Showing papers in "Race Ethnicity and Education in 2015"
TL;DR: In this article, critical race theory is used to explain how everyday forms of racism emerge in the everyday experiences of people of color, and they provide a framework for understanding and analyzing racial microaggressions that demonstrates how everyday racist events are systemically mediated by institutionalized racism.
Abstract: This conceptual article utilizes critical race theory (CRT) to explain how everyday forms of racism – racial microaggressions – emerge in the everyday experiences of People of Color. We provide a framework for understanding and analyzing racial microaggressions that demonstrates how everyday racist events are systemically mediated by institutionalized racism (i.e. structures and processes), and guided by ideologies of white supremacy that justify the superiority of a dominant group (whites) over non-dominant groups (People of Color). To demonstrate the conceptual utility of the framework, we utilize historical and contemporary examples of racial micoraggressions, and offer varied ways to use the framework in critical race research. We argue racial microaggressions can be a powerful ‘tool’ for identifying, disrupting, and dismantling the racism that marginalizes, subordinates and excludes People of Color in and outside of education.
284 citations
TL;DR: The authors examine the complicated realities that social justice allies in higher education face when working on campus and reveal the paradox of engaging in ally work, which involved few risks and sacrifices, but greater rewards for being perceived as "good" people.
Abstract: Numerous scholars have offered definitions and perspectives for White people to be or become social justice allies. The purpose of this study was to examine the complicated realities that social justice allies in higher education face when working on campus. Using a critical interpretivist approach grounded in critical race theory, the authors intepret participants constructions of allies and ally work and draw larger implications for these constructions and their capacity to disrupt and uphold systems of oppression and injustice. In examining the experiences of White male faculty and administrators who shared how they constructed and made meaning of the complexities embedded in ally work, we found that participants situated ally work at individual, rather than institutional levels. Findings also revealed the paradox of engaging in ally work, which involved few risks and sacrifices, but greater rewards for being perceived as “good” people. Finally, ally work was viewed as aspirational for the participants...
99 citations
TL;DR: The authors discusses the educational experiences of a group of French-speaking Black African-born students who entered Canada as refugees, who were attending a French school and were placed in a separate programme that was designed to meet their particular needs given their limited language skills and level of education.
Abstract: This article discusses the educational experiences of a group of French-speaking Black African-born students who entered Canada as refugees. They were attending a French school and were placed in a separate programme that was designed to meet their particular needs given their limited language skills and level of education. Drawing on critical race theory (CRT), the article analyzes how these students’ identities operated in linking their academic abilities and particular life experiences in terms of race, gender, class, language, and immigrant status. The youth identified their separate programme as a problem in that their placement in it has to do with the fact that they are Black. The study provides important insights into the ways students with refugee backgrounds are being integrated into Canadian schools; and that, in some cases, the approach to their education operates to stream them along the lines of ethnicity, race, and life experience – the consequence of which is likely limited educational, oc...
76 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a critique of the PVE initiative and its implementation within the context of primary education following the events of 9/11, the 2001 riots and 7/7.
Abstract: This article will provide a critique of the PVE initiative and its implementation within the context of primary education following the events of 9/11, the 2001 riots and 7/7. Drawing upon empirical data I will argue that the monitoring of young Muslims and ‘extremism’ is problematic and reinforces the logics of Islamophobia through practices of governmentality. Moreover I will examine how whilst the monitoring of extremism is prioritized in many schools, training for teachers on race equality, tolerance and accepting difference is weak if not absent. This, I suggest, demonstrates a clear manifestation of contemporary hegemonic post-racial politics which increasingly silences the critique of institutional racism. Additionally this article will explore how Muslims in the sphere of education have been implicated and problematised against the backdrop of a ‘muscular liberalism’ intent on the return of assimilationist discourses.
62 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors draw on data from two separate studies that investigated the experiences of culturally diverse teachers working in Australian schools and illustrate how the participants are constructed, first and foremost, as ethnic and racialised teacher subjects, a positioning that shapes the nature of their work and professional identities.
Abstract: In response to increasing cultural diversity within student populations in Australia as well as Britain, Europe and North America, there have been ongoing calls to diversify the teaching profession. Such a strategy is based on assumptions that teachers who are of ethnic and racial minority are well placed to act as role models for minority students, will understand students' cultural practices and beliefs and how they shape them as learners, and will contribute diverse cultural perspectives to school curricula. In this article I draw on data from two separate studies that investigated the experiences of culturally diverse teachers working in Australian schools. I illustrate how the participants are constructed, first and foremost, as ethnic and racialised teacher subjects, a positioning that shapes the nature of their work and professional identities. I suggest that the work of racially and ethnically diverse teachers and the construction of their professional selves are underpinned by naive assumptions a...
61 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, critical affect theories enable the theorization of race and racism as affective modes of being that recognize the historically specific assemblages which are practiced in schools and the society, and a vision of antiracist politics and practice in education can be formed in ways that go beyond recognition or resistance, but rather attend to the production of pedagogical spaces and practices that create ways of living differently.
Abstract: This article draws on the concept of race and racism as “technologies of affect” to think with some of the interventions and arguments of critical affect studies. The author suggests that critical affect theories enable the theorization of race and racism as affective modes of being that recognize the historically specific assemblages which are practiced in schools and the society. It is also argued that rethinking race and racism as technologies of affect, a vision of anti-racist politics and practice in education can be formed in ways that go beyond recognition or resistance, but rather attend to the production of pedagogical spaces and practices that create ways of living differently. The education implications of this idea are discussed in relation to how teachers and teacher educators can begin not only to analyze the affective mobilizations of race and racism, but also to engage in political struggles that harness the affective forces of anti-racist action in everyday life.
61 citations
TL;DR: The authors examined how three culturally relevant teachers in New York City public schools challenged the concepts of race and racism which low-income adolescents of color brought to the study of history and contemporary society.
Abstract: This article examines how three culturally relevant teachers in New York City public schools challenged the concepts of race and racism which low-income adolescents of color brought to the study of history and contemporary society. Framed by concepts of culturally relevant teaching and racial literacy, the study illustrated how the teachers used sustained and strategic instruction about race (Skerrett 2011) to complicate and challenge students’ ideas of race and racism. The authors conclude by examining the implications for teaching racial literacy in humanities classrooms with low-income students of color. They also explore how the teachers’ ‘alternate models of pedagogy’ (Ladson-Billings 1995) builds upon and extends the theory of culturally relevant pedagogy as it is commonly conceptualized.
59 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an auto-ethnographic account of university life as a racialised woman who has worked in both Canadian and American universities is presented, with a theoretical framework drawn from critical perspectives on race, black feminisms and narrative and auto-historical research methodologies.
Abstract: This autoethnographic account documents and analyses university life as a racialised woman who has worked in both Canadian and American universities. The theoretical framework draws from critical perspectives on race, black feminisms and narrative and autoethnographic research methodologies. The study involves a range of data sources that provide sociohistorical and sociopolitical contexts in which to ground the Personal: academic writings on race and gender, university reports, email correspondence, relevant newsmedia artifacts, as well as personal written accounts, conversations with colleagues and life experiences. This article critiques the pervasive institutional practices of white and male privilege and gendered racism. It offers some suggestions to reshape disciplinary knowledge, curricula and the workplace for black and marginalised women faculty. It is hoped that the results and conclusions contribute to our understandings of life as it is lived in the margins of race and gender, and in this way,...
55 citations
TL;DR: This article explored the identity constructions and negotiations of two East Asian women teachers of English in MatesOL programs and explored the ways in which the two women's privileged experiences coexisted with issues of marginalization once they entered English speaking contexts.
Abstract: Using a narrative approach (i.e., Clandinin and Connelly 2000; Dewey 1938 [1963]), this article explores the identity constructions and negotiations of two East Asian women teachers of English in MATESOL programs. The focus of this article explores the ways in which the two women’s privileged experiences coexisted with issues of marginalization once they entered English speaking contexts. The work of Kumashiro and Bourdieu provides the theoretical foundation for exploring the discourses of privilege and marginalization that are weaved into the lives of the EAWTCs. Using the women’s narrative accounts collected during 2004–2005 AY, the core of the analyses focuses exclusively on the different forms of marginalization these women negotiate in reconstructing their identity within English/Turkish as second language spaces (both study abroad and graduate programs) and the ways in which Bourdieu’s forms of capital play out in the intersection of privilege and marginalization. I conclude with discussions around ...
52 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored the experiences of Latina/o students in special education and found that low expectations, disregard, and bullying often resulted in students refusing of academic services, providing an additional barrier to their academic success within the context of a program intended to facilitate it.
Abstract: This research draws upon critical race theory (CRT) to explore the experiences of Latina/o students in special education. It seeks to extend the theoretical construct of racial microaggressions and illustrate the additional layer of disability as I present data that are particular to the context of special education and the assigned label of students with disabilities. In this article, I draw upon three academic semesters of ethnographic observations and present observed cases of disability microaggressions that occur against Latina/o students in special education. The types of disability microaggressions include low expectations, disregard, and bullying. Students often did not challenge these microaggressions, but they occasionally resulted in students’ refusal of academic services, providing an additional barrier to their academic success within the context of a program intended to facilitate it. And given the close-knit, intimate environment of the learning center, disability microaggressions that occu...
49 citations
TL;DR: This paper analyzed knowledge about ethnic minority groups, the dominant Han group, and the interaction between ethnic minorities and Han presented in three types of elementary textbooks used in China and found that the knowledge about and the values and beliefs of the Han people are overwhelmingly dominant in all reviewed textbooks.
Abstract: This study critically analyzes knowledge about: (1) ethnic minority groups; (2) the dominant Han group; and (3) the interaction between ethnic minorities and Han presented in three types of elementary textbooks used in China. The analysis reveals that the knowledge about and the values and beliefs of the Han people are overwhelmingly dominant in all reviewed textbooks. At the same time, ethnic minority groups are marginalized and the knowledge about them is incomplete and stereotypical. In addition, most of the knowledge about ethnic minorities are constructed and presented from the perspective of the Han people. The results indicate that the dominant ideology and unequal power relations are reflected and reinforced through the strategic construction, selection, and presentation of knowledge in textbooks. It also calls for a need to incorporate more accurate and complete knowledge in textbooks for students to develop a critical understanding of the society.
TL;DR: This article examined descriptions of a heated controversy over the proposed closure of the only primarily black high school in a large urban city, and found that four strands of discursive conflict emerged: the purpose of school; the relationship of school and community; communication; and the issue of racism.
Abstract: Using critical race discourse analysis, this study examines descriptions of a heated controversy over the proposed closure of the only primarily black high school in a large urban city. Participants included community members and the district and school leaders who were key in the controversy. Based on Foucault’s analysis of power we looked for conflicts in the narratives of the participants in their description of the controversy. Four strands of discursive conflict emerged: the purpose of school; the relationship of school and community; communication; and the issue of racism. Taking these four strands together, the themes found in the discourse of the community members enacted an emancipatory knowledge paradigm, while the themes found in the discourse of the administrators enacted a technical-rational, instrumental paradigm of knowledge.
TL;DR: In this article, a model for teacher education that, through a variety of teaching practices and policies, intentionally disrupts and destabilizes the perfect stranger position is proposed. But, the model is limited to urban Indigenous education reform.
Abstract: This article extends upon Susan Dion’s theory of the ‘perfect stranger’ by exploring how this position is articulated and embodied by white teachers (N = 67) involved in urban Indigenous education reform On the lookout for deconstruction, we think with Derrida around the interrelated self/other and familiar/strange binaries that uphold the perfect stranger We argue that Eurocentrism simultaneously centres and obscures whiteness, resulting in teachers’ misconceptions about culture We also demonstrate how stereotypical representations of the ‘imaginary Indian’ that these white teachers ‘know’ inhibits their ability to foster and build upon relationships with Indigenous students We conclude by conceptualizing a model for teacher education that, through a variety of teaching practices and policies, intentionally disrupts and destabilizes the perfect stranger position
TL;DR: The authors explored the implications of the color-blind approach in the lives of students and teachers at a suburban, mixed-race high school, and found that white students expressed a racial identity that was infused with racial tensions over possible accusation of racism.
Abstract: The desire to ignore race in favor of a ‘colorblind’ approach has so permeated the cultural ethos of the US, that many whites, teachers included, fear that talking about race in any capacity leaves them open to accusations of racism. As a result, race has become a taboo subject in many US classrooms. This article explores the implications of the colorblind approach in the lives of students and teachers at a suburban, mixed-race high school. In spite of the friendly environment at the school, white students and teachers expressed a racial identity that was infused with racial tensions over possible accusation of racism. White students’ confusion and anxiety about how to discuss race in mixed-race settings coexisted with resentment over perceived marginalization by African Americans. Apprehension over discussing race hindered productive classroom conversations and stopped teachers from addressing evidence of racial inequity. Teachers, administrators, and students need support and training on how to engage i...
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that inner-city youth discourses regarding ‘ghetto’ spaces, subjects and schools often exemplify a consciousness informed by both counter-hegemonic insights and internalized psychological trauma, which contributes to the existing literature on race and class consciousness of urban youth.
Abstract: Based on analysis of interviews conducted during 2008-2009 in Oakland, California, this paper examines how narratives of inner-city youth reinforce and destabilize mainstream conceptions of 'ghetto.' The paper demonstrates that inner-city youth discourses regarding 'ghetto' spaces, subjects and schools often exemplify a consciousness informed by both counter-hegemonic insights and internalized psychological trauma. In other words, the interviewed youth reconstitute the term 'ghetto' to signify structural and cultural processes of dislocation occurring in their neighborhood through narratives characterized by contradiction. This finding is significant because it questions how to analyze non-white narratives and offers 'dislocated consciousness' as an interpretive lens grounded in the contradictions of subaltern consciousness theorized by W.E.B. Dubois, Frantz Fanon and Antonio Gramsci. By developing the concept of 'dislocation' to illuminate how such youth negotiate, resist and internalize the material and ideological structures that condition their existence, this study contributes to the existing literature on race and class consciousness of urban youth. The paper concludes by exploring how strategies urban youth utilize to come to terms with their lives can provide new understandings of urban communities and schooling.
TL;DR: This article argued that the historically produced Orientalist discourses of Asian women are still prevalent in contemporary society, including the academy, and highlighted two major themes: "Oriental" others -being "Asian" and "oriental" women questioned authority.
Abstract: While individuals of note have been documented, there has been a paucity of research into the collective voices of Asian women faculty in higher education. To fill this gap, the study brings forward the narratives of nine Asian women faculty members in the Canadian academy who have roots in East Asia. Employing the concept of Orientalism within a transnational feminist perspective, I argue that the historically produced Orientalist discourses of Asian women are still prevalent in contemporary society, including the academy. This article highlights two major themes: ‘Oriental’ others – being ‘Asian’; and ‘Oriental’ women – questioned authority. This article concludes by pinpointing some implications of the research within the analytical lens and connecting the topic to the general equity issues in higher education institutions.
TL;DR: The authors examines the complex terrain that working-class Pakistani-American youth must negotiate in their daily lives, and illustrates how particular views of Islam and Americanization manifest in particular sites and within educational discourses, and the resulting dissonance that youth experience.
Abstract: Drawing on ethnographic data, this article examines the complex terrain that working-class Pakistani-American youth must negotiate in their daily lives. Specifically, the article illustrates how particular views of Islam and Americanization manifest in particular sites and within educational discourses, and the resulting dissonance that youth experience. On the one hand, schools view Islam as oppressive, problematic and a hindrance to the youths’ academic and professional success. On the other hand, families present Islam as a type of cultural capital that can guide youth and help them navigate their lives by being a ‘good Muslim.’ The result of these fossilized views of culture and nationality is the production of an ‘imagined nostalgia’: One group longs for a world where assimilation into the dominant group is expected and accepted; the other longs for the homeland, which they try to recreate in their new home. Thus, in their own ways, both schools and communities send the message that being Muslim and ...
TL;DR: The role of Black fathers has been largely absent from the educational discourse on parent involvement at both the local and federal levels, and within the literature, the roles, practices, and strategies of involvement for Black fathers have been scant compared to their White peers as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Parent involvement within schools has garnered attention since the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 mandated that parent participation be a condition for federal funding. This particular caveat has been significant because issues of race and class come to the forefront when examining schools that receive federal funding. A close examination of parent involvement becomes increasingly salient, in particular for students of color who are more likely than their White peers to attend schools receiving federal funding. In this qualitative study of 16 participants, we seek to narrow the focus of parents, and pay particular attention to Black fathers. The role of Black fathers has been largely absent from the educational discourse on parent involvement at both the local and federal levels, and within the literature, the roles, practices, and strategies of involvement for Black fathers has been scant compared to their White peers. This absence from the literature is noteworthy given the important role that involve...
TL;DR: The authors examine the theoretical and rhetorical devices used to talk about charters by focusing on how notions of "black liberation" are deployed by the charter movement, and to what end, and conclude that "choice" rhetoric makes claim to the black freedom struggle without addressing its most enduring commitments to social justice and self-determination, ultimately perpetuating dependency by oppressed people upon their oppressors.
Abstract: This article brings two black intellectual traditions to bear on the question of charter schools: black Marxism and black nationalism. The authors examine the theoretical and rhetorical devices used to talk about charters schools by focusing on how notions of ‘black liberation’ are deployed by the charter movement, and to what end. The authors first use a black Marxism lens to illustrate the character of the racial and economic relationships facilitated by charter schools. Next, the authors use historical methods to contextualize the liberation discourse of school choice proponents within a black nationalist history of school reform. The authors conclude that ‘choice’ rhetoric makes claim to the black freedom struggle without addressing its most enduring commitments to social justice and self-determination, ultimately perpetuating dependency by oppressed people upon their oppressors. The study identifies the limitations of contemporary critical theory to excavate several dimensions of racism in educationa...
TL;DR: In this paper, a qualitative case study examines how 15 Turkish-Muslim children in elementary and middle school negotiated their religious identities as they responded to various experiences in American schools and in their communities.
Abstract: Religious diversity in schools is a growing interest among educational researchers. This qualitative case study examines how 15 Turkish-Muslim children in elementary and middle school negotiated their religious identities as they responded to various experiences in American schools and in their communities. Unlike some earlier studies that highlighted cultural conflict as a theme in Muslim adolescents’ relationship with schools in the United States, this study is based on a framework that illustrates the voices and agency of young children, and utilizes data from interviews, participant observations and cultural artifacts. Findings demonstrate the ways parents and children mediated challenges their religious identity posed by choosing strategies that made their religious identities invisible, or by finding innovative ways to negotiate their identity and religious practices. Children who participated in the study did not view American identities in conflict with their Muslim identities. Learning about the ...
TL;DR: This paper presented a conceptual framework of pedagogical practices reported by white faculty that serve to challenge the hegemony of whiteness in the university classroom, including expressing racial awareness by disclosing personal whiteness, acknowledging and attending to plurality and revealing patterns of white hegemony.
Abstract: The primary objective of this qualitative study is to present a conceptual framework of pedagogical practices reported by white faculty that serve to challenge the hegemony of whiteness in the university classroom. These transformative teaching practices surfaced through a review of racialized pedagogies discussed in the literature and in interviews with a small sample of white faculty formally or informally recognized for their skill teaching in diverse classrooms. In an effort to bring greater resonance to these teaching practices, parallels are drawn between these practices and behaviors that take place in everyday social relations that also serve to transform white dominance. Included here are the following forms of interactions: Expressing racial awareness by disclosing personal whiteness, acknowledging and attending to plurality and revealing patterns of white hegemony; and challenging white supremacy by creating alliances and acting to alter structures and cultures. Presentation of these findings i...
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study of a recent initiative to establish an independent Arab Pedagogical Council (APC) is presented, arguing that this initiative, although controversial and challenging to the very definition of Israel as both a Jewish nation state and a democracy, should be considered to be an act of citizenship, rather than a sign of radicalization and separatism.
Abstract: Focusing on recent developments in the field of education, this article grapples with the educational activism of Arab civil society in Israel. Specifically, it presents a case study of a recent initiative to establish an independent Arab Pedagogical Council (APC). I argue that this initiative, although controversial and challenging to the very definition of Israel as both a Jewish nation-state and a democracy, should be considered to be an act of citizenship, rather than a sign of radicalization and separatism. The initiative to establish the APC is a political and ethical act, through which Arab civil society organizations and activists in Israel constitute themselves as independent political actors, citizens, and claimants of rights, entitlements, and responsibilities for the quality of life and future of the Palestinians in Israel.
TL;DR: The authors examined images of students during the 2013 school closings in Chicago to explore the role of media images in the framing of public education in urban spaces, and found that media images played a crucial role in public education reform.
Abstract: This critical article provides insights into how media frames influence our understandings of school reform in urban spaces by examining images of students during the 2013 school closings in Chicago. Using visual framing analysis and informed by framing theory and critiques of neoliberalism we seek to explore two questions: (1) What role do media images play in the framing of public education in urban spaces?; and (2) What do media images of students during the 2013 school closings in Chicago tell us about the framing of neoliberal education reforms in urban spaces?
TL;DR: In this article, the author employed Critical Race Theory (CRT) to examine the experiences of mixed race individuals in the United States, and considered how key ideas from CRT can be useful to frame an analysis of multiracial persons in the US.
Abstract: In this article, the author employs Critical Race Theory (CRT) to examine the experiences of mixed race individuals in the United States. Drawing on historical and contemporary conditions involving persons of mixed race, the author considers how key ideas from CRT can be useful to frame an analysis of the experiences of multiracial persons in the US. To supplement the analysis, the author also includes fictionalized narratives in the tradition of CRT. In conclusion, the author considers how this examination of mixed race persons might inform K-12 education.
TL;DR: The authors argue that the Czech education system is structured to operate in an ethnically homogeneous society and that teachers deploy discursive practices of "sameness despite difference" that obscure such growing diversity.
Abstract: This article argues that the Czech education system is structured to operate in an ethnically homogeneous society. Although the Czech Republic is becoming increasingly heterogeneous, teachers deploy discursive practices of ‛sameness despite difference’ that obscure such growing diversity. This article is grounded in the historical context of migration to and from the Czech Republic and based on ethnographic research in several ethnically-mixed classrooms. We analyze the ways in which teachers talk about their pupils. We show that in the case of migrant children, teachers tend not to see their differences and hence, their potentially structural disadvantages. On the other hand, the Roma ethnicity is perceived as insurmountable. Teachers mobilize lists of cultural and even genetic differences to legitimize their different treatment of Roma pupils. Furthermore, we analyze policy documents regarding the education of non-Czech pupils and their reception by teachers. All these strategies result in the continuin...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared the experiences of South Asian female students to white females, identifying similarities and differences between women from the three Asian groups and also compare changes over time, and focused on the term-time accommodation status of these students, i.e. the decision to move away or stay residing in the parental/guardian home during their first year of university.
Abstract: Given the financial implications for studying at a higher education institution, students are faced with many decisions both in terms of the topics they wish to study but also the decision of whether to remain at home or move away. The aim of this article is to compare the experiences of South Asian (Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani) female students to White females, to identify similarities and differences between women from the three Asian groups and also compare changes over time. This article is focused on the term-time accommodation status of these students, i.e. the decision to move away or stay residing in the parental/guardian home during their first year of university. Understanding students’ accommodation choices is important as it can limit the other choices they have to make such as which course to choose and students who are limited to their local institutions can only study what is offered by those particular institutions. We examine this issue by using binary logistic regression to analyse...
TL;DR: This paper explored how race becomes a conscious and salient dimension of teacher licensure exams for black preservice teachers and found that the technical means of test administration coupled with the racialized discourse about black students and standardized tests were important factors in teachers' decision to identify as white.
Abstract: This qualitative portraiture study explored how race becomes a conscious and salient dimension of teacher licensure exams for black preservice teachers. The findings focus on one black preservice teacher and how she identified as white on the demographic survey preceding her licensure exam due to the racialized nature of the experience and the intense pressure to pass the exam. The findings illustrate how the technical means of test administration coupled with the racialized discourse about black students and standardized tests were important factors in her decision to identify as white. The findings also illustrate how feelings of shame and conciliatory hard work were byproducts of this decision and influenced her subsequent preparation for licensure exams. From these findings, the article discusses steps that test designers and faculty members can take to decrease the racialized aspect of teacher licensure exams. This study has specific relevance to countries such as the United States and England that u...
TL;DR: Using critical theory and an analysis of missionary reports and documentation describing education in colonial Puerto Rico and Mexico, the authors cross borders and time periods to socially and historically situate Spanish colonial educational methodologies and their contemporary use in one low-income Latino community in urban Detroit, Michigan.
Abstract: Using critical theory and an analysis of missionary reports and documentation describing education in colonial Puerto Rico and Mexico, the authors cross borders and time periods to socially and historically situate Spanish colonial educational methodologies and their contemporary use in one low-income Latino community in urban Detroit, Michigan. By invoking associations from the colonial past to shed light on contemporary struggles, this study problematizes US educational reform initiatives such as high stakes testing and school turnaround policies. The authors found that when the playing field is not equal, such reform efforts are but another in a long line of colonial and neo-colonial methodologies that further disenfranchise Latino youth and push them out of school.
TL;DR: In this article, a case study of an educational leadership department draws on qualitative data such as field notes from faculty conversations, experiential knowledge, memos, and quantitative data describing the disproportionate rejection of Black women applying to educational leadership programs in the US.
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to illustrate how institutional racism is mediated by faculty negotiating power and privilege in the selection of Black (African American) women into an educational leadership preparation program. Critical race theory (CRT) praxis is used to analyze the faculty dynamics in the candidate selection process situated in a race neutral institutional culture. This reflective case study of an educational leadership department draws on qualitative data such as field notes from faculty conversations, experiential knowledge, memos, and quantitative data describing the disproportionate rejection of Black women applying to an educational leadership program in the US. Efforts to confront a race neutral process prompted by the higher rejection rate of Black women in comparison to their white counterparts prompted some faculty to engage in race conscious discourse. Faculty in departments of educational leadership who provoke race conscious dialogue on how they are implicated in institution...
TL;DR: A peer-mentoring model for Māori staff at the University of Auckland, New Zealand was described in this article, which brought an indigenous minority group of tertiary staff together.
Abstract: This article presents a professional development programme which brought an indigenous minority group of tertiary staff together. We describe a peer-mentoring model, piloted in 2009 at The University of Auckland, New Zealand with university staff in order to promote staff advancement. The participants were all Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand. The strengths of the model were: it gave Māori staff a rare opportunity to work with other Māori in a context where their culture was the norm with regards to language, spirituality, humour, and whakawhanaungatanga (togetherness); it mediated the effects of isolation that Māori staff often feel when working in large institutions; and, provided affirmation of Māori in a large institutional environment. This case study suggests that the model of staff development would be applicable to other indigenous minority groups, by adopting a similar approach and adapting the model to the specific cultural practices of the group.