(2024). Same, Same but Different: A Critical Post-Intentional Phenomenology on the Lived Experiences with Whiteness of White International Graduate Students from Europe in the United States. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The Ohio State University. This post-intentional phenomenological study grounded in Critical Whiteness Studies explored the lived experiences with whiteness, the post-intentional phenomenon, of white international graduate students from Europe. The study was guided by an overarching research question with two sub-questions. Data collection included three separate semi-structured interviews with six participants, journal entries, as well as researcher conversations, and data analysis featured thematic coding through NVivo. The first subquestion explored how the U.S. higher education setting shapes white European international students' understanding of whiteness. This line of inquiry found an overarching theme of participants' development from colorblindness to more racial awareness by having to grapple with their own white racial identity and constructions of race and racism in and outside the United States. The second subquestion explored how white European international students enact and benefit from… [Direct]
(2022). School Desegregation as Multi-Generational Narratives of Afropessimism. Educational Studies: Journal of the American Educational Studies Association, v58 n1 p33-49. The Kansas City, Missouri School District (KCMSD) avoided federal oversight to comply with the desegregation ruling for nearly 30 years after "Brown v. Board of Education" by establishing a neighborhood concept for school attendance boundaries. "Jenkins v. Missouri" ended in 1995 with a U.S. Supreme Court decision to desegregate schools in this district. Our research project used BlackCrit and oral history to examine the experiences of 15 participants, who were educators, students, parents, and community members that formed the legacy of school desegregation. Their counter stories shed critical light on how they continue to grapple with persistent inequalities in today's schools. Themes from their stories resonated with vivid accounts of the desegregation plan that guided their educational experiences; the community's reactions to desegregation; views about integration; dangerous memories of institutional racism and antiblackness; and lessons from a contested… [Direct]
(2022). Dismantling a Broken System: Actions to Bridge the Opportunity, Equity, and Justice Gap in American Education. Solution Tree Become a hyperlocal activist for change and help ensure a bright future for every student. Written for educators at all levels, this resource dives into the American education system, exposing the history of discrimination and offering strategies for establishing financially and academically equitable learning environments. You'll be empowered with specific action steps to educate yourself and others and to move toward inclusion and cultural relevance in your school community. This book will help educators: (1) Engage in specific ways to acknowledge and educate yourself and your students about racism and improve your cultural responsiveness; (2) Know the link between school funding and local wealth and how it perpetuates educational injustice; (3) Explore ways to improve programs for those who are becoming teachers or who are new to the profession; (4) Consider new policies for teachers' unions; and (5) Discover people and organizations that are making change in their local areas…. [Direct]
(2025). "Going beyond the Call of Duty": Academic Agency and Promoting Transformation for Sustainability in Higher Education. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, v26 n1 p21-36. Purpose: In the past decade, against increasing global inequality, higher education has grappled with increased demands for social justice, transformation and decolonisation. While a lot of research in South Africa has focused on the (im)possibilities of fostering racial, gendered, socio-economic and cultural change, the connection of such change to questions of sustainability has been less explored. The purpose of this paper is to specifically explore the agency of academics to foster transformative initiatives for sustainability within the context of institutions historically serving under-represented populations. Design/methodology/approach: Using a qualitative methodology, this paper highlights the importance of considering sustainability in processes of transformation. This paper is specifically interested in how academic faculty and those in assigned leadership positions view their agency in relation to promoting transformation for sustainability at the institutional level…. [Direct]
(2023). Curricular Violence and the Education of Black Children: Working toward Positive Peace through Pro-Black Practices. International Journal of Early Childhood, v55 n3 p347-367. This article responds to the endemic, intergenerational, and pervasive racism endured by Black children in the USA and the need to reimagine classrooms as cultures of peace where Black histories, literatures, accomplishment, oppression, resistance, resilience, and joy are taught as central to the curriculum. To do so, the article shares a five-year study of practices developed by 12 teachers working with university educators to construct Pro-Black pedagogy for children from ages five-to-nine. The article opens with descriptions of renewed efforts in the USA to ban books and deny the teaching of whole histories and how that constitutes curricular violence in the lives of Black students. The study is anchored in Black Critical Theory as it encompasses understandings of anti-and Pro-Blackness in the education of young children. With decolonizing methodologies guiding data collection, analysis, and representation, findings are shared in the form of (a) practices used by the teachers to… [Direct]
(2023). Liberatory Community College Leadership: Education, Decolonization, and Emancipation. New Directions for Community Colleges, n202 p199-208 Sum. Building from Freire's ideas of liberatory education in the "Pedagogy of the Oppressed," Carter G. Woodson's "The Mis-Education of the Negro," and Frantz Fanon's "The Wretched of the Earth," we outline a new and audacious approach in this chapter, in hopes that it will better position a more transformative and revolutionary approach for community college leaders to profoundly address the systemic inequities that exist in their colleges. Additionally, we critically examine current notions related to the principal tenets of equity-minded leadership that are currently couched in anti-racist frameworks, arguing for the need for leadership approaches rooted instead in liberatory ideas. Current anti-racist frames are limited and ultimately fall short of producing the type of leadership that will lead to the deep systemic change necessary to dismantle, decolonize, and reconstruct systems that are rooted in institutional racism and colonialism. Our views are… [Direct]
(2023). Resisting Internalized Oppression: Hypnotherapy (Guided Meditation) as a Liberatory Praxis by and for Women of Color in Education. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D./HE Dissertation, Azusa Pacific University. Internalized oppression is a pervasive issue that disproportionately affects Women of Color in education. Continuous exposure to systemic oppression, such as sexism and racism, can further exacerbate existing internalized oppression (Crenshaw, 1991) and can result in severe implications on the overall emotional, physical, and spiritual health of those affected (Bryant-Davis & Comas-Diaz, 2016). It is critical to recognize and challenge these internalized beliefs to foster personal growth and collective liberation. By engaging in practices that resist internalized oppression, individuals can reclaim their power and work toward dismantling oppressive systems. Integrating critical action research (Fine & Torre, 2021; Ledwith, 2007) with critical radical feminism (hooks, 2000), this qualitative study used an arts-based approach (Bhattacharya & Payne, 2016) and hypnotherapy (guided meditation; G. Smith, 2022) to explore the use of hypnotherapy (guided meditation) as a… [Direct]
(2020). Pre-Service Teachers as Curriculum Makers: What Could Social Justice Look Like in a Middle School Curriculum?. Journal of Educational Research and Innovation, v8 n1 Article 9. In this article, we answer the questions 1) What could social justice look like in the middle school curriculum; 2) How do we help young adolescents recognize and repudiate racism and other forms of social injustice; and 3) What are some lessons learned from a middle level teacher preparation with a focus on social justice? By presenting three examples of social justice curriculum created by pre-service teachers in their teacher leadership education course, we argue for spaces that allow pre-service teachers to be curriculum-makers if we are truly seeking social justice educators in schools. We conclude, through the perspective of the pre-service teachers, effective practices they believe should be a part of teacher preparation that focus on social justice education…. [PDF]
(2023). Understanding the Lived Experiences of Students of Color in Graduate Counseling Education: Implications for Educators and Leaders. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, San Francisco State University. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the lived experiences of students of color enrolled in graduate counseling education (GCE) master's-level programs in California. A phenomenological approach was used, and participants included 25 students of color from five GCE programs who were enrolled in terminal master's-level counseling and counseling psychology programs in marriage and family therapy, general counselors, and professional clinical counseling California State University and California private institutions. Five student online focus groups were conducted via Zoom to collect the data. The following three main themes emerged in the findings: (a) Social Support, (b) Structural and Interpersonal Racism, and (c) Administrative and Leadership Needs. Implications of findings and recommendations indicate social supports, using a CRT pedagogy framework, and administrative and leadership needs help to increase sense of belonging, academic success, and retention for… [Direct]
(2023). That Exists Today: An Analysis of Emerging Critical Consciousness in a Professional Development Setting. Journal of Science Teacher Education, v34 n2 p105-131. Recent events reveal the impact of systemic inequities on marginalized communities and highlight the importance of critical frameworks in science teacher education. Education theorists and research suggest that lack of sociopolitical, or critical, consciousness among teachers limits their ability to engage students in culturally relevant teaching and learning; provoking critical consciousness among white educators is an especially daunting task. Research is needed to uncover how science teacher educators might support the development of critical consciousness among practicing science teachers. In this article, we present findings from a study situated within a larger Design-based Research project to test and revise an instructional sequence grounded in science content, collaborative inquiry, and critical place-based pedagogies. This analysis of how participants' collective awareness developed over the course of a four-day Professional Development workshop offers insight into how… [Direct]
(2024). Contesting the Boundaries of Physics Teaching: What It Takes to Transform Physics Education Toward Justice-Centered Ends. Science Education, v108 n4 p1015-1033. The underrepresentation of Black Americans in physics has been persistent for so long that it seems to have constrained physics educators' collective imagination when it comes to conceptualizing and pursuing equity in physics teaching and learning. Drawing on a teacher research study that foregrounds justice-centered physics teaching, this article pushes past the "equity as access" narrative toward more expansive visions of equity and justice by reimagining physics education as a liberatory praxis. Accordingly, this study explores the complexities that emerged while expanding the boundaries of physics learning to embrace a justice-centered curriculum through a Youth Participatory Science (YPS) project. Taught in the context of a freshman physics course at an urban public high school, this YPS project engaged students in designing solar energy systems for an African-American community historically harmed by environmental racism. Critically evaluating curricular documents, I… [Direct]
(2022). Debating the 1619 Project. Social Education, v86 n1 p9-15 Jan-Feb. If high school history courses are meant to introduce students to the paradoxes and debates of American history, then they should study the 1619 Project, the authors argue in this article. College history students regularly debate the extent to which slavery was formative to the development of American systems of law, business, medicine, religion and foreign policy. The original 1619 Project, in addition to the "1619 Project" book, offers teachers a set of historical essays they can assign, debate, and discuss with their students. However in 27 states, elected officials on school boards and legislatures press to muzzle classroom discussions on slavery, race, and white supremacy under the presumption that an emphasis on the structures of white supremacy stokes conflict over inequality and furthers unfair implications of white students' complicity in American racism. When politicians encourage teachers to censor the historical record and thus prevent discussion of… [Direct]
(2018). "But I'm Not a Racist!" Phenomenology, Racism, and the Body Schema in White, Pre-Service Teacher Education. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v21 n1 p118-131. In this article, I call for a phenomenological turn in educating white, pre-service teachers. As opposed to dominant pedagogical models which focus on changing one's beliefs about race, phenomenology points toward the importance of pre-conceptual, pre-critical forms of racial embodiment. Here I draw upon recent work on the different between body image (beliefs about the body) and body schema (what the body can do). The worry is that existing forms of anti-oppressive education miss the centrality of the schema, and thus do not go far enough in uncovering the embodied, perceptual roots of racism…. [Direct]
(2022). Double-Edged Work: The (In)Visible Labor of Women of Color Mid-Level Higher Education Professionals. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles. Women of color who pursue careers in higher education administration face a double bind of navigating institutional barriers wrought by sexism and racism while simultaneously taking on the crucial work of mentoring, advocating, and caring for students of color. This multi-method study drew on organizational support theory (Eisenberger et al., 1986) and intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989; 1991) to understand the contributions of women of color on higher education campuses and the perceived support and value of their contributions. First, descriptive analyses were used to examine data from 998 respondents to the 2020 HERI Staff Climate Survey to understand gender and racial differences in items related to organizational support and diversity work. Additionally, structural equation modeling using a subset of 142 mid-level women of color staff was used to examine the relationship between diversity work, organizational support, campus racial and gender climate, and supervisor support on… [Direct]
(2023). Educating College Students for Loss Prevention Jobs: Understanding Stereotypes and Their Role in Surveillance and Punishment Decisions Regarding Juvenile Shoplifters. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, v75 n1 p130-154. The purpose of this article was to improve the post-secondary vocational education curriculum for private security students by focusing on a particular applied skill — detection of juvenile shoplifters. Educators are tasked with helping students to identify racist beliefs and reduce worldwide organisational racism in the retail industry. Consistent with this goal, 166 urban college students in the U.S. provided physical appearance, behaviour, and family characteristics comprising their stereotype of a juvenile shoplifter. After reading one of 10 shoplifting vignettes with different combinations of sex and race/ethnicity of 14-year-old shoplifter, students made decisions relevant to identification, surveillance, and consequences. Marginalised juveniles were selected the most for surveillance and given harsher, formal consequences consistent with predictions they would recidivate. The findings suggest that instructors must implement specific changes in their curriculum to guide… [Direct]