Education Commons^™

How Are Teachers Leading Now? From Access To Activism: An Introduction To The Special Issue, Kaavonia Hinton, Jori S. Beck

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

In this introduction to a special issue on teacher leadership (TL), the editors argue that recent attacks against antiracist teaching have influenced TL. Thus, we offer an overview of several issues these collected authors explore related to TL, including access to TL for teachers of color; advancing equity through leadership teams; self-care for teacher advocates; and TL as advocacy, activism, and antiracist work.

Open To All: Administrators’ And Teachers’ Perceptions Of Issues Of Equity And Diversity In Teacher Leadership, Jori S. Beck, Kaavonia Hinton, Brandon M. Butler, Peter D. Wiens

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

This study is a response to calls for more research on diversity in teacher leadership (TL), particularly in urban schools. Critical race theory illuminated the role race and racism can play in determining who gets access to TL positions and how that access is characterized using liberal discourse and ideology. We used a component mixed methods design to explore whether administrators and teachers perceived that teacher leadership positions were open to everyone. Beliefs that TL opportunities are “open to all” allow the field to accept the status quo, making it difficult to see (or do anything about) racial inequities.

Being And Becoming Across Difference: A Grounded Theory Study Of Exemplary White Teachers In Racially Diverse Classrooms, Jane S. Feinberg

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Of the roughly 3.5 million public school teachers in the United States, approximately 80% are White. In contrast, about 51.7% of the nation’s students are African American, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian. This mismatch is expected to grow as the number of BIPOC students in our nation’s public schools continues to increase. Studies have shown that strong positive relationships are essential for learning, but often, the relationships between White teachers and BIPOC students are strained at best, leading to poorer learning outcomes. The purpose of this Constructivist Grounded Theory study was to explore an understudied question: How do White teachers …

Critical Race Theory, Andrew P. Johnson

Elementary and Literacy Education Department Publications

Critical race theory (CRT) is one such theory used to explain and understand the phenomenon known as systemic racism. CRT invites us to critically our examine policies, practices, assessment, curriculum, courses, pedagogy, and traditions.

This article is an excerpt from my book: Johnson, A. (2022). Essential Learning theories: The human dimension. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.

The Experiences Of Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Members Of Color With Racism In The Classroom, Ryan Rideau, Claire K. Robbins

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

Using critical race theory, this qualitative study examined the ways non-tenure-track faculty members of Color (NTFOCs) experienced racism in their classroom environments. The sample consisted of 24 NTFOCs who worked at 4-year historically White colleges and universities. Findings revealed that NTFOCs experienced racism in their classrooms in three ways: negative evaluations, different treatment than White colleagues, and feeling unsafe in the classroom. While these findings are consistent with the experiences of tenure-track and tenured faculty members of Color, the implications for NTFOCs, particularly in terms of their employment, are stark. The article concludes with recommendations for how educational developers can …

Personal Agency Inspired By Hardship: Bilingual Latinas As Liberatory Educators, Amanda Morales, Gail Shroyer

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This qualitative multiple case study focused on eleven non-traditional, bilingual, Latinas within a teacher education program. The study explored various factors that influenced participants’ desire to pursue and ability to persist as pre-service teachers. The overarching theme identified among participant discourse was personal agency inspired by hardship. Findings indicated that, as a result of their cultural and experiential understandings, participants enacted culturally responsive teaching with their Latino/a students. Furthermore, participants demonstrated a strong sense of personal agency to improve the educational outcomes of culturally and linguistically diverse students and a desire to advocate specifically on behalf of English learner Latino/a …

Nice White Men Or Social Justice Allies?: Using Critical Race Theory To Examine How White Male Faculty And Administrators Engage In Ally Work, Lori D. Patton, Stephanie Bondi

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

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 interpret 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 …

Problematic Conceptualizations: Allies In Teacher Education For Social Justice, Vonzell Agosto

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Faculty Publications

This review of the literature on the concept ally and ally identity development was inspired by a qualitative study exploring the identities and social justice values of prospective teachers of color. Although the participants in the original study never used the term ally, their narratives inspired me to characterize them as allies in the struggle for social justice education. However, a review of the literature on allies, as analyzed through critical race theory and critical discourse analysis, revealed emerging conceptualizations of ally as incongruent with minority identities as they position people of color at the periphery of this social justice …

What's Race Got To Do With It?: A Historical Inquiry Into The Impact Of Color-Blind Reform On Racial Inequality In America's Public Schools, Lillian Dowdell Drakeford

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation examines the history and impact of color-blind educational reform in the post-Brown era on racial inequality of educational opportunities and outcomes in America's public schools. Through the lens of critical race theory and race critical theory, the dissertation employs a dual analysis. A macro analysis of the evolution and impact of colorblind educational reform on the national level is juxtaposed with a micro, case-study analysis of the history of color-blind educational reform at a historically Black high school. The historical analysis of the relationship between race and education encompasses intellectual and social aspects of education in the U.S. …