(2024). Honor Your Contract: Finding Sensibility in Community Colleges. Teachers College Record, v126 n6-7 p118-134. Background/Context: Community colleges are seen as malleable institutions that work closely with high schools, vocational programs, employers, and community organizations to provide an education for all members of their local community. As an extension of the community, the education provided must address larger social changes (i.e., Affirmative Action, Title IX regulations) while simultaneously adjusting to the needs of the student population (i.e., food pantries, financial insecurities, homelessness, job outlook). This is a major responsibility, and working with these organizations to create programs designed to serve the needs of the people requires an agreement, or a social contract formed between these organizations and the community college. Due to the various needs of students and other social factors that create unique circumstances for certain groups, including racial minorities, neurodiverse populations, and the like, it is important to look at this contract with a critical… [Direct]
(2017). Ethnicity, Disadvantage and Other Variables in the Analysis of Birmingham Longitudinal School Attainment Datasets. Educational Review, v69 n5 p577-599. Explaining and responding to inequalities in attainment are significant educational policy challenges in England as elsewhere. Data on four cohorts of Birmingham Local Education Authority (LEA) pupils, each approximately 13,000, were analysed by ethnicity, deprivation, gender and other relevant individual pupil variables. For the four successive cohorts of children, aged five in 1997-2001, analysis shows the attainment trajectory of each ethnic group from Baseline/Foundation Stage Profile (age 5) to GCSE (age 16). The relative constancy over time, the changes from one key stage to the next and the differences within broad ethnic categories argue against simplistic explanations. The ethnicity variable accounts for a relatively small amount of variance in pupil achievement, with the same ethnic subgroups recurrently low attainers. Considering explanatory perspectives on educational inequalities and ethnicity in the light of these data, we conclude that a structuralist perspective… [Direct]
(2021). Examining the Role of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs in the Recruitment, Experience, and Retention of Black Faculty in a Private, Tier 1, Research University: A Case Study. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Drexel University. Black, full-time faculty are underrepresented in higher education generally and in the health professions specifically. Underrepresentation persists despite the proliferation of diversity, equity, and inclusions (DEI) programs across institutions. The purpose of this qualitative, instrumental case study was to explore the role of DEI programs in the recruitment, experience, and retention of Black, full-time faculty in the Andrew School of Health and Nursing (ASHN) in a private, Tier 1, research university in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The study utilized the theoretical framework of critical race theory (CRT) to center race and racism in the inquiry, as well as the tenets of CRT to guide the analysis and interpretation of data. The researcher administered a demographic questionnaire and conducted semi-structured interviews with selected ASHN administrators, Board of DEI members, and faculty and professional staff from three departments within the ASHN. Additionally,… [Direct]
(2016). Theme and Variations: A Content Analysis of Syllabi in Introduction to Urban Education Courses. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Temple University. This qualitative study examines the teaching of urban education in introductory and foundational college courses. The research positions course syllabi as ubiquitous public documents that socialize students into discourse communities, and is framed within theories of social constructivism. An examination of course objectives, course assignments, and core required texts revealed varying levels of consistency in the stated learning outcomes on all (n = 31) syllabi. Overall, five conceptual approaches to introductory courses in urban education emerged: 1) schools and the social order; 2) historical perspective; 3) education policy analysis; 4) professional practice, pedagogy and research persona; and 5) teacher as change agent. Shared organizing features of all syllabi included references to education inequity, social stratification, structural racism, poverty, and social justice; however, the degree of topic emphasis varied substantially. Closer alignment between course objectives and… [Direct]
(2023). Seen and Unseen: Narratives of In/Visibility of Black Youth Who Attend a Predominantly Latinx High School. Teachers College Record, v125 n3 p237-263. Background/Context: Scholars have identified how antiblackness operates as a specific organizational culture across the educational enterprise by examining Black students in various schooling contexts. However, there remains limited empirical research exploring Black students' unique experiences in predominantly Latinx educational settings. The presence of Black bodies in institutions like schools from which they have been historically or conceptually excluded, marginalized, or "othered" presents an intriguing context to investigate the intersection of race, place, and the politics of visibility. Research Design: Drawing from an extensive ethnographic project on antiblackness in borderland contexts, this article interrogates Black students' narratives of in/visibility–stories detailing moments when they felt seen and unseen. I used purposive sampling and recruited 20 Black students to participate in focus groups and individual interviews. Focus groups and interviews were… [Direct]
(2020). Investigating Diversity Issues through the Experiences of Executive Latinx Leaders in Christian Higher Education. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Fuller Theological Seminary, School of Intercultural Studies. This study will examine diversity, equity, and inclusion issues through the lived experiences of five executive Latinx leaders that serve (as a dean or above) in the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). There exists a lacuna of Latinx within the executive ranks of colleges and universities in the U.S., and those who currently serve are mostly at the community college level. When it comes to Christian higher education (CHE), the number of Latinx serving at the senior level is twice as low. Thus, those Latinx who are currently serving at the CCCU provide a learning opportunity for other Latinx aspiring to assume leadership positions, while simultaneously providing CCCU schools that desire to attract and retain Latinx leaders, the knowledge in order to do so. This research project was birthed from the investigators experiences in CHE, and a desire to learn if the experiences were unique or if they aligned with other Latinx and people of color. Critical Race Theory… [Direct]
(2017). How Do Faculty Experience the University Mission? A Descriptive Case Study of One University's Approach to Its Core Values. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Northeastern University. This research study captured the stories of 11 university faculty about their lived experiences with the university's social justice mission. Key findings revealed: (a) faculty of color described experiencing racism on campus, (b) faculty of color felt marginalized on campus, (c) faculty developed their understanding of the mission over time, (d) the mission was experienced differently by faculty of color than by White faculty, (e) peer group support was vital for retaining faculty of color, and (f) there was little evidence of collective overt challenges to the dominant ideology of the university. The study used a case study methodology to understand how tenured and tenure-track faculty made meaning of and understood a university's mission at a private university in the western United States. Campus documents were analyzed and 11 faculty members were interviewed. Data were analyzed using the in vivo coding method and were interpreted through a critical race theory framework. Results… [Direct]
(2015). Fortress Europe in the Field: Academics, Immigrants, and Methodological Considerations for Educational Studies. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v28 n4 p437-456. This article addresses the difficulty of local-level qualitative educational research in Amsterdam in light of changes related to contemporary political discourse on decades of immigration, especially from the 1970s onward, and increasingly critical assessments of Dutch education in the literature. It considers recent developments in the Netherlands while taking into account similar processes elsewhere in the European Union, with the aim of understanding taboos and problems associated with research on immigration, racism, and discrimination. Specifically, we utilize one researcher's efforts to gain access to educationally based field sites to focus attention on the links between contextual political discourses and policies excluding immigrants with efforts to sociologically examine the experiences of immigrants. We conclude with a discussion of broader challenges faced by social scientists, including the benefits and disadvantages of having outsider status, attempting to utilize… [Direct]
(2022). The Collegiate Black Space: Black College Students' Use of New Counter-Spaces for Support, Knowledge Production, and Organizing for Activism. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of San Francisco. Black collegians who attend historically white institutions continue to struggle with racism, microaggressions, feelings of alienation, minimal or improper advising, and an undue pressure to prove themselves (Bonner, 2010; Feagin & Sikes, 1995; Strayhorn, 2010). These barriers to success result in part due to a lack of support from the colleges and universities that they attend (Allen, 1992; Parker, Puig, Johnson & Anthony, Jr., 2016). With institutional benefits designed to benefit white students over students of color, Black students must find their own alternatives for collaboration and to provide support for their peers. Many Black spaces can be defined as third spaces (Bhabha, 1994), where Black people go to find community, share information, and get advice. Using a concept I developed called "the collegiate Black space," this dissertation argues that Black college students who attend historically white institutions have also turned digital spaces into Black… [Direct]
(2013). Chicanos Teaching Social Justice in Higher Education = Chicanos Ense√±ando Justicia Social en La Universidad: Experiences at Predominately White and Hispanic Serving Institutions. International Perspectives on Higher Education Research This chapter will provide examples of how Chicano faculty teach and practice social justice in the U.S. college classroom, where subtle forms of racism operate through White privilege, and influence faculty credibility and authority. From a Latino Critical Theory (LatCrit) perspective, the authors address the question, What are the similarities and differences in classroom experiences of Chicano faculty in Predominately White Institutions (PWI) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI)? In addressing this question, the authors will provide examples from their teaching experiences at both PWIs and HSIs, and how a Chicana/o-centered social justice perspective can help to mediate and overcome classroom challenges. The chapter will end with a discussion of how a social justice framework is necessary in college classrooms that are becoming increasingly diverse; and recommendations for how PWIs and HSIs can support Chicana/o faculty in endeavors to institutionalize a social justice framework… [Direct]
(2016). 'Restorative Justice' or Restoring Authority? Restorative School Discipline Practices in Urban Public Schools. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, New York University. School leaders seeking to implement restorative justice discipline practices in diverse urban schools have a series of subtle and crucial decisions to make that are omitted in the literature on alternatives to suspension. This ethnographic research in three urban schools using restorative practices suggests that racial and cultural dynamics complicate how students and teachers experience restorative practices. Restorative practices were predominantly used to maintain order in the school. They reproduced traditional inequalities because, while administrators tended to avoid directly addressing the role of racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination played in these conflicts. To resist such reproduction, implementation of restorative practices requires: a) an overt staff commitment to discussing larger social issues and how they impact their work with students; b) professional development around culturally responsive education that specifically addresses discipline; and c)… [Direct]
(2016). The Multi/Plural Turn, Postcolonial Theory, and Neoliberal Multiculturalism: Complicities and Implications for Applied Linguistics. Applied Linguistics, v37 n4 p474-494 Aug. In applied linguistics and language education, an increased focus has been placed on plurality and hybridity to challenge monolingualism, the native speaker norm, and the modernist view of language and language use as unitary and bounded. The multi/plural turn parallels postcolonial theory in that they both support hybridity and fluidity while problematizing the essentialist understanding of language and identity. However, postcolonial theory, which has been influenced by poststructuralism, met criticisms in the 1990s in cultural studies. The notion of hybridity has been especially criticized for its privileged status, individual orientation, and disparity between theory and practice. Furthermore, the conceptual features of the multi/plural turn overlap with neoliberalism and neoliberal multiculturalism, which uncritically support diversity, plurality, flexibility, individualism, and cosmopolitanism, while perpetuating color-blindness and racism. The multi/plural turn also neglects… [Direct]
(2018). Increasing Inclusion: The Pursuit of Racial Diversity in Three Historically White Universities in Kentucky, Michigan, and Ontario from 2000 to 2012. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky (UK) and University of Michigan (UM) present very different patterns in terms of black student enrollments and completions from 2000 to 2012 because of a structural explanation, a qualitative explanation, and a statistical explanation. Unfortunately, the patterns at the University of Western Ontario (UWO) are partial due to a lack of data. First, the structural explanation is that UK, as a university in the state of Kentucky, was under a mandate from the U.S. Department of Education to desegregate because they were in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (KCPE) gave specific goals related to black student enrollment and completions. Substantial progress was made from 2000-2012, primarily during the time when Lee Todd Jr. created the President's Commission on Diversity (PCD) which implemented strategies to achieve the goals. While the same federal laws applied to UM, as a northern state they were not… [Direct]
(2018). A Phenomenological Study of Student Leaders of Color at Dominantly White Christian Institutions. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D./HE Dissertation, Azusa Pacific University. Leadership has been identified as an important component of higher education and the college student experience (Dugan, 2006; Komives, Dugan, & Owen, 2011; Shertzer & Schuh, 2004; St. John, Rowley, & Hu, 2009). Although there has been an increase in leadership initiatives across higher education, many institutions, specifically dominantly White Christian institutions have struggled to find ways to involve students of color in leadership. Utilizing a phenomenological approach, this study explored the leadership experiences of 11 students of color from 3 dominantly White Christian institutions. Furthermore, the study examined ways in which students' racial identity shaped their experiences. Findings revealed how evangelical and institutional dynamics of racism were instrumental in forming students' experiences. Being the "only" within a dominant culture also added an extra pressure to represent and adapt. The Christian values of the students and their institutions… [Direct]
(2019). Why White Instructors Should Explore Their White Racial Identity. Forum: Reflections on White Racial Identity in the ABE Classroom. [Part 1 of 4]. Adult Literacy Education, v1 n2 p52-56 Fall. The questions that begin Stephen Brookfield's discussion of why he thinks white instructors in multiracial Adult Basic Education (ABE) classes need to explore their own whiteness include the following: (1) If racial identity is largely a cultural, not biological, construct, then why focus on "any" form of racial markers?; and (2) Doesn't this constant harping on race create unnecessary divisions and stop us all from getting along? Brookfield claims that it is not talking about race that disrupts social harmony but rather it's the fact that whiteness as an identity is connected to power in a way that a learned blindness to racial inequality helps maintain a system that exhibits structural exclusion and normalizes brutality. Brookfield maintains that he has been struck over the years by the fact that people of color tell him that the most helpful thing whites can do in terms of fighting racism is to become aware of what it means to be white. They tell him that it is much more… [PDF]