(2023). Elementary School Educators' Perceptions of Discipline Policies and the Overrepresentation of Discipline Outcomes in Urban Settings. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Lincoln Memorial University. Since the formation of schools, schools have developed ways of understanding discipline and ensuring a safe and orderly environment. Governmental personnel began to influence local school policies beginning in 1989, with United States President Ronald Reagan's "War on Drugs" campaign. This led to the creation and development of zero-tolerance policies. School districts implemented zero-tolerance policies, which helped lead to the overrepresentation of discipline outcomes (i.e., punishment) among certain demographics. Following the Critical Race Theory theoretical framework, I interviewed 12 participants to determine their perceptions of discipline policies and the overrepresentation of discipline outcomes in urban settings. My participants included elementary principals and teachers across two large urban school districts across Tennessee. After interviewing 12 participants, I determined two things: elementary school teachers perceived the success of discipline practices… [Direct]
(2023). Factors Influencing Participation in University Honors Programs for Undergraduate Students of Color. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, California State University, Long Beach. Students of color in the United States participate in undergraduate honors programs at lower rates than their White counterparts. Prior research suggests that students of color do not participate in honors programs for a variety of reasons. Using critical race theory and community cultural wealth as a conceptual framework, I sought to understand the factors that influence students' participation in an undergraduate honors program and how students of color experience that program. A cross-sectional nonexperimental design was used to analyze data from two California State University undergraduate honors programs. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to determine differences in transfer status, first-generation status, PK-12 donors experience, undergraduate support programs, involvement in extracurricular activities, and undergraduate research experience. Factors influencing honors participation rates were also analyzed to determine potential differences between students of… [Direct]
(2023). Why Seek Help for Mental Health? Understanding Lived Experiences and Help-Seeking Behavior of Black Students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Oklahoma State University. This research study employs a qualitative approach to explore the mental health concerns and help-seeking behavior of Black college students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Previous research has highlighted cultural barriers that hinder Black students from accessing or utilizing mental health services, but recent evidence suggests a growing trend of increased help-seeking rates. Nevertheless, limited empirical work exists in understanding their lived experiences, their ability to overcome these barriers, and their motivation to seek assistance. To address this research gap, a qualitative interpretive study was conducted, using a Critical Race Theory (CRT) framework to examine the help-seeking experiences of 10 Black college students at HBCUs. By employing in-depth interviews and participant drawings, this study explores the reasons behind these students' decisions to seek mental health support while on campus and the factors influencing their… [Direct]
(2023). "I'm Now Always Thinking about Math": Exploring Mathematics Identities, Beliefs, and Lived Experiences through YPAR. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, City University of New York Hunter College. This youth participatory action research (YPAR) study employing survey and case study design sought to explore and document the influence of YPAR participation on Black and Latine high school students' perceptions of their mathematics identity development, what they learned about their peers' and their own mathematics perceptions and lived experiences, and their recommendations for change in their own school and mathematics education in general. Eight high school participants were invited to engage in 12 YPAR study sessions that drew on the literature of mathematics identity, equity in mathematics education, and YPAR and were grounded in a theoretical framework including culturally sustaining pedagogy, critical race theory in mathematics education, and situated expectancy-value theory. Data were collected through pre-study and post-study surveys, post-study semi-structured interviews, participant artifacts, field notes, and memos. Findings indicated that participation in YPAR and the… [Direct]
(2023). White Parent and Caregiver Perceptions of, and Resistance to, Equity and Anti-Racism Work in an Independent School. Teachers College Record, v125 n7-8 p77-109. Background: Between early 2020 and today, our society has experienced a distressing global pandemic, horrifying brutalities committed against BIPOC individuals and communities, uprisings for racial justice, and a violent attack on our nation's capital. While these events and phenomena have been challenging and traumatic, they have also inspired calls for equity-focused action within and beyond schools. Purpose: Many schools have intensified their diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and anti-racism (DEIJA) work by revising their curricula, providing equity-focused professional development for educators, offering extracurricular programs like affinity and accountability spaces for BIPOC and white students, and many other initiatives. However, this work has occurred against a contentious backdrop, including parent and caregiver resistance to DEIJA work and attacks on schools for allegedly teaching critical race theory. Research Design: Between the summer of 2020 and the spring of… [Direct]
(2023). What's It Like for Them? A Phenomenological Inquiry into the Lived Experiences of Pre-Tenure, Racially/Ethnically Underrepresented Faculty at Minority Serving Institutions. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of Pennsylvania. Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) have boasted our nation's most diverse faculties for decades and yet, there is much we do not know about the experiences of these faculty. Departing from the assumption that diverse faculty encounter the same challenges and triumphs as diverse faculty at PWIs, this study sought to capture the voices and lived experiences of pre-tenure, racially/ethnically underrepresented faculty navigating the tenure and promotion process at MSIs. This phenomenological study relied on Critical Race Theory (CRT) as its theoretical framework to examine the pre-tenure experiences of 22 racially/ethnically underrepresented faculty members who worked at federally designated MSIs and were within the first five years of their faculty careers. Findings revealed that participants generally felt empowered by their alignment with their institution's mission and values, experiencing a sense of purpose. Key to their experiences were their relationships with students, peers,… [Direct]
(2023). Curricular Control: Student Agency and the Teaching and Learning of Controversial Topics. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Concordia University Irvine. Since the inception of public education in the United States, members of the public have fought for control over what is taught to students and how concepts are presented. Public education lies continually in the crosshairs of politics and polemics related to issues ranging from prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance to language teaching and the inclusivity of transgender students. Culturally relevant teaching, while extolled by seasoned educators, is often branded as critical race theory by opponents of cultural awareness and sensitivity in schools. This study focuses on the history of such polemics as well as the decision-making process for social sciences curricula. It examines teachers' beliefs surrounding students' agency and the attitudes surrounding the teaching of controversial topics. The data revealed that the longer teachers have been in the profession, the less likely they are to be confident in their students' ability to think critically. Political affiliation impacted… [Direct]
(2023). Womxn Faculty of Color: Education Activism on the Frontline of Converging Pandemics. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, California State University, Sacramento. Quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic cause learning environments to shift into virtual spaces. Faculty held the frontline through multiple surges in virus, social unrest demanding justice and equity for the global health crisis, and the continuous legalized killing of Black and Brown folx. Researchers around the globe have since documented experience and impact in education, there is little documentation of the working realities of womxn faculty of color teaching and learning during quarantine. This ontological study was conducted to document the collaborative narratives of womxn faculty of color highlighting their knowledge, experiences, and strategies. Critical race theory was used as an interpretive framework to name and describe metastatic racism within higher education. In addition to equitable strategies, three actionable policy and practice areas emerged from the data: education needs to be better prepared in the future by equipping faulty to be excellent online educators;… [Direct]
(2020). "I Didn't Wanna Believe It Was a Race Issue": Student Teaching Experiences of Preservice Teachers of Color. Urban Review: Issues and Ideas in Public Education, v52 n3 p435-457 Sep. Teacher education scholars are increasingly calling for critical theories to unearth how diverse histories are silenced in teacher education. Employing critical theories to study student teaching experiences is of particular importance because placements are considered a vital component of new teacher preparation. In this study, we utilize Critical Race Theory to examine the student teaching experiences of preservice teachers of color in a graduate-level teacher education program committed to diversifying the teacher force. Through interview "testimonios," participants revealed racialized experiences and described how they responded to and resisted racism within their student teaching placements. Racial, nativist and religious microaggressions left them feeling invisible, hypervisible, disrespected, and stereotyped by the very teachers responsible for mentoring and guiding them into the teaching profession. We share "testimonio" narratives that illustrate the… [Direct]
(2022). An Exploration of Women of Color Navigating Intersectionality in STEM Programs. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Trident University International. Diversity initiatives must include the voices and influence of more individuals of marginalized identities (Honor Culture, 2020). Previous research initiatives have proven that Women of Color in higher education STEM programs experience frequent prejudice against their race, gender, and culture. This doctoral study explores the phenomenology of Women of Color and their pursuit of earning a STEM degree. The research study was written using a qualitative dissertation format which includes four chapters. The following is a synopsis of the topics that can be found in each chapter. Chapter one includes the introduction and the purpose of the study topic, a statement of the problem, an examination of theoretical frameworks, the significance of the study, and key terminology. Chapter two is the literature review that focuses on historical and current events on belonging, intersectionality, and privilege. Chapter three examines the intersectional experiences of professors and students. The… [Direct]
(2020). Dreaming Revolutionary Futures: Critical Race's Centrality to Ending White Supremacy. Communications in Information Literacy, v14 n1 Article 2 p12-26. "Critical Library Instruction: Theories and Methods" dangerously lacked a centering, and critique, of white supremacy, as a structure of domination; we see the continuation of that active avoidance, or a progress approach through liberal or multicultural frameworks that do not precisely identify roots of racialized oppression, in critical librarianship currently. In this essay, we reject progress narratives depicting the profession as having arrived, or even moved further, to a critical space, paying particular close attention to the absence of white supremacy, not only in the text "Critical Library Instruction: Theories and Methods" but in critical library instruction. We then explore our teaching and learning experiences against, and through, white supremacy–while interrogating, and responding to critical library instruction–by drawing on critical race theory, emergent strategy, and cultural and race-centered pedagogies that offer humanizing and sustaining… [PDF]
(2020). The Emotionality of Whiteness in Physical Education Teacher Education. 2020 National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education Hally Beth Poindexter Young Scholar Address. Quest, v72 n2 p167-184. The physical education teacher education (PETE) pipeline makes it clear to historically racially minoritized pre-service teachers the value of White norms and experiences while simultaneously "othering" their cultural knowledge. Using Critical Race Theory, Critical Whiteness Studies, and emotionality as theoretical frameworks, this visual narrative inquiry explored self-identified Black and Latinx pre-service physical education teachers' (n = 10) stories of a racialized identity within predominantly White PETE programs as well as the emotionality of whiteness for myself as a White researcher and teacher educator. I utilized narrative-based semi-structured and conversational interviews, along with photo-elicitation, as methods of data collection. The results contrast participants' experiences of normalized racism with my heightened emotions of shock and dismay, shedding light on my own white emotionality toward racism. The critical examination of the emotions of whiteness… [Direct]
(2020). Assessing Police Violence and Bias against Black U.S. Americans: Development and Validation of the Beliefs about Law Enforcement Scale. Journal of Social Work Education, v56 n4 p664-682. Measurement of U.S. American community members' perceptions of police historically has failed to assess police bias, violence, and accountability in Black communities. Rooted in critical race theory, conflict theory, and a substantial corpus of self-reported survey research methodology, the present study describes the development of the Beliefs About Law Enforcement (BALE) scale. Guided by a multidisciplinary and multiracial panel, whose members possess the requisite substantive and methodological expertise, BALE scale items were constructed and factor analytic techniques were performed using a purposive sample of 288 MSW, BSW, and undergraduate child and family study students. Exploratory factor analysis was used to assess the factor structure of the original 18-item BALE scale (Model 1). A subsequent confirmatory factor analysis yielded indexes indicating that the fit for the second order 15-item model was improved (Model 2) as compared to Model 1. The BALE scale achieved good… [Direct]
(2020). Co-Constructing Co-Constructing a Liberated/Decolonised Arts Curriculum. Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, v17 n2 Article 9. This article presents a case study of liberating reading lists through a staff-student collaboration in a UK arts university. It characterizes reading lists as a familiar but under researched feature of academic life and discusses their practical and symbolic role in maintaining Western/Eurocentric/White disciplinary canons, and how they inform what it means to be 'well read' in a discipline. The collaborative project, which was initiated as Liberate the Curriculum work, brought together students, academic staff and librarians to audit and review reading lists, and reimagine them to represent multiple narratives, reflecting the diverse and international student population of the university. The article explores the challenges of auditing reading lists and identifying more diverse resources, and the complex relationships between identity and knowledge production. The authors use Critical Race Theory to comment on the relationship between race, colonialism and the arts, and how racism… [PDF]
(2020). Disrupting Curriculum of Violence on Asian Americans. Review of Education, Pedagogy & Cultural Studies, v42 n2 p141-156. The daily encounters of explicit, implicit, direct, and indirect anti-Asian racism are the impetus of Sohyun An's work. Through critical race teaching and research, she seeks to debunk and disrupt curricular exclusions and misrepresentations of Asian Americans and their insidious effects on all children. This article is a part of such work. It offers a critical analysis of the systemic exclusion and misrepresentation of Asian Americans in the history curriculum. In the following paragraphs, she first briefly discusses why the curriculum, particularly history curriculum, matters by building on what Cridland-Hughes and King (2015) called a curriculum of violence. Next, she reviews previous studies and identify persistent trends in the curricular treatment of Asian Americans in the official story of the United States. She then explicates and troubles such curricular practices from the Asian critical race theory (AsianCrit) perspective (Chang, 1993; Iftikar & Museus, 2018). Last, she… [Direct]