(2023). From P.E. to Protests: The History of Dance Activism in Academia–1920-2022. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of Missouri – Kansas City. Throughout history, dance has been regarded as an act of rebellion. This art form has persisted to become a means for the common person to demonstrate impassioned objections to issues from racism and religious oppression to communism, plastic waste, and human trafficking. As early as the plantation era, dance has provided a means of physical intervention throughout U.S. history. With its origins in departments of physical education, dance became a fixture in higher education–first as an artistic aesthetic, then as a weapon for battle. While much has been written about the history and development of dance in U.S. institutions of higher education and about the role of dance in American activism, little has been written about the history of how these roles emerged to exist in tandem. This historical study discusses the role of dance activism in higher education. Firstly, how dance has historically existed as the embodiment of opposition, followed by a discussion about how the… [Direct]
(2024). Teaching with Primary Sources for Cultural Understanding, Civic Mindedness, and Democracy. Teachers College Press This resource has been developed for pre-K-20 educators in order to help students use primary sources to go beyond simple acquisition of content knowledge and rote memorization. The procedures and approaches outlined in this book are designed to help students use primary sources in discipline- and inquiry-based ways to develop and enhance cultural understanding, civic mindedness, and democracy. Expert authors demonstrate how the skills students learn through this process can be applied to their everyday life and allow them to think critically about the world around them, better understand various cultures, communicate their understandings effectively, and enhance their democratic values. Grounded in the National Council for the Social Studies C3 Framework, topics include social emotional learning, inclusion, higher order thinking, civic agency, project-based learning, democracy-building across cultures, teaching about war, enacting change through intentional civic engagement, and… [Direct]
(2024). Learning to Decenter Whiteness in Schools through Teacher Professional Development: A Systematic Review. School Psychology Review, v53 n4 p400-416. Racism is enmeshed within the fabric of U.S. public education, making it critical to identify and dismantle. One way to do this is to provide professional development (PD) to teachers targeting antiracism to build awareness, decenter whiteness, and advance racial equity in schools. This systematic review is a synthesis of antiracism PD studies, summarizing the (a) topics and activities integrated, (b) participants, (c) settings, and (d) outcomes associated with participation. Thirty-eight studies published from 1981 to 2020 met study criteria. Results indicated that study participants were most likely to be white educators from urban, public elementary schools who received, on average, nearly 18 hours of professional development. Training included authentic learning and reflection opportunities, with many participants reporting increased critical consciousness and improved racial literacy after PD. However, results also illuminated (a) inconsistencies in the way white teachers… [Direct] [Direct]
(2021). Unpacking and Interrogating White Supremacy Educating for Critical Consciousness and Praxis. Whiteness and Education, v6 n1 p60-74. This article draws on theoretical frameworks that work to unpack and challenge white supremacy and hegemonic whiteness. The first section discusses the importance of contextualising ones' standpoint and positionality, demonstrating how both are interconnected to critical self-reflexivity, educating for critical consciousness, and praxis. Part two unpacks the "walls of whiteness," reinforcing the ways in which university education placates and upholds racial domination by failing to present and challenge systemic and institutional racism and white supremacy. Section three engages with a multi-faceted theoretical framework that aims to interrogate institutional and hegemonic whiteness discussed in section two. Here, I draw on the work of Mills, Leonardo, and Ladson-Billings, who all offer provocative arguments regarding the sustainability and omnipresent nature of racial domination through the Racial Contract and the Education Debt. Finally, section four considers some of the… [Direct]
(2021). 'Educated and Educating as a Black Woman' — An Auto/Biographical Reflection on My Grandmother's Influence on My Academic and Professional Outcomes. Gender and Education, v33 n7 p881-897. Adopting an auto/biographical approach, I discuss the impact my grandmother, Nana Elizabeth (Lizbet) Beyie had on the academic and career outcomes of myself and other female descendants. The paper begins with an exploration of Lizbet's biography and how she overcame struggles in terms of ensuring my mother's education in an era and context where female education was not prioritised. Following this, the paper moves to a focus on my continuation of Lizbet's legacy though my work in academia. I reflect on my career journey and positive and challenging experiences, as a Black female academic. I discuss the value of an auto/biographical approach to exploring these issues, since it enables reflections on the relationships between structural issues (e.g. racism/sexism; the education system; Ghanaian/British society) and personal experience/action as a result, not least our decision to help educate the next generations and allows for the voices of marginalised groups (including Black women)… [Direct]
(2022). Reckoning with Ourselves: A Critical Analysis of White Women's Socialization and School Psychology. School Psychology Review, v51 n6 p710-725. The future of school psychology requires us to examine present challenges, our capacity to address them, and how we might better prepare ourselves for what lies ahead. This piece raises the question of whether school psychology is not only demographically but structurally oriented to the norms of middle-class White women, especially those who demonstrate gender normative identities. Our dependence on the social norms of White women, although having conferred benefits to date, may be limiting the impact of school psychology, especially in the effort to achieve and sustain systemic changes in education. Evidence cited in support of the points made here ranges from literature in social psychology and organizational psychology, to education and Black feminism, to school psychology scholarship and professional standards. The crux of this thesis is not that the feminization of our profession is to blame for the yet unrealized potential of our leadership within education. Rather, as a… [Direct]
(2024). Context Specific Leadership in English Language Program Administration: What Can We Learn from the Autoethnographies of Leaders?. International Journal of Leadership in Education, v27 n5 p1031-1051. Research in educational program administration provides insights into the operationalization of programs or organizational services; however, an area of research that is long due exploration and development is how English language programs (ELPs) differ in terms of planning, organization and services and the job English language program administrators (ELPAs) perform in their roles. This paper reports on collaborative autoethnographies of three ELPAs who share their experiences of encountering administrative challenges and devising effective strategies to address them. Employing a qualitative research design, data were collected through critical self-reflections, individual research discussion dialogs, notes sharing and a focus group. While we confirm that administrative challenges exist in ELP administration, the findings of this study add that the nature and extent of these problems (e.g. cultural diversity, course alignment, power relations, racism, recruitment) can be different… [Direct]
(2021). Democratic Theory's Evasion of Race. Educational Theory, v71 n2 p177-202 Apr. In this essay, Kathy Hytten and Kurt Stemhagen explore the evasion of race, particularly implicit whiteness, in democratic theory. The authors maintain that democratic theorists, especially those who write about education, avoid discussions of race, often writing in universal terms about democracy while ignoring the ways that ostensibly democratic societies reproduce white supremacy. Hytten and Stemhagen begin by describing critiques of the whiteness of democracy; next, they draw on three different approaches to democracy — decolonial, abolitionist, and Black pragmatist — to explore how we can work to disentangle the workings of democracy from racism. Significantly, all of the approaches they address center the voices of scholars of color and each one provides specific charges, resources, and tools for doing democracy differently and in ways that are explicitly antiracist…. [Direct]
(2018). A Whitewashed Curriculum? The Construction of Race in Contemporary PE Curriculum Policy. Sport, Education and Society, v23 n1 p1-13. Analyses of curricula in a range of countries show how they tend to reinforce, rather than challenge, popular theories of racism. To date, we know little about the contribution of physical education (PE) curriculum policy to the overall policy landscape. This paper examines the construction of race and racism in two national contexts (Norway and England) as a means of putting race and anti-racism on the PE policy research agenda. It adopts a critical whiteness perspective to analyse how whiteness, as a system of privilege, contributes to the racialisation of valued knowledge in PE and asks, who potentially benefits and/or is marginalised within the learning spaces available in the texts? The discourse analysis reveals that two discursive techniques of whiteness combine to privilege white, Eurocentric knowledge content. Unmarked white PE practices and students are constructed as universal, normative and contingent. As a result, non-white PE practices and students are positioned on the… [Direct]
(2017). A Mixed Methods Study of Student College Experiences That Construct Racism. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, University of Louisiana at Monroe. Hardie and Tyson (2013) claim that the education institution has become a foundational source of social and political racism. Colleges and universities are microcosms of society with the potential to institute behavioral reform. Bonilla-Silva (2015) claims that Blacks and Whites continue a condition of separation while the inequality between the races has not noticeably improved since the Civil Rights movement. Fifty-six surveys and twenty-two interviews were analyzed to answer three research questions: 1. What are the discrimination experiences of college students? 2. How frequently are college students reporting discriminatory experiences? 3. How do students define racism based upon these experiences? The survey data indicated that while both male and female students are experiencing discrimination, those incidences are occurring infrequently. The interviews revealed that college students narrowly define racism but in some cases, recognize that racism is persistent today…. [Direct]
(2017). Attitudes of Classroom Teachers to Cultural Diversity and Multicultural Education in Country New South Wales, Australia. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, v42 n5 Article 2 p17-34 May. Views of country school teachers towards multicultural education and anti-racism policy directives are examined against a background of a largely "white" landscape but increasing numbers of language background other than English (LBOTE) immigrants. A 10 per cent response from a self-administered online survey of government primary and secondary classroom teachers in country New South Wales examines their attitudes to cultural diversity, goals of multicultural education, and anti-racist strategies. Though strongly supportive of attempts to combat racism, implementation in some schools lags behind intention. Whether on cultural diversity, multiculturalism or acknowledgement of racism, teacher attitudes are more tolerant than those in the wider communities the schools serve. But while among teachers and the wider community there is some level of intolerance and discrimination towards Aboriginal and LBOTE Australians, such attitudes do not vary significantly across country… [PDF]
(2016). Unsettling Australian Settler Supremacy: Combating Resistance in University Aboriginal Studies. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v19 n2 p412-432. Higher education courses designed to equip students to work effectively with Indigenous peoples by teaching about racism and inequality often encounter resistance to these concepts. In particular, students argue that individual and structural racisms, and their own white privilege, are 'not their fault'. This article examines different forms of student resistance expressed within a number of Aboriginal Studies courses taught in a regional Australian university. This article reflects on data collected from various research initiatives with students, and personal teaching experiences over decades, and argues that although the notion of white supremacy can explicitly identify white privilege it also actively promotes even greater student resistance to learning. As such, this article argues for a consistent sequence of anti-racism approaches and suggests a number of key pedagogical strategies for anti-racism education…. [Direct]
(2021). Racist Nativism Racist Nativism in the College Access Experiences of in the College Access Experiences of Undocumented Latinx Students. Journal of College Access, v6 n2 Article 6 p65-79 Sep. This study explores undocumented Latinx students' college access experiences through a racist nativist framework to understand how the ideologies of racism and xenophobia underlie the possibilities of pursuing college aspirations. This article describes five particular ways in which racist nativism underlies undocumented Latinx college access experiences. These included 1) systematic lack of institutional college knowledge, 2) restricted college outreach, 3) instilling fear in pursuing college aspirations, 4) discriminatory financial aid policies and practices, and 5) contradictory rhetoric of "deservingness" of educational and life opportunities. This paper supports an understanding of undocumented Latinx student educational processes at the intersection of systems of marginality, as the practices, policies, and structures in higher education are microcosms of larger societal ideologies and inequities…. [PDF]
(2021). "Black Lives Matter" in Education and Society. Multicultural Learning and Teaching, v16 n1 p81-96. Black people all over the world have historically endured slavery, colonialism, racism, prejudice, and discriminatory actions; and they continue to be disenfranchised, disadvantaged, disillusioned, and demeaned by institutions and systems. Of late, Black people in the United States, especially Black males have been encountering blatant police harassments, brutalities, shootings, and killings. These actions have led to the question, "Do Black lives matter?" Of course, they do! It is no surprise that an organization, "Black Lives Matter" was formed to protest the incessant shootings and killings of Blacks in the United States. Then, if "Black Lives Matter" as I know they do, they must matter in education and society. This is the focus of the article…. [Direct]
(2023). Black Studies: White Students. The Impact of Black Studies in Two Predominately White High Schools in Massachusetts. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Massachusetts Boston. "Studying history will sometimes Disturb you. Studying history will sometimes Upset you. Studying history will sometimes make you Furious. But if studying history always makes you feel proud and happy, you probably aren't studying History." Author Unknown. This study occurred during a period of increased social awareness of antiracism, yet in a time of intense educational controversy. As tension rises across the United States over teaching Black studies (African American studies) and banning books by Black authors, such as Toni Morrison's "Beloved" and the classic "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by notable author, Maya Angelou, debates have sparked on whether learning the history of Black people in K-12 classrooms causes White students to feel guilty for America's past atrocities against Black people. Therefore, by focusing on the impact of White high school students enrolled in Black studies courses in Massachusetts, this study examined how the… [Direct]