(2023). Teacher Interview as Methodology to Examine How White Teachers Are Taking Action in the Wake of George Floyd's Death. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Northeastern University. The purpose of this qualitative study was to develop an understanding of how the lived experiences of white educators following the murder of George Floyd in the spring of 2020 impacted their understanding of racism and how this understanding, if at all, helped them work to disrupt racism in schools. Literature analyzed revealed how white supremacy culture acts as a hidden fog which infects our schools and perpetuates a system of oppression. At present, approximately 80% of teachers working within the United States are white women who have been influenced by an ongoing racially imbalanced system of education. By interviewing white teachers who took action after the murder of George Floyd, the researcher looked to understand whether teachers who were impacted by the horrific nature of his murder and felt the need to take action, made actionable steps in their work as educators. This research converged aspects of critical race theory and critical whiteness studies as a lens to analyze… [Direct]
(2024). Who Wants to Go to College, We Do! The Impact of a College Access Program That Begins in Third Grade for First-Generation College Students. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, California State University, Fresno. Access to post-secondary education for first-generation college students (FGCS) has become even more important after COVID-19 brought to the forefront the most affected in the workforce: those who had a high school degree or less. College access programs play a vital role to move the needle in closing the educational achievement gap. These programs provide the support and opportunity for FGCS to enroll, persist and graduate from college. This study examined a college access program in Southern California, Barrio Logan College Institute (BLCI), a program that begins as early as third grade for students and their parents. A phenomenological qualitative approach examined the experiences of first-generation college graduates and their parents who participated in BLCI. This research explored the interventions and activities that contributed to the success of enrollment, persistence and graduation from college within 6 years as a result of their participation in BLCI. The framework of… [Direct]
(2024). Preparing Anti-Racist Teachers: A Case Study of Preservice Teachers' Perceptions of Racism and Program Coherence in Equity-Centered Teacher Preparation. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. This case study explored the perceptions preservice teachers had regarding racism in educational contexts, how those perceptions were shaped by their teacher education program, and to what extent their teacher education program had coherence in preparing anti-racist teachers. Within the context of a large, minority serving institution in the Southwest preparing teachers for one of the most racially, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse districts in the country, the need to prepare anti-racist teachers who are able to recognize and remedy opportunity gaps for multi-marginalized students is evident. Because little research has focused on the perceptions and lived experiences preservice teachers have regarding coherence of their programs in preparing future teachers for equity-centered and opportunity-oriented teaching, teacher preparation programs cannot be sure that what is espoused in the mission and vision statements is being implemented throughout the programs and what is… [Direct]
(2024). Chief Diversity Officers: Perceptions of Tokenism, Job Engagement, and Institutional Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Azusa Pacific University. The 2020 murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd brought about a racial reckoning some would argue had not been seen since the 1960s. U.S. society was able to get a literal glimpse into how, despite the Civil Rights movement, Black lives have continued to be devalued, minimized, and deemed inconsequential by police, government, and institutions. After the reemergence of the Black Lives Matter movement and countless national and international protests against the anti-Black and oppressive justice system in the United States, college and university leaders felt compelled to make statements about their commitment to Black folks. On many college campuses, chief diversity officers (CDOs) have been the face of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). This research study sought to explore the question: What background experiences of CDOs affect their workplace experiences (e.g., perceptions of tokenism, perceptions of institutional commitment to diversity, engagement in their CDO roles)?… [Direct]
(2024). "S√≠ se pudo y con tacones": Understanding the Racialized Barriers and Challenges That Empower the Goals of Latina School Administrators. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of California, San Diego. For Latina school administrators, the movement through the principal pipeline is not easy, as many encounter discrimination and biases rooted in their gender, ethnicity and other intersecting identities. Schools should leverage Latina administrators' cultural knowledge, perspectives, and experience to improve student educational outcomes. A Latina administrator brings these prior experiences to the work and can better understand and support the needs of the growing Latino/a population (Crawford & Fuller, 2017; Elizondo, 2005; Magdaleno, 2006; Mendez-Morse, 2004; Mendez-Morse, & Byrne-Jimenez, 2016; Murakami, Hernandez, 2016; Rodriguez, Martinez, & Falle, 2015). The dissertation highlights four Latina administrators' personal and professional journeys as they navigated the principal pipeline through interviews. Through participant and mentor interviews, the researcher sought to uncover the challenges, triumphs, and support systems the Latinas faced during their trajectory…. [Direct]
(2022). White Pre-Service Teachers' Racial Literacy Preparedness in an Educator Provider Program. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Tennessee State University. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the training of White pre-service teachers' preparedness to be racially literate. A gap existed in the literature concerning the training of White pre-service teachers (PSTs) in their skill development to be racially literate. The two research questions were: #1) How do White pre-service teachers in a Historically Black College/University educator provider program conceptualize racial literacy? #2) What are pre-service teachers' experiences learning about racial literacy in a Historically Black College/University educator provider program? The researcher used a qualitative method and an intrinsic case study design to explore how White PSTs are prepared for racial literacy in a southeastern Historically Black College/University. The researcher utilized a variety of tools such as the constant comparison method and keywords in context. The study took place via #1) an online Common Beliefs Survey and #2) Zoom one-on-one interview… [Direct]
(2022). Am I Racist? How Identifying and Changing Our Implicit Bias Can Make Us All More Comfortable and Improve K-12 Education. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Miami University. Asking the question, "Am I racist?" is a hard thought to process, one that can even be offensive to some, unthinkable to others. However, considering recent events like the #SayHerName movement and other demonstrations that bring racial justice and implicit bias to center stage again, more than 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was shared with the nation, educators find themselves asking, "What more can we do?" This research is about finding the answer to the question how do we identify and change our own implicit bias as educators, how can we use this knowledge to improve education today and, in the end, make us all more comfortable? Using a participatory action research model, 15 educators and one researcher set out to find ways to work together to tackle this topic in ways that can be reproducible for the next set of courageous role models. Using surveys, focus group discussions, case study scenarios, and exit tickets, ideas of how to incorporate… [Direct]
(2018). The Threat of Unexamined Secondary Data: A Critical Race Transformative Convergent Mixed Methods. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v21 n2 p231-252. This article uses a critical race theory framework to conceptualize a Critical Race Transformative Convergent Mixed Methods (CRTCMM) in education. CRTCMM is a methodology that challenges normative educational research practices by acknowledging that racism permeates educational institutions and marginalizes Communities of Color. The focus of this article is to examine the quantitative component of the mixed methods to interrogate "objective" and "scientific" assumptions of the statistical practices used in analyzing secondary datasets. To demonstrate this method, we analyze the ways in which race and ethnicity are treated as a variable in a secondary higher education dataset, and highlight how the conflation of both can influence how a sample is taken. We argue that it is imperative that theoretical frameworks used in research are not only applied to the research questions, analysis or interpretation, but also the secondary datasets being used…. [Direct]
(2018). "Heads I Win, Tails You Lose": Anti-Black Racism as Fluid, Relentless, Individual and Systemic. Peabody Journal of Education, v93 n1 p66-77. Derrick Bell's thesis, that racism is a permanent feature of society, is frequently misrepresented by detractors as signaling a view of racism as monolithic–bold, obvious, and unchanging. This paper argues that critical race theory [CRT] reveals a very different understanding of racism as relentless, yet fluid, and quick to morph depending on current circumstances. In this way, CRT offers a new perspective on the view that the more things change, the more they stay the same, the central theme for this issue of the "Peabody Journal of Education." This paper focuses on two key issues where the last quarter century has seen considerable superficial change that appears progressive but masks a deeper reality of continued racial injustice: first, the changing contours of the black/white achievement gap in England, and, second, the continuing fascination on both sides of the Atlantic with notions of genetics and intelligence…. [Direct]
(2018). A Tale of Three Cities: Defining Urban Schools within the Context of Varied Geographic Areas. Education and Urban Society, v50 n6 p507-523 Jul. What constitutes an urban school? This question has confounded social researchers and educators who often limit definitions to population data. H. Richard Milner suggested a framework for defining urban schools that includes population data as well as the racial and social context of schools. This article applied Milner's model to school districts in New York, Nebraska, and New Mexico which exemplified Milner's categories of urban schools: urban intensive, urban emergent, and urban characteristic. Application of the framework to the districts presents a model for teacher educators to deliver two important components of preservice preparation. First, the model can assist preservice teachers to challenge their existing perceptions of urban schools. Second, establishing a framework provides teacher educators the opportunity to guide preservice teachers to view urban schools through a Critical Race Theory lens. Through this lens, preservice teachers can begin to realize the impact of… [Direct]
(2022). The Impact of Life Experiences on the School Disciplinary Practices of Suburban High School Administrators. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Northeastern University. This narrative study examined how the life experiences of high school administrators impact how they conceptualize and understand school discipline. These experiences were then positioned within the current context of COVID-19 pandemic related school closures and protests associated with George Floyd's death which brought light to systemic racism prevalent in school codes of conduct to determine how these events changed their disciplinary practices. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight administrators from suburban schools in the New York metropolitan region that also had a minority student population of at least 10%. Transcripts were analyzed using in vivo and process coding to identify themes across the interviews. Three themes were identified: elements that lead to an initial understanding of school discipline, how these initial practices change over time, and the twin impact of COVID-19 and protests highlighting systemic racism causing a drastic change to how… [Direct]
(2022). Case Study of a District-University Partnership: Developing Culturally Responsive Educators in a Rural Setting. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Old Dominion University. Using a theoretical framework of critical race theory and conceptual frameworks of cultural education, this study explores the intersection of district-university partnerships and culturally responsive education. The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to examine the formulation and outcomes of a district-university partnership established to offer a college-level course focused on anti-discrimination, equity and inclusion, and social justice in schools. Using survey data, I explored the relationship between participation in the course and the participants' self-reflection in the areas of empathic concern and perspective taking, preparation for culturally responsive teaching and equitable practices, and comfortability with discussions about race. I conducted three interviews with course developers in the school district related to the sustainability of the partnership and the impact of the social-political context on the curriculum design. In addition, I examined how… [Direct]
(2022). Black Mothers of Blind/Low Vision Children: Perspectives and Experiences of Advocacy and Navigating the Education System. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Rutgers The State University of New Jersey, School of Graduate Studies. Blind and low vision youth represent a diverse, low incidence disability student population in United States public schools. This qualitative study investigated the perspectives of four Black mothers and grandmothers, each primary caregivers of blind/low vision (BLV) children, related to their experiences with navigating the education system and advocating for their children. Methods: Individual interviews and a focus group were employed to elicit and explore the caregivers' lived experiences of special education processes and parental advocacy at the intersections of race, class, and disability. The research was grounded in a critical race theory (CRT) analysis, via Yosso's (2006) community cultural wealth framework. An intersectionality lens was also applied to explore the ways in which the caregivers' perspectives and experiences were shaped by their identities as Black women. Findings: Each of the mothers and grandmothers faced several similar challenges and obstacles as they… [Direct]
(2022). 'We Are Trying.' Portraits of Black Goodness in Spite of Anti-Black Schooling. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Illinois at Chicago. This dissertation explores everyday interactions and opportunities for teachers and families to collaborate in spite of forces that often put Black families and schools at odds in one predominantly Black elementary school. I examine interactions among Black families and teachers to consider how organizational norms, values, and routines influence the nature of these interactions. My exploration of interactions is guided by a framework that links anti-blackness, critical race theory, and institutional theory to examine how practices and policies enable or inhibit family engagement. Using portraiture and critical race methodology, I provide a rich portrait of one school community striving to engage families, reduce chronic absenteeism, and maintain staff moral amidst unprecedented changes spurred by COVID-19. Examining the day-to day realities within one school community revealed that there are routine practices and policies that constrain interactions among Black families and Black… [Direct]
(2020). The Essence of Study Abroad: Global Access for the African American Learner. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, The Johns Hopkins University. Leaders of institutions of higher education face a difficult task, continuously adapting to a changing world while educating tomorrow's leaders. Global connectivity is one driving force behind this push for global citizenship within higher education. Literature indicates that higher education institution leaders should provide meaningful but equitable opportunities for all students. In the United States, there are significant inequities that exist within education, particularly international education. Explored through a lens of critical race theory, this study showed the experiences of African American students who managed to study abroad and their preparedness to study abroad. Compared to students with no global experience, study abroad students found employment sooner following graduation, earned higher starting salaries, and gained promotions over their peers who had not studied abroad. Limited knowledge of study abroad can result in limited experiences for African American… [Direct]