(2012). Are They "American" Enough to Teach Social Studies?: Korean American Teachers' Social Studies Teaching Experiences in American Public Schools. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Columbia University. This study explores three Korean American social studies teachers' experiences of teaching social studies, focusing on their curricular and pedagogical perceptions and practices. Framed by sociocultural theory, this study aims to shed light on the heterogeneous stories and socially and culturally contextualized teaching experiences of Korean American social studies teachers, which have been largely undocumented in the social studies scholarship. The major research question for this study is: How do three Korean American social studies teachers perceive social studies curriculum and implement pedagogy in the realities of their classrooms? Subsidiary questions are: (a) What are these Korean American social studies teachers' perceptions and experiences of teaching profession in American public schools?; (b) How do these Korean American social studies teachers perceive social studies curriculum and implement pedagogy in the realities of classrooms?; and (c) How do sociocultural… [Direct]
(2012). Transforming Multicultural Teacher Education through Participatory Theatre: An Arts-Based Approach to Ethnographic Action Research. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Arizona State University. Multivariate forms of social oppression, such as racism, linguicism, and heterosexism, are manifested in schools that, as part of our communities, reflect the societal stratification and structural inequalities of a larger society. Teacher educators engaged in multicultural education are responsible for providing pre-service teachers with opportunities to critically examine the intricacies of cultural diversity in U.S. classrooms, developing critical multicultural dispositions. What are effective pedagogical strategies that encourage pre-service teachers to develop such critical multicultural practices? The researcher has found that participatory theatre, including Boalian theatre games, Forum Theatre, Image Theatre, and ethnodrama, can be a transformative, emancipatory pedagogical tool to engage students in critical and creative exploration of cultural diversity. The primary objective of this study is to illustrate how pre-service teachers develop critical consciousness through… [Direct]
(2010). Pursuing Racial Equity in Our Schools: Lessons Learned from African American Male Teachers in a Suburban School District. AILACTE Journal, v7 p33-47 Fall. In a "Multicultural Teaching and Learning" course, racial equity is one of the many issues explored. When discussing racial equity in our schools, teacher education students in the course focus their attention on such issues as the achievement gap, referrals to special education of African American and Latino males, the racism of low expectations. When faced with these issues, the mostly White student population is often times silent, color-blind, or oblivious to the racialized dynamics of schooling. In an effort to expand student understanding of racial equity, but also explore the complexity of race in schools, seven African American male teachers in a suburban school district were interviewed. As a result of these interviews, it is apparent that racial equity conversations must also assist teacher education students in understanding the relationships between African American and White teachers. (Contains 1 figure.)… [Direct]
(2011). Black Civitas: An Examination of Carter Woodson's Contributions to Teaching about Race, Citizenship, and the Black Soldier. Theory and Research in Social Education, v39 n2 p278-299 Spr. In this article the authors interrogate the historical meaning of the African American soldier in order to widen the discussion of race and citizenship in the field of social studies education. The article has two overarching purposes. First, the authors attend to the recent call in the field of social studies for a more rigorous analysis of issues of race and racism. The authors focus attention on the history of the Black soldier in order to document the nuanced and paradoxical ways in which race and citizenship have intersected in the lives and military service of these men. Second, the authors situate the work of Carter G. Woodson as foundational to discussions about race and citizenship. They give specific attention to Woodson's textbook writings in order to highlight how he employed the genre of curriculum writing to challenge the historical narratives found in K-12 texts and in the academic literature about the Black soldier. (Contains 2 notes.)… [Direct]
(2013). A Case for Administrators of Color: Insights and Policy Implications for Higher Education's Predominantly White Institutions. eJEP: eJournal of Education Policy, Fall. The underrepresentation of administrators of color in higher education is one of the most important ethical dilemmas facing colleges and universities today. Arguably, in no place is this more evident than at historically white colleges and universities (majority institutions). Prior to the 1960s, the lack of administrators of color in higher education's Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) was viewed as common place and a cultural normative due to the existence of segregation and widespread racism during that era. It was not until the American Civil Rights Movement that higher education was forced to expand, at which point, state and federal civil rights mandates–prompted by social justice concerns–began to challenge institutions that excluded minorities (Chang, 2005). Many of these mandates became known as affirmative action policies. Mostly race-sensitive in nature, these affirmative action policies aimed to increase access and opportunities for promotions, salary increases,… [PDF]
(2011). Social Justice, Self-Systems, and Engagement in Learning: What Students Labeled as \At-Risk\ Can Teach Us. Educational Leadership and Administration: Teaching and Program Development, v23 p57-74 Sep. When students are marginalized, excluded, negatively labeled, and do not fit what is considered to be normative, they may experience social injustice because of the ways in which oppression have been institutionalized within the education system. In schools, students face social injustice when they are oppressed based on racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, ableism, audism, sizeism, ageism, and religious intolerance. It is incumbent upon professors who guide and prepare individuals aspiring to leadership positions to recognize and understand the need to ensure equity and support for all students. The goal of this article was to examine student perceptions in order to identify ways in which educational leaders, teachers, and those aspiring to leadership positions might become more effective student advocates who promote social justice. Insights arising from understanding how beliefs influence learning may help educators work with K-12 students in supportive ways given the current… [PDF]
(2014). Effects of Teacher Certification on the Educational Achievement of African American Students. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Walden University. The purpose of this nonexperimental quantitative study was to explore the effects of teachers' certification on the achievement of African American students. The impetus for this exploration resided in the reading achievement disparities between African American and Caucasian students in the study district. Guided by the principles of total quality management in education to address educational quality, as well as by the critical race theory to examine the effects of race and racism, this study contributed to research on reading achievement gaps for African American students by addressing whether teacher certification levels have effects on student achievement and whether there are racial disparities in access to highly certified teachers. Archived state reading data on African American students in 100 schools were analyzed using an independent-measures t statistic to identify statistical significance between achievement and teacher certification levels, and percentage of Advanced… [Direct]
(2011). Picturing Oppression: Seventh Graders' Photo Essays on Racism, Classism, and Sexism. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v24 n3 p323-342. This study, situated in an inner-city school in Western Canada, involved 20 seventh graders producing photo essays about living with racism, classism, or sexism. Two questions guided the study: (1) How do students working with a critical pedagogue conceptualize their own experiences with race, class, and gender in ways that either interrupt or reinscribe dominant mainstream curricular narratives?; and (2) To what extent can visual methods serve to open up and expand researchers' understanding of students' conceptions of their lived experiences in the context of a critical pedagogy classroom? This study drew upon critical pedagogy, critical multicultural education, and visual methodology. Issues of societal curriculum and identity were central to this work. Students' photo essays not only revealed some patterns of mainstream discourses related to race, class, and gender, but also revealed some very sophisticated understandings of how social issues play out in institutional systems…. [Direct]
(2008). Should Ethnicity "Matter" when Teaching about "Race" and Racism in the Classroom?. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v11 n4 p415-428 Dec. Teaching about "race" and racism to a diverse student group can lead to some very interesting exchanges. Some of these moments are much to do with the subject content. Learning about racism often pulls on our emotional strings: black students sometimes express their hurt and anger, while white students sometimes remain silent or express their hurt, shame and discomfort. The lecturer's racialised identity is an important factor in these emotional exchanges. Black lecturers are sometimes judged for their "loyalties and sensibilities" with the black community, while white lecturers are questioned for their understanding and sympathies with "race"/racism issues. This paper considers how social identities and physical appearances impact on the teaching and learning process and issues of student and lecturer positionalities and identities in the Higher Education context. In particular, it examines how much being white or black can "matter" in… [Direct]
(2010). "Ethical Positioning" a Strategy in Overcoming Student Resistance and Fostering Engagement in Teaching Aboriginal History as a Compulsory Subject to Pre-Service Primary Education Students. Education in Rural Australia, v20 n1 p29-42. The paper describes and analyses the issues that impacted on pre service Primary Education students' engagement with the subject "Aboriginal culture and history" at a rural university. The paper identifies how issues including pioneer identity and local "conversations" about race related strongly to this particular rural context. It names and demonstrates "ethical positioning" as an effective pedagogy in shifting often unrecognised racist values and attitudes, thus enabling students to move beyond ethnocentricity. The paper highlights the openness of the students to becoming transformative educators when issues of identity, racism and its ethical implications are reflected on overtly. (Contains 13 footnotes.)… [Direct]
(2012). Beyond the Culture of Exclusion: Using Critical Race Theory to Examine the Perceptions of British "Minority Ethnic" and Eastern European "Immigrant" Young People in English Schools. Intercultural Education, v23 n6 p501-511. In England there are minority ethnic students with past family connections to the former British Empire, as well as recent Eastern European students, economic migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. One may wish to ask, do newly emerging racial identities conceptualise race and race relations in similar ways to existing minority ethnic communities? This paper is based on ongoing research examining the perceptions and experiences of British "minority ethnic" and more recently migrated Eastern European "immigrant" youth. Findings from a qualitative study conducted in two Buckinghamshire secondary schools examine everyday experiences, perceptions, practices, and barriers that validate stereotypes of 30 young people (ages 12-16). The primary aims in this paper are: (1) to illustrate some articulations of both inclusion and exclusion within the English educational system, particularly in relation to the recent comparative and temporal dimensions of migration and (2) to… [Direct]
(2009). Equivocal Tales about Identity, Racism and the Curriculum. Teaching in Higher Education, v14 n1 p95-106 Feb. This paper is based on a small-scale study of the minority ethnic student experience at a small mainly "white" university in the south of England. Students described their experience as broadly positive but suggested clashes of values in some areas of campus social life. Where the curriculum explored notions of culture, students valued the space to reflect on and nurture their identity, but most described the curriculum as patchily diverse. Students were ambiguous about racism, giving anecdotal evidence of its existence whilst downplaying its significance. The findings suggest that the Higher Education (HE) curriculum is a powerful but under-utilised tool in developing a more inclusive experience for all students. They further suggest that legal and institutional procedures are not a strong enough framework to combat racism, and that campuses with few minority ethnic students need to take a much more intentional approach to transforming the institutional culture. (Contains… [Direct]
(2010). Participation of Internationally-Educated Professionals in an Initial Teacher Education Bachelor of Education Degree Program: Challenges and Supports. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, n100 Feb. This paper examines challenges and supports experienced by internationally educated immigrants who participated as adult students in an Initial Teacher Education Bachelor of Education degree program in Ontario as part of their strategy to begin new careers as teachers. The narrative of one participant, a Chinese-educated meteorologist and journalist is presented as a powerful illustration of the challenges, supports and common themes described by the study participants. Her story communicates challenges related to: time; language; the culture of the teaching profession in Ontario; intra-cultural racism; feelings of inadequacy, inferiority, isolation and invisibility related to "otherness"; and a competitive labour market that disadvantages immigrant teachers. Her story also describes support through: constructive mentoring, a course developed specifically for internationally educated student teachers; and, supportive peer colleagues. (Contains 2 footnotes.)… [PDF]
(2012). The Invisibility of Race: Intersectional Reflections on the Liminal Space of Alterity. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v15 n1 p65-84. It has been argued that racialised Others occupy a liminal space of alterity; a position at the edges of society from which their identities and experiences are constructed. Rather than being regarded as a place of disadvantage and degradation, it has been posited that those excluded from the centre can experience a "perspective advantage" as their experiences and analyses become informed by a panoramic dialectic offering a wider lens than the white majority located in the privileged spaces of the centre are able to deploy. In this article, I invite the reader to glimpse the world from this liminal positioning as I reflect critically on how the intersections between social class, race and gender variously advantage or disadvantage, depending on the context, the ways in which Black middle classes are able to engage with the education system. While I make reference to findings from a recent school-focused ESRC project "The Educational Strategies of the Black Middle… [Direct]
(2011). The Whiteness of Literacy Practice in Ontario. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v14 n5 p699-726. In the spring of 2008, the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat of the Ontario Ministry of Education in Canada released a DVD that was one in a series designed to train literacy teachers in what the Ministry referred to as "high-yield" comprehension strategies. Using the lens of Critical Race Theory, this article analyses the picture book used in the model lesson as well as the teaching methods recommended for all Ontarian teachers in the DVD. While the selection of the picture book fits the present policies of multiculturalism in Ontario, its romanticized portrayal of an indigenous people serves to perpetuate racism, particularly in the uncritical reading demonstrated in the DVD. In addition, the teaching methods demonstrated as "high-yield" arise from the global movement towards standardization in education, and establish measurable student achievement, in a classroom portrayed as socially neutral, as the end goal of education. Nowhere in this model lesson, given… [Direct]