(2024). Understanding the Lived Experiences of Black Male Alumni Aged 25-50 Who Have Received Special Education Services in Boston Public Schools: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Perspectives of Impacted Participants. ProQuest LLC, D.L.P. Dissertation, Northeastern University. This qualitative grounded theoretical study examined the experiences of 13 Black male alumni aged 25-50 who received special education services in the Boston Public Schools (BPS). Through semi-structured interviews and rigorous thematic analysis, this research uncovered nuanced narratives that revealed salient themes central to participants' lives. One prominent theme emphasized the significance of families comprehending their rights throughout the special education process. Participants and prior research emphasized the pivotal role families play in advocating for their child's educational needs and the proactive engagement required in seeking solutions. This study exposed the stigma of special education labels and placements, yet the resilience of participants shined through. Participants articulated needs for a more diverse and caring school staff who understood their unique challenges and for a supportive environment. Their experiences also illuminated instances of overt and… [Direct]
(2022). Anger and Disillusionment in Argentinian Feminism, 2011-2015: An Ethnography of Feminist Activism in Buenos Aires' Popular Education Movements. Gender and Education, v34 n1 p96-111. This essay draws from four years of ethnographic fieldwork with women activists in self-defined Paulo Freirean-based popular education schools in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Rather than leaning on the traditions of education activism, modeled on Freire's class-based emancipatory vision, the women in this study sought to turn popular education's focus toward intersectional oppressions that impacted girls and women in their communities. Through their anger and disillusion with the form Freirean thought had been taken up by social movements, I illustrate how participants were contemplating ways to make room for women's experiences by pinpointing junctures of racism, sexism, and classism as they impressed upon the lives of people living and learning in precarious conditions…. [Direct]
(2021). Learning to Challenge Racial "Colorblindness". Educational Leadership, v78 n5 p33-37 Feb. Colorblind ideology–grounded in the belief that race is not a determinant factor for economic or academic outcomes in the U.S.–can thwart teachers' learning in PD focused on equity and anti-racist education. Colorblind ideology deflects conversation from race and suppresses a group's ability to address racial issues. Mayfield spells out how to do PD on racism and equity without getting sidetracked by colorblindness…. [Direct]
(2021). A CRT-Informed Model to Enhance Experiences and Outcomes of Racially Minoritized Students. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, v58 n3 p241-253. Racial inequities in retention and graduation rates are a top concern in higher education, yet scholars and practitioners rarely look to racism to explain these disparities. Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a vehicle to reveal and challenge power and oppression dynamics between racialized groups. This article proposes a practical model for student affairs professionals to leverage CRT concepts to address racial inequities in student outcomes and experiences…. [Direct]
(2023). Antiracist Praxis by White Women in Student Affairs. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of Georgia. The suffering racism creates is endless. For too long, the burden of speaking out and taking action against racism has fallen on Communities of Color. Higher education needs people inside the system to actively resist its racism by implementing antiracist policies and practices. White people, and white women in particular, comprise a majority of student affairs professionals, and our investment and engagement in social justice has the capacity to make meaningful change. The purpose of this study was to explore how white women in student affairs, who engage in antiracist praxis in their work, understand and enact antiracist praxis. I used Linder's (2018) power-conscious framework to investigate identity, power, and antiracist praxis in the context of a participatory action research (PAR) design. The use of PAR in this study positioned the researcher alongside the research team to work together to explore our identities and our engagement in antiracism work. One goal of this study as… [Direct]
(2018). General Experiences + Race + Racism = Work Lives of Black Faculty in Postsecondary Science Education. Cultural Studies of Science Education, v13 n2 p371-394 Jun. Existent research indicates that postsecondary Black faculty members, who are sorely underrepresented in the academy especially in STEM fields, assume essential roles; chief among these roles is diversifying higher education. Their recruitment and retention become more challenging in light of research findings on work life for postsecondary faculty. Research has shown that postsecondary faculty members in general have become increasingly stressed and job satisfaction has declined with dissatisfaction with endeavors and work overload cited as major stressors. In addition to the stresses managed by higher education faculty at large, Black faculty must navigate diversity-related challenges. Illuminating and understanding their experiences can be instrumental in lessening stress and job dissatisfaction, outcomes that facilitate recruitment and retention. This study featured the experiences and perceptions of Black faculty in science education. This study, framed by critical race theory,… [Direct]
(2024). A Critical Narrative Exploration of Undergraduate Black Men's Experiences with Gendered Racism and Interactions with Student Affairs Staff Members. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Michigan. Much of the prior literature on Black men's persistence at predominately white institutions (PWIs) focuses on the various barriers (i.e., underrepresentation, anti-Black men discrimination) they encounter that negatively impact their degree completion efforts, as well as how these men use strategies, personal strengths, and resources to navigate these barriers (Allen, 2018; Brezinski et al., 2018; Brooms & Druery, 2023; Burt et al., 2018b). Less attention has been given to the role that higher education institutions, through college student affairs staff, can play in supporting and hindering Black men's persistence toward degree completion. The studies that have explored Black men's relationships with staff members suggest that these interactions can have positive effects on Black men's persistence. However, these studies have largely examined these interactions indirectly by either examining Black men's interactions with staff, along with faculty and/or peers or by studying the… [Direct]
(2022). Reckoning with Our Racist Past: An Academic Health Center's Engagement with History and Health. Metropolitan Universities, v33 n3 p69-88 Jun. Academic health centers (AHC) both contribute to and are influenced by the communities they serve. As part of a central commitment to improving human health, there is a need for AHCs to acknowledge their history related to race and racism, the resulting impact on current health disparities, and the disparate treatment of racial and minoritized communities. As AHC's care for Black and Brown communities, they have a unique responsibility to redress their respective legacies of bias, discriminatory practices, and experimentation without consent. One way to achieve this is to provide learning opportunities for in-depth engagement with students, faculty, staff, health care providers, and community members in conversations regarding racial equity, which are essential to shaping and impacting change at an individual and institutional level. Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, launched a new initiative, "History, and Health; Racial Equity," designed to (a)… [PDF]
(2023). The Eruption of Disruption: The Manifestation of Disrupting Whiteness in Secondary Social Studies in Appalachia. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, West Virginia University. This phenomenological dissertation explores the lived experiences of secondary social studies educators situated in the Appalachian region. Hermeneutic phenomenology was used as a philosophical and methodological approach to gather insights into this phenomenon. Interviews were conducted with three educators to capture their experiences from their childhoods, to their teaching careers, and into their current personal lives. These experiences were analyzed using a Whole-Part-Whole process to understand how they came to disrupt whiteness, the ways they did so, and their understanding of the impact disrupting whiteness for creating learning environments, developing curriculum and making instructional decisions. The findings revealed how these educators came to recognize the importance of acknowledging differences and race, and how they faced and navigated instances of racism and racist structures within the education system. The use of physics as a metaphor highlighted how educators… [Direct]
(2024). Preparing Anti-Racist Teachers: A Case Study of Preservice Teachers' Perceptions of Racism and Program Coherence in Equity-Centered Teacher Preparation. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. This case study explored the perceptions preservice teachers had regarding racism in educational contexts, how those perceptions were shaped by their teacher education program, and to what extent their teacher education program had coherence in preparing anti-racist teachers. Within the context of a large, minority serving institution in the Southwest preparing teachers for one of the most racially, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse districts in the country, the need to prepare anti-racist teachers who are able to recognize and remedy opportunity gaps for multi-marginalized students is evident. Because little research has focused on the perceptions and lived experiences preservice teachers have regarding coherence of their programs in preparing future teachers for equity-centered and opportunity-oriented teaching, teacher preparation programs cannot be sure that what is espoused in the mission and vision statements is being implemented throughout the programs and what is… [Direct]
(2023). Using Human Resources Planning to Disrupt Racism and Ableism in the IDEA. Journal of Education Human Resources, v41 n3 p466-476 Jul. This article proposes using the dimension of human resources planning (Rebore, 2011) as a vehicle to disrupt the racism and ableism in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (the "IDEA") that contributes to children of color being disproportionately overidentified into stigmatized disability categories which carry less per-pupil funding. The IDEA guarantees children with disabilities the right to a "free and appropriate public education" ("FAPE"). Since Congress passed the IDEA in 1975, there have been disparities across racial lines with respect to identification of students and classification of disabilities, and the funding associated with these classifications. This article considers how certain decisions within the realm of human resources can disrupt these inequities against the backdrop of school finance litigation…. [Direct]
(2023). From Assimilation towards Reconciliation with Amy Levai, Nee O'Donoghue (1930-2013), South Australia's First Qualified Aboriginal Infant Teacher. Australian Educational Researcher, v50 n2 p221-235 Apr. This article honours Amy Levai, nee O'Donoghue (1930-2013) who was a member of the Stolen Generations and South Australia's first Aboriginal woman to qualify as an infant teacher. Beginning with Amy's childhood at Colebrook Home and schooling, the article highlights her agency and resilience in countering racism to qualify and teach in the South Australian education department from January 1958. With the marriage bar still in place she was required to resign in 1965, but rejoined the state school system in the early 1970s. Negotiating nationwide policy shifts from assimilation to reconciliation, and concomitant education and curriculum reforms, Amy Levai taught in several schools including the Kaurna Plains Aboriginal school which opened in 1986. Always focussed on education as the key to social justice for Aboriginal and white Australians, Amy's reconciliation activism during her retirement is foregrounded in the final section of the article…. [Direct]
(2020). The Quest for the Education: Racism, Paradox, and Interest Convergence in the Life of George Washington Carver. Educational Considerations, v45 n2 Article 5 Mar. George Washington Carver is known primarily for his life and work at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. This historical research provides insight prior to that time and into his journey from Missouri to several towns in Kansas, and then to Iowa. The intersection of race, education, and philanthropy combined to guide the culmination of his life's work–in concert with interest convergence…. [PDF]
(2021). Strategies for Changing Anti-Racist Practice and Behavior in Elementary School Administrators. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Cardinal Stritch University. Systemic racism in America is not an event but rather a chronic and longitudinal historical phenomenon of oppression on people of color. Systemic racism is rooted in every facet of American society: economic, housing, health, employment, and education. Public schools remain fertile ground for perpetuating systemic racism and persistence of the "opportunity gap" (OG). The 1778 Elementary Schools Act openly and intentionally excluded enslaved and indigenous people altogether. Innovative variations of the racialized indoctrination of Anglo-Saxon children, recycled and repeated in public school classrooms and euro-centric textbooks, dehumanize and devalue people of color. Despite a number of legislative and transformative efforts persist the OG persist. This study examines one Midwestern School District's anti-racist strategies during the 2008 and 2009 academic school years. The qualitative case study design focuses on the effect's "equity" and "efficacy"… [Direct]
(2022). Racial Prejudices about the Career Aspirations of Black College Students in Canada. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Black students are more likely to experience discrimination and prejudices during their academic careers than white students. Research findings suggest that racial prejudices negatively impact the collegiate experience of Black students and diminish their career aspirations. To expand occupational opportunities for minority students, the systemic practices of higher education must be examined. The career aspirations of Black college students are impacted by both internal and external challenges, such as racelessness, internalized racism, and cultural obligations. External challenges include early exposure, campus racial climate, faculty and student relationships, and career counseling practices. The purpose of this study is to examine experiences of racial prejudices about career aspirations of Black college students in Canada. This study utilized an explanatory mixed-method design with a quantitative portion using questionnaire responses and analysis and a qualitative portion based… [Direct]