Education Commons^™

The Rise Of Critical Race Theory: Current Perspectives And Policies On Crt In Education, Nate Scholten

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

In this policy brief on Critical Race Theory (CRT), I operationalize the theory, trace its origins in legal scholarship, discuss its rise within the field of education, and highlight current policies that have responded to this rise. While many see CRT as a helpful lens to view seemingly unnoticeable manifestations of oppression and injustice, others view the use of the construct as divisive, unnecessary, and detrimental to teaching and learning. After detailing the discourses on either side of this debate, I conclude this brief by drawing on Kumashiro’s (2004) notion of teaching for discomfort and the approach of action civics …

The Race, Social Class, And Place-Based Gap In Rural Turnaround Policy: A Policy Brief, Karynecia E. Conner

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Abstract: For teachers, leaders, and policymakers To understand the factors that contribute to the successful implementation of rural school turnaround, there is a need to understand how turnaround leadership implements school improvement in different types of communities of color (Wright, 2019). Studies examining the implications of school turnaround in minoritized educational contexts have solely examined urban school contexts to exclude rural contexts (Mette & Stanoch, 2018). Rural schools of color undergoing turnaround face the fundamental unique educational challenges of rural schools and the education debt that has accumulated over time for people of color (Ladson-Billings, 2006). There is a greater …

Book Review Of Beyond Provincialism: Promoting Global Competencies In Teacher And Educator Preparation, David Sandles

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

With an increased emphasis on intercultural and global competence, teacher preparation programs around the world are stridently searching for growth opportunities for students in these areas. An important resource to this discussion is Beyond Provincialism: Promoting Global Competencies in Teacher and Educator Preparation, which supplies readers with scholarly, pragmatic approaches to developing students’ knowledge quotients with salient ideas that revolve around food insecurity, school improvement, communities of practice, mathematics education, internationalization of the curriculum, place-based education, and distance learning. Expertly linking these global issues to the United Nation’s Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs), the authors seek to educate educator preparation …

Reporting Of Doctoral Student Attrition: A Policy Brief, Cece Lively

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Roughly half of all doctoral students in the United States will never complete their degree requirements (Council of Graduate Schools, 2020). That staggering number is larger for ethnic minority and female students, particularly for Black students who have the lowest completion rate (47 percent) and who make up only 13 percent of doctoral degrees (Lovitts, 2001). Additionally, retention rates for online students are an additional 10 to 20 percent lower than students who attend in-person (Rovai & Wighting, 2005). Thus, ethnic minority students in online doctoral programs are at a higher risk of not finishing their degrees compared to other …

An Educator’S Reflection On The Importance Of Embodiment, Imagination, And Liberation, Ashley N. Gibson

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This reflection piece offers an interpretation of the years 2020-2021, through the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial awakenings in the US. Writing at the intersections of race, gender, and religion, this piece is part essay, part spoken word, and part treatise. The ultimate call to action is threefold; we must lean into embodiment as a habit for living, use our imaginations, and seek liberation for ourselves and one another if we are to hope for a better future. While many aspects of life now seem bleak, there is hope if we consider these three principles for …

Listen To The Voices: A Reflection On How 2020 And Covid-19 Have Affected Lives, Sara Abi Villanueva, Alexandra C. Daub, Alejandra Y. Martinez

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Throughout the last few months of 2019, stories of a new and deadly virus were on every news channel around the world. Many Americans saw it as foreign news, others worried about the virus’ spread, and some felt that it would be contained quickly never making it past the Atlantic or Pacific. By March of 2020, COVID-19 made its way to the United States, forcing a new normal of quarantining, remote-learning/teaching, and teleworking. Graduate students and educators of Professional Opportunities Supporting Scholarly Engagement (POSSE), a College of Education program focused on research and contributing to the educational field of discourse, …

Seeking A Healthy Balance As An Educator During Covid: A Look At Dr. Edith Trevino’S Social Emotional Toolkits For Teachers, Sara Abi Villanueva

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This is a review of two social-emotional toolkits and guidebooks by Dr. Edith Trevino, affectionately known as Dr. ET. She is a self-published author who provides an easy-to-follow guidebook for those in the education field who might be struggling with the demands and pressures experienced during COVID-19. An interview with the author allows for a deeper understanding of her purpose for providing teachers with interactive toolkits and workbooks.

The Show Must Go On: Challenges, Questions, And Pedagogical Pivots In Response To Covid-19, Patrick S. De Walt

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

On March 18, 2020, many universities and university systems had or were in their initial stages of transitioning to virtual teaching as a result of COVID-19. This transition had varied effects on all aspects of the university community. This paper explores this transition through the teaching experiences of a tenure-track professor during the pandemic. The examination of six sections of a capstone undergraduate course over the course of three semesters was conducted. Through self-reflection, many of the challenges faced shifting from face-to-face to a virtual environment were discussed. Among some of the challenges and limitations experienced when teaching nontraditional and/or …

Educators In The Time Of Covid: Metamorphosis Of A Profession And Of A People, Sara Abi Villanueva, Brett S. Nickerson, Mayra A. Garcia, Claire Murillo, Regina J. Bustillos, Qiana S. O’Leary

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

The following is a collection of reflections written by six educators ranging from K–Higher Education. In this feature, these educators share their experiences of living and educating during the 2020–2021 COVID-19 pandemic. Once compartmentalized and only used when needed, their separate roles and identities had to merge to meet educator, spousal, and parental demands. The first text by Brett Nickerson shows how his life as husband and father collided with his profession as an assistant professor at a university when his wife, a dedicated nurse, was called to help others in need. The second testimonial is by Mayra Garcia, a …

Exploring The Experiences Of Male Early Childhood Aspiring Teachers, Tingting Xu

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This exploratory study investigated the reasons why males chose early childhood

education and their lived experiences in a teacher education program. Qualitative data

were collected through interviews with twelve male early childhood pre-service

teachers. Results demonstrated that: Participates were passionate about teaching

young children. They were mostly supported by their relatives and friends in their

decision to become an early childhood teacher. They were positive about future career

opportunities but still had an underlying fear of losing job or being seen as sexual

predators. Meanwhile, participates indicated some conflicts might exist between the

field experience and program learning experience. They …

Exposing Preservice Teachers To Emergent Bilinguals, Deborah J. Williams Ed.D., Jim Ewing

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

This study followed a case study design and employed qualitative methods to explore monolingual preservice teachers’ (PSTs) attitudes toward learning to teach emergent bilinguals (EBs) in a dual language school. We sought to support and observe PSTs as they applied strategies learned in methodology courses to students in the field. Three overarching themes emerged from PSTs’ videotaped focus group interviews, weekly reflections, and field notes. Responses that supported Theme 1 suggested PSTs desired to teach EBs for a variety of reasons and Theme 2 supporting responses showed that PSTs confidence levels increased as they interacted with EBs. Responses that supported …

Understanding Equitable Assessment: How Preservice Teachers Make Meaning Of Disability, Melissa K. Driver

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Disproportionality of historically marginalized populations in special education continues to be a critical concern. The identification of students with disabilities is reliant on valid and reliable assessment that is free of bias. The extent to which this is possible given measurement constraints and an increasingly diverse student population is unclear. How teachers are trained to design, select, administer, score, and interpret assessment data related to the identification of students with disabilities is vastly under-researched considering the significant implications of assessment practices. In this study, six special education preservice teachers engaged in an assessment methods course during their second semester of …

White Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions And Their Development Of Culturally Relevant Literacy Practices, Lakia M. Scott, Elena Venegas

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Existent literature purports that providing White teacher candidates with increased exposure to urban schools in order to create culturally competent educators has failed. These findings reflect the notion that teacher ideologies and overall perspectives about working with diverse student groups must be harnessed in a genuine ethic of care and intentionality for students of color. However, few studies have taken the approach of examining the development of culturally relevant pedagogy through context-specific field experiences using content-specific courses. This study examines the perspectives of twenty-five White pre-service teachers from a predominately White, private university regarding their initial perceptions and gained conceptual …

Effects Of Movement, Growth Mindset And Math Talks On Math Anxiety, Christina J. Peterman, Jim Ewing

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Mathematical anxiety is prevalent in our schools. This research provides insight into how mathematical anxiety develops and how it affects students throughout their lives. This study focuses on the mathematical anxiety and mathematical self-concept of five second grade classes at an economically disadvantaged school in rural North Texas. The study looked to see if adding the interventions of movement, mathematical growth mindset and math talks to a classroom would improve the mathematical self-concept of the children in the classrooms which participated. The study contained three classrooms of students who participated in the interventions and two classrooms which were used as …

Summarizing Instruction In 11th-Grade U.S. History Course, Robin A. Belue, James Martinez, Regina Suriel, Ellice P. Martin

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of summarizing strategies on students’ academic achievement, attitude, and engagement toward learning. The study involved 59 high school 11^th-Grade U.S. History students. One class received direct instruction, while the other received summarizing instruction. Achievement was measured using pre- and posttest scores. Achievement scores for summarizing instruction students were slightly higher than direct instruction students. Students’ attitudes toward U.S. History were measured using a nine-item survey, and results indicated that both groups believed summarizing strategies were sound strategies for learning and remembering new content knowledge. The student engagement results …

Native Science In Practice: Cases For Broadening Understanding And Engagement Of Science In Education As A Plea For Future Generations, G. Sue Kasun, Dave López

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

We make a departure from the U.S.’s traditional “science education” in recognition of several stark realities—from the genocidal practices that have eliminated so many indigenous populations in the U.S. to the problems our planet faces, such dire environmental degradation. We are faced daily with a dissonance of knowing our planet needs our respect and care while at the same time bearing witness to “modern” lifestyles based in property rights and individualism. We engage Native science—which encapsulates all of Western science and expands upon it by including the spiritual and emotional realms as well as the physical and mental dimensions of …

Opening Eyes By Opening Classroom Doors: Multicultural Musings Of Study Abroad In Italy, Deb L. Marciano Ph. D.

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Abstract

Opening Eyes by Opening Classroom Doors:

Multicultural Musings of Study Abroad in Italy

This narrative inquiry examines multicultural site-based experiences of five pre-service teachers (early childhood and special education) during a four-week university sponsored study abroad program. Experiential learning (Kolb, 1984) opportunities were created for observations and teaching mini-lessons in Italian classrooms and immersion into Italian culture. The researcher’s study emanates from the pre-service teachers’ daily journal entries, informal conversations, and personal observations of reflections of their developing multicultural understandings, scaffolding upon their rural American backgrounds. To facilitate processing their lived experiences, it was necessary to work from an …