Showing papers in "Educational Foundations in 2010"

Using Latina/o Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) and Racist Nativism to Explore Intersectionality in the Educational Experiences of Undocumented Chicana College Students

Abstract: Introduction One of the most powerful elements of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in Education is that it provides critical researchers with a lens not offered by many other theoretical frameworks--that is, the ability to examine how multiple forms of oppression can intersect within the lives of People of Color and how those intersections manifest in our daily experiences to mediate our education. A theoretical branch extending from CRT is Latina/o Critical Race Theory (LatCrit), which examines experiences unique to the Latina/o community such as immigration status, language, ethnicity, and culture (Solorano & Delgado Bernal, 2001). A LatCrit analysis has allowed researchers to develop the conceptual framework of racist nativism, a lens that highlights the intersection of racism and nativism (Perez Huber, et. al., 2008). This article examines how a racist nativism framework can help understand the experiences of undocumented Chicana college students attending a public research university in California. First, this article will provide a brief description of how CRT and, in particular, LatCrit have allowed researchers to develop the frame of racist nativism. Second, the framework of racist nativism will be described, including how it is used in this study. Third, this article will describe the data collection strategies, methodological approach and analysis process used to gather and analyze 20 critical race testimonio interviews. Following this description, I will present the findings that demonstrate the ways racist nativism, class and gender have manifested in the educational trajectories of the undocumented Chicana college students. The Need to Examine Undocumented Latina/o Educational Experiences There is a limited but growing body of research on the experiences of undocumented Latina/o immigrant students in the U.S. (Abrego, 2002; Bastida et. al., 2007; De Leon, 2005; Fields, 2005; Gonzales, 2007; Guillen, 2004; Madera, et. al., 2008; Oliverez et. al., 2006; Olivas, 1995, 2004; Pabon Lopez, 2005; Perez Huber & Malagon, 2007; Rangel, 2001; Rincon, 2005; Seif, 2004). We know that thousands of undocumented students graduate high schools throughout the country each year, but most are in state of California (Oliverez et. al., 2006). We also know that most undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are from Latin American countries, but Mexico in particular (Passel, 2006). The historical and continued efforts of U.S. foreign policy to ensure Mexican economic dependence on the United States suggests economic conditions in Mexico will continue to leave many Mexican citizens with no choice but to emigrate (Gonzalez & Fernandez, 2002). This means, until the U.S. enacts comprehensive immigration reform that offers the U.S. undocumented population with a path to citizenship, the number of undocumented Latina/o students will continue to grow. Research focusing on this group of students lags far behind this demographic growth. CRT, LatCrit, and Racist Nativism: An Intersectional Approach CRT and LatCrit. The overarching theoretical frameworks for this study are CRT, and in particular, LatCrit. CRT in educational research unapologetically centers the ways race, class, gender, sexuality and other forms of oppression manifest in the educational experiences of People of Color. CRT draws from multiple disciplines to challenge dominant ideologies such as meritocracy and colorblindness, which suggest educational institutions are neutral systems that function in the same ways for all students. This framework challenges these beliefs by learning and building from the knowledge of Communities of Color whose educational experiences are marked by oppressive structures and practices. The efforts of revealing racism in education is a conscious move toward social and racial justice and empowerment among Communities of Color (Solorzano & Yosso, 2001; Yosso 2006). LatCrit is an extension of the efforts of CRT in educational research. …

Other People's Daughters: Critical Race Feminism and Black Girls' Education.

Abstract: The intellectual product of the minority feminist scholar should incorporate in a formal fashion the ethical and moral consciousness of minority women, their aspirations, and their quest for liberation. Her partisanship and advocacy of a minority feminist jurisprudence should be frankly acknowledged and energetically defended. Because her scholarship is to be grounded in the material and ideological realities of minority women and in their cultural and political responses, its operative premises must necessarily be dynamic and primarily immanent; as the lives of minority women change, so too should the analysis. --Regina Austin (1995, p. 426) The above quote is extracted from legal scholar Regina Austin's 1995 article, "Sapphire Bound!" In the article Austin calls for minority female scholars in the legal field to straightforwardly, unapologetically, and strategically use their intellectual pursuits to advocate on behalf of poor and working class minority women. At-risk of being stereotypically identified and labeled as overly aggressive, overbearing, loud, audacious, or in other words, the "angry Black woman" (e.g. a bitch), Austin encourages minority female scholars to redefine the Sapphire stereotype to testify to the social and political circumstances impacting minority women. She believes that legal scholars, like herself, embody the necessary attitude and agency it takes to bear the burden of collective struggle alongside, with, and on behalf of other minority women. The legal scholar suggests that collective struggle is overdue considering the marginalization of poor minority women, especially of Black women, in the U.S. political economy. Even though Austin is arguing from the perspective of a woman of color, with experience and interest in the legal field, her comments are also relevant to conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical efforts in the field of education. In this article, we are mainly concerned with Austin's (1995) personal and professional insights for its implications and relevancy to urban girls, in particular, African American girls being schooled in urban school communities. There is a need for more scholarship in the field of education that looks at the educational experiences and schooling processes of African American girls. Because feminist epistemologies tend to be concerned with the education of White girls and women, and raced-based epistemologies tend to be consumed with the educational barriers negatively effecting Black boys, the educational needs of Black girls have fallen through the cracks (Evans-Winters, 2005). Like Austin suggests above, there is a need for more minority female scholars in the field of education and other related areas, to directly confront, unabashedly, the social and educational needs of minority girls of color. Female scholars of color have documented the unique challenges young Black women encounter in many of our urban schools, due to their raced, classed and gendered status. Research with Black Girls in Mind Fordham (1993) has suggested that students and school officials alike have stereotyped African American girls as loud, aggressive and masculine. However, Fordham suggests that many Black girls have embraced a loud and tough persona in order to be heard and not overlooked in classrooms and school buildings that tend to ignore them and marginalize them as students. In later work, based on data from ethnographic work at a U.S. high school, Fordham (1996) made the claim that high achieving Black girls and their male counterparts may take on a race-less persona to attain academic success. A race-less persona refers to the absence of behavioral and attitudinal characteristics related to a particular race; thus, Fordham's claims have suggested that Black high achieving students do well because they reject an ascribed Black identity. In contrast to Fordham's (1993; 1996) findings, Carla O'Connor concludes in her research findings that high achieving African American girls actually embrace a strong positive Black female identity. …

Engaged Pedagogy and Critical Race Feminism.

Abstract: Oh, fix me Oh, fix me Oh, fix me Fix me, Jesus, fix me. We're still blaming teachers. At conferences and in publications, we 're still blaming teachers. In the news and at school board meetings, we're still blaming teachers. We're still talking about what teachers aren't doing and what they don't know. Teachers are faulty and broken. And everyone has something to say about how to fix them. Yes, it's the teachers who are broken, faulty, and require fixin'. But I submit to you that teachers, like the students they serve, are victims. They get smashed by school districts with wrecking balls of bureaucracy, limited resources, and inadequate pay. They get smashed by impractical professional development that does little to support the realities of day-to-day school life. But sadly, they are also wrecked by us: teacher educators. But we are victims, too. We suffer the indignities of a political tenure track system that rarely values collaborative work in schools and school communities. We suffer the injustice of state and NCATE standards that devalue true social justice and academic freedoms that embrace a true and authentic meaning of curriculum. But rarely do we get at the source. It is rare that we talk about how teachers are developed. How are teacher education programs structured? In what ways are these programs evaluated? And, in what ways do teacher educators engage in and model critically reflective self-assessment and evaluation toward the continual improvement of a praxis that supports educational equity? As a woman of color scholar whose work focuses on the intersections of social foundations and curriculum theory in the context of urban teacher education, I am an advocate and purveyor of scholarship and praxis that raises the intellectual value of the work of teachers and teacher educators who wholeheartedly and unselfishly support those who are most likely to be underserved in the educational arena, k-20. I advocate for and subscribe to the praxis of engaged pedagogy as defined by cultural critic and scholar bell hooks (1994). I advocate for and subscribe to the theoretical and conceptual notion of critical race feminism as defined by legal scholar and social activist Adrien K. Wing (1997). What I propose is a classroom praxis of engaged pedagogy from a critical race feminist perspective. In this article, I will describe hooks' engaged pedagogy in the context of the experiences I gained from a group of African American pre-service teachers in a social foundations course. This will be followed by a description of critical race feminism. The article will conclude with a discussion on engaged pedagogy from a critical race feminist perspective. Engaged Pedagogy bell hooks (1994) speaks elegantly about the process of teaching students "in a manner that respects and cares for" (p. 13) their souls as opposed to "a rote, assembly line approach" (p. 13). As a contrast to the 'safe' place of lecture and invited response, hooks moves to a place of resistance as she espouses "a progressive, holistic education ... more demanding than critical or feminist pedagogy" (p. 15). hooks advocates an education that goes beyond the classroom (Florence, 1998) and relates to students as whole human beings. In the context of the social foundations classroom at a historically Black university, this required finding ways to get to know my students and their connections to their families. This meant students interjecting their experiences regarding such issues as parental involvement to include their right to question the value of attending local school board meetings as part of their learning experience. Beyer (as cited in Florence, 1998) suggests that this may mean including elements of popular culture in the classroom experience. In my social foundations classroom, my students expressed a preference for writing rap and poetry to deliver their ideas, rather than the essay style writing required in the syllabus I developed. …

Examining Education for Latinas/os in Chicago: A CRT/LatCrit Approach.

Abstract: Introduction Schools are social institutions that mirror the larger society. In the United States (U.S.), a compulsory public school system was developed to address the needs of industry, speaking to the direct effect society has on the creation and purpose of schooling. "Far from creating independent thinkers, schools have always, throughout history, played an institutional role in a system of control and coercion" (Macedo in Chomsky, 2000, p 3). The general purpose of public schools has not changed since its inception-students continue to be educated to accept ideologies that serve the needs of the dominant class. Yet, the purpose of schooling has been contested throughout the history of the U.S. by both dominant groups and the oppressed. This article will explore the sociopolitical context of education policy, particularly as it relates to Latina/o education. We will highlight the status of Latina/os within the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to examine the impact of education policy designed to benefit few and disenfranchise most. The authors draw attention to the injustices of Latinas/os in CPS and examine this status within a Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Critical Latino Theory (LatCrit) framework. CRT helped us create a space that will highlight the resistance and hope of Latina/os in CPS while uncovering the struggle and injustice. Furthermore, we will draw from the lens of LatCrit (Solorzano & Bernal, 2001) to situate our research within a paradigm that speaks to Latina/o school experiences in a very specific way. CRT and LatCrit encompass all of the same assumptions and underpinnings (Villalpando, 2004), but LatCrit provides a context for the social, historical, and political reception and impact of Latina/os in the U.S., and provides theoretical space to analyze experiences of language and immigration among other lived experiences rooted in the resistance and oppression of Latinas/os. In the last thirty years, the response of public schools to policy mandates stemming from the Civil Rights Movement that were intended to protect the rights of people of color, including Latina/os, sheds light on how little has changed in the structure and function of schools. From the time we were allowed to obtain an education in the same system as the dominant class and race, marginalized groups have been told that schools are vehicles to equal opportunity; schools have even been described as "the great equalizer." The Latina/o population is by and large, young, and the erosion of equality in American schooling has hit it hard. However, the struggle for school equity for Latina/os has been coupled with a strong history of resistance rooted in community and grassroots organizing. As Spring (1991) states; From World War II to the 1990s [and today], Native Americans, Puerto Ricans, African Americans and Mexican Americans have demanded that public schools recognize their distinct cultures and incorporate these cultures into curricula and textbooks. (p. 195) The struggle for equity in education for Latina/os has not ended. While some schools and school districts have made affirmative efforts to fully include the life experiences and histories of the students they serve, the vast majority of public schools serving Latinas/os have not done so (Valenzuela, 1999). Furthermore, while progressive educators have made some gains to better serve Latina/os during the 1960s and 1970s, the sharp conservative turn in the 1980s laid the foundation for many school policies and practices that worked against the gains made in areas such as culturally inclusive curricula and bilingual education. For this paper, we have focused on the inequities that clearly disenfranchise Latina/o students by drawing on two editions of a previous research project (Aviles, Capeheart, Davila, & Miller, 2004) and (Aviles, Capeheart, Davila, Miller, & Rodriguez-Lucero, 2006) which is discussed further in our methods section (We will refer to these reports as Dando 2004 and Dando 2006 for the duration of this paper). …

Leaving Us behind: A Political Economic Interpretation of NCLB and the Miseducation of African American Males.

Abstract: Introduction The educational tribulations of African American males are well documented (Clark, 1989/1965; Davis & Jordan, 1994; Harry & Anderson, 1994; Polite & Davis, 1999; Majors & Billison, 1992). According to a report by the Schott Foundation for Public Education (2004), 70% of African American males entering the ninth grade will not graduate with their cohort (p. 2). The foregoing figures are troubling considering that the overall percentage of African American students enrolled in public schools has increased from 14.8% in 1972 to 15.6% in 2006 (1) (U.S. Department of Education, 2008, p. 85). Despite this modicum of progress, the education system's ability to adequately serve African American males is worsening. The need to address the low academic achievement of Black males is important for two reasons. The first reason is the link between low educational attainment and incarceration (Mauer & King, 2004; Justice Policy Institute, 2007; Children's Defense Fund, 2007). The second reason is the shift in the skills needed for productive participation in the global economy (Green, 2001). With regards to the relationship between low education attainment and incarceration, the Justice Policy Institute (2007) reported that "52% of African American male high school dropouts had prison records by their early thirties" in 1999 (p. 11). Incidentally, the incarceration rate per 100,000 African American men between the ages of 18-64 was 7,923 compared to 1,072 for White men (Human Rights Watch, 2008). These statistics are problematic considering that African Americans only constitute 12% of the U.S. population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). Based on the foregoing statistics, one can easily surmise that there are more African American males incarcerated than in school. Conversely, the economic vitality of the United States in the 21st century is contingent upon the productivity of well-trained people and the steady stream of scientific and technical innovations they produce. Levy and Murnane (2004) point out that the nation's challenge is to "recognize the inexorable changes in the job distribution and to prepare young people with the skills needed in the growing number of good jobs" (p. 6). Further, expansion of international markets through globalization has contributed to the transformation of America's economy from a mass-producer of durable goods such as automobiles, to a developer and provider of information and biotechnology products and services. This economic shift has not only altered the types of products required for international competitiveness, but more importantly the requisite skills needed to ensure high-tier workforce participation has been permanently altered (Waks, 2003). In addition to access to quality scientific, mathematical, and technological learning opportunities, a "good education" in the global age includes the development of "soft-skills" (2) (Levy & Murnane, 2004; Gordon Nembhard, 2005). For traditionally under-served students, such as African Americans males, the education policies that govern curriculum and instruction are essential to shaping the capacity of learning opportunities vital to their collective social and economic advancement. Indeed, the relationship between education and social mobility is not a recent finding; what is new, however, is that public schools more than at any other time in American history are held accountable for preparing students to serve private interests and the public good (Kliebard, 1999; Hargreaves, 2003). The purpose of this article is to discuss the misalignment between public school assessment policies and teaching practices in accordance with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), and the human capital, curricula, and soft-skill needs of the global economy. The authors suggest that changes regarding the nature of learning, how it is assessed, and the skills taught are critical to the educational and social success of African American males. …

Social Foundations and Multicultural Education Course Requirements in Teacher Preparation Programs in the United States

Abstract: Teacher quality has been a central issue in discourse on improvement of schooling outcomes. While the importance of teacher quality is widely acknowledged, there is considerable dispute regarding necessary skills, knowledge, and dispositions of a highly qualified teacher, as well as the methods for producing such teachers. Indeed, even the definition of teacher effectiveness is contested. One area of teacher preparation that has been marginalized in the debate on teacher quality is the social foundations of education (SFE), a critical, interdisciplinary area of study that examines education and schooling through lenses of history, philosophy, and the social sciences (Tozar & Miretsky, 2000). In recent years, and particularly since the onset of the new century, the value of skills, knowledge, and dispositions promoted in teacher preparation SFE courses and the subsumed or related knowledge domain of multicultural education (ME), have been largely ignored in policy documents on teacher quality. Whether disregard of these knowledge and skill areas has had or will have an impact on course requirements in this domain in teacher preparation programs is an important question that should be of interest to those who value the content and goals of SFE/ME. Although limitations of extant data preclude comparison of current course requirements in SFE/ME with those in teacher education programs of the past, establishment of a benchmark on course requirements in this area will help clarify the status of SFE/ME in the field and enable future assessments of trends. This study examined the question of course requirements in SFE and ME in university-based teacher preparation programs in the United States that lead to an initial credential. Context Teacher education has long been under siege from many quarters. As David F. Labaree (2004) explains, schools of education are commonly perceived as low-status members of the university academic community, where many professors outside the field regard the discipline as intellectually impoverished. Teachers and teaching-credential candidates often complain of onerous assignments and too much attention to theory in education courses, which they perceive to have little practical value to their work in the real world of schools and classrooms. Policymakers frequently identify teacher education programs as a fundamental cause of bad teaching and poor schooling outcomes. These criticism and others contributed to the assault on teacher education in the 1990s (Kramer, 1991; Sowell, 1993; Hirsch, 1996), which even included a harsh attack from within by deans of university-based education schools (Holmes Group, 1995). As assessment of public school effectiveness became increasingly tied to standardized test scores in the 21st century and a mandate for "highly qualified teachers" in the No Child Left Behind Act focused attention on the relationship between teacher quality and student achievement, the critique of teacher education sharpened its focus on value-added measures of student achievement. The question of which specific elements of teacher preparation produce the greatest student achievement gains became central. At the same time, a downturn in the economy resurrected educational crisis rhetoric of the early 1980s and an economic rationale for reforming teacher preparation began to appear in government reports and other policy documents on the subject--saving a nation at risk of losing its economic competitiveness. Secretary of Education Rodney Paige (United States Department of Education, 2002) entered the fray with his first report to Congress on teacher quality, wherein he asserted, "there is little evidence that education school coursework leads to improved student achievement" (p. 19). According to Paige much of teacher education is unnecessary. The data show that many states mandate a shocking number of education courses to qualify for certification. …

All the Losers Go There: Challenging the Deficit Educational Discourse of Chicano Racialized Masculinity in a Continuation High School

Abstract: I ask these unsettling questions: what does it mean for me to write as a Chicano in the final years of the millennium, 506 years after the full-scale invasion of the Americas--the usurpation of lands, the wholesale rape and slaughter of indigenous peoples, the forced importation and brutal enslavement of African peoples; and the institutionalized criminalization and marginalization o fthe Chicana/o community, etc.? --Aldama. Millenial Anxieties: Borders, Violence, and the Struggle for Chicana/o Subjectivity (1998) Introduction Aldama renders important questions that critical scholars must grapple with as they engage in challenging the deficit accounts that have distorted and/or erased the experiences of Students of Color. Chicanas/os, who for the purpose of this article are defined as people of Mexican descent living in the United States, carry with them a history of not only a physical colonization but also the lasting imprint of an intellectual apparatus of representation that reifies their status as inferior. Today, even 500 years after the initial invasion of the Americas resulting in the subjugation of indigenous peoples, we cannot come to fully understand the complexity of the continued marginalization of the Chicana/o community without acknowledging the lasting effects of colonization and the permanence of white supremacy. In regards to the Chicana/o community, Aldama argues that we must recognize that there are four negative constants facing this population: (1) Continued economic marginalization; (2) Sub-standard housing, schooling, and general public services; (3) Extremely high incarceration rates, and (4) An increase in the sophistication and deployment of violence especially towards Chicana/o youth and Mexican immigrants. These constants are critical in understanding the various factors that work against young Chicana/o students. Given the importance placed on educational attainment as an avenue for economic and social mobility, it is important to understand and acknowledge how these combined constants allows for a more critical frame that contextualizes how schooling institutions replicate sub-standard conditions and opportunities for Chicano youth. This article locates the Chicano racialized male body within the education discourse surrounding research and practice. In order to more appropriately understand the experiences of these youth, I draw from critical race theory (CRT) and Latina/o critical race theory (LatCrit) in education as well as Chicana feminist epistemologies to more specifically examine the racialized and gendered experiences of Chicano male students. A critical examination that interrogates Eurocentric epistemologies works at deconstructing the racialized and gendered discourses inscripted upon these young bodies. In order to illuminate these experiences, I draw from participatory research and extensive oral history interviews that examine the educational trajectories of Chicano male high school students in a California continuation high school. I place these narratives within a historical context that takes into consideration the pathological marginalization of these Students of Color. The Need to Examine Chicano Males in Continuation High Schools The overall educational attainment of males, specifically pertaining to Chicanos and Latinos, has become of increasing concern in the past decade (Kleinfeld 1998; Ginorio and Huston, 2001; Lopez, 2003; Suarez-Orozco & Qin-Hilliard, 2004). According to Kleinfeld, male Students of Color lag far behind their female counterparts. These students are more apt to believe that the school climate is hostile towards them, that teachers do not expect as much from them, and that they are given less encouragement to do their best. Current research on Latino boys reveals consistent results in terms of how they in general have lower interest in studying, low educational goals and a less optimistic outlook towards their future (Lopez, 2003; Portes & Rumbaut, 2001). …

Community Education and Critical Race Praxis: The Power of Voice.

Abstract: In a society, which ostensibly promotes homogeneity, it is easy to consider adult education simply in terms of skills and activities (Ferdman, 1990). Yet adult education around the world (e.g., Brazil, Cuba, Nigeria, Ghana, and Guinea- Bissau) has been venues for consciousness raising aimed at human liberation (Ladson-Billings, 1994). Moreover, beyond the formal classroom and closer to home, African American community education may provide adults a space to counter the master narrative, recover silenced consciousness and "facilitate their ability to articulate what they do and think about in order to provide a foundation for autonomous action" (Fasheh, 1990 p. 26). Within the field of education, the master narrative is affiliated with the process of assimilation which is imposed upon learners of color, requiring conformity to the status quo and silencing a diversity of knowledge and opinion. The master narrative is conveyed via stereotypes, communique, and ideology which objectify persons of color as inherently weak, devoid of power and voice, and incapable of positively contributing to the larger society (Aguirre, 2005). African American community education can act as a vehicle by which to interrogate these master narratives. Further, this type of adult education empowers learners to gain skills to assess the social and political contradictions and injustices of society, and assert action in addressing those contradictions and injustices. Education ceases to be solely for individual advancement, but "it becomes an interactive process that is constantly redefined and renegotiated, as the individual transacts with the socioculturally fluid surroundings" (Ferdman, 1990 p.187). Once new ways of seeing the world are learned and acted upon, it is from this adult population that emerge resistance to and transformation of societal structures (Welton, 1987 as cited in Mayo, 1999). This type of educational experience mirrors Paulo Freire's work with Brazilian disenfranchised poor. Freire's work not only encouraged adults to acquire knowledge and skills in order to navigate a growing literate world but he also encouraged a type of community education that was situated in the societal concerns of the learner's community. Moreover, resolutions for these concerns were located within the same community. Utilizing a critical pedagogical model, Freire encouraged: * social action by the learner against those oppressive elements that impact the civil liberation of people, * the learner to question the status quo, and * employment of the learner's voice in articulating reflection and liberatory social action. (Friere, 2000) Critical pedagogy is an instructional approach to teaching that employs a theoretical framework by which social injustices (e.g., discriminatory practices based on class, or race or gender or privilege--indeed any systematic form of oppression) are critiqued. Subsequently, the learner's life experiences and new uncovered knowledge are engaged in order to generate individual and societal transformation. The model mandates that the instructor take risks to address the unjust dominant themes and practices within society via reflective and action-oriented instruction. This type of pedagogy encourages the learner to critique obstructions to the learner's full participation in society (e.g. labor exploitation, economic stratification, and social marginalization), and encourages critical collective action, through the engagement of the learner's experiential knowledge and social agency. Critical pedagogy, however, falls flat in addressing racially oppressive practices due to its shortsightedness on the intersectionality of race and class. In response to this shortsightedness, Critical Race Theory emerged to address specific social, political, educational, and economic concerns of race (Ladson-Billings, 1997). When critical pedagogy and critical race theory (CRT) act in concert, adult education gives stage to the voice of the learner. …

Introduction: Thoughts and Ideas on the Intersectionality of Identity

Abstract: A Critical Race Narrative of Intersectionality One of the elements that appear in critical race theory and its subsequent theoretical outgrowths is the element of counterstory or counterstorytelling. Counterstory, as described by Delgado (1999), is created by the out-group, the members of the socially marginalized group, aimed to subvert the reality of the dominant group. For socially marginalized groups, this reality centers on a host of presuppositions, commonly held wisdoms, and shared understandings by the dominant group about the outgroup. These presuppositions, wisdoms, and understandings are what Romeo and Stewart (1999) refer to as the master narrative. This introduction will begin with a counterstory, a critical race narrative of intersectionality, as a means of illustrating one way of understanding the complexities potentially held by those who possess such multidimensional and intersecting identities as race, gender, social class, religion, nationality, and language. The ways in which critical race theory and its outgrowths have, thus far, addressed some of these issues will continue this discussion. Finally, this introduction will provide a glimpse of what is to come in this special issue. The Counterstory Two years ago, I traveled to Italy to visit a friend and colleague who, after retiring, decided to become a permanent resident of this country. Our plan was to visit the two universities in her town and one in Rome to discuss the ways in which teacher education programs prepare their candidates to educate their increasing minority student populations. We would, subsequently, travel to Germany to have similar discussions with teacher educators in Frankfurt and Heidelberg. Having lived in Germany for six and a half years during the 1990s, I felt as if I were going home again. Imagine my excitement to have the opportunity to combine three of the things that intrigue me most: issues of race, teacher education, and traveling through Europe. I boarded the plane in mid-March, taking all of my identities and experiences with me. When I arrived at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci (formerly known as Fiumicino) airport, I was stopped first at passport control. After standing in line for approximately five minutes, I reached the window of a passport officer. I passed my passport through an open slot in the window and the officer picked up my passport, opened it, and greeted me solemnly (in English) without looking up. "Buongiorno," I replied, using the little Italian I knew. He looked up at me and smiled, then looked at my passport photo. "Hello, and welcome to Rome," he said with a smile. After asking me the required questions, he wanted to know if I was staying in Rome. "Yes, for a few days, then I'm traveling to Perugia and Germany." "Really? Are you here for business or pleasure?" "Both." "I see you have a phone. May I call you? I would like to have dinner with you, if you like." "I'm meeting a friend at Termini (Rome's main train station). I will be traveling with her while in the continent." "I will bring a friend for her. Okay?" "Okay." I wrote down my cell phone for him and provided instructions for dialing. "I will await your call. Have a good day." "Thank you. I will call," he said with a smile. As I passed through the baggage claim area (possessing only carry-on luggage), I recalled the affinity Italian men have for women of color, especially women with brown complexions. I was momentarily amused and flattered as I continued through the airport toward the train station platform. When I reached the escalator that provides direct access to the train station, I stopped to re-adjust the way I was holding my bags to accommodate safe passage up the escalator. Just as I was to step on to the escalator, an Italian man approached me from behind, speaking in Italian and motioning for me to hand him my bags. …

Investigating the Educational Foundations of Doe versus Kamehameha Schools Lawsuit, 1887-2007.

Abstract: Introduction Today the Kamehameha Schools are widely known for excellent education In part this is due to the almost $9 billion dollar value of the Bishop Estate that funds and controls the schools Unfortunately, its success has led to non-Hawaiians challenging its admissions policy, which has since its inception been based upon admitting Native Hawaiian students by preference In June 2003, on the behalf of an unnamed non-Native Hawaiian student, identified only as John Doe, a civil-rights lawsuit disputing Kamehameha's admissions policy was filed The Doe versus Kamehameha Schools lawsuit, which challenged the Kamehameha Schools' admission policy, is just the most recent of a history of educational controversies surrounding the Kamehameha Schools Since all previous controversies relate to the policies at the Kamehameha Schools, involving educating an historically disadvantaged group, this investigation demonstrates the connectivity of the controversies to issues of White supremacy, subordination of People of Color, and the myth of American meritocracy This study relies on the Critical Race Theory (CRT) to achieve its purpose CRT involves examining "the entire edifice of contemporary legal thought and doctrine from the viewpoint of law's role in the construction and maintenance of social domination and subordination" (Grenshaw, Gotunda, Peller, & Thomas, 1995, p xi) One aspect of CRT that is pertinent to this study is its assertion that White supremacists in their efforts to continue the subordination of People of Color have re-designed the meaning of equality in order to maintain their power in America White supremacists have developed tactics based upon an ideology of equal opportunity and American meritocracy CRT advocates believe in the "absolute centricity of history and context in any attempt to theorize the relationship between race and legal discourse" (Grenshaw et al, 1995, p xxiv) CRT is concerned with "theoretical accounts of racial power that explain legal and political decisions which are adverse to People of Color as mere reflections of underlying White interest" (Grenshaw et al, 1995, p xxiv) Finally, CRT asserts that White supremacists appeal to color blindness in order to create an ideological strategy that obscures efforts to redress historical acts of discrimination in order to sustain hierarchies of racial power (Grenshaw et al, 1995) In order to provide the educational foundations for this controversy, this article investigates curriculum, admissions, and discrimination controversies involving the Kamehameha Schools from its inception in 1887 through the Doe versus Kamehameha Schools lawsuit, which was settled in May 2007 The earliest controversies centered on the curriculum of the Schools The Kamehameha Schools were founded as manual training schools during the latter two decades of the nineteenth century (Beyer, 2007) As such, the curriculum was designed to prepare its students for employment, not advanced studies; it was often debated whether this was the best curriculum for Native Hawaiians Due to the fact that the Kamehameha Schools were founded at a time when Christianizing and "civilizing" Hawaiians was still a major goal of schools for Hawaiians, religion and religious education were important to founders of the schools Consequently, the policy that all employees of the Kamehameha Schools and members of the Board of Trustees had to be Protestant Christians led to controversies charging the Kamehameha Schools with discriminating against non-Protestant Christians The one controversy, however, that continuously re-appeared throughout the entire history of the schools was the admissions policy This article is divided into four other sections The first section deals with establishing the Kamehameha Schools, which includes establishing the impetus for founding the schools as manual training schools, the will of Bernice Pauahi Bishop, and the operation of the schools …