(2024). Justice Views in Social Work Project: Examining Views on Race and Justice. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, v44 n2 p224-241. Advocacy for social justice is a core duty of the social work profession. Social injustice, oppression, and marginalization in the United States demand that social workers critically evaluate and address systemic oppression, in the profession, society, and social work education. This study sought to explore the attitudes of social work students in institutions of higher education in one Midwestern state concerning social justice, systemic racism, race relations, and policing to measure the impact of social work educational programming on promoting anti-oppressive and anti-racist practice. Survey responses from undergraduate and graduate students (n = 74) from two universities in an upper, Midwestern state were analyzed to assess attitude and beliefs on social justice, policing, and racial relations. Results indicate the majority of students endorsed an understanding of injustice in the world and high perceptions of themselves as advocates and agents of social change. Alternatively,… [Direct]
(2024). Beyond a Seat at the Table: Imagining Educational Equity through Critical Inclusion. Educational Review, v76 n1 p69-95. Interlocking mechanisms of exclusion function as gatekeepers to high-quality learning in schools, which perpetuate oppressive conceptions of ability, learning, and intelligence. Across educational ecosystems, these intersecting forms of oppression–including but not limited to racism, ableism, and colonialism–are reified through exclusionary practices that hoard learning opportunities. In this paper, we contend that learning-access disparities are at the crux of educational inequalities, and that theoretical fragmentation across educational disciplines has limited our understanding of entrenched patterns of exclusion and potential solutions. This fragmentation has led to siloed equity conversations and solutions; therefore, we articulate a conceptual framework for inclusive education: Critical Inclusion (InCrit). In doing so, we first engage in a critical-historical review of educational inclusion, including how it has been theorised and operationalised in both research and praxis…. [Direct]
(2023). Virtual Game Boys: An Examination of Black Male Cyberbonding Play as Navigation of a Hispanic Serving Institution. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v36 n3 p301-313. This critical qualitative study uses education journey maps (EJMs) as undergirded by critical race theory to examine how three Black male collegians use "cyberbonding play" to navigate the geographies of racism while attending a Hispanic-serving Institution (HSI). Sociospatial dialectic is applied in concert with educational journey mapping to center participants in a collaborative research process. Education journey maps (EJMs) created by participants explained the multidimensional value of contextualized counter-cartography narratives to understand the benefits of engaging in play across physical and virtual geographies. Each EMJ was created by participants using: (a) constructive prompts; (b) continual access; (c) genuine reciprocity; and (d) expressed authentic gratitude (Annamma, 2018). Unfurled digital and physical spaces yielded two emergent themes that comprised "cyberbonding play": (1) "Get what you came for!"; and (2) User Friendly. Study… [Direct]
(2020). 4 As: A Discussion of How Institutions of Higher Education Respond to Incidents Related to Culture, Diversity, and Equity. Multicultural Perspectives, v22 n3 p153-158. In this article, we offer an analysis of how institutions of higher education have responded to occurrences related to racism in educational contexts and the larger society. Since the initial drafting of this manuscript, continued police brutality and racially motivated tragedies have prompted protests and uprising across the US and the world, specifically after the killings of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, Breona Taylor in Kentucky, and George Floyd in Minnesota. This social unrest reflects the ways in which people respond when enough is enough. In addition, a number of schools across the P-20 landscape are engaging in discussions around equity and racism and responding in ways that address racist systems and policies. We conclude this article with a discussion of what institutions of higher education should aspire to in order to humanize the educational contexts for a more equitable and anti-racist society. We hope this discussion around past incidents provide a lens of possibilities… [Direct]
(2024). Defending Discomfort: A Critical Social Work Case against Trigger Warnings. Journal of Social Work Education, v60 n4 p565-575. Trigger warnings have become a hotly contested practice in higher education, including within the field of social work. Learning to become a social worker can be a demanding process that requires in-depth study about often socially taboo and traumatic topics. The learning process can, understandably, cause discomfort that may result in a disconcerting or anxiety-provoking experience for social work students. However, the inclusion of challenging topics in social work education, including human rights violations, domestic violence, sexual abuse, racism, sexism, and many other social injustices is essential in the development of competency in social work practice. What remains unclear is the role and responsibility of universities and subsequently educators, in how we include or exclude trigger warnings, their relevance to social work education, and how we manage the expectations of students and their responses to the exposure of sensitive material. This article argues that trigger… [Direct]
(2017). Historical and Personal Understandings of Race: Racial Discourse in Bilingual and Monolingual Teacher Education Courses. AERA Online Paper Repository, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (San Antonio, TX, Apr 27-May 1, 2017). Pedagogical approaches to teaching about race in a teacher education program were studied in order to identify which approaches were effective in cultivating a strong understanding of race and privilege. The study aimed to understand a) the types of pedagogies used to advance racial discourse in teacher education courses needed for bilingual and traditional certification and b) evaluate which of these approaches effectively engaged White teacher candidates in conversations about race and racism. Findings suggest that while presenting the history of racial construction along with the history of racism in the United States helped candidates conceptualize institutionalized racism, classroom discourse where teacher educators identified their positionality yielded richer participation and conversation about the impacts of racism in today's schools…. [Direct]
(2024). Women of Color Collectives in Doctoral Education: How Women of Color Doctoral Students Thrive Together. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The Claremont Graduate University. Women of Color have a variety of experiences within academia, many of which are marred by the interstices of racism, classism, sexism, and the hetero patriarchy that upholds the structure of white supremacy in higher education (Gay, 2004; Pena, 2022). However, there is a legacy of Women of Color who have created and continue to create collectives to survive and, more importantly, thrive within academia. This qualitative phenomenological study uses Critical Feminist theory and Platica methodology to understand how and why Women of Color create collectives in their doctoral programs. Furthermore, this study serves as a marker on the genealogical map that traces Women of Color collectives and epistemologies inside and outside academia. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page:… [Direct]
(2024). Beyond Fraudulent Multiculturalism in Higher Education: Moving Forward. Multicultural Learning and Teaching, v19 n2 p237-248. Recent demographic changes in the United States have shown that we live in a multicultural society. However, for some reason, colleges and universities are still floundering in mediocrity when it comes to multiculturalism. What we see in higher education is multiculturalism that is fraudulent and unaccountable and the fact that individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) and vulnerable backgrounds consistently endure White supremacy, racism, discrimination, and xenophobia, to say the least. In addition, we consistently see that proactive and measurable efforts are not made in the recruitment, retention, graduation, continuation, tenure, and promotion of students, faculty, staff, and leaders from CLD, immigrant, and vulnerable backgrounds. While there are well-written and documented policies, mission and vision statements, and goals and objectives in institutions of higher learning, there appears to be deficits in applicability and accountability measures of equity,… [Direct]
(2024). Racialized Emotions as Maps and Compasses for Students of Color Navigating a Predominantly White University. Educational Studies: Journal of the American Educational Studies Association, v60 n3 p334-351. Students of color in predominantly White institutions (PWI's) encounter racial microaggressions, the often subtle, but powerful, offensive experiences that are steeped in racism and occur in the course of everyday life. They also experience racial microaffirmations–moments where their racial identities or racialized realities are affirmed, validated, supported, or protected. We employ sociologist Bonilla-Silva's concept of racialized emotions to analyze 16 student narratives describing racial microaggressions and racial microaffirmations; Bonilla-Silva defines racialized emotions as those that arise specifically within one's racial hierarchy and shape one's experiences within it. We find that racialized emotions are like navigational tools. Like maps, they allow students to understand the terrain of racial interaction. Like compasses, they help students find their way through said terrain in a predominantly White, often racist, institution. This article makes a distinctive… [Direct]
(2019). Mapping the Silence: The Curriculum of Dis/Ability and Race in Preservice Teachers' Educational Trajectories. AERA Online Paper Repository, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Toronto, Canada, Apr 5-9, 2019). Preparing teacher candidates to enact inclusion can be challenging, particularly as teacher candidates navigate intersecting, oppressive ideologies (e.g., ableism and racism). In this paper, I present an analysis of qualitative data from a larger, multiple case study, highlighting the socio-spatial dimensions of White, non-disabled teacher candidates' educational trajectories in P-12 and university settings that may contribute to the aforementioned challenges. I contribute to knowledge about inclusive teacher preparation by deeply examining ways in which interactions in educational environments may perpetuate ableism and racism in teacher candidates' journeys to becoming teachers. I conclude with implications for inclusive teacher education research and practice…. [Direct]
(2022). "You Take the Punches": Native Youth Experiences of School Pushout. Equity & Excellence in Education, v55 n3 p270-282. Research suggests a crisis in Native American education. Disparities in academic success are well-documented and have persisted despite myriad intervention efforts. Utilizing a decolonial Youth Participatory Action Research methodology and mixed-methods design, a team of youth researchers and adult collaborators conducted iterative rounds of participatory education, data collection, and analysis. Through this process, we generated evidence of Native-specific school pushout practices or what we call "punches" delivered by the institution: schooling designed for dispossession, curricular harm, disproportionate discipline, and microaggressions/racism. Collectively, our findings support alternative interpretations of the crisis in Native American education and suggest the institution itself must be placed at the epicenter; schools must be accountable to their co-creation of this crisis. We recommend strategies to address these structural factors and pursue educational justice… [Direct]
(2025). What's Hot in Literacy: Misguided Trends in a Divided Field. Literacy Research and Instruction, v64 n1 p1-16. The annual "What's Hot in Literacy" survey identifies current priorities in literacy education, highlighting the evolving landscape of the field. A panel of twenty-five literacy leaders participate in interviews to identify the most emphasized, least emphasized, and most deserving topics of increased attention. The 2024 findings highlight three topics as "extremely hot:" banned books, phonics/phonemic awareness, and the science of reading and structured literacy. There are also six topics found to be "very hot," including artificial intelligence in literacy, cultural and linguistic diversity and literacy for multilingual learners, dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities, early literacy, high-quality instructional materials, and social justice/equity/anti-racism in literacy. Overall, the literacy field has received unprecedented focus this year, driven by legislative mandates in 38 states, policies on the science of reading, book banning, and… [Direct]
(2023). Education for Everyday Life: A Sophistical Practice of Teaching. SpringerBriefs in Education. SpringerBriefs in Education This book examines the role of teaching within public education. It critiques its function in today's educational policies and theories and establishes an alternative way of understanding teaching. It explores teaching from within a Sophist tradition of educational practice and thought. The first part of the book discusses the vital link between public education and democracy, the shifts in schooling's role in fostering competition and comparisons at the cost of social responsibility and democratisation. It identifies the driving force of those shifts as forces of aggression and destruction, central to a neoliberal ideology. The second part of the book argues for a practice of Sophistical teaching rather than Socratic teaching. It explores in-depth what it could mean to be teaching in an up-to-date sophist tradition of educational thought and practice. The book also includes insights for teaching to counter aggressive forces of nationalism, racism, and late capitalism's violence and… [Direct]
(2023). School History, Identity and Ethnicity: An Examination of the Experiences of Young Adults in England. Journal of Curriculum Studies, v55 n2 p153-170. This paper looks at the experiences of school history education and explores the impact this education has had on the development of young adults and their sense of identity in England. Adopting a qualitative approach, this study used semi-structured interviews with twenty young adults, aged 18-22, some from white backgrounds, but most from minoritized ethnic backgrounds.1 Four broad categories were identified in the data, namely 'values and value', 'identity development', 'curriculum connections' and 'narrative templates'. In the majority of cases, these young adults felt that history was important and had a role to play in addressing societal issues such as racism. However, the curriculum largely ignored the histories of minoritized ethnic groups, as the dominant narrative template favoured a white, Anglo-centric view of the world, and so served to fuel a sense of disconnection to the curriculum and to the state more generally. This paper suggests there is a need to pay closer… [Direct]
(2022). Investigating Critical Community Engaged Pedagogies for Transformative Environmental Justice Education. Environmental Education Research, v28 n4 p491-507. Effective environmental justice education poses unique challenges to both educators and students. For students, this pursuit is cognitively challenging at best and emotionally paralyzing at worst. It requires deconstruction of culturally produced narratives that uphold privilege, conceal complicity, and promote individual-level response to systemic problems. In this paper, we explore critical approaches to pedagogy, place, and community engaged learning, as well as their specific resonance with the challenges inherent in environmental justice education. We then thematically analyze student responses to two critically oriented community-engaged learning projects. Student experiences proved transformative as students came to see the structural elements that maintain environmental racism more clearly, demonstrated systems thinking, expressed feelings of agency, and articulated their own positionalities in thoughtful and constructive ways. From these data, we offer critical… [Direct]