(2022). The Role of Child-Teacher Relationships within Trauma-Informed Education. Online Submission, Capstone Research, Loyola University Maryland. The objective of this literature review is to review contemporary literature regarding the role of child-teacher relationships within trauma-informed education. It first discusses and defines terminology surrounding child-teacher relationships and trauma-informed education. Here, it examines the points of contention and change as different views of trauma and trauma-informed education come to view. The review looks at ten sources, and it focuses on three themes that emerged between them. First, child-teacher relationships offer a foundation for implementing and assessing trauma-informed education. There is a consensus that trauma-informed education offers children connection, and it is beneficial to the child's emotional wellbeing to have a relationship with a stable, predictable adult. The second theme that was present within research on the role of child-teacher relationship within trauma-informed education focused on the role of the teacher. It highlighted contributing factors to… [PDF]
(2020). Translanguaging as a Political Act with Roma: Carving a Path between Pluralism and Collectivism for Transformation. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, v18 n1 p98-135 Apr. Translanguaging claims to advance social justice as a transformative pedagogy. This paper analyses a tension which developed over the life span of a European research project which aimed to improve the educational experience for Eastern European Roma pupils through teachers' employment of a translanguaging pedagogy. Roma are ethnically and linguistically heterogeneous, but as a minority group face continued racism, whilst Roma pupils face educational exclusion. The voices of Roma parents, pupils and activists and academics alerted us to potential threats in utilising translanguaging as a political act for transformation in education. They revealed a central tension between recognition of linguistic pluralism for emancipation at school level (with possibilities for policy level changes at local or national levels) and unifying endeavours for collective action towards equality and human rights at a (trans)national level. To understand this tension we reframed it in light of the… [PDF]
(2020). Racial Complaint and Sovereign Divergence: The Case of Australia's First Indigenous Ophthalmologist. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, v49 n2 p145-152 Dec. This is a reflective piece that examines the nature of racial complaint with reference to Dr. Kris Rallah-Baker's concerns about the racism that characterised his medical education. It will further examine the anti-racist campaign that sprung up in support of Rallah-Baker with a view to illustrating the limits of conventional critical race theory in understanding the course of events. Using the work of Aileen Moreton-Robinson, Gramsci and Stuart Hall, it will be argued that the Rallah-Baker case illustrates that Australian hegemonic formations can never quite command total legitimacy because sovereign formations, anti-racist in outlook, erupt with a frequency and facticity that lay bare the conceit of settler-colonialism. In so doing the paper will work towards an understanding of the critical Indigenous/race paradigm that goes beyond critical race insights borne of other places and experiences. As will be seen, what followed Rallah-Baker's complaint, the campaign that supported him… [Direct]
(2021). Understanding Equitable Access to Public Montessori Pre-K: A Case Study of Montessori Recruitment and Enrollment Practices. Child Trends Ensuring equitable access to high-quality early education for families from all racial, ethnic, and income backgrounds is a critical component for addressing systemic racism and inequality within the public education system. This study examined one piece of this issue by investigating access to public Montessori pre-K, as well as barriers that may hinder equitable access. To begin to understand whether and how public Montessori pre-K enrollment policies might create barriers to access for underrepresented families–particularly Black and Latine families and families experiencing poverty–this study started with a landscape scan of all public Montessori pre-K programs. This scan allowed the researchers to learn more about the characteristics of who these programs serve, where they are located, and their recruitment and enrollment practices. They located the public Montessori pre-K programs identified in the landscape scan in national administrative data sets to learn more about the… [PDF]
(2017). Play of the Unconscious in Pre-Service Teachers' Self-Reflection around Race and Racism. Journal of Curriculum Studies, v49 n6 p830-847. Reading psychoanalytic theory of the unconscious desire for wholeness in the light of the notion of white racial supremacy, this study explores a constituted difficulty that self-reflection around the issues of race and racism confronts by exploring three white male pre-service teachers' emotional experiences inscribed in their responses to the process of engaging in self-reflection. The pervasiveness of strong emotional reactions to the process of engaging in self-reflection spoke volumes not only about how uncomfortable the participants felt in the face of ambivalence, incommensurability and vulnerability but also about their active resistance against their emotional states to defend their unconscious desire for wholeness that is intensified by the forces of white racial supremacy. This study also seeks to elaborate problems inherent in teachers' self-reflection and why and how unknown and unconscious emotional world filters and at times hinders the participants' willingness to… [Direct]
(2022). The Intersectionality of Immigrants of African Descent: A Narrative Inquiry Exploring the Challenges and Inequities of Administrators at Predominately White Institutions in the U.S. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Stockton University. In a time where diversity, equity and inclusion are huge buzz words in society, immigrants of African descent (IAD) in American higher education institutions (of all places) seem to still struggle with how they are identified. Black people and Black culture are not a monolith. Black people of foreign origin do not necessarily identify the same or share the same experiences because they have the same skin color. This concept of amalgamating all Black people into the African American ethnicity continues to persist, disrupt and challenge the identities of immigrants of African descent. This qualitative study explores the experiences of twelve African and Afro-Caribbean immigrant administrators and faculty at predominantly White institutions of higher education in the U.S. This study explores the challenges, and inequities experienced by these leaders as well as the coping strategies they develop to thrive in these predominantly White spaces. These participant narratives disclosed mental… [Direct]
(2014). Racism and Asian American Student Leadership. Equity & Excellence in Education, v47 n2 p117-132. This article provides a theoretical analysis and ethnographic account of Asian American student leadership in higher education. Existing literature highlights Asian and Asian American leadership styles as cultural differences. I shift the analysis from culture to racism in order to work toward a more socially just conception of Asian American student leadership, grounded in the social and historical realities of racism in the U.S. I bring the issue of racism to the forefront by framing this project in racial formation theory and Orientalism and by looking at Asian American student leadership in the context of anti-racism activism. Participants challenged the notion of "Asian American leadership" in two ways: First, students described how they struggled with the Asian American racial category in their day-to-day lives as student leaders, and second, they discussed the negative consequences of being racialized as Asian American leaders…. [Direct]
(2021). Broadening Conceptions of STEM Learning: "STEM Smart Skills" and School-Based Multilingual Family Engagement. Electronic Journal for Research in Science & Mathematics Education, v25 n4 p95-106. STEM education researchers are well aware of the need for increased access and inclusivity in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education for students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds. One of the many barriers for students from underserved cultural and linguistic groups is the difficulty of connecting families to school models of STEM education. This is one reason we advocate for improvement in culturally relevant STEM curriculum and content instruction. This commentary does not focus on STEM content instruction, although we certainly believe children from CLD communities deserve high expectations and high quality, culturally sustaining, STEM pedagogy. In this article we discuss non-curricular skills that are vital to success in STEM — and the advantages of sharing with family members the importance of particular essential life skills that support STEM learning. Communicating these essential "STEM Smart skills" showcases… [PDF]
(2015). Who Benefits?: A Critical Race Analysis of the (D)Evolving Language of Inclusion in Higher Education. Thought & Action, p21-38 Win. The primary purpose of this paper is to expand the ways in which educators and scholars employ the concepts of diversity, social justice, and inclusive excellence in relation to racial inclusivity. The goals are to help educators identify and acknowledge the intentional and unintentional consequences of maintaining white supremacy within higher education, despite espoused efforts to dismantle racism. For the sake of clarity and consistency, the authors refer to all three of these concepts–diversity, social justice, and inclusive excellence–in terms of race-based inclusion initiatives. The focus on race is rooted in the ever-present role of race and racism in the academy, and in the sustained attempts to either avoid or dilute them. Given the emphasis on race and racism, the authors employ critical race theory (CRT) to demonstrate how diversity, social justice, and inclusive excellence, as well as the efforts that stem from them, are often co-opted to promote agendas that maintain… [Direct]
(2021). Authenticating a Pathway to Inclusive Education for Marginalized Students with (Dis)abilities via a Districtwide Action Research Study. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D./HE Dissertation, Azusa Pacific University. This action research design drew on socioemotional conceptualizations of student validation. These concepts are based on stigmas, negative labels, and isolation bestowed on marginalized and oppressed students supported through special education, English language learners, foster care, and mental health services. This study examines conscious and subconscious need to dehumanize individuals by language choices; thereby, replacing dehumanization with actions and language that can be used to elevate, empower, and transform. By shifting from a fixed, ableist mindset to an equity growth mindset, practitioners can increase human cognitive processes and validate students' experiences, expectations, and performance. Such a frame of mind opens doors to self-determination. This research focuses on authenticating a pathway to higher education and participating in society via use, value, and detriments of people first language (PFL), universal design for learning (UDL), and inclusive… [Direct]
(2020). Black Male Teachers, White Education Spaces: Troubling School Practices of Othering and Surveillance. British Educational Research Journal, v46 n5 p1081-1098 Oct. The absence of male teachers in primary schools has been an ongoing concern for policymakers and schools in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia, and as schools have become more ethnically diverse so have concerns that the teacher workforce should reflect the communities it serves. Pre-service teacher training plays a critical role in this aim, by identifying, recruiting, retaining and training those who demonstrate potential to become teachers in English primary schools. As one of a few studies to explore the racialised and gendered experiences of black male teachers in England, I adopt the use of critical race theory (CRT) to examine how black male teachers are characterised and constructed in white education spaces. Drawing on a larger study, this paper utilises counternarrative, a key precept of CRT, to draw attention to processes of exclusion, othering and surveillance through the experience of David (the main character). Interview and documentary data illuminate institutional… [Direct]
(2015). Whiteness and Social Studies Teacher Education: Tensions in the Pedagogical Task. Teaching Education, v26 n2 p160-178. Utilizing a critical whiteness studies framework, the authors analyzed the experiences of a cohort of predominantly White pre-service social studies teachers discussing race and Whiteness in relation to education. The pre-service teachers resisted identifying White privilege as a form of structural racism, instead preferring individualized understandings of racism. The participants also utilized their personal biographies to accept or reject aspects of race privilege. The authors highlighted three tensions for teacher educators to consider when engaging pre-service teachers in discussions about race privilege, including recognizing the unfamiliar nature of structural thinking, appreciating the limitations of personal experience, and acknowledging the challenges of structural considerations within individual classrooms. The authors' findings–and the tensions they highlight–depart from previous literature on White teachers and race by paying specific attention to pedagogical issues… [Direct]
(2017). Building Bridges for Dance through Arts-Based Research. Research in Dance Education, v18 n2 p135-149. This paper considers arts-based research (ABR) as a useful resource for creating fluid and dialogic spaces between multiple domains of dance knowledge and practices. Through the lens of a multi-disciplinary, arts-based research project "Same Story, Different Countries" explored the socio-political phenomena of racism in the United States and South Africa. The paper illuminates how arts-based research can bridge important areas of learning, in particular artistic knowledge and social justice learning for postsecondary dance students, teachers and artists. Using a mixed method of qualitative techniques and artistic dance practices the study captured and analyzed dance participants' perspectives on the benefits of being involved in the project. The project was found to increase participants' knowledge of various dance practices (performance, choreography, teaching, research) while simultaneously deepening their understanding of racism and racial injustice, and awakening their… [Direct]
(2016). Culturally Responsive Literacy through Student Narratives. English in Texas, v46 n2 p30-33 Fall-Win. With the increasing racial tensions and violence over race in America, it is now more pertinent than ever for educators to model good citizenry to students and encourage acceptance and celebration of multiculturalism in America. This article provides a basic framework in moving toward equitable education through understanding of a historical context surrounding racism and then reviews a culturally responsive literary strategy involving authenticating student voice through narrative creative writing…. [PDF]
(2022). Entry Planning for Equity-Focused Leaders: Empowering Schools and Communities. Harvard Education Press A vital resource for educational leaders, "Entry Planning for Equity-Focused Leaders" introduces an equity-minded process for intentional entry planning that sets the stage for sustainable change within organizations. In this practitioner-focused and action-oriented work, Jennifer Perry Cheatham, Rodney Thomas, and Adam Parrott-Sheffer consolidate their extensive experience centering equity in leadership. They affirm that the entry of a new leader, or the pivot of an established one, affords an unparalleled opportunity to garner the insight, trust, and commitment that will establish a basis for positive, equitable transformation within a system. This essential work provides a flexible framework for leadership entry that is customized to fit the complex social, political, and economic demands of a given organization and the community it serves. It highlights how such an approach prepares leaders to begin addressing one of the most entrenched and persistent issues in… [Direct]