(2024). Addressing Challenges of African American Students in an Alabama HBCC Hospitality Program. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Tennessee State University. This qualitative dissertation explored the challenges faced by African American students in a Career and Technical Education (CTE) Hospitality Program at a Historically Black Community College (HBCC) in Alabama. Framed by Social-Identity Theory, Critical Race Theory, and the Inclusive Excellence Framework, the study addressed the underrepresentation of African Americans in management roles within the Hospitality and Tourism industry (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020). Using purposive sampling and in-depth interviews with students, faculty, and administrators, the research identified structural, cultural, and academic barriers–such as educational disparities, limited networking, resource inequalities, and unconscious biases in hiring and promotion–that hindered student success. While culturally supportive environments were present, participants highlighted gaps in institutional resources and industry partnerships needed for career advancement, underscoring the need for stronger… [Direct]
(2024). Sociocultural Competence for Racial Justice in Dual Language Programs: Dismantling (Mis)Conceptions of Race. Urban Review: Issues and Ideas in Public Education, v56 n1 p59-82. Research on the inequities present within dual language (DL) programs demonstrates that these programs are not immune from the racial stratification prevalent in the United States. Despite intentions to center justice for minoritized students in DL programs, unexamined ideologies among educators can inadvertently perpetuate the existing status quo. Given this context, the incorporation of critical consciousness and critical-racial consciousness has been put forth as additional goals of DL education. Through a theoretical framework grounded in critical race theory, this study investigates the race-related ideologies held by Latinx educators. The study explores how these ideologies influence their conceptualization and implementation of sociocultural competence, a key goal of DL education. This analysis takes place within the context of a one-way/developmental transitional kindergarten through eighth grade DL school situated along the US-Mexico border in Southern California. Conducting… [Direct]
(2024). Voicing Perspectives: Examining the Racialized Experiences of Black Men Who Have Exited the Student Affairs Profession in Higher Education. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Wayne State University. Researchers have discussed the significance of Black male educators in secondary and post-secondary education for decades. While there is extensive research on the impact of Black male teachers, education administrators, and those in the professoriate, there is a noticeable gap concerning the experiences of Black male student affairs staff in higher education. This qualitative study fills that void by analyzing the experiences of Black male student affairs professionals who have transitioned out of the higher education profession at American universities within the past decade. This research utilizes counter-storytelling as its methodology to offer fresh insights and alternative viewpoints. Employing Critical Race Theory as the primary analytical framework provides a comprehensive understanding of the racialized experiences of Black men in the student affairs profession. Additionally, this research examines these experiences' impact on Black men's career trajectories, uncovering… [Direct]
(2024). African American Adolescent Suicidality and Prevention from an Urban School Counselor Perspective. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Eastern Michigan University. African American adolescent suicidality has become more prevalent, and urban school counselors are positioned uniquely to intervene. This research studied the overarching societal factors in the sociocultural, economic, and political spheres that influence increased suicidality behaviors in African American adolescents from the perspective of urban school counselors. The focus of this research was to hear the lived experiences of urban school counselors regarding the impact of racial discrimination on African American adolescent suicidality. The two theoretical frameworks that were used to support this study are the world-systems analysis theory and critical race theory. This study took a qualitative phenomenological approach that virtually interviewed seven school counselors that serve students in urban school settings. The interviews obtained information from the urban school counselor's perspective on how race influenced suicidality in the real-life stories of adolescents they… [Direct]
(2024). Leading towards Racial Justice: Counterstories of TK-12 Latinx Men Administrators. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Chapman University. More than half of all students in public schools identify as Students of Color. However, there is an underrepresentation of PreKindergarten (PK)-12 Administrators of Color in public schools, including Latinx men administrators. Furthermore, the literature on the experiences and leadership practices of PK-12 Administrators of Color has mostly been on Women of Color and has utilized a phenomenology or case study research design. Therefore, this study sought to address these gaps in the literature by examining the experiences and leadership practices of Transitional Kindergarten (TK)-12 Latinx Men Administrators by centering their voices. This study utilized a Latinx Critical Race Theory framework, a Critical Race CounterStorytelling, and Narrative Inquiry methodology as a lens to examine the educational, life experiences, and leadership practices of TK-12 Latinx Men Administrators in an in-depth and meaningful way. The counterstories of this study derived from individual,… [Direct]
(2024). Challenges Black Males Face at Predominantly White Institutions. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Walden University. The problem is that Black males in higher education have declining retention and graduation rates compared to other ethnic groups. Over the past two decades, Black males have declined in enrollment, retention, and graduation rates. Colleges and universities have struggled to attract, keep, and graduate Black male students, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent research has shown that Black male students have experienced the most challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today's educators and practitioners have emphasized the need to do more to keep Black male students and help them complete college. Framed by Critical Race Theory, this study investigated first-generation–, third-, fourth-year Black male students' perceptions and experiences attending predominantly White institutions (PWIs). This qualitative research study employed one-on-one, in-depth interviews to understand Black males' challenges and obstacles to attending PWIs. With many racial challenges, the results… [Direct]
(2024). "All Students Matter": The Place of Race in Discourse on Student Debt in a Federal Higher Education Policymaking Process. Teachers College Record, v126 n2 p147-182. Background: Nearly two decades have passed since the last successful reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Since then, student loan debt and the accumulation patterns based on race have become a pressing issue to address in U.S. society. Purpose: Student debt is one of the key issues on the federal higher education policy agenda. The purpose of this paper is to examine how race is addressed in a congressional hearing held to discuss the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Specifically, we examined one congressional policy markup hearing to understand how members frame student debt and the racialized dynamics embedded within. Research Design: We combined critical race theory and racial frames to discursively analyze 14 hours of congressional hearings on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Through critical discourse analysis, we interrogated the racialized discourse among policymakers as they proposed solutions and alternatives to address the issue of… [Direct]
(2016). Using Critical Race Theory to Explore Race-Based Conversations through a Critical Family Book Club. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, v65 n1 p300-315 Nov. Stemming from my personal encounter with what I consider a racial affliction imposed by a White female teacher, I provide a glimpse of my racial narrative as a young Black male to illustrate a reference point for thinking through how racism functions in homes and schools. It touches on the importance of race-based conversations within school and out of school spaces. In this article, I illustrate the creation of a "critical" relationship between parents, youth, and educators in that I used a critical family book club as a mechanism for engaging parents and students in discussions about race and racism. Drawing from interviews, memos, field notes, and other forms of research data, I analyze participants' experiences with race, racism, and power. I conclude with the pedagogical possibilities of enacting critical race pedagogy and critical family book clubs in K-12 spaces…. [Direct]
(2020). A Seat at the Kitchen Table: The Lived Experiences of Black Female Preservice Teachers in an Urban Education Cohort. Equity & Excellence in Education, v53 n3 p342-364. The authors of this qualitative study provided Black female preservice teachers in an urban cohort at a predominantly white institution a seat at the kitchen table to share their racialized and gendered experiences. The research questions centered around the experiences of Black female preservice teachers, their participation in anti-racist spaces, and the role of critical for teacher educator programs in coursework and program development. The authors drew on Critical Race Theory and Critical Race Feminism as theoretical frameworks. Findings include the cultivation of sisterhood based on multi-layered identities and experiences, how the participants navigate racial fatigue on and off campus, and how the participants embody an intergenerational alliance between them and Black faculty members. Implications for practice are included…. [Direct]
(2020). Countering White Dominance in an Independent Elementary School: Black Parents Use Community Cultural Wealth to Navigate "Private School Speak". Journal of Negro Education, v89 n3 p312-327 Sum. This case study uses critical race theory to examine Black parents' perceptions of their children's academic experiences in grades K-5 at a private, secular, predominantly White school. While they appreciated the school, many parents were worried about communication related to their children's academic performance, and to access to, and necessity for, academic tutoring. Underlying their concern was a fear about Black children being asked to leave the school. Parents drew upon community cultural wealth and adopted racial realist views to navigate these concerns. Race and class intersected in the ways parents perceived and responded to their experiences. The study reveals how the school systemically disadvantaged Black students. The authors suggest how teachers and administrators can disrupt practices that contribute to White dominance…. [Direct]
(2020). The Paradox of a Credit-Recovery Program: Alleviating and Exacerbating Racial Inequity. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v23 n6 p784-799. This ethnographic case study examines how a racial equity-focused effort was contested and undermined by analyzing classroom observations and interviews with three teachers who worked in a credit-recovery program. Drawing on Critical Race Theory's (CRT) whiteness as property and restrictive equality analytical lenses, this article illustrates that although the credit-recovery program was created to offer struggling Black students support and to address racialized academic disparities between Black and White students, it actually exacerbated racial inequity. Findings demonstrate that White parental demands, institutional practices, and meritocratic ideology combined to simultaneously advantage White students and disadvantage Black students. This article shines light on ways equity efforts are refashioned to support racial inequalities. The article concludes with implications for research and practice…. [Direct]
(2020). " °Ya Basta!" Countering the Effects of Neoliberal Reform on an Urban Turnaround High School. American Educational Research Journal, v57 n4 p1868-1906 Aug. This article provides an account of the ways in which students and adult supporters of an urban turnaround high school mobilized to defy the rhetoric of neoliberal reforms and the subsequent deficit narrative imposed on them and on their school. Their counternarratives refute the master narratives advanced by federal and state educational reforms. The current rationale of neoliberal reforms and the disabling terminology used to construct the identity of a school and the individuals associated with the school are interrogated through the theoretical framework of Dis/ability Critical Race Theory. An alternative approach and philosophy of thought regarding school reform and the ways in which we define the worth and value of a school, its students, and the larger community is offered…. [Direct]
(2020). 'Same Old Story, Just a Different Policy': Race and Policy Making in Higher Education in the UK. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v23 n4 p530-547. Evidence suggests that Black and minority ethnic (BME) students and staff continue to be disadvantaged in higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK. Policy making has been introduced to specifically address such inequalities. This article draws on critical policy analysis and 45 interviews to explore the impact of the recently introduced Race Equality Charter (REC) as a measure to address such inequalities. By using principles of Critical Race Theory (CRT), we argue that racism continues to play a key role in the experiences of BME groups in HEIs and policy making. Consequently, the enactment of policy making on race through the REC works to benefit HEIs by adhering to White normative practices and behaviours which contribute to a system which reinforces and perpetuates White privilege…. [Direct]
(2020). The Role of a Black Church-School Partnership in Supporting the Educational Achievement of African American Students. School Community Journal, v30 n1 p161-189. Despite efforts of educators across the nation, African American students in the United States underperform their peers and experience graduation rates lower than any other ethnicity. The purpose of this case study was to gain an understanding, through the lenses of social learning theory (SLT) and critical race theory (CRT), of how a partnership between a Black church and an urban high school supports the achievement of African American students. Findings, consistent with the literature on the Black church's foundation, include the importance of relationships, equity, community, and commitment. Implications include the partnership's positive influence on student educational outcomes by meeting student needs of relationship and community. Interest convergence and counterstorytelling, tenets of CRT, are used to explain student success and support provided through partnership efforts…. [PDF]
(2020). The Cost of Being Professors and Administrators of Color in Predominantly White Institutions: Unpacking Microagression, Isolation, Exclusion, and Unfairness through a Critical Race Lens. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, v14 n2 p117-132. Teaching in predominantly white institutions is a terrific challenge for professors of color. In addition to being expected to fulfill professional obligations, including publishing, teaching, advising, and mentoring students, professors of color constantly have to fight against microaggression, lack of diversity, inclusion, and fairness in the academy. Drawing on critical race theory and testimonios from professors of color from diverse backgrounds, this essay seeks to examine ways in which these professors have experienced these intersecting forms of oppression in the academy. Their testimonios showcase their resilient spirit resisting institutional oppression. This essay presents a very complex portrait of the experiences of professors of color and goes on to offer suggestions that might be helpful to those interested in social justice issues in higher education…. [Direct]