrupting Racialization: Considering Critical Leadership in the Field of Physical Education. Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, v20 n5 p532-546. Background: The field of physical education (PE), overlapping as it does with the field of sport, has been critiqued for marginalizing those positioned as "different". This difference is typically conceptualized in regard to a white, masculine, heterosexual, and able-bodied norm. Students who do not identify as white are not represented in any significant way in physical education discourses, culture, or the demographics of PE teachers in many international contexts. Purpose: This article explores links between the literature in critical leadership and physical education. Drawing on the theoretical foundations of transformational leadership, critical pedagogy, and critical race theory, we draw links between the field of PE and applied critical leadership. Design and analyses: Drawing on the theoretical tools of Bourdieu, we argue that physical education can be conceptualized as a field of practice. As such, the field values contain certain practices and norms. We argue that… [Direct]
(2009). Critical Race Theory An Examination of its Past, Present, and Future Implications. Online Submission This paper endeavors to evaluate the current body of research conducted on Critical Race Theory (CRT). It fixates on historically marginalized populations within the urban school setting and the larger society. This evaluation is carried out through a literature research synthesis. First, the origins of CRT are articulated. The history of CRT in the United States is discussed. The article lists the five tenets of CRT, providing brief overviews and examples of the tenets. Focus is drawn upon studies done on CRT: Universalistic Paradigms vs. Relativistic Paradigms. The penultimate section of this paper asks, knowing what we know, where do we go from here? Propositions for future research are made. Lastly, implications for further research are cited. It is the author's intent to elaborate and provide insights into an abundantly-written-about topic, CRT, in such a way that both "Crits" and laypeople will have their paradigms and conceptions challenged and expanded. (Contains 2… [PDF]
(2019). The (Mis)Representation of Enslavement in Historical Literature for Elementary Students. Teachers College Record, v121 n6. Context: Elementary teachers will make difficult pedagogical choices when selecting materials to support their students' learning about historical topics. Given the variety of historical books written for their students, certain stories will be emphasized and ultimately legitimated and others will be silenced through absence. Objective of Study: The objective of this article is to identify and analyze children's literature spanning a spectrum of theoretical positioning and to interrogate their instructional implications. We investigate narratives and images of enslavement in children's literature through the question: how is enslavement portrayed in recently published elementary-level (first through sixth grade) literature? Research Design: This article is a content analysis of 21 recently published elementary-level books that portray enslavement in U.S. history. Unlike previous studies of enslavement in children's literature, we analyzed both the narrative text and the illustrations… [Direct]
(2019). Reclaiming the University of the People: Racial Justice Movements at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1951-2018. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This dissertation examines how Black students and workers engaged in movements for racial justice at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1951 to 2018 challenged the University's dominant cultural landscape of white supremacy — a landscape in direct conflict with the University's mission to be a public university in service to all citizens of North Carolina. Beginning with the University's legal desegregation, this dissertation tells the history of Black students' and workers' resistance to institutional anti-Blackness, demonstrating how the University consistently sought to exclude Black identities and diminish any movement that challenged its white supremacy. Activated by the knowledge of the University's history as a site of enslavement and as an institution which maintained and fortified white supremacy and segregation across North Carolina, Black students and workers protested the ways in which the University reflects and enacts systemic racial inequities within… [Direct]
(2020). Confronting and Changing Racialized Patterns of Not-Seeing Black Children: Narrowing the Gap between Observation and the Work of Teaching Mathematics in the Context of Practice Based Professional Development. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Michigan. Black children are brilliant. They are infinitely capable of learning. However, as a result of the racialized sociohistorical contexts of schools and teaching, Black students are rarely seen as brilliant or perceived as capable in classrooms. Thus, professional development must create and structure opportunities for teachers to learn to notice and interpret Black students' brilliance inside of instruction. In this study, I conduct a single-case analysis of a short-term practice-based professional development program aimed at supporting teachers to identify Black students' strengths and to notice their mathematical thinking. I draw on video records, educator interviews, and digital logs to investigate how the practice-based professional development facilitators used the structures of a prebrief session, live instruction, and debrief session to create opportunities for participating educators to learn while foregrounding race as integral to the work of teaching. I also consider the… [Direct]
(2012). English Is Not "All" That Matters in the Education of Secondary Multilingual Learners and Their Teachers. International Journal of Multicultural Education, v14 n1. Utilizing the critical race theory (CRT) construct of majoritarian stories and the already identified story of English-is-"all"-that-matters in the education of multilingual learners and their teachers, this study illustrates the influence of this powerful narrative in classroom practice. By promoting English-only instruction, maintaining a limited perspective of what it means to know English, and treating multilingual learners as if they were monolingual, this study demonstrates that multilingual learners' educational opportunities are being limited through a persistent and unhelpful overemphasis on English…. [PDF]
(2012). Race, Language, and Schooling in Italy's Immigrant Policies, Public Discourses, and Pedagogies. International Journal of Multicultural Education, v14 n2. In this article, we use the framework of critical race theory (CRT) to show how race, language, and schooling have played out in the historical project of the Italian nation-state. We then demonstrate how this historic racialized identity construction is currently excluding immigrants from Italian national identity. Finally, we argue that CRT can be a valuable alternative to intercultural education in that it both addresses the educational needs of immigrant and minority students in Italian schools and challenges racist and anti-immigrant discourses circulating in the broader society…. [PDF]
(2012). Lessons Learned: Research within an Urban, African American District. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v25 n5 p625-643. For an African American female researcher whose race, class, and gender work as oppressive intersecting units shaping my contextualized experiences, meaning-making, and self-definition, the implications of my work with African American communities are complicated. In this article, I draw on culturally sensitive research practices, critical race theory, and Black feminist theory to deconstruct how race-gender-social class informed my own field experience. To these ends, I hope to advance the theoretical discussion of qualitative research with urban African American communities beyond abstraction to serious implications for practice and policy. (Contains 1 note.)… [Direct]
(2012). Students "At Risk": Stereotypes and the Schooling of Black Boys. Urban Education, v47 n2 p464-494 Mar. This article examines how stereotypes operate in the social construction of African Canadian males as "at risk" students. Cultural analysis and critical race theory are used to explain how the stereotypes of the youth as immigrant, fatherless, troublemaker, athlete, and underachiever contribute to their racialization and marginalization that in turn structure their learning processes, social opportunities, life chances, and educational outcomes. The article concludes by suggesting that addressing the stereotypes is not only a task for educators but also for society as a whole. (Contains 20 notes.)… [Direct]
(2012). Black Male Perspectives on Their Educational Experiences in High School. Urban Education, v47 n6 p1055-1085 Nov. This study examines the impact of the zero-tolerance policies on Black males' educational experiences and outcomes. Individual interviews were conducted with Black males who dropped out of high school. Using counter-storytelling within a critical race theory framework, Black males discussed the influence of the zero-tolerance policies on their school experiences. These men's narratives affirm that these policies created an inhospitable school environment and poor student-teacher relationship. Furthermore, school personnel's use of the most punitive measures of the policies, suspension and expulsion of students, led to their school failure. (Contains 2 tables.)… [Direct]
(2011). [Re]Conceptualizing Inclusion: Can Critical Race Theory and Interest Convergence Be Utilized to Achieve Inclusion and Equity for African American Students?. Teachers College Record, v113 n10 p2186-2205. Background/Context: Even though not fully realized, in legislation and theory, the requirements of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act and the No Child Left Behind Act have created pressure to address the historical inequity in educational opportunity, achievement, and outcomes, as well as disparities in achievement between students of color and White students; disproportionality in special education referral, identification, and placement; high dropout rates for students of color; and disproportionate discipline and referrals for students of color, students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, students from immigrant families, and students in urban areas. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: The authors argue that inclusive education never had the potential to be truly inclusive because it is built on the premises of an inferiority paradigm. Issues of race, class, and privilege have rarely been incorporated into the inclusive education… [Direct]
(2014). "Sankofa" Teaching and Learning: Evaluating Relevance for Today's African-American Student. Journal of Instructional Pedagogies, v15 Oct. The intent of this project was to identify and relate the values and perceptions of today's African American students to culturally relevant teaching and learning practices. The reason for relating student culture with teaching practices is to improve pedagogical processes for African American students. Culturally relevant pedagogy, according to previous research, is considered rewarding to students, teachers, and the local and national community. However, culturally relevant teaching and learning elements have yet to be evaluated in the context of today's African American students (members of Generation Y), who live in a very diverse and technologically savvy world. Critical race theory (CRT) is the main framework used in this project to explain the ubiquity of a culturally relevant pedagogy. The purpose of this quantitative study is to test this critical race theory, which relates the presence of the factors associated with culturally relevant teaching strategies with perceived… [PDF]
(2015). Me and Bill: Connecting Black Curriculum Orientations to Critical Race Feminism. Educational Studies: Journal of the American Educational Studies Association, v51 n5 p423-433. This article traces the reflections of the author as she remembers her time in Illinois as a graduate student and American Educational Research Association (AERA) postdoctoral research fellow. She remembers herself as a strong, independent, outspoken woman from a large east coast city who was attempting to fit into academic life while trying to fit into life in a large Midwestern city. Here Berry reflects upon the experiences she gained that laid the foundation of her identity as an academic and the ways in which this new identity converged with her existing identities as learner, educator, activist, and woman of color. She reflects on the ways in which her existing identities informed how she would understand this new identity. In this article Berry recalls the three people who were instrumental in the development of this new identity: Drs. Vinita M. Ricks, William Ayers, and William H. Watkins. The article begins with a summary of Watkins' seminal work. A discussion of Critical… [Direct]
(2022). Pathways to Success for African American Students at Predominately White Institutions: A Qualitative Study Exploring Academic Readiness. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Western Michigan University. African American students' completion of post-secondary education is among the lowest of any other subgroup in higher education (Banks & Dohy, 2019; Broom, 2018; CarterFrancique et al., 2015; Cokley et al., 2016; Dulabaum, 2016; Karkouti, 2016; Moragne-Patterson & Barnett, 2017; Strayhorn, 2017). This study focuses on addressing this problem by exploring the academic and social experiences of African American college students who persisted at a regional predominantly White institution (PWI) in the Midwest and secure information that can be used to improve their graduation rates. To address this issue, this study is designed to explore initiatives and practices that encourage the successful matriculation and graduation of African American students from PWIs (Gross & Berry, 2016). This study utilized individual interviews in a qualitative inquiry to capture the lived experiences and deeper understandings of eight African American students who persisted through to their… [Direct]