(2010). Portraits by African-American Male University Students: A Retrospective Study. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Loyola Marymount University. African-American male students are systematically forced to confine themselves to the social construct that European-American society has developed for them. Actions, behaviors, and words that communicate this message spread both interracially and intraracially within schools and affect African-American males tremendously in terms of their identity development and personal well-being. While many studies examine the overt forms of racism and more obvious microaggressions that African-American male students encounter in their schooling, few look at the deep-seated forms of racism that are less noticeable but that have a disastrous psychological impact on these students. This study shows the effects on the psyche and development of the three African-American male students involved as they retrospectively recount their secondary school experiences. Portraiture is used to capture each participant's story accurately and clearly while critical race theory is interwoven throughout as… [Direct]
(2014). Eighth Grade Algebra Placement Policies: Promoting Equity, Achievement, and Access. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Walden University. This study was an investigation of a standardized 8th grade Algebra I placement policy across multiple educational districts. Researchers have documented benefits of students' 8th grade Algebra I education, while others have detailed the consequences of algebra enrollment without necessary prerequisite skills. The purpose of this study was to examine the degree to which a standardized algebra placement policy impacted students' enrollment, performance, and achievement across demographic groups. Critical race theory underpinned this study, exploring students' mathematics education through an equity lens. The research questions guiding this study examined the relationships between students' course enrollments, academic performance, achievement scores, gender, and race, both before and after the policy's implementation. A quantitative causal-comparative research design utilized Spearman and Pearson correlation tests, in conjunction with multiple linear regression models, to analyze the… [Direct]
(2014). Black Women's Faculty Voices in New Mexico: Invisible Assets Silent No More. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, New Mexico State University. There continues to exist a lack of Black women faculty at institutions of higher education (Moses, 1989; Collins, 1991; Gregory, 2001). Although we can see an increase in the number of research projects focused on Black women faculty there still remains a significant gap in the research (Glover, 2006; Foster-Williamson, 2002; Thomas & Hollenshead, 2001; Ramsey, 1998). This gap in the research is even more pronounced for Black women faculty at New Mexico's higher education institutions. The purpose of the study is to examine the experiences of Black women educators in New Mexico's institutions of higher education through semi-structured interviews, in the form of a two-interview series, in order to understand the beliefs, values, and educational experiences that have influenced them as educators. Ten (10) Black women educators employed in New Mexico's higher education institutions participated in this study. Black Womanist Theory and Black Critical Race Theory provided the… [Direct]
(2011). An Autoethnography of a First-Time School District Superintendent: Experiences in Governance, Fiscal Stress, and Community Relations. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of California, Berkeley. There are just over 1,000 sitting superintendents and like number of local educational agencies (LEA's) in California, serving 6.2 million students. Superintendents' ability to share knowledge and learn from each other is limited; this is especially true the further one's work is removed from concentrated urban populations. This study addresses the following question: As a first-time district superintendent, what roadblocks stand in the way of effectively leading the district? To consider the question, this inquiry interprets a representative sample of my experiences as a first-time superintendent over the past five years during a period characterized by constant fiscal stress, organizational uncertainty, and shifting demographic populations. The theoretical basis from which this inquiry draws includes three streams of qualitative research (a) autoethnography, (b) organizational sensemaking, sensegiving, and decision-making, and (c) Critical Race Theory. Using the emerging field of… [Direct]
(2013). Derrick Bell, CRT, and Educational Leadership 1995-Present. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v16 n4 p489-513. Critical Race Theory (CRT) has become a centered conceptual framework to understand American education and reform (Ladson-Billings and Tate 1995; Solorzano and Yosso; 2001; Decuir and Dixon 2004). Indeed, educational leadership scholars have not been far behind in recognizing the explicative and powerful role of CRT studies in their work (Lopez 2003; Parker and Villalpando 2007). As we acknowledge the role of CRT, we cannot do so without reflecting on the life and works of the quintessential Critical Legal Studies (CLS) scholar Derrick Bell (193-2011). In this article, we use Bell's collective works to analyze current trends and research in educational leadership. We bring his works into conversation not only with conceptions of instructional and distributed leadership, but with the palpability that CRT has on the current state of educational reform. More specifically, we use Bell's theories of interest convergence and conversations around "racial remedies" to understand… [Direct]
(2013). Academic Freedom for Whom? Experiences and Perceptions of Faculty of Color. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Minnesota. Academic freedom is a cornerstone principle to the U. S. system of higher education and is intended to exist for all faculty. Thus, the dominant discourse is that academic freedom is neutral. Utilizing the framework of critical race theory, this research demonstrates that faculty of color can differentially experience and perceive their academic freedom in ways that are influenced by their social identities. Thirteen faculty of color from three Research 1 institutions in geographically distinct states were interviewed for this study. Their CVs and publications were also analyzed. Results highlight several findings: academic freedom played an important role in participants' teaching, service, and research; participants' social identities could influence the extent to which they felt they could enact their academic freedom; some participants did not feel fully protected by academic freedom; and discrimination/oppression could fatigue participants to the point where they no… [Direct]
(2013). Assistant Principals and Reform: A Socialization Paradox?. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Framed in the critical race theory of structuration (CRTS), this sequential explanatory mixed methods study seeks to identify the socialization practices by examining the realities of practices of assistant principals and the ways in which they impact the disciplinary actions of assistant principals at middle and high schools. The mixed methods design was used to explore and understand: (1) the realities of practice within the school organization; (2) the socialization processes of assistant principals within the realities of practice; and (3) the ways in which those socialization processes influence their disciplinary practices. Fifty-one percent of the assistant principals invited to participate in this study completed the online survey. The survey responses led to a focused sample and in-depth interviews with three Black female assistant principals supervised by White male principals. The data from both portions of this study revealed that the structure of the realities of… [Direct]
(2013). Critical Race Pedagogy 2.0: Lessons from Derrick Bell. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v16 n4 p603-628. In this article, we attempt to honor the rich legacy of Derrick Bell by detailing how exploring his specific contributions to critical race theory (CRT) provided lessons for developing and refining critical race pedagogy (CRP). We examine Bell's racial realism thesis in connection with his pedagogical work. In doing so, we find that he was as committed to developing a "community-based" law classroom as he was to articulating a strong critique of the law (Radice 1991). As part of his teaching philosophy, Bell wrote extensively about the value and importance of a student-centered humanist pedagogy (Bell 1980, 1982, 1997; Bell and Edmonds 1993; Delgado and Stefancic 2005). We draw parallels between Bell's humanist student-centered pedagogy and the tenets of CRP as a way to expand the accessibility of this framework. Finally, as the ultimate homage to the work of Derrick Bell, we end with a futuristic mini-chronicle that takes place in a school district boardroom. The chronicle… [Direct]
(2012). Rethinking Research on Multiracial College Students: Toward an Integrative Model of Multiraciality for Campus Climate. Online Submission, Paper presented at the Biannual Critical Mixed Race Studies Conference (2nd, Nov 2012). Although recent research on multiraciality exposes mixed race experiences in the post-Civil Rights era, higher education scholarship still seems to lack a framework that connects two racial systems of oppression that inform and reinforce each other: traditional racisms targeting monoracially-constructed groups, and monoracism targeting multiraciality. Considering that college has the potential to prepare all students to effectively engage in our increasingly diverse society, we must also examine how multiple racisms function around multiraciality in college. Accordingly, this paper reviews race-based theories and frameworks common in American higher education research, and builds upon aspects of them to develop an integrative model for examining multiraciality in a way that accounts for historical and contemporary contexts, individual identities, campus structures, and broader systems of oppression. It draws upon elements of racial formation theory, multiracial identity theory,… [PDF]
(2011). A Critical Look at Four Multicultural Reform Efforts in One Urban College of Education. Multicultural Education, v18 n4 p18-23 Sum. This analysis encompassed four different projects that were implemented as reform initiatives at the college. The authors' collaborative work and this subsequent analysis have drawn on insights from Cochran-Smith (2004), who describes teacher education as both a \learning problem and a political problem\ that involves the creation of inquiry communities. Grounded in a critical perspective, the authors' work and the projects described have all involved critical sociocultural theory, critical race theory, and a critical literacy perspective. In this article, the authors present descriptions of the individual projects and jointly analyze the projects through a lens created by four dimensions of critical perspective. Striving to meet Cochran-Smith's (2004) challenge, they then \work the dialectic\ by generating both theory and practice from local knowledge that advances their college's mission relating to diversity. (Contains 1 note.)… [PDF] [Direct]
(2019). Racist Nativist Microaggressions and the Professional Resistance of Racialized English Language Teachers in Toronto. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v22 n3 p374-390. English language teaching upholds racist nativist notions that competent teachers are white native speakers of English born in majority-white countries. These notions manifest when international students, expecting to be taught by these speakers, are skeptical about having a racialized instructor, who may be seen as non-native to English and the nation where it is natively spoken. Rather than overt, this skepticism may appear in the form of microaggressions. Informed by critical race and resistance theories, this article uses interviews with 10 racialized teachers in Toronto, Canada to detail the racist nativist microaggressions that they experience at work and their professional resistance strategies that combat these microaggressions. The findings describe the following microaggressions: interrogations of the teachers' nativeness, insinuations of their foreignness to English, and behavioral indications that they are 'invading' the classroom. Their professional resistance either… [Direct]
(2016). (Im)migrant Voices: An Ethnographic Inquiry into Contemporary (Im)migrant Issues Faced by (Im)migrant University Students. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Arizona State University. This dissertation examines contemporary issues that 18 (im)migrant university students faced during a time of highly militarized U.S.-Mexico border relations while living in Arizona during the time of this dissertation research. Utilizing critical race theory and public sphere theory as theoretical frameworks, the project addresses several related research questions. The first is how did (im)migrant university students describe their (im)migrant experience while they lived in the U.S. and studied at a large southwestern university? Second, what can (im)migrant university student experiences tell us about (im)migrant issues? Third, what do (im)migrant university students want people to know about (im)migration from reading their story? Three conceptual constructs, each composed of three categories, that described the different (im)migrant experiences in this study emerged through data analysis. The first of these conceptual constructs was the "racialized/ing (im)migrant… [Direct]
(2013). A Political Investment: Revisiting Race and Racism in the Research Process. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, v34 n4 p492-509. This paper draws upon a two-year Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded study into the educational strategies of the black middle classes to examine the role of race and racism in the research process. Specifically, it explores how my political positioning and experiences of racism, as a black female scholar, shaped not only my engagement with the research but also how I was perceived and positioned by others. This is analysed in terms of three areas: the recruitment and identification of research participants, the interview process and the dissemination of the project findings. While consideration of the researcher's race and racial politics tended to run parallel to or quietly intersect with the project development, fieldwork and analysis, it is argued that these factors, in actuality, play a significant and highly informative role in shaping a broader, nuanced conceptualisation of race and racism that is too often silenced and neglected in race research and the academy… [Direct]
(2013). From Model Minorities to Disposable Models: The De-Legitimisation of Educational Success through Discourses of Authenticity. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, v34 n4 p548-561. This article explores teachers' use of discourses of authenticity in relation to minoritised students, with a focus on the relationship between these discourses and "model minority" status. The paper aims to advance the critical thinking about "model minorities" in the education system in England by examining the diversity of identity positions and minoritised groups that can be constituted as belonging to this category in different contexts. It is argued that in England there is "intelligible space" for some students from the Afghan and Kosovan communities to be constituted as "model minorities", alongside the Chinese and Indian communities usually identified with this term, with similar links made between the home lives of students and their educational attainment. However, this status carries with it racist assumptions about students' motivation, and the perception of high attainment as inauthentic and therefore illegitimate. Building on… [Direct]
(2009). What Can New Literacy Studies Offer to the Teaching of Struggling Readers?. Reading Teacher, v63 n1 p88-90 Sep. A case study of one student is used to explore three instructional approaches that draw teachers' attention to reading as a social experience that involves culture and identity. These approaches draw on New Literacy Studies, children's media practices, and critical race theory and provide insights on how to better serve struggling readers…. [Direct]