(2022). Racial Equity and Inclusion in United States of America-Based Environmental Education Organizations: A Critical Examination of Priorities and Practices in the Work Environment. Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education, v25 n1 p91-116 Apr. In the United States of America, societal structures of oppression frame and underpin nearly every field and industry, including environmental education. Despite growing attention on efforts to diversify the environmental education workforce in the United States, environmental fields have had minimal success attracting and retaining professionals of color. This study sought to explore how Environmental Educators of Color experience and are impacted by workplace culture, practices, and policies. Through focus groups, Environmental Educators of Color (n = 26) shared their perspectives related to equity and inclusion in environmental education work environments. This study draws on critical race theory (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017; Tate, 1997) as an analytical framework to center racial equity in our understanding of the experiences and perspectives of Environmental Educators of Color. Analysis of data included thematic emergent analysis (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) to identify… [Direct]
(2024). Sociocultural Competence for Racial Justice in Dual Language Programs: Dismantling (Mis)Conceptions of Race. Urban Review: Issues and Ideas in Public Education, v56 n1 p59-82. Research on the inequities present within dual language (DL) programs demonstrates that these programs are not immune from the racial stratification prevalent in the United States. Despite intentions to center justice for minoritized students in DL programs, unexamined ideologies among educators can inadvertently perpetuate the existing status quo. Given this context, the incorporation of critical consciousness and critical-racial consciousness has been put forth as additional goals of DL education. Through a theoretical framework grounded in critical race theory, this study investigates the race-related ideologies held by Latinx educators. The study explores how these ideologies influence their conceptualization and implementation of sociocultural competence, a key goal of DL education. This analysis takes place within the context of a one-way/developmental transitional kindergarten through eighth grade DL school situated along the US-Mexico border in Southern California. Conducting… [Direct]
(2022). How International Students of Colour Become Black: A Story of Whiteness in English Higher Education. Teaching in Higher Education, v27 n1 p84-98. This article highlights how international students of colour are racialised in English higher education. Key performance indicators of racial inequality in the sector like achievement outcomes currently discount experiences of international students of colour. This is problematic as international students, as found in this study, identify themselves under the sector racial category of Black and minority ethnic (BME). They experience racism and discrimination in and outside the Academy just like 'home' BME students. The work presented here foregrounds the racialised experiences of international students of colour in English higher education. It is a counter-story in the tradition of critical race theory which reveal how whiteness unifies and divides. It unifies in creating a shared experience amongst those who experience the heat of the 'white gaze' in academia. It divides, categorising and classifying 'us' to the extent that 'we', both students and academic staff, may unwittingly… [Direct]
(2023). Talent Development for Faculty: The Case of Higher Education Minority-Serving Institutions. Journal of Faculty Development, v37 n1 p41-50. Despite the rise of mainstream higher education institutions, minority groups who have attended these institutions experienced challenges of retention, persistence, and low graduation rate. Because of these issues and others, such as segregation and racism, minority groups such as African and Native Americans found an opportunity to self-educate their people and communities. The need to self-educate was the momentum to create institutions such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Tribal Colleges and Universities. Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) of higher education is an interesting case to study as each is designed with unique objectives, goals, missions, and visions. The study aims to explore faculty TD trends and issues at MSIs in the United States. Because there are a few studies published about MSIs faculty members, especially in the areas of professional development and TD, this current comprehensive study about faculty TD at MSIs can set the foundation for… [Direct]
(2024). Understanding the Emotional Labor of English Language Teaching While Black in the United States. TESOL Quarterly: A Journal for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages and of Standard English as a Second Dialect, v58 n4 p1347-1371. There is a robust literature examining emotional labor as it is experienced by English language teachers and how it is prompted by the emotional rules of their employers. However, it has not been sufficiently inclusive of native English-speaking Black English language teachers (BELTs). Using the method of autoethnography I examine my experiences with emotional labor as I struggle to manage feelings stemming from race-related stress to present feelings that are aligned with the emotional rules of an intensive English program (IEP) in the United States. Ultimately, this study highlights some of the unique challenges and emotional labor experienced by BELTs, including the endured triggering of race-related stress in response to workplace racial microaggression and how and why, through the process of emotional labor, outward responses are constructed. I argue that enduring emotional labor brings about implicit oppressive messages for BELTs to either detach from their racial identity to… [Direct]
(2024). Critical Ecological Citizenship Education: Social Studies–For the Good of Society and the Health of the Planet. Journal of International Social Studies, v14 n1 p20-35. The primary purpose of education is preparation for life. But what kind of life, and life for whom? Within the social studies, emphasis has long been placed on preparation for civic life in diverse and democratic societies within an interconnected world. This remains essential. There is an ongoing need for people who are willing and able to address the challenges of society, including structural problems such as racism, classism, and patriarchy. However, in addition to continuing threats to the quality of "human" life, growing concerns have also arisen regarding the quality, indeed the survival, of "all" life on the planet. One of the most urgent challenges of today is the decline of the environment upon which all life depends. This paper examines the implications of the environmental crisis for the social studies. First, I explore the deep interconnectivity that exists between humans and the nonhuman world and, by extension, between our social and environmental… [PDF]
(2020). My Wildest Dream: A Letter to My Black Son. Religious Education, v115 n1 p92-99. This article is a letter to my son. In this letter I tell him the truth of my reality in theological education, as one filled with sexism, racism, and various other experiences. I express my fears for him in this world as a black boy who will grow into a black man. I also discuss my hope for his future and the future of theological education. I discuss how I believe that playing, changing the rules, and having good friends to play with could aid in creating a better future not only for him but theological education as well…. [Direct]
(2021). Federal Policies Can Address the Impact of Structural Racism on Black Families' Access to Early Care and Education. Child Trends This issue brief is one in a series examining timely topics that are relevant to Black families and children in the United States. The series identifies key information and opportunities for consideration by policymakers, researchers, practitioners, philanthropists, and others interested in supporting the progress of Black families and children–and, by extension, the country as whole. This second issue brief sets a vision for how the federal government can pursue policy strategies that support access to early care and education for Black families by drawing on historical, contextual, and demographic data related to Black family structure, employment and income, and geography. It first discusses the current and historical role of federal policy in the lives of Black Americans. Next, it reviews the importance of early care and education (ECE), as well as the barriers that Black families face to accessing these important services. It describes two federal programs–Head Start and the… [PDF]
(2022). Black Parent Advocacy and Educational Success: Lessons Learned on the Use of Voice and Engagement. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Antioch University. "The opportunity is there, this is what I think of when I think of role models, I think of my experience" (Anthony — a participant in this study — commenting on the effectiveness of advocating for his child). Black children encounter racism in American schools and parents need to advocate for them. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how Black parents developed and used their voice to advocate for their children in a predominantly White educational system with a history of racially disparate outcomes. Particularly, this study drew on the experiences of 15 participants, two men — one was a grandfather — and 13 women, whose children had successful outcomes in graduating from high school and going on to post-secondary education. The findings reflect Black parents' understanding of the need to advocate to support their child's success in getting through school: all related incidents of discrimination where they needed to speak up on behalf of their child in… [Direct]
(2023). Who Should Control Education Now? Revisiting Preferences for Local Control in Educational Decision Making. Peabody Journal of Education, v98 n5 p516-532. Despite a long history of local control of schools, educational issues have become increasingly contested at higher levels of government as battles are fought in state and federal venues and along partisan lines. In light of this change as well as recent battles over school responses to COVID-19 and schools' roles in combating systemic racism, we explore how the shifting politics of education have affected public attitudes toward localism in education. We demonstrate that the public's preference for local control is not as deeply held as conventional wisdom suggests. Local government is never the public's most preferred option when asked about the optimal distribution of education funding or decision-making authority across all three levels of government. Our results also show that preferences for local control have remained relatively stable and exhibit only narrowly increasing partisan differences; however, the increase in the partisan divide is larger among parents. We note that… [Direct]
(2023). "That Sounds Scary, Let's Ban It": Analyzing Manufactured Ignorance & the Attack on Critical Race Theory in K-12 Schools. Thresholds in Education, v46 n1 p48-60. As of February 2023, 44 states have either introduced or passed legislation that aims to control the teaching of race in K-12 public schools. Using political discourse analysis, we investigate the discourse from six "anti-CRT" documents. We frame the discourse from an agnotological perspective; agnotology is the study of how ignorance is manufactured. Given that political discourse is one-directional, politicians have the unique position of actively constructing ignorance if they are providing information for the purpose of being consumed rather than argued or deliberated. We illustrate how the misuse of words/concepts as well as the distribution of disinformation contributes to manufactured ignorance. Finally, we argue that the deliberate and willful silence about systemic oppression will maintain white supremacy. Our intention is to challenge manufactured ignorance especially as it relates to how race and racism are discussed and taught in K-12 education…. [PDF]
(2021). Why Are All the White Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: Toward Challenging Constructions of a Persecuted White Collective. Education Sciences, v11 Article 679. In the context of ongoing antagonism on college campuses, attacks on Critical Race Theory, and widespread backlash against racial justice initiatives, this paper underscores the growing need to recognize co-optation and other counterinsurgent strategies used against racial justice to make room for transformative scholarship. By presenting qualitative interviews from 15 white HBCU students, we illustrate how diversity research, advocacy, and organizing previously used to advocate for racial justice has instead constructed distorted understandings of race and racism and has been used to expand ideologies of whiteness. The findings show what CRT scholars have cautioned about for decades–when left uninterrupted, ahistorical approaches to racial diversity programming and research may lend to the co-optation of justice-focused diversity language and the appropriation of BIPOC strategies of resistance. This not only inhibits and detracts from racial justice work, but can function to expand… [PDF]
(2023). Beyond Eurocentrism: Lack of Social Justice and Non-Western Perspectives in Sexuality Education Classes. Sex Education: Sexuality, Society and Learning, v23 n4 p478-489. To date, there has been very little discussion about social justice and non-Western, European and Anglo-American perspectives in formal sex and sexuality education courses. However, engagement with these issues is vital to counter ever-growing health inequities due to class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and ability in the USA. This commentary highlights the importance of efforts to improve the quality of the sex and sexuality education provided to offer a more nuanced picture of issues studied. It argues that the use of a Eurocentric framework in sex and sexuality education maintains, supports and reproduces racist stereotypes and racism, and serves as a barrier to understanding and addressing health disparities and other key aspects of sexuality. The article also critiques the biomedical model which connects poor health outcomes to individual lifestyle choices and downplays the importance of economic, political, social, environmental and historical factors in creating… [Direct]
(2022). Building Anti-Racist Education through Spaces of Border Thinking. Critical Studies in Education, v63 n5 p606-621. This paper seeks to identify strategies for anti-racist higher education, drawing on scholarship that locates structural racism in global and local centre-periphery relations. We first examine how the centre-periphery divide has been identified and challenged in anti-racist intellectual and political movements, focusing on exchanges and solidarity between peripheral territories. We then discuss the implications of this framework for the setting in which the authors work: Brazilian higher education. The Brazilian university sector has recently expanded through affirmative action policies that have resulted in an influx of Black students from urban peripheries. However, the dominant nationalist ideology in Brazil has historically denied racial divisions, presenting a myth of racial democracy and delegitimising transnational links between anti-racist movements. Reflecting on our own experiences and perceptions through a narrative approach, we draw out elements of border thinking that we… [Direct]
(2022). Online Programming for Dancers and Dance Educators: A Response to COVID-19 and the Racial Justice Movement. International Journal of Education & the Arts, v23 spec iss 1.6 Oct. Upon the convergence of the twin epidemics of COVID-19 and racial injustice in 2020, the Delaware Dance Education Organization (DDEO) responded by creating and presenting interactive professional development webinars that ranged from sharing how dance history is a microcosm of the world to the impact culture has on personal behaviors. Through the lens of public scholarship, the virtual programming format allowed DDEO to reach dance populations in Delaware and beyond. Groundswell, a series of four webinars presented a consideration of the impact racism has in the dance world. Solos@Home invited participants to create, share, and virtually perform dance works based on material presented in Groundswell. Solos@Home II continued in this modality highlighting the theme of environmental justice. The value of activism was a key enduring understanding for these projects. DDEO continues to support and advance dance education while listening and responding to the immediate needs of the community…. [PDF]