(2020). Narratives of Hope and Grief in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan This collection weaves together the personal narratives of a group of diverse scholars in academia in order to reflect on the ways that grief and hope matter for those situated within higher education. Each chapter explores a unique aspect of grief and loss, from experiencing a personal tragedy such as the loss of a loved one, to national and international grief such as campus shootings and refugee camp experiences, to experiencing racism and microaggressions as a woman of color in academia, to the implications of religious differences severing personal ties as an individual navigates research and academic studies. Unlike most resources examining grief, this collection pushes beyond notions of sorrow as solely individual, and instead situates moments of loss and hurt as ones that matter politically, academically, professionally, and personally. The editors and their authors offer pathways forward to academics, researchers, teachers, pedagogues, and thinkers who grapple with grief in… [Direct]
(2019). To "Uplift the Aborigine" or to "Uphold" Aboriginal Dignity and Pride? Indigenous Educational Debates in 1960s Australia. Paedagogica Historica: International Journal of the History of Education, v55 n1 p152-165. The 1960s in Australia was a politically turbulent time with assimilation policies being questioned by moves in various spheres, including education, to address inequality. The late 1960s also saw the emergence of activist responses to racism as well as the groundbreaking 1967 Referendum, which called for the alteration of two clauses within the Australian Constitution that discriminated against the Indigenous population. A few months after the Referendum was held, a conference called Aborigines and Education was convened at Monash University. Education was seen to be vital in addressing what was described as "profound educational disadvantage" experienced by Indigenous people. The debates that ensued show how education was imagined to be able to solve the problems Indigenous students were encountering. In this article I confine my interest to a selection of papers and examine the features of two distinctive discourses that emerge: that of "uplifting the… [Direct]
(2022). The Illusion of Progress: The Disconnect between the Anti-Racist Values Professed in Teacher Education Programs and the White Curriculum that Negatively Impact Students of Color. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, DePaul University. Research suggests that anti-racist teaching is the solution in classrooms to give students the ability to understand the origins of racism and to give them the ability to disrupt White Supremacy culture; however, there is a limited number of studies that look at anti-racist teaching in the classroom. The obstacle and challenge is how to implement an anti-racist curriculum into the secondary education classroom. With high demands from administration, teachers have struggled to successfully reach all students of color. This purpose of this study is to investigate the connection between anti-racist training for pre-service teachers and the effectiveness of implementing an anti-racist curriculum in the secondary education classroom. This study investigates what can be done in pre- and in-service teacher training to help implement an anti-racist curriculum in the classroom and answer why anti-racist work does not happen more often. The results of this qualitative study design and drawing… [Direct]
(2022). A Phenomenological Investigation of School Counselor Antiracist Social Justice Practices. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Old Dominion University. Decades after the landmark United States Supreme Court decision of Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka in 1954, the push continues to make schools a safe and welcoming environment for Black and Brown students. Black students in particular are continuing to be oppressed and marginalized in PK-12 educational settings. Accounting for approximately 15% of public PK-12 students, Black students comprise 13.7% of all students who receive out-of-school suspensions in 2017, are 16% of the special education student population, and are more likely to attend a school with less resources (National Center for Educational Statistics [NCES], 2021; Ramsey, n.d.). In addition, Black students are less likely than their white peers to graduate high school – 79% compared to 89% (NCES, 2021). School counselors, because of their close proximity to students and their role within schools, are in one of the best positions to be systemic change agents and combat institutional racism and inherently biased… [Direct]
(2022). Racial Opportunity Cost: The Toll of Academic Success on Black and Latinx Students. Race and Education Series. Harvard Education Press "Racial Opportunity Cost" turns critical attention to the specific challenges faced by high-achieving students of color and gives educators a framework for recognizing and addressing these issues. Terah Venzant Chambers roots her discussion in the concept of racial opportunity cost, using a term borrowed from economics to refer to the obstacles faced and tradeoffs made by Black and Latinx students on the path to academic success. Gathering first-hand accounts from students, practitioners, and researchers, Venzant Chambers underscores a set of experiences common to academically successful students from racially minoritized backgrounds, especially those who attend predominantly white schools. These individual testimonies collectively show how, despite their successes, high-achieving students of color regularly encounter educational racism. As their experiences reveal, their academic progress may also be impeded by secondary stressors such as peer and cultural isolation and… [Direct]
(2022). Anti-Racist Teaching in Secondary ELA: A Phenomenology with Implications for In-Service and Pre-Service Teacher Education. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Drexel University. Following the racial unrest of 2020, anti-racist rhetoric from K-12 schools and university teacher education institutes magnified. Despite claiming alliance with anti-racism, it became unclear whether the actions of teacher education, both in-service and pre-service, matched their rhetoric. To determine how, if at all, teacher education informs the practices and behaviors of teachers in contemporary classrooms, this phenomenological study aimed to explore and understand the phenomenon of anti-racist teaching as it is experienced by four white in-service secondary ELA teachers. While homogenous in racial identity, the settings in which participants practiced anti-racist teaching were heterogenous and included middle and high schools, urban and suburban schools, and alternative and traditional schools. The research questions that guided this inquiry included the following: (a) what are the educational lived histories of secondary ELA teachers regarding anti-racist teacher education?;… [Direct]
(2017). Confronting Bias through Teaching: Insights from Social Psychology. Teaching of Psychology, v44 n2 p174-180 Apr. Research in social psychology has the potential to address real-world issues involving racial stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. Literature on confrontation suggests that addressing racism can be seen as a persuasive act that will allow for more effective interpersonal interactions. In this article, we explore the persuasive communication literature in the context of classroom education on the pervasiveness of racial bias. We examine some of the challenges instructors might face from students. Finally, we suggest strategies that might allow for a more effective classroom experience…. [Direct]
(2021). How to Be an Antiracist: Youth of Color's Critical Perspectives on Antiracism in a Youth Participatory Action Research Context. Journal of Adolescent Research, v36 n5 p467-500 Sep. This study is part of a larger Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) project engaging youth of color (YOC; aged 16-24 years) in a planning a multilevel health promotion campaign for a large safety net hospital. Analyses focus on youths' conceptualizations of antiracism, and their recommendations on how to facilitate an intentionally antiracist YPAR. We answer the following questions: (a) How do YOC engaged in a YPAR project conceptualize and define antiracism? and (b) How do youth and adult allies conceptualize an antiracist YPAR project and what strategies do they use and/or recommend to this end? We employed instrumental case study methods and thematic analyses to code project data sources. Findings indicate that youths' definitions of antiracism include elevating marginalized voices, actively resisting racism, incorporating an intersectional approach, and examining privilege, power, and positionality. YPAR members recommended strategies for creating an antiracist YPAR… [Direct]
(2021). LGBTQ Student Health: A Mixed-Methods Study of Unmet Needs in Massachusetts Schools. Journal of School Health, v91 n11 p894-905 Nov. Background: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer and questioning (LGBTQ) youth experience poor physical and mental health outcomes relative to their non-LGBTQ peers. School health professionals (SHPs), such as school nurses, play a key role in addressing LGBTQ student health needs. However, few studies examine school health needs of LGBTQ students from both the youth and SHP perspective. Methods: From August 2017 to July 2018, 28 LGBTQ youth and 19 SHPs (N = 47) in Massachusetts participated in online focus groups and a brief survey on school health needs and experiences. Qualitative themes were coded using Rapid Qualitative Inquiry principles and NVIVO. Results: Both LGBTQ students and SHPs identified an urgent need for inclusive sexual education and mental health services. LGBTQ students raised access to safer bathrooms, information, and guidance on gender transitioning, and access to safe spaces as school-based needs. Missing from SHPs' perspectives, students also… [Direct]
(2020). Relationships between the Religious Backgrounds and Evolution Acceptance of Black and Hispanic Biology Students. CBE – Life Sciences Education, v19 n4 Article 59 Dec. The evolution education experiences of students of color represent an emerging area of research, because past inquiries indicate these students have differential outcomes, such as lower evolution acceptance and severe underrepresentation in evolutionary biology. Religion is often an important support for students of color who are navigating a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics culture that privileges White nonreligious students. For instance, religion helps mitigate the negative effects of racism, but religious students are also more likely to experience conflict when learning evolution. In this nationwide study, we examined the extent to which strong religiosity among students of color can explain their lower evolution acceptance. We surveyed students in 77 college biology courses across 17 states and found that Black/African American students tend to be more religious and less accepting of evolution than any other racial/ethnic identity group and that Hispanic… [Direct]
(2020). Speaking up for ALL Kids: Developing Pre-Service General Education Teachers as Advocates through Critical Coursework and Simulated IEP Meetings. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Michigan. I believe that a deeper understanding of how pre-service general education teachers are conceptualizing inequity in special education and are applying this knowledge will support teacher education programs to develop more comprehensive programming that prepares general educators to support students identified with disabilities and their families. Therefore, this study explores the following research questions: (1) How do preservice teachers' understandings of inequity and their roles as members of the IEP team shift over the course of a 12-week class that integrates issues of inequity in special education and the use of critical frameworks? (a) How do PSTs' understandings of inequity shift from the beginning to the end of the course? (b) How do PSTs' understandings of their role as members of the IEP team shift from the beginning to the end of the course? (2) How do PSTs respond to issues of racism and ableism when it is shared by a Black parent of a student identified with a… [Direct]
(2022). Anti-Racist Education in Times of Crisis: Asian Women Sympathetic Instructional Leadership. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Boston College. The purpose of this study is to investigate how Asian women educational leaders perceive their instructional leadership and the ways in which their racialized and gendered experiences impact their practices. This qualitative case study is anchored by the sympathetic instructional leadership framework that includes holding high expectations in a community context, keeping a focus on instruction, and managing critical negotiations with staff. This study was conducted in a predominantly white school district with stated goals for equity. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with Asian women building leaders and education leaders. Additionally, a survey was conducted across the district about how race and gender during the pandemic and our nation's reckoning have either posed obstacles or opened opportunities for anti-racist work. The qualitative evidence collected about instructional leadership navigation led to the emergence of three main themes: these leaders lead by… [Direct]
(2021). Minnesota Safe Learning Survey: Winter and Spring 2021 Subgroup Analysis by Geography and Student Race/Ethnicity. Region 10 Comprehensive Center Seeking to understand the experiences of educators, families, and students in K-12 public schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wisconsin-Minnesota Comprehensive Center (WMCC)–working with the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)–has developed the Safe Learning Survey that is being conducted at three intervals: Winter (February), Spring (May-June), and Fall (October-November), 2021. To date, two public reports have been published sharing the results of the Safe Learning Surveys conducted in the Winter (February) and Spring (May-June) of 2021. These reports provide a comprehensive description of the findings for each survey: (1) Winter 2021 Minnesota Safe Learning Survey (ED615428); and (2) Spring 2021 Minnesota Safe Learning Survey (ED615427). The purpose of this companion brief is to provide additional information disaggregated (i.e., broken down) by district geography and student race/ethnicity on five key themes and potential areas for policy and practice improvement:… [PDF]
(2003). Race and Higher Education: Rethinking Pedagogy in Diverse College Classrooms. Harvard Educational Review Reprint Series. This collection, reprinted from the \Harvard Educational Review,\ is designed to help educators understand how the changing demographics of the college and university students in this country have complicated the manner in which higher education institutions think about what it means to teach in racially diverse classrooms. Part 1, \Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Higher Education,\ contains: (1) \Diversity and Higher Education: Theory and Impact on Educational Outcomes\ (Patricia Gurin, Eric L. Dey, Sylvia Hurtado, and Gerald Gurin). Part 2, \Voices inside Classrooms,\ contains: (2) \Against Repetition: Addressing Resistance to Anti-Oppressive Change in the Practices of Learning, Teaching, Supervising, and Researching\ (Kevin K. Kumashiro); (3) \Learning in the Dark: How Assumptions of Whiteness Shape Classroom Knowledge\ (Frances A. Maher and Mary Kay Thompson Tetreault); (4) \Blind Vision: Unlearning Racism in Teacher Education\ (Marilyn Cochran-Smith); (5) \Moving beyond Polite…
(2023). "For Whom Is This Divisive?": The Persistence of Whiteness in The Adoption of NC American History Social Studies Standards. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In 2020, as the nation experienced a racial reckoning, the North Carolina State Board of Education was in the process of adopting new social studies standards. The racial reckoning constituted a policy window to advocate for standards that better included marginalized experiences. In response, conservative lawmakers engaged in a political spectacle that advocated to remove language such as "systemic racism" from the standards and mirrored language from President Trump's 1776 Commission. The back-and-forth process of the standards adoption resulted in a more inclusive final version of the standards than the earliest draft. However, the adopted standards are less inclusive than other drafts and ultimately maintain whiteness. In this dissertation, I explore the adoption and implementation of high school American History standards in North Carolina using a Critical Discourse Analysis and Critical Policy Analysis, with a specific focus on maintenance of whiteness. I find that… [Direct]