(2020). Skills for an Inclusive Economic Recovery: An Agenda for President Biden and Congress. National Skills Coalition America faces the most devastating economic crisis since the Great Depression, and National Skills Coalition (NSC) stands with the working people and local businesses who have been most impacted by the pandemic's economic fallout. Equitable opportunities for working people and local businesses to participate in and benefit from a rebound and possible expansion of our economy are not fated; they are determined by decisions made in Washington, D.C. NSC's member businesses, labor-management partnerships, community organizations, community colleges, education and workforce experts are calling on the President and Congress to be a partner in building an inclusive economic recovery that addresses the disproportionate impact of the economic crisis on workers of color, immigrants, and workers with a high school diploma or less; the essential role of small businesses who hire locally and invest in their people but need policymakers to be their partner; and the moral and economic imperative to… [PDF]
(1996). Professional Growth. Teaching without Barriers. Teaching PreK-8, v26 n4 p26-27 Jan. Discusses the role of diversity, and teachers' reactions to diversity, in education. Suggests that educators can help unite the country and argues that there is no room for racism in schools. A main purpose of education is to open up children's minds for new experiences and possibilities for better lives. (JW)…
(2021). Mental Health, Substance Use, and Wellbeing in Higher Education: Supporting the Whole Student. Consensus Study Report. National Academies Press Student wellbeing is foundational to academic success. One recent survey of postsecondary educators found that nearly 80 percent believed emotional wellbeing is a "very" or "extremely" important factor in student success. Studies have found the dropout rates for students with a diagnosed mental health problem range from 43 percent to as high as 86 percent. While dealing with stress is a normal part of life, for some students, stress can adversely affect their physical, emotional, and psychological health, particularly given that adolescence and early adulthood are when most mental illnesses are first manifested. In addition to students who may develop mental health challenges during their time in postsecondary education, many students arrive on campus with a mental health problem or having experienced significant trauma in their lives, which can also negatively affect physical, emotional, and psychological wellbeing. The nation's institutions of higher education… [Direct]
(2021). Access, Dissent, Ethics, and Politics: Pre-Service Teachers Negotiating Conceptions of the Work of Teaching Science for Equity. Cognition and Instruction, v39 n1 p35-64. This study examines the development of secondary preservice science teachers' (PSTs') sociopolitical understandings in the context of a yearlong, masters-level, justice-oriented teacher education program. It articulates a theoretical perspective regarding teachers' conceptions of the work-of-teaching in terms of pedagogical and disciplinary commitments. These conceptions are ideological links between classroom practices and teachers' understanding of the sociopolitical context of their work. Teachers' conceptions include how they view their and their students' agency to gain access to enabling structures or dissent against oppressive structures that contribute to inequity in science education. The embedded case study design with 10 PSTs draws on various data sources from three time periods, and several types of experiences, in the teacher education program. A focus on four cases illustrates how PSTs rearticulated ideological committments in ways that have direct implications for the… [Direct]
(2020). Salaries & Status of Sustainability Professionals in Higher Education: Results of AASHE's 2020 Higher Education Sustainability Staffing Survey. Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Every two to three years since 2008, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has conducted a survey of sustainability professionals employed in higher education. These surveys collect information from sustainability staff as well as more specialized positions such as recycling & waste staff and energy management staff. This report presents the results of the 2020 Higher Education Sustainability Staffing Survey and serves as an update to the 2017 report. It examines the nature of sustainability positions at colleges and universities in the United States, Canada and other countries, providing insights into salaries, funding, supervision, job satisfaction, challenges and more. The survey on which this report is based closed on February 14, 2020. As a result, the findings capture the higher education sustainability sector on the eve of a global pandemic that closed many campuses and triggered a major economic downturn. Since then, the… [PDF]
(2021). Why Civic Education Is Key to Protecting Democracy. New England Journal of Higher Education, Feb. According to Douglas Challenger, American democracy just survived a near-death experience during the slow-motion coup that was the four years of Donald Trump's presidency. It culminated in his rejecting his electoral loss and pressuring officials and political allies to back his claims that the election was fraudulent and, at the end, inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol in an effort to stay in power. During his time as president, he attacked the press, undermined truth with lies and conspiracy theories, and flouted countless institutional norms such as the peaceful transition of power and the rule of law that American democracy has depended on to function. There are several important causes to the rise of Trump and his base including persistent personal and institutional racism, Christian nationalism, deindustrialization, rising economic inequality, and the inability of governing elites (of either party) during the neoliberal decades since Reagan to adequately address these… [Direct]
(2022). Pushing Through: Graduate Degree Aspirations for Community College Transfer Students of Color. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles. Enrollment of vertical transfer students across four-year colleges and universities has been increasing over the past decade (Shapiro et al., 2018). From 2012 to 2017, data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) survey showed that White students represented the largest group of transfers to four-year colleges and universities. Racial and ethnic minoritized populations continue to face challenges in successfully transferring to a four-year from a two-year institution due to systemic barriers (Crisp, Potter, Robertson, & Carales, 2020); and students of color who do successfully transfer from a two-year into a four-year face additional barriers that stem from institutional racism and lack of a transfer receptive culture (Jain, Herrera, Bernal, & Solorzano, 2011; Umbach, Tuchmayer, Clayton, & Smith, 2018; Wawrzyski & Sedlacek, 2003). This study aimed to identify factors that shape and sustain the graduate degree aspirations of community college transfer students… [Direct]
(2022). Toward a Transdisciplinary Model of Social Justice in Academic Librarianship: Promoting Critical Awareness within Advocates and Privileged Allies. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Molloy University. Academic libraries are largely comprised of white, middle-aged females, and as part of the overall diversity crisis within higher education, grapple with issues of racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, and ableism. This mixed-methods study uses an original theoretical framework of critical transcendence, based upon the philosophies of Carl Jung and Paulo Freire, to examine what triggers and/or preconditions lead some academic librarians to reflect upon and interrogate their worldview to become actively engaged as advocates and social justice allies (SJAs). An online survey was conducted that obtained data from a sample of 113 academic librarians regarding their interest and commitment towards advocating for social justice and found a significant positive correlation between social justice interest and social justice commitment. Qualitative and mixed analysis included a thematic review of several open-ended questions (OeQs) as well as interviews with six academic librarians who… [Direct]
(2021). COVID-19 Research, Evaluation, and Data Agenda for Child Care and Early Education. Special Topics Paper. OPRE Report 2021-162. Administration for Children & Families The context for child care and early education (CCEE) changed rapidly in March 2020 as the global pandemic caused the closure of child care programs and schools, widespread job loss, and negative impacts on the broader economy and family life. Black and Latino families and families with lower income experienced disproportionately negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of structural racism and a history of inequitable systems. Many of the negative impacts of the pandemic have directly impacted families' access to high-quality CCEE. As leaders in CCEE consider the implications of COVID-19 for children, families, policies, and programs, a research, evaluation, and data agenda that identifies key questions, research methods, and data needs will be a critical tool. This research, evaluation, and data agenda can (1) alert decision makers to racial and economic inequities in outcomes and promote tracking of key equity indicators, (2) encourage the development of new projects… [PDF]
(2023). The Psychosocial Factors African American Males Identify as Impacting Their Motivation to Pursue a Postsecondary Education. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D.Ed.Lead. Dissertation, Union University. The purpose of this quasi-mixed methods study was to explore how African American males' psychosocial factors impacted their motivation to pursue a postsecondary education and if differences existed between the demographic variables and external psychosocial factors of African American males who pursued a postsecondary education and those who did not. This study involved a purposive sample of 12 African American males who recently graduated high school in an urban school district in the Southeastern United States. This study also included a convenience sample of 47 African American males, secured using online communities throughout the United States. Qualitative data collection included semi-structured interviews, and quantitative data collection included an online questionnaire via Qualtrics. Common themes of the psychosocial factors that influenced participants' motivations to pursue a postsecondary education were "family expectations, passion and learning, future… [Direct]
(2022). Relationships between Institutional Type, Perceived Experiences of Racial and Ethnic Microaggressions, Multicultural Counseling Course Experience and Social Justice Advocacy Orientation among Counselors in Training and Professionals. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The manifestations of institutional and interpersonal racism have been linked to lower recruitment, retention and matriculation rates among ethnic minority students in predominantly white institutions (Harper, 2012). Those who experience racial and ethnic microaggressions have been impacted in numerous deleterious ways. Physical, mental, emotional and political outcomes have been examined in prior research (McGee & Stovall, 2016; Sue, 2010; ). In counselor training programs, specific coursework in multicultural education introduces counselors to the foundational aspects of the Multicultural and Social Justice Advocacy Competencies (Ratts et al, 2016). Using Critical Race theory as a framework, a non-experimental, correlational survey design was used to explore the relationship between institutional type, perceived experiences of racial and ethnic microaggressions, racialized experiences in multicultural coursework and social justice advocacy orientation among counseling students… [Direct]
(2017). Identity, Awareness, Action: A Study of White Anti-Racist Faculty Praxis at Two Predominantly White Institutions. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Rhode Island. Despite decades of research into the racial construct known as "whiteness" (e.g., Roediger, 1991; Frankenberg, 1993; Leonardo, 2002), as well as on white privilege and racism within predominantly white institutions (PWIs) (e.g., Harper & Hurtado, 2007), little research exists exploring the work of white faculty who confront racism in teaching, research, or service. In this study, I applied a Critical White Studies (Delgado & Stefancic, 1997) analytical frame to a Constructivist Grounded Theory (Charmaz, 2006) study of white anti-racist faculty in two predominantly white institutions within a state higher education system. The study used interviews with 11 white faculty members to discover how their anti-racist work informed their identity as a white person and their conceptual awareness of whiteness as an ideological framework. Particular attention was given to the historical and present contexts in which the participants have lived and worked. Participants all… [Direct]
(2018). 'Colour-Evasiveness' and Racism without Race: The Disablement of Asylum-Seeking Children at The Edge of Fortress Europe. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v21 n4 p438-457. This article explores discriminatory discourses articulated by Italian professionals operating in educational, health and social services for refugees in Rome, in relation to the educational and social inclusion of unaccompanied asylum-seeking and refugee children. It locates such narratives within the historical 'concealment and invisibilisation of race and racism' that have characterised Italy particularly since the end of the Second World War, while showing how they legitimate contemporary processes of disablement and over-representation of forced migrant children in the category of Special Educational Needs. A theoretical framework influenced by Dis/ability Critical Race Studies, Italian postcolonial studies, and Judith Butler's notions of subjectivation and performative politics is used to discuss how a 'colour-evasive' racial ideology has seeped into various institutions in Italian society, and importantly into education policies and practices…. [Direct]
(2018). The Social Funding of Race: The Role of Schooling. Peabody Journal of Education, v93 n1 p90-105. Our nation is suffused in questions of race and racism. Despite much scholarly and public discussion we struggle to undo long-held assumptions about race and how it functions. This article looks at race from the perspective of a public commodity that the society "funds" in order to make it seem real and intractable. Throughout the article there are multiple examples of the everyday, commonsense things people in this society do to fund the concept and give it meaning from our children's earliest days. The challenge in a society that so "fully funds" race is it seems near impossible to "defund" the concept in teacher education to allow new teachers to approach the classroom as a space where race is not determinant and highly predictive of student achievement…. [Direct]
(2018). African American Students' Experiences in Special Education Programs. Teachers College Record, v120 n10. Background/Context: Disproportionate placement of African American students into special education programs is likely to be a form of institutional racism, especially when such placement stigmatizes students. If placement also fails to lead to educational benefits, the practice becomes even more suspect. Some studies have explored disproportionate placement (i.e., overrepresentation) from the perspectives of policy makers and educators, but few have looked at the practice from the vantage of the African American students experiencing it. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: This study explored how nine African American students in secondary special education placements perceived their school experiences and the benefits, challenges, and detriments associated with their placements and accompanying disability labels. Setting: Participating students attended one of three high schools in an urban district in the midwestern United States. Respectively, the schools had low,… [Direct]