(2023). Working towards More Socially Just Futures: Five Areas for Transdisciplinary Literacies Research. Literacy, v57 n2 p185-197 May. Policy-makers and provincial governments have a responsibility to prioritise equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility (EDIA) with approaches that leverage both intersectionality and transdisciplinarity, especially when looking at literacies research. Supported by a federally funded knowledge synthesis grant that surveyed the scope of EDIA in Canadian schools, this article focuses on youth marginalisation to address literacies learning. The authors address five concepts from a three-phase literature review to examine inclusive practices that respect, acknowledge and address EDIA in K-12 education. Across reviewed studies, there is an underlying trajectory outlining methodological challenges in implementing EDIA practices. We advance anti-racist and abolitionist approaches by addressing five areas: (1) making learning more accessible by adopting culturally responsive pedagogy informed by local cultures, languages and values; (2) pursuing sustainable professional development in… [Direct]
(2021). Writing for Social Justice: Journalistic Strategies for Catalyzing Agentic Engagement among Latinx Middle School Students through Media Education. Journal of Media Literacy Education, v13 n2 p71-85. This study examines the experiences of 15 Latinx sixth-grade students in Los Angeles who participated in a yearlong journalism-based media literacy program embedded in their social studies classes. Students researched, interviewed, wrote, and published articles on the Internet about social justice themes, like immigration, racism, and LGBTQ rights. The intervention uses critical pedagogy and social justice pedagogy. This study seeks to understand how key aspects of these philosophies emerge in students' reflections of their journalistic learning experiences. Deductive qualitative analysis of focus group data indicates that students experienced transformational, agentic experiential learning that allowed them to explore and question the world. The limited comments about funds of knowledge, local communities, and critical co-investigation suggest that these areas need additional attention during intervention implementation. The journalistic approach illustrates new ways educators can… [PDF]
(2022). Preparing Antiracist Educators through Transformative Teacher Education. Journal for Multicultural Education, v16 n3 p295-306. Purpose: This paper reports the findings of a study examining the impact of one teacher preparation program on the current practices of its graduates and documents the ways the program focused on equity and social justice in preparing educators who see themselves as agents for transforming schools. This paper aims to identify program elements that can be transformative in the preparation of antiracist teachers. Design/methodology/approach: This study examined the stories of nine program alumni who shared preservice education experiences and reflections on current practices. Interview data, videotaped and transcribed verbatim, included the teachers' reflections and perceptions of their preparation program and descriptions of current practices and areas to which they each attribute success as educators. Data were analyzed through inductive analysis. Findings: Two thematic categories were identified: pedagogical experiences and foundational experiences. Pedagogical experiences were… [Direct]
(2021). Disrupting the Big Lie: Higher Education and Whitelash in a Post/Colorblind Era. Education Sciences, v11 Article 486. James Baldwin (1998) described whiteness as "the big lie" of American society where the belief in the inherent superiority of white people allowed for, emboldened, and facilitated violence against People of Color. In the post-Civil Rights era, scholars reframed whiteness as an invisible, hegemonic social norm, and a great deal of education scholarship continues to be rooted in this metaphor of invisibility. However, Leonardo (2020) theorized that in a post-45 era of "whitelash" (Embrick et al., 2020), "post-colorblindness" is more accurate to describe contemporary racial stratification whereby whiteness is both (a) more visible and (b) increasingly appealing to perceived injuries of "reverse racism." From this perspective, we offer three theoretical concepts to guide the future of whiteness in education scholarship. Specifically, we argue that scholars critically studying whiteness in education must explicitly: (1) address the historicity of… [PDF]
(2021). Fostering a Commitment to Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy among Teacher Preparation Students. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Prescott College. This dissertation evaluates the efficacy of an intervention with decolonizing intentions in a teacher preparation course at fostering a commitment to Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (Paris & Alim, 2017) among preservice educators. The findings have been distilled to create a prescription that will prepare future educators to disrupt processes of settler colonialism and systemic racism in K-12 classrooms. This model for Teacher Education programs that seek to decolonize is based on the incorporation of "land education" (McCoy et al, 2017), experiential facilitation techniques, explicit address of critical themes, proactive differentiation to student interests, and a robust practice of reflection by the facilitator. I discuss the continuing "stuck places" (Ellsworth, 1989) this study revealed, likely to apply to many projects with decolonizing intent, so other educators may engage those with intentionality, creativity, and compassion. [The dissertation citations… [Direct]
(2016). African American Male College Athletes' Narratives on Education and Racism. Urban Education, v51 n9 p1065-1095 Nov. This study presents narrative case study vignettes of three elite African American male football athletes at a major historically White institution of higher education with a big-time athletics department. More specifically, I draw from critical race theory to garner insight into their secondary schooling background, what education means to them, and how racism impacts their holistic development. The focus group and individual interviews revealed each came from urban high schools in close proximity to the university, viewed education as more than classroom learning and obtaining a degree, and perceived racism as alive and well in college sport…. [Direct]
(2022). "All We Wanna Do Is Be Free": Advocating for Black Liberation in and through K-12 Science Education. Journal of Science Teacher Education, v33 n2 p131-153. This paper calls for a critical reimagination of science epistemology and praxis by advocating for a move toward Black liberation in and through K-12 science education. This call is driven by our desires as authors to foster a future of K-12 science teaching and learning that centers, embraces, and promotes historical and contemporary Black scientific innovation and creativity through practices that redress structural anti-Black racism and its implications on Black existence and life. Black Liberatory K-12 Science Education (BLKSE) names the existing challenges with cultivating and empowering Black minds in and through science as a result of anti-Black ideologies that ground and govern K-12 science access, teaching and learning. In naming said challenges as the manifestations of anti-Black ideologies, we shed light on the roles of K-12 science teachers and science teacher education regarding the treatment of Black students given oppressive policies and practices that fail to… [Direct]
(2022). Epistemic Governance and the Colonial Epistemic Structure: Towards Epistemic Humility and Transformed South-North Relations. Critical Studies in Education, v63 n5 p556-571. Current epistemic governance analyses in higher education ignore systemic power relations between Northern and Southern researchers. This paper does focus on previous approaches to understanding epistemic governance, but rather moves beyond these towards a Southern evaluative and prospective comprehension. The paper is primarily theoretical. We draw on Fricker's theorizing of epistemic justice, but note the importance of the institutional. Amartya Sen's capability approach enables envisioning possibilities for change at individual and systemic levels, placing agency and epistemic freedoms at the centre of epistemic governance to foster solidarity and reflexive actions for change. To make the case, the paper explores testimonial and hermeneutical (including hermeneutic obstruction) injustices in research, presenting unfair practices and the unjust consequences for scholars in the South arising from 'the colonial epistemic structure'. The paper proposes that this structure, and its… [Direct]
(2020). 'Same Old Story, Just a Different Policy': Race and Policy Making in Higher Education in the UK. Race, Ethnicity and Education, v23 n4 p530-547. Evidence suggests that Black and minority ethnic (BME) students and staff continue to be disadvantaged in higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK. Policy making has been introduced to specifically address such inequalities. This article draws on critical policy analysis and 45 interviews to explore the impact of the recently introduced Race Equality Charter (REC) as a measure to address such inequalities. By using principles of Critical Race Theory (CRT), we argue that racism continues to play a key role in the experiences of BME groups in HEIs and policy making. Consequently, the enactment of policy making on race through the REC works to benefit HEIs by adhering to White normative practices and behaviours which contribute to a system which reinforces and perpetuates White privilege…. [Direct]
(2018). Maintaining One's Consciousness: An Exploratory Study of Upper-Level Black Community College Administrators as Racially Conscious Leaders. ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, California State University, Fullerton. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Black community college administrators who have transitioned to upper-level management, while maintaining their own race consciousness. A race conscious mindset is defined as: (a) acknowledgement of racialized self as Black; (b) normative emphasis on racial group membership as part of overall self-concept; (c) a comprehensive understanding of racialized self within racial and social context; (d) an in-depth understanding of the complexities of racism and systemic oppression; and (e) proactive engagement in work aiming to disrupt institutional marginalization. This study also examined how Black administrators, who serve or have served as chancellor, vice-chancellor, president, or vice-president navigate leadership expectations of the California Community College system, while maintaining the saliency of their own consciousness. The following questions guided this exploratory study: 1. How do racially conscious Black community… [Direct]
(2022). Toward a Cohesive Union? Currents and Cleavages in State Civic Education Policy Discourses. American Journal of Education, v128 n4 p647-676 Aug. Purpose: Civic education in the United States has received renewed attention in state-level policy making. Yet defining what citizenship education entails has been long-contested terrain. This study explores the extent to which recently adopted civic education state policies are consistent in policy messaging around desired civic outcomes and civic debt. Research Methods/Approach: This study utilized political discourse analysis to analyze all civic education state policies enacted between 2017 and 2020, which included 45 laws from 29 states, through an iterative process of open and focused coding. Findings: The vast majority of policies espoused civic republican goals, with varying degrees to which they addressed civic debt. Liberal citizenship discourses were found in less than one-fourth of policies, and critical discourses were entirely absent. Patterns emerged in civic discourses by state political identity, geographic location, and whether civic debt was addressed…. [Direct]
(2022). Making Black Girls Count in Math Education: A Black Feminist Vision for Transformative Teaching. Race and Education Series. Harvard Education Press "Making Black Girls Count in Math Education" explores the experiences of Black girls and women in mathematics from preschool to graduate school, deftly probing race and gender inequity in STEM fields. Nicole M. Joseph investigates factors that contribute to the glaring underrepresentation of Black female students in the mathematics pipeline. Joseph's unflinching account calls attention to educational structures and practices that contribute to race- and gender-based stratification in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. The author also disentangles a complex network of historical and sociopolitical elements that influence the perception and experiences of Black girls and women both inside and outside of mathematics education. In her clear-eyed assessment of the intersectional difficulties facing this marginalized group, Joseph offers a critical view of the existing mathematics education research, practice, and policies that have neglected Black… [Direct]
(2021). The Healing Power of Education: Afrocentric Pedagogy as a Tool for Restoration and Liberation. Teachers College Press Situating the African American learning experience within the stream of historic enslavement and hundreds of years of institutionalized racism, this timely book introduces antiracist foundations for teaching in the 21st century. The authors take a holistic approach that uses Afrocentricity to identify and address critical omissions and distortions in school curricula. Drawing on empirical findings from a high-performing 100% African American school, they identify what teachers and students recognize as successful features of the schools' approach, including a unique learning environment, support systems, spiritual affirmations, evidences of Black education, a reframing of Afrocentricity, and education that promotes positive Black identity. This much-needed book demonstrates the healing power of education; provides evidence of social, emotional, and psychological transformation within the learning experience; and frames education as a tool for liberation. This book: (1) offers a clear… [Direct]
(2019). "Revealing and Uprooting Cellular Violence": Black Men and the Biopsychosocial Impact of Racial Microaggressions. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles. Although the overall health in the US has improved over the past few decades, Black men, regardless of socioeconomic status or educational attainment, bear a disproportionate burden in disease morbidity and mortality. African-American men remain the most vulnerable racial gender group for almost every health condition that medical researchers monitor and feature the lowest life expectancy of any cohort in the country. Current research suggests college-educated African-Americans accumulate stress through frequent encounters with subtle and seemingly ambiguous forms of racial discrimination. These racial microaggressions (a particularly mundane and insidious form of modern racism) can wreak havoc on the psychological and physiological functioning of Black males and may be complicit in their elevated levels of stress-related disease and shortened lifespans. Most educational research on Black males' racialized experiences at purposively white colleges and universities (PWIs) has featured… [Direct]
(2020). Freedom! Freedom! Where Are You? A Critical Examination of Educational Reform Policy and Programmatic Initiatives. ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The Ohio State University. Within the context of the U.S., there has always existed a parasitic dynamic between the white and the Black, where Black is relegated to a structural antagonism by the white. Research within education that has taken up the issue race and racism has resulted in preoccupations with examining the academic achievement gap, and pursuits of racial justice. Specifically, educational reform and legislation is often identified as the most optimal means to attaining racial equity within education. I contend that the invocation of race and racism in educational research is not sufficient unless it is specifically concerned with critically examining and eradicating Black suffering. Thus, in this study, I explore the legacy of State demonstrated antipathy towards Black thought and life. Broadly, I examine the liberatory capacity of educational reform legislation and programmatic initiatives. Using critical discourse analysis, I focus on the discourse which accompanies the rollout of policy,… [Direct]