(2016). The Significance of Post-Racial Ideology, Black Political Struggle, and Racial Literacy for Brazilian Anti-Racist Education Policy. Policy Futures in Education, v14 n3 p345-359 Apr. This paper furthers current analysis of anti-racist, critical multicultural, and decolonial educational reforms in Brazil through a focus on the significant role played by post-racial ideology, black politics, and racial literacy in policy design and implementation. The paper first details the ways in which post-racial commonsense and anti-black racism have been central to the Brazilian social formation and continue to constitute crucial obstacles to fundamentally reshaping the curriculum, educational institutions, educators' racial literacy, and classroom pedagogies. The article then contends that understanding the politics of race and education in Brazil necessitates acknowledging emergent anti-racist policies and discourses as the product of decades of black political struggle by activists, educators, and community organizations to make racism and racial inequality public issues. In this way, the policy documents and discourses shaping recent educational reforms in Brazil should… [Direct]
(2024). Inclusive Teaching: Comparing Afro-Latina/o and Non-Afro-Latina/o Educators. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Fordham University. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Latina/o teachers in New York City. Using critical race theory and LatCrit theory as the theoretical framework, 15 participants engaged in semi-structured interviews, focusing on how their racial identities shape their educational and professional paths. Thematic analysis of their responses uncovered diverse perspectives. Participants revealed varied approaches to understanding their racial identities, with some prioritizing nationality or ethnicity over race. Educational environments played a significant role in shaping these perceptions, with experiences as both students and educators influencing their sense of self. Disparities emerged between White and Black Latina/o teachers, particularly in experiences of discrimination faced by Black Latina/o students. Microaggressions were prevalent in higher education for all participants, alongside encounters with colorism and racism within their families…. [Direct]
(2023). Determining Barriers Black Students Experience Pursuing STEM Degrees: A Qualitative Study. ProQuest LLC, D.B.A. Dissertation, Northcentral University. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological research study was to determine the obstacles experienced by Black students in pursuing acceptance into STEM related degree programs in higher education, the institutional specific barriers Black students experience while enrolled in STEM educational programs in higher education, and how the lack of diverse representation in higher education negatively impacts innovation in STEM. The problem that was addressed in this study was that STEM-related innovation within the United States is negatively impacted by a lack of diverse representation in higher education. This qualitative research study sought to understand the participants' experiences and provide insights into the problem. The stereotype threat theory provided the theoretical foundation for this study. The research questions were: What obstacles are experienced by Black students in achieving acceptance into STEM related degree programs in higher education?; What are the… [Direct]
(1996). The Agony of Education. Black Students at White Colleges and Universities. This book examines the barriers that African American students encounter in colleges that are predominantly white. Although many people, and much of the media, have presented a picture of U.S. universities as strongholds of multiculturalism that are devoted to racial equality. Interviews with 36 randomly selected black juniors and seniors at a predominantly white campus and 41 parents in nearby metropolitan areas show that there are many obstacles for black college students. The following chapters are included: (1) "Black Students at Predominantly White Colleges and Universities: The Rhetoric and the Reality"; (2) "Educational Choices and a University's Reputation: The Importance of Collective Memory"; (3) "Confronting White Students: The Whiteness of University Spaces"; (4)"Contending with White Instructors: 'You Can Feel When Someone Wants You Somewhere'"; (5) "Administrative Barriers to Student Progress: 'Blocked at Each Little…
(2016). Transgressive and Negotiated White Racial Knowledge. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v29 n8 p1016-1029. This critical case study investigated the experiences of six White preservice teachers as they learned about race and racism during the first semester of an urban-focused teacher preparation program. The author identified two broad themes of "transgressive White racial knowledge" and "negotiated White racial knowledge" to capture the participants' engagement with the topic of race. By detailing the complexities of the racial knowledge of a group of race-conscious White teachers, the project helps to de-homogenize conceptualizations of White teachers' racial identities. The transgressive knowledge displayed by the participants largely occurred in their intellectual understandings of issues related to urban education. When the participants discussed their antiracist practice and their own complicity in racism, their negotiations with critical understandings of race emerged. These findings suggest that educators working with race-conscious White teachers should… [Direct]
(2019). Pedagogy of Empowerment: Student Perspectives on Critical Multicultural Education at a High-Performing African American School. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v22 n6 p767-787. Despite decades of education reform, the US school curricula remain virtually unchanged. Multi-billion dollar initiatives such as "No Child Left Behind," "Common Core State Standards," "Race to the Top," and "Every Student Succeeds Act" have not resulted in significant academic gains or curricula change. The exclusion of diversity and multiculturalism in US classrooms and textbooks underserves "all" students and inaccurately perpetuates a hegemonic narrative. This omission particularly disserves minority students, whose only exposure to Black history is slavery and the Civil Rights Movement. Thus, this qualitative case study examines a high-performing school, Harriet Tubman Academy (pseudonym) — HTA, that utilizes critical multiculturalism and anti-racism education. The findings reveal greater academic achievement, and the students explain that they had a greater understanding and appreciation for multicultural education because of… [Direct]
(2020). Time to Act 2020: Education Data Wrap-Up. Data Quality Campaign This year saw unprecedented disruptions to schools and to students' lives across the country. With a global pandemic shutting school doors, causing economic instability, and highlighting the impact of systemic racism, policymakers and education leaders are looking to data to help them respond and recover. The Data Quality Campaign's 2020 research identified several key themes that marked this incredible year–and that will likely continue to frame education policy conversations in the new year. This report presents the following five things to know heading into 2021: (1) Teachers and parents want data to support their students through the pandemic; (2) State leaders are looking to measure and support student experiences outside of the K-12 classroom and traditional academic indicators; (3) COVID-19 recovery will rely on securely bringing together data from across the programs and sectors that serve students; (4) The pandemic is prompting states to go back to data basics and reexamine… [PDF]
(2021). Top Education Issues 2021. Public School Forum of North Carolina Central to the Public School Forum of North Carolina's mission is the imperative to ensure that all students in North Carolina have equitable access to a meaningful, high quality education through a strong system of public schools. It is important to note that equitable does not mean equal. Achieving equitable access to high quality education for all requires that every child has what they need to be successful, and that oppressive systems are dismantled and structural inequities are redressed. Equity is at the core of the Forum's policy and programmatic work and is both the overarching umbrella and the common thread throughout each of our Top Education Issues. The 2021 Top Education Issues outline the Forum's priorities on what should be at the forefront of education policy decision-making in the coming year, as we work toward eliminating the systemic racism and inequities that exist and are reflected in our educational system. The issues are informed by engagement with the board… [PDF]
(2014). Exposing Whiteness in Higher Education: White Male College Students Minimizing Racism, Claiming Victimization, and Recreating White Supremacy. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v17 n1 p30-55. This research critically examines racial views and experiences of 12 white men in a single higher education institution via semi-structured interviews. Participants tended to utilize individualized definitions of racism and experience high levels of racial segregation in both their pre-college and college environments. This corresponded to participants seeing little evidence of racism, minimizing the power of contemporary racism, and framing whites as the true victims of multiculturalism (i.e. "reverse racism"). This sense of racial victimization corresponded to the participants blaming racial minorities for racial antagonism (both on campus and society as a whole), which cyclically served to rationalize the persistence of segregated, white campus subenvironments. Within these ethnic enclaves, the participants reported minimal changes in their racial views since entering college with the exception of an enhanced sense of "reverse racism," and this cycle of racial… [Direct]
(2021). "When Am I Supposed to Teach Maori and Find the Time to Learn It?": Settler Affirmations in Aotearoa New Zealand Schools. New Zealand Journal of Educational Studies, v56 n2 p165-180 Nov. The Ministry of Education, Teaching Council and other groups aligned with the teaching profession are increasingly acknowledging the impact of racism, yet there is a dearth of research that moves beyond unconscious bias to examine how race is socially constructed in schools. In this paper, we present four autoethnographic accounts from Tracey to draw attention to the phenomenon of settler affirmations; a form of interpersonal and institutional "racial bonding" that reaffirms settler perspectives and sensibilities in schools. Settler affirmations are exchanges that pass between educators who are perceived to be Pakeha (New Zealanders primarily of European descent.) to sustain silencing. Silencing is a racial discourse that aims to keep the descendants of settlers in a state of racial comfort by reinforcing historically resolved and equitable bicultural relations and ignorance and denial of the structuring force of colonisation. Moreover, the discursive process is exacerbated… [Direct]
(2015). The Continuing Significance of Racism in the Lives of Asian American College Students. Journal of College Student Development, v56 n6 p551-569 Sep. Asian Americans are one of the most misunderstood populations in higher education, and more research on this population is warranted. In this investigation, authors sought to understand the range of ways that Asian American students experience racism on a daily basis in college. They analyzed data from 46 individual, face-to-face qualitative interviews with Asian American undergraduates at 6 4-year postsecondary institutions around the nation, and 9 themes emerged from the data. Specifically, Asian American participants reported experiencing the following forms of racism in college: (a) racial harassment, (b) vicarious racism, (c) racial isolation, (d) pressure to racially segregate, (e) pressure to racially assimilate, (f) racial silencing, (g) the perpetual foreigner myth, (h) the model minority myth, and (i) the inferior minority myth. Implications for future research and practice related to Asian American students in higher education are discussed…. [Direct]
(2020). Using Critical Race Theory to Examine How Predominantly White Land-Grant Universities Utilize Chief Diversity Officers. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Purdue University. Racial tension in the United States has moved to the forefront in social discourse with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement and elections of far-right wing politicians who provide support and empathy for White supremacist groups. In higher education, colleges and universities often serve as microcosms of the broader society's racial climate. Experts have revealed that 56% of U.S. university presidents believed that inclusion and diversity had grown in importance between 2015-2017. Additionally, 47% of presidents at 4-year institutions stated that students had organized on their campus amid concerns about racial diversity. In attempts to combat the divisiveness present in American culture, colleges and universities have begun appointing Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) administrative positions to lead their inclusion and diversity missions to better support minoritized and marginalized communities. Experts estimate that nearly 80% of CDO positions were created in the last 20… [Direct]
(2022). A Dream Defaulted: The Student Loan Crisis among Black Borrowers. Harvard Education Press "A Dream Defaulted" explores how the student loan crisis disproportionately affects Black borrowers and why rising student debt is both a cause and consequence of social inequality in the United States. Authors Jason N. Houle and Fenaba R. Addo offer a deft analysis of the growing financial crisis in education, examining its sources and its impacts. Based on more than five years of ongoing qualitative and quantitative research, this incisive work illustrates how the student loan system has not benefited all students equally. The authors tell the story of how first-generation college students, low-income students, and students of color are disadvantaged in two opposing phases of the process: debt accumulation and debt repayment. They further demonstrate that policies intended to mitigate financial burden and prevent default have failed to assist the people who most need help. Houle and Addo present these social and racial disparities within a broader context, tracing how… [Direct]
(2023). Navigating the Classroom with Equality: A Qualitative Descriptive Study of Teachers' Perceptions of School Discipline and Strategic Interventions. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Northcentral University. In public education systems, there is a rising cause for concern over the disproportionality in administrating discipline to students, primarily students of color, compared to their White peers. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore teachers' perceptions of disparities in the administration of discipline between students of color and White students. The participating teachers suggested strategic interventions to limit or eliminate disparities in school discipline. Fifteen purposefully sampled public school teachers engaged in semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions to address the research topic and the framework of critical race theory, which focuses on the relationships between race, racism, and power. The findings indicated that students of color continue to be disproportionately disciplined compared to their White peers. Other key findings suggest that educators lack the cultural competency to deal with diverse classroom settings and need… [Direct]
(2015). Understanding and Challenging White Privilege in Higher Education as a Means of Combatting and Neutralizing Racism. Multicultural Learning and Teaching, v10 n2 p149-161 Sep. Efforts in the classroom have most often addressed racism from the perspective of the groups affected by discriminatory policies and practice. While diversity education of this sort has demonstrated positive impact on educational outcomes for college students (Gurin, Dey, Hurtado, & Gurin, 2002), this approach places primary attention on the disempowerment of the non-dominant group. One of the essential premises of multicultural education is that it solicits dialogue focusing on the perception of the person in environment, including interactions with diverse sets of peers from the non-dominant cultural and social group. There is a strong empirical base of evidence (Smith et al., 1997) informing the pedagogical logic with this approach to teaching in experiential education. As noted in this approach, the problems of racism have generally focused on those affected by discriminatory policies and practices. Contemporary approaches to multicultural education flip this idea of… [Direct]