(2012). Standing on a Strong Foundation of Servitude: The 1960's Civil Rights Movement, Septima Clark and Other South Carolina African American Women Educators. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Union Institute and University. This research study examines nine African American women educators during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina. Additionally, the study conducts an analogous study of the lifeworks and contributions of Septima Clark, an African American woman educator who made significant community activist contributions during this period. For its research methodology, the study utilized the qualitative research methodology of oral history which involves in-depth interviewing as the primary method of data gathering. The research which utilized semi-structured open-ended interviews was guided by the following key questions: 1) How did the experiences of the Civil Rights Movement matter to you as a woman and African American person?; 2) What did it mean for you to be part of the civil rights struggle?; 3) How did the 1960s matter to you?; 4) How did South Carolina matter? Black feminist theory, Critical Race Theory (CRT), and Critical Pedagogy provided the theoretical and analytical bases… [Direct]
(2012). What's the Point? Anti-Racism and Students' Voices against Islamophobia. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v15 n1 p101-120. In a climate of Islamophobic racism, where media racism saturates our TV screens and newspapers, where racism on the streets, on campus, in our community become everyday realities, I ask, what can we–teachers, lecturers and educationalists–do in the work of anti-racism in education? This article examines classroom debates on Islamophobia by exploring the connections between student experiences and the wider social political issues and ideologies that create and re-enforce racism. The underlying interest for me is to examine the ways in which classroom interaction; dialogue and exchanges can undo racist thinking by informed anti-racist critique. This article has three sections; first, I discuss the multicultural and anti-racist discourses within education in the British context. I then go on to explore theoretical developments found in Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a tool for this anti-racism in education. In the second section I examine Islamophobia, the hatred of Muslims, as a… [Direct]
(2012). "Buried Alive": The Psychoanalysis of Racial Absence in Preparedness/Education. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v15 n1 p43-63. Based on extracts from an ethnography produced during the ESRC 2009-10 research project, ""Preparedness Pedagogies" and Race: An Interdisciplinary Approach," this article explores the racialized culture of civil defence in the UK whilst also critiquing the world of higher education. The ethnographic artefacts of interviews, observations of preparedness role play around fictional character, and of professionals' live reminiscence of emergency, are explored through the lens of the psychoanalytical construction of being "buried alive"; Critical Race Theory (CRT) conceptions of policy constitution of a social world that imprisons the non-white citizen and the other are seen, in this article, as enshrined in this construction. Freud's "The Uncanny" encompasses the psychology of being "buried alive," and one conception of this is seen as a state akin to life in the womb, a strange place of safety. In contrast I use two CRT narratives of… [Direct]
(2014). African American Parent Involvement in Special Education: Perceptions, Practice, and Placement. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of California, San Diego. The disproportional representation of Black students in special education has been an issue of concern for many years in the United States. A review of the literature illustrates the struggle of African American children in the American educational system: from the Civil Rights Movement and desegregation to the re-segregation of these same children into special day classrooms. What the literature fails to report is how parental involvement might help educators address the problem of overrepresentation and the perceptions of the families who are affected by their children being placed in special educational settings. The purpose of this study was to describe and analyze the experiences and perceptions of African American parents who have male children receiving special education services in schools. Critical race theory was utilized as a framework to examine and challenge the manner in which race and racism impacts practices and procedures by school personnel dealing with African… [Direct]
(2013). Rubrics as a Mitigating Instrument for Bias in the Grading of Student Writing. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Walden University. The practice of grading student writing often seems arbitrary and unfair to students. It is important to students and educators that writing is fairly and accurately assessed in order to facilitate demonstrable improvement in their composition. This research addressed a specific writing rubric as a method to mitigate implicit or subconscious biases before it could affect the grading process. The study was grounded in critical race theory, which in part states that certain kinds of biases are normal, but can be interpreted negatively by those affected. This experimental design first tested for name bias. This research also compared a writing rubric against a simple grading scale to test for bias mitigation. In this 2X3 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) design, 82 middle school teachers were given the same middle school-level essay to grade. Half were given a specific writing rubric to use while grading; the others were given only a simple grading scale. Two different student names were… [Direct]
(2012). Student and School Characteristics: Factors Contributing to African American Overrepresentation for Defiance. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Indiana University. This study addresses the use of suspension and expulsion for defiant behavior. It examines the contributions of student and/or school characteristics and their relationship to suspension and expulsion for defiance, specifically focusing on African Americans. The purpose of this study is to examine factors that lead to students being suspended or expelled for defiance. Hierarchical linear modeling is used to examine three research questions; holding all other variables constant: (1) Are student characteristics, including socioeconomic status, race, or student achievement associated with suspension and expulsion of students for defiance? (2) Are school characteristics, including number of students by race, school free and reduced lunch percentage, teacher experience, locale, or dropout rate associated with suspension and expulsion of students for defiance? (3) Is the teacher racial makeup of a school associated with students being suspended or expelled for defiance? The Critical Race… [Direct]
(2012). Spirituality as a Viable Resource in Responding to Racial Microaggressions: An Exploratory Study of Black Males Who Attended a Community College. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of Massachusetts Boston. Upon entering college, Black males must negotiate a system that assumes they are in need of academic remediation and are lacking in higher-order critical thinking skills (Washington, 1996; Brown II, 2002; Harper, 2012). The low enrollment levels of Black males in college and their disenchantment with their college experiences has increased the likelihood that they will not be in classrooms with a diverse student population and a climate where they could feel comfortable (NSSE, 2008; Harper, 2006A; Harper, 2012). Black males who have enrolled in college must shoulder the stresses that accompany perceptions and stereotypes on campus about who they are (Washington, 1996) and can expect to encounter racial microaggressions: the verbal, nonverbal, or visual insults directed at people of color (Solorzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2002). I proposed that spirituality may provide Black males with the tools they need to succeed in college and mitigate the effects of racial microaggressions. The… [Direct]
(2009). From Negro Student to Black Superintendent: Counternarratives on Segregation and Desegregation. Journal of Negro Education, v78 n2 p172-187 Spr. The purpose of this study is to document the segregated schooling reflections of Black school superintendents and explore how those experiences informed their educational philosophies in the post-desegregation era. Critical race theory is used as a methodological and analytical framework to present participants' reflections of living in segregated communities, going to all Black schools, working to meet the high expectations of parents and teachers, and how those realities shaped their self-concept as Negro students. Study findings support the growing body of literature on valued segregated schools and negative consequences of desegregation on the education of Black students, but its significance lies in the uniquely informed perspectives of the Black school superintendent. It concludes with a discussion of implications for the future of Black education. (Contains 1 table.)… [Direct]
(2009). Latcrit Educational Leadership and Advocacy: Struggling over Whiteness as Property in Texas School Finance. Equity & Excellence in Education, v42 n2 p183-201. In this article, the author seeks to re-imagine the political and policy roles of educational leaders of color, offering an alternative method for educational leadership, advocacy, and policy analysis. The author uses critical race theory (CRT) and Latina/o critical (LatCrit) theory to problematize the way politically-active Mexican American educational leaders used personal and professional experiences to conceptualize racism and organize politically in the context of the debate over school finance equity in Texas. The findings suggest that a prevalent negation of critical raced leadership, analysis, and advocacy among the participants disadvantages Latina/o communities and de-legitimizes Latina/o political voices. The author envisions an alternative educational leadership framework centered on LatCrit theory's call for contextualized, historical, and critical analysis. (Contains 1 table and 7 notes.)… [Direct]
(2011). Race, Culture and All that: An Exploration of the Perspectives of White Secondary Student Teachers about Race Equality Issues in Their Initial Teacher Education. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v14 n3 p351-364. This research explores the racialised perceptions of White students teachers who are preparing to teach in secondary schools in a diverse society. Student teachers' views about Black and minority ethnic (BME) pupils are often cast in the language of otherness. This research was conducted in a post-1992 university in the south of England where the majority of students on initial teacher education (ITE) programmes are White, which reflects the ethnicity of serving teachers in England (95.5% of whom are White). In England all student teachers are required to fulfil the Professional Standards for Qualified Teacher Status 2007 which incorporates statements on the understanding of cultural and linguistic issues. It could be argued that the inclusion of such standards would result in student teachers who are competent in these aspects. But this is not borne out in the annual survey of newly qualified teachers. This research draws on critical race theory as a theoretical framework to analyse… [Direct]
(2014). Scripted Curriculum: What Movies Teach about Dis/ability and Black Males. Teachers College Record, v116 n4. Background/Context: Tropes of dis/ability in the movies and master-narratives of Black males in education and society are typically treated in isolation. Furthermore, education research on Hollywood movies has typically focused on portrayals of schools, principals, and teachers even though education professionals are exposed to a broader range of movies. Analyses of dis/ability tropes in the media also tend to ignore how they work in multiples and intersect with narratives of other social identities such as race and gender. Focus of Study: This article examines the complexity of portrayals of Black (dis/abled) males that are scripted through dis/ability tropes and master-narratives of race and gender. Trends in these portrayals are juxtaposed with literature on how Black, (dis/abled) male students are treated in schools and society. Research Design: Critical media analysis is combined with the social model perspective of dis/ability to explore the lessons that movies provide… [Direct]
(2010). Overcoming Being in a Nadir: The Harsh Realities of a Society Created for Whites. Online Submission, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Educational Research Association (EERA) (Savannah, GA, Feb 10-13, 2010). Notwithstanding that Critical Race Theory (CRT) is currently in its second decade of existence, it is not and has never been something extraordinary–insofar as racism is something that has always been with us. Rather, CRT is a bona fide and avant-garde movement that leads to praxis–explicitly and courageously speaking to the injustices that prohibit people of color from exercising freedoms that whites have come to enjoy–that emancipates oppressed persons from a life of destituteness. CRT has been examined and dissected in many books, reports, studies, and articles. This is not one of them. Rather, this article examines how majoritarian society stations people of color in a nadir; thus, requiring a forward-thinking and fundamental change of society's beliefs, attitudes, and conceptions. This article draws from a fountain of postmodern-critical work and attempts to be non-tautological insofar as it makes a clarion call for reform and work to be done to emancipate and to enlighten… [PDF]
(2010). Considering Race and Space: Mapping Developmental Approaches for Providing Culturally Responsive Advising. Equity & Excellence in Education, v43 n3 p294-309. This exploratory essay critically examines how social relations structure the production of space on a college campus. In particular, we analyze how the organization of one particular site–the student advising office at a southeastern university–calls attention to the relationship between race and space in ways that re-inscribe narrow definitions of academic advising that are tied to the larger context of the universities and that continue to exclude students of color. Consequently, through this article, we use the university academic advising office as an example of a reified racialized space. To this end, by applying Henri Lefebvre's (1991) concept of critical geography, discourse analysis, and critical race theory to a specific advising session between a black advisor and a black student, we provide a lens to analyze this norming of space within the constraints of a prescriptive approach to advising. The results from our inquiry suggest that institutional interpretations of race… [Direct]
(2009). Race-ing through the School Day: African American Educators' Experiences with Race and Racism in Schools. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v22 n6 p671-685 Nov. This article examines the ways African American educators experience themselves as raced individuals in their school settings and explores their perceptions of racial discrimination, subordination, and isolation. For this study, five African American educators participated in in-depth phenomenological interviews. Qualitative data analysis of their stories revealed seven major thematic experiences: (1) hyper-visibility/invisibility; (2) intersecting identities; (3) challenging assumptions; (4) challenges to authority; (5) pigeonholing; (6) presumptions of failure, and (7) coping fatigue. The study confirms several tenets of critical race theory including the assertion that racism is not aberrant, but endemic and permanent in American society, and routinely exists in public schools. The study further suggests that those most directly positioned to bring about necessary, concrete change aimed at addressing racial discrimination and prejudice in schools are building-level administrators…. [Direct]
(2010). Educational and Socio-Cultural Experiences of Immigrant Students in South African Schools. Education Inquiry, v1 n4 p347-365. The advent of democracy and the easing of both legal and unauthorised entry to South Africa have made the country a new destination for Black asylum-seekers, long-distance traders, entrepreneurs, students and professionals. As this population continues to grow, its children have begun to experience South African schools in an array of uniquely challenging ways. In addition to opening their doors to all South African children irrespective of race, colour or creed, most public schools in South Africa have also opened their doors to a number of Black immigrant children. There is, however, very little research on the socio-cultural experiences of Black immigrant students within the "dominant institutional cultures" of schools. Accordingly, this study asks what are the educational and socio-cultural experiences of Black immigrant students in South African schools? To what extent has the ethos of these schools been transformed towards integration in the truest sense and how do… [Direct]