(2017). Caught between Cultures: Case Study of an "Out of School" Ethnic Minority Student in Hong Kong. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, v37 n1 p69-85. This paper reports a case study on Maneesha Rai, a Nepalese girl living in Hong Kong and an "out of school" student. Based on in-depth interviews, a case was constructed of her previous school days and current "out of school" days. These provided a vivid picture of her life and several themes were created using schema analysis that help explain the reasons for her "dropping out" of school after Form Five. It has been common to attribute school failure for ethnic minority students in Hong Kong to problems with Chinese language education. Yet Maneesha's case study shows that her experience of failure in other subjects such as Mathematics and Science contributed to her lack of successful schooling. Maneesha's school failure was more than simply a consequence of academic failure. Rather, there were many other interrelated factors such as peer and community factors, dropout history in the family, racism, differences in schooling culture found that contributed… [Direct]
(2018). How Blue Was My Valley? Invited Paper for the AERA Special Interest Group on Rural Education. Journal of Research in Rural Education, v33 n4. Did rural America bring Donald Trump to the presidency? As a phenomenon related to the rise of Trump, the authors try, in this paper, to explain the conservatism that surrounds them personally, as rural residents and rural education scholars. Their neighbors are (mostly) conservative; in part it defines them; it is part of their culture. They have suffered loss across generations, so they are interested to hold on to familiar ways of living. The schools play a contradictory role in this, as rural scholars (worldwide) know well. The authors present four explanations of Trump-related conservatism, all of which, they believe, are apt to some degree. They may not add up convincingly, but they might be a start. First, they explain voting for Trump as a "weapon of the weak" (see, e.g., Scott, 1985). Second, they deal with the Republican allegiances of many rural voters as a variant of "false consciousness." Third, they examine the "rural resonance with… [PDF]
(2015). "When You Tell a Personal Story, I Kind of Perk up a Little Bit More": An Examination of Student Learning from Listening to Personal Stories in Two Social Diversity Courses. Equity & Excellence in Education, v48 n3 p373-391. This article explores the role of personal storytelling about social identity-related experiences in two diversity courses that were informed by social justice education pedagogies with a focus on race/ethnicity and racism. The two courses included racially diverse groups of students in two undergraduate diversity courses at two Northeast universities (a social diversity and oppression course, and a race/ethnicity intergroup dialogue course). Participants describe a variety of learning outcomes after listening to personal stories. Findings also indicate that students across identities value storytelling, describing it as engaging, enjoyable, and integral to their learning. This underscores the value and impact of face-to-face, synchronous learning as a valid, transformative, and critical educational method in diversity courses…. [Direct]
(2022). Unsettling Understandings: Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy and the Implementation of a Racial Diversity Initiative. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles. Scholarship on racial diversity initiatives outline the positive outcomes associated with initiatives, describes the types of initiatives, and the various ways faculty, staff, and university leadership can and do work together for effective outcomes. However, there is a need to understand how racial diversity initiatives are implemented, what influences their creation, and how systems of power like settler colonialism and white supremacy manifest during the implementation of racial diversity initiatives. Utilizing an embedded qualitative case study approach, this study explored the implementation of the White Racial Literacy Project, by way of the Welcoming Campus Initiative, at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Guiding questions focused on identifying the organizational and societal elements that influenced the creation of the WCI and WRLP, while illuminating the ways white supremacy manifested in the implementation of the WRLP. This study was guided by two… [Direct]
(2013). Factors Associated with Couples and Family Therapy Students' Racial Awareness. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Minnesota. Racial awareness is a critical foundation to Couples and Family Therapists (CFT) being able to confront issues of race and racism with their clients. Current CFT literature has used qualitative methods to conclude that when strategies focused on issues of race and racism are competently incorporated across several domains of CFT education and training, students' racial awareness is increased. This study extends the current literature by quantitatively examining the relationship between several factors–including CFT graduate coursework and clinical supervision–and CFT students' racial awareness. Participants for this study consisted of 78 white and non-white CFT master's and doctoral students from various accredited CFT programs nationwide. Participants completed an on-line survey measuring their racial awareness, personal experiences with racism, and perceived exposure to racially competent coursework and clinical supervision. Students' personal experiences with racism as well as… [Direct]
(2017). Learning to Live in the Anthropocene: Our Children and Ourselves. Studies in Philosophy and Education, v36 n3 p265-282 May. This essay responds to recent philosophical interest in the Anthropocene by asking (Trachtenberg in "Inhabiting the Anthropocene: how we live changes everything," 2016): Can and should educators adopt, form, transmit, teach ways of living to maintain, if not enhance Earth's habitability, especially its habitability for diverse children? This inquiry therefore calls for conceptual study of learning to live through the Anthropocene–with, despite, after, before, amid, among, away from, and against its myriad harms, possible and actual, especially its harms to children. Examining cases of environmental racism in Checker's "Polluted Promises" (2005), and other cases of environmental threats to children's health, in Steingraber's "Raising Elijah" (2011), this study begins by proposing the ecological gap in philosophy of education consequential for children resides within another epistemological gap, variously designated gender gap, love gap, care gap (Martin… [Direct]
(2012). Trampling the Sacred: Multicultural Education as Pedagogical Racism. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v25 n7 p867-883. The following paper is a critical examination involving the misuse of sacred cultural tools and practices in the name of multicultural education. Native American practices are identified to illustrate how such inappropriate usages promote pedagogical racism. The misuse continues the hegemonic distribution of social capital. Through the irresponsible portrayal of complex and sophisticated cultures, American education continues to perpetuate pedagogical violence against children who are already socially and educationally disenfranchised. Using Freire, Giroux, Deloria, and Grande, this paper will identify strategies of communication and education necessary to eliminate pedagogical racism and begin to reverse the violence against children…. [Direct]
(2017). Latina Women in STEM: A Critical Analysis of Ph.D. Students' Experiences. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, California State University, Fresno. The intent of this qualitative study was to better understand factors, which impacted Latin women's development of resilience and how they continued their education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The participants were enrolled in Ph.D. programs at 5 of the 10 University of California campuses currently designated as Hispanic Service Institutions (HSIs). The study utilized the narrative storytelling format of testimonios, which capture the lived experiences of individuals from underrepresented backgrounds. These testimonios demonstrated the systemic issues that have led to the lower number of women of color in advanced degree programs in STEM that are currently dominated by White men. Utilizing LatCrit, a branch of critical race theory, this dissertation presented educational issues such as racism, sexism, gender bias, and cultural norms that universities can address to create more inclusive environments and better support women of color that are… [Direct]
(2017). SLCE Partnering with Social Justice Collectives to Dismantle the Status Quo. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, v23 n2 p170-174 Spr. "Service-learning" is a multilayered term with a complex historical evolution. In the last two decades, service-learning and community engagement (SLCE) have flourished in higher education as staff, faculty, and students have realized it can be a high-impact teaching and learning practice to promote student learning and development. While many SLCE courses and projects adopt this student focus in undertaking and reflecting upon useful service activities with community organizations, it can be difficult to implement them in ways that explicitly engage with the historical and contemporary systems of oppression–such as racism, classism, and sexism–that created the need for SLCE efforts in the first place. The authors' vision for the future is a radical re-centering of SLCE within social justice collectives (SJCs), such as the organizers of the Movement for Black Lives, led by people from marginalized groups and addressing the systems of oppression most relevant to their own… [PDF]
(2011). Moving beyond Colorblindness in Early Childhood Classrooms. Early Childhood Education Journal, v39 n5 p335-342 Dec. Countering the position that colorblindness is desirable for teachers and children, this article encourages early childhood education teachers to engage in conversations about race and racism with young children. We discuss why the early childhood years are important for interrupting racism and make suggestions for helping children develop tools for addressing it. Annotated examples of children's drawings about racism from a second grade classroom are shared to demonstrate that young children are not colorblind and that they think about and experience racism in their daily lives. We conclude that it is both an educational and ethical necessity to address racism with young children…. [Direct]
(2021). Addressing Education Inequality with a Next Generation of Community Schools: A Blueprint for Mayors, States, and the Federal Government. Center for Universal Education at The Brookings Institution During few times in America's history has leadership in education been more critical. Far too many communities continue to face the enduring impacts of systematic racism and generational poverty. The nation's schools have also been impacted by COVID-19 and, for many, the effects are staggering and could last for years. At the same time, as the pandemic shuttered school doors across the country, numerous education allies rose to the occasion–from families to community nonprofits to employers to media companies. Taken altogether, this situation presents a series of linked challenges, as well as what may be a once-in-a-century opportunity to reimagine school in ways that nurture the gifts and talents of every child and family. By seizing the moment, America can lay the foundation for a new way of schooling that the nation needs–one that is flexible, customized to local needs and equitable, and that brings together educators, communities, and families to support every student every… [PDF]
(2012). Black Achievers' Experiences with Racial Spotlighting and Ignoring in a Predominantly White High School. Teachers College Record, v114 n10. Background/Context: Despite a history of racial oppression and degradation in U.S. schools, African Americans have responded to racism and discrimination in ways that promote educational attainment and school success. Many Black adolescents have been empowered to succeed academically partly because of their awareness of racist practices in education and society. This empowerment to succeed in the face of racism is also seen as resiliency. A growing body of research suggests that despite experiencing racism in schools, many African Americans possess an achievement ethos that demands a commitment to excellence; despite experiencing racism as a stressor, these students develop resilient strategies for resisting racism in the school context. Purpose/Objective/Focus of Study: The purpose of this study was to understand the adaptive behaviors that high-achieving Black students employed in a predominantly White high school to maintain school success and a positive racial self-definition…. [Direct]
(2024). Connecting the Dots: A Systematic Review of Explanatory Factors Linking Contextual Indicators, Institutional Culture and Degree Awarding Gaps. Higher Education Evaluation and Development, v18 n1 p31-52. Purpose: The primary aim of this paper is to illuminate the critical issue of the degree awarding gap in the UK, which significantly impacts students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and minority groups. By conducting a systematic review of existing literature following the PRISMA protocol, this study seeks to uncover the complex web of explanatory factors that mediate the relationship between contextual indicators, institutional culture, and degree awarding disparities. Addressing this gap is vital for promoting social justice, enhancing the economy, safeguarding the reputation of UK universities, and adhering to legal responsibilities. This paper endeavours to provide a comprehensive understanding of the underlying causes of degree awarding gaps and offer evidence-based recommendations for the higher education sector to mitigate these disparities. Design/methodology/approach: This study employs a systematic review design, adhering to the PRISMA protocol, to meticulously… [Direct]
(2018). International Perspectives on Alternative Education. Policy and Practice. Trentham Books 'Alternative education' encompasses a diversity of schooling types and organizations. "International Perspectives on Alternative Education" explores alternative forms of schooling from the position of academics, policy workers, and those working and studying in such schools across the world. The first-hand accounts by those working and leading in alternative schools, and the analyses by those working at the policy level, bring alive their dilemmas and challenges. Complementing these are the academic contributions, which examine over-arching questions about social justice and the meanings of achievement, success, choice, and purpose across education. The issue of 'alternative education' and why it is relevant in today's educational landscape is an international one, and the book draws on contributions from Australia, Indonesia, Korea, Denmark, England, Germany, Scotland, and the United States. The book will be of interest to all educators, teachers, academics, students,… [Direct]
(1986). The New Racism in Education. Social Policy, v17 n1 p11-15 Sum. Discusses the current practice in the U.S. of standardized testing of teachers as a response to the perceived failures of public schools. Focuses on the position that this practice reduces the already low percentage of minority teachers in the schools. Reviews testing practices in various states and the consequences encountered. (SA)…