(2021). Threshold Concept Pedagogy for Antiracist Social Studies Teaching. Multicultural Perspectives, v23 n2 p87-94. This conceptual article explores the use of threshold concepts to help pre-service teachers develop antiracist dispositions. Threshold concepts are "troublesome knowledge" within a discipline that serve as gateways to expanded modes of thinking about subject matter. Grappling with threshold concepts places learners in a liminal space as they confront new knowledge that connects them to transformative, irreversible, and integrative understandings. In response to a call for expanding pedagogical content knowledge of threshold concepts in teacher education, we propose the use of threshold concepts as a pedagogical tool to structure methods courses in order to facilitate the growth of PSTs' working racial knowledge. We provide the study of redlining as an exemplar of how to promote the threshold concept of structural racism toward developing PSTs' antiracist dispositions…. [Direct]
(2022). "A Nice White Lady": Critical Whiteness Studies, Teacher Education, and City Schools. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v35 n7 p755-763. Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS) can be a significant tool to dismantle white supremacy in educational contexts. However, the authors argue that without attending to the forms of curriculum as they are entangled across systems of schooling, CWS can reinscribe the very forms of whiteness it seeks to disrupt. Identifying as a queer, Brown assistant professor of education and a Black undergraduate student who recently finished her studies, this paper uses a duo-ethnographic approach to examine what the authors call an "enacted curriculum of whiteness." Through their respective narratives, the authors explore how students and faculty bracketed CWS, often identifying CWS as a part of the formal curriculum while using the enacted curriculum to defend and maintain normalized racism. The authors argue that alongside CWS in teacher preparation, an emphasis on curriculum studies is critical to resisting the "nice white lady" phenomenon that often infects teacher preparation… [Direct]
(2022). University Memorials and Symbols of White Supremacy: Black Students' Counternarratives. Journal of Higher Education, v93 n5 p677-701. Universities across the globe continue to reckon with memorialization and symbolism tied to racist histories. In this paper, the author uses Critical Race methodology to examine how 23 Black undergraduate students at the University of Cincinnati interpret and experience one such symbol–the namesake of an enslaver–memorialized throughout campus. The enslaver, Charles McMicken, bequeathed money for what would become the University of Cincinnati explicitly for the "education of White boys and girls." The author begins with the assumption that the namesake is a symbol of White supremacy. Using Critical Race Theory, the author analyzes: (1) to what extent this symbol shapes students' campus experiences; and (2) the mechanisms by which students' learned of the racist histories behind the symbol. The data presented demonstrates how counternarratives surrounding this symbol were shared and how the concept of racial realism–the belief that racism is permanent–might be useful in… [Direct]
(2023). To the Heart of It: Relationships between White Teachers and Black Students. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, California State University, East Bay. Although developing a positive relationship between teachers and students is important for students to thrive in school, white teachers frequently fail to do this with their Black students. The failure of white teachers to connect with their Black students contributes to inequities such as disparities in academic achievement, the overrepresentation of Black students in special education, and the disproportionate exclusionary discipline of Black students. When these classroom patterns continue, they perpetuate the larger systems of racism that exist in the U.S. and take the lives of Black people every day. Teachers are responsible for student learning, are a frequent starting point for students' referral to special education, and often initiate the first step in a process that results in exclusionary discipline. Therefore, this study follows a heuristic and intimate inquiry approach to learn from Black students what their experiences and relationships with white teachers have been… [Direct]
(2018). College Presidents and Black Student Protests: A Historical Perspective on the Image of Racial Inclusion and the Reality of Exclusion. Peabody Journal of Education, v93 n1 p78-89. This essay revisits college presidents during the early 1960s to investigate the long history of how academic leaders manage racial unrest on college campuses. Throughout time, the concept of a welcoming and inclusive climate for black students on majority-white campuses has functioned as an illusion alongside the prevailing reality of racism on and off American campuses. In turn, this essay exhibits how political structures, as well as university hierarchy, have shaped academic leaders' approach to social change in higher education. Therefore, this work demonstrates the need to reevaluate higher education history as a lens for understanding the current American sociopolitical context that shapes present-day academic leaders and their challenges of addressing racism on college campuses. In summary, this work renders a richer and more nuanced understanding of the complexities college presidents, students, and campus stakeholders, such as governors and boards of trustees, face to… [Direct]
(2017). Unpacking the Social Construct of Race: Exploring Racial Categories with Predominantly White Middle Schoolers. AERA Online Paper Repository, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (San Antonio, TX, Apr 27-May 1, 2017). Currently, the color-blind perspective is widespread in schools, as evident in formal policies and practices, as well as informal social norms (Gillborn, 1992; Sleeter, 2004). Since race is often perceived as a taboo topic in education, proponents of colorblindness ignore the existence of race and the devastating impact of racial injustice in education (Milner, 2010; Tatum, 2007). Anti-racist curriculum combats colorblindness by directly teaching students about race and exposes the Eurocentrism in American public education. This study investigates predominantly White sixth grade students' reflections after explicit lessons discussing colorblindness, the social construction of racial categories, racism, and racial identities. Initial findings indicate middle school students' are eager to develop a more sophisticated understanding of race, racism, and societal implications…. [Direct]
(2020). A Divergence of Interests: Critical Race Theory and White Privilege Pedagogy. Teachers College Record, v122 n1. Background/Context: Informed by the increasing racial disparity between the nation's predominantly White teaching force and the growing number of students of color in K-12 schools, along with the well-documented struggles that White teachers have in exploring race and racial identity, the authors critique the use of White privilege pedagogy as a strategy for promoting antiracist dispositions in White pre-service teachers. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: By deploying several concepts central to critical race theory, as well as critiques that note the shortcomings of past attempts at racial reform (Brown v. Board of Education, Voting Rights Act), the authors investigate the effectiveness of White privilege pedagogy within the teacher education setting. Research Design: To construct our conceptual critique of White privilege pedagogy within teacher education, we reviewed the extant literature that discussed the range of shortcomings to this pedagogical approach. To… [Direct]
(2022). Examining the Perspectives of Adult Working Learners and Key Stakeholders Using Critical Race Theory. Higher Education, Skills and Work-based Learning, v12 n6 p1108-1121. Purpose: This article reports on a critical race theory (CRT) analysis of the perspectives of providers of employer-supported educational opportunities and adult learners, who identified as Black, indigenous or as a person of color, and were employed in service industries. Design/methodology/approach: A review of the literature was used to shape an initial interview protocol. Data were collected from working learners in retail, hospitality, restaurants and healthcare industries. An "a priori" coding scheme that drew from CRT was applied to transcripts during analysis. Findings: Analysis revealed that working learners' skills, experiential knowledge, learning mindset, language flexibility and knowledge gained from previous learning experiences were not consistently acknowledged by employers. CRT analysis illustrated that endemic racism exists within educational opportunities and in workplace learning. Originality/value: CRT has not been widely used to examine adult education… [Direct]
(2024). "To Promote the Liberal and Practical Education of the Industrial Classes" in the South: Southern Land-Grant College Development, 1862-1910. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Georgia. The Morrill Act of 1862 provided the funding mechanism for the modern land-grant college system. In the over 160 years since its passage, the tripartite land-grant mission of teaching, research, and service has become the most recognizable legacy of the legislation. Recent scholars of land-grant education caution against viewing the history of land-grant education as a singular story. Despite this caution, many of the texts that offer horizontal histories of land-grant education focus largely on schools in Northeastern and Midwestern states. Within the study of the history of higher education, land-grant college development and the development of higher education in the postbellum South are relatively underexamined. Southern land-grant college development, where the two bodies of literature converge, is studied even less. This study combines multicase study methodology and historical research methods to examine the history of Alcorn University (now Alcorn State University), the… [Direct]
(2022). A World Pandemic and a Clarion Call: The New Push for DEI Initiatives in Higher Education. International Society for Technology, Education, and Science, Paper presented at the International Conference on Humanities, Social and Education Sciences (iHSES) (Los Angeles, CA, Apr 21-24, 2022). Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is a term used to describe policies and programs that promote the representation and participation of different groups of individuals, including people of different ages, races and ethnicities, abilities and disabilities, genders, religions, cultures, and sexual orientations. Diversity, as it relates to a group or persons, or a community of people, is identified by various characteristics. This includes distinctions of social orientation and class, and cultural identity. When equity is present within a group, the result is equal access enjoyed by everyone; this includes equal opportunities as well as the potential for advancements. The American Council on Education (ACE) argues that the objectives of DEI initiatives have been voiced actively for years, targeting inequities in education. However, the global crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic, the systemic racism in America, and the race-based inequities in higher education–have converged to create… [PDF]
(2021). A Disability Critical Race Theory Solidarity Approach to Transform Pedagogy and Classroom Culture in TESOL. TESOL Quarterly: A Journal for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages and of Standard English as a Second Dialect, v55 n3 p708-718 Sep. Until very recently, ability and whiteness as relational systems have been uninterrogated by TESOL research, policy, practice, and teacher education. Consequently, monolingual teachers often use students' proximity to whiteness and nondisabled status as a metric for ascertaining their ability or belonging in certain language learning spaces. Similarly, English language teachers' uncritical and unsupported engagement with policy and professional learning around race and whiteness contributes to the unwarranted subjection of multilingual students to the special education referral process. In this contribution, we aim to analyze the nuances of ableism and racism in the field of TESOL, and offer TESOL educators practical examples to dismantle it. Drawing from the critical intersectional framework of DisCrit, this contribution presents two DisCrit solidarity-oriented practical examples for the language classroom: cultural reciprocity and translanguaging. We argue that these support TESOL… [Direct]
(2023). Who Governs and Why It Matters. An Analysis of Race Equality and Diversity in the Composition of Further Education College Governing Bodies across the UK. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, v75 n1 p24-42. Concerns about racism and race equality have been widely reported in the first decades of the 21st century, following the Black Lives Matter protests and campaigns such as 'Rhodes Must Fall'. Yet 'race' remains largely absent from policy debate and research concerning further education colleges in the four countries of the UK, particularly in relationship to leadership and governance. The focus of this paper is on who governs and why it matters. Governors and trustees play an increasingly visible and significant role in public, private and charity sector organisations, but diversity on governing bodies of further education across the UK remains patchy and is seen as a major challenge. The paper reports on what is known about the composition of governing bodies and what this tells us about the involvement of governors from black and minority ethnic backgrounds at the present time, drawing on a three-year project which examined the processes and practices of governing in the four… [Direct]
(2022). Preservice Teacher Socialization for Social Justice: Exploring Stances and Enactments of Social Justice Pedagogies. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Northern Illinois University. This multicase study examined the socialization experiences of four preservice high school English teachers from four different Midwestern teacher education programs to understand how their acculturative and professional socialization experiences influenced their social justice beliefs. This study also examined how participants' most salient social justice beliefs took shape within their social justice stances, mission-oriented approaches to enact social justice pedagogies like culturally responsive teaching, antiracist pedagogy, and culturally sustaining pedagogy within their classrooms. This study was framed by occupational socialization theory and critical race theory. Data were collected from the Learning to Teach for Social Justice Belief Scale, interviews, and artifact stimulated recalls composed of lesson plans, assignments, student work, and supplemental texts. Quantitative data were analyzed via descriptive statistics for survey response questions. Qualitative data were… [Direct]
(2019). Removing Invisible Barriers and Changing Mindsets to Improve and Diversify Pathways in Engineering. Advances in Engineering Education, Spr. Supporting diverse students in engineering education is considered a critical unsolved issue facing engineering education. The field continues to suffer from a lack of diversity and struggles to recruit and retain underrepresented students. We argue that structural barriers prevent equitable participation. In this paper, we examine structural barriers – specifically racism and sexism – experienced by underrepresented students in engineering education and highlight useful interventions. We then call for action to improve and diversify educational pathways in engineering. Specifically, we call for and highlight examples of rethinking mindsets for research and instruction. Lastly, we call for the engineering education community to work together in changing the culture of engineering education while highlighting the key role of the allies…. [PDF]
(2023). Understanding the Loss of Public Education: A Critical Ecological Perspective on Systemic Challenges in School and Society. Critical Education, v14 n2 p1-21. The decline of public education and the concomitant loss of the commons are increasingly recognized as significant and interwoven issues. Like other prevailing societal problems, such as the tenacity of institutionalized racism, classism, and patriarchy, these conditions are rooted in the ways growing numbers of people have come to think and act — socially, economically, politically, and intellectually. In a word, they are structural problems. As such, they require educators and others concerned with the health of society and well-being of the planet to address not only the observable symptoms but also the underlying factors that have spawned and perpetuated the systems in the first place. Critical scholars generally understand that problematic structural conditions are produced by prevailing systems of thought and action, that they evolve within particular social and historical contexts, and that they are maintained through oppressive mechanisms of persuasion and control. Less… [PDF]