The research and analysis of Capitalism, The Reproduction of Racial Difference in American Education, and Black Student Resistance comes from my experiences working for a dropout prevention nonprofit organization in Title 1 public schools with Black middle school and high school students. I observed many conflicts between Black students and school staff that were resolved by convincing students that the cultural norms and rules of the school system were objective and morally right, and therefore Black students needed to accept and obey them. From these interactions, I could see that more than academic skills were being taught in schools. The messages of success being proposed were exerting violence on the mind, body, and spirit of Black youth. I could also see that many of the ways that Black students expressed themselves in schools was not rooted in defiance or an inability to obey but in protest to the socialization that was being imposed on them. My observations of Black students reactions to school culture and the insistence on achievement has fueled my work.

This dissertation documents the oral historical narratives of the lived school experiences of eleven participants in school at the passing of Brown v. The Board of Education. It is organized as a three-article dissertation where each article examines one topic that surfaced during my research. Article One critically interrogates the idea that integration over segregation is always in the best interest of students. It describes the positive experiences of Black students in segregated schools. Article Two describes the type of care Black teachers in segregated schools showed their students, which had a positive impact on their lives both academically and socially. It is this type of care that is often times missing in classrooms with White teachers in integrated schools. Article Three is a reflection about my journey as a Black, bilingual teacher in a teacher preparation program at a predominately White university. It highlights the importance of Black teacher voices in teacher preparation programs.

Thesis (M.A (Psychology))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, 2016 / Transformation initiatives in South African higher education institutions are informed by literature which has thus far explicated the high failure and attrition rates amongst Black university students with discourses asserting that the major contributing factors are disadvantage and language of origin. The current study endeavoured to investigate the learning histories of a group of high achieving Black female university students from socio- economically or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds in order to inform current transformation initiatives at South African higher education institutions. Seven female students who had previously participated in an academic development programme in the faculty of humanities at the University of the Witwatersrand, the Reaching for Excellent Achievement Programme (REAP), volunteered to participate in this study. Despite being second language students and coming from less advantaged backgrounds, these students achieved excellent academic marks and acceptance into various post- graduate programmes. Semi- structured interviews with an episodic narrative style were conducted. The method of data analysis found to be most appropriate for this study was thematic content analysis. The results revealed the importance of the influence of high school teachers on students’ perceptions of school and school subjects; the pace of adjusting to university; the significance of effective lecturing styles; the formation of an academic identity; acquiring academic literacy; and the importance of having social support (especially from university lecturers) for the successful academic performance of the participants in this study. This study suggests that perhaps there is more than individual effort that is required for academic success at university level. Further, it suggests that higher education institutions need to improve the lecturing styles of their lecturers, should ensure that all students are able to successfully adjust to the university environment early in their first year of study, should offer compulsory academic literacy courses to all first year students, and should consider providing all students with mentors who are university personnel. / MT2017

Thesis (M. Ed.) -- University of Limpopo, 1981 / Refer to the document

Thesis (M.A. (Education)) -- University of the North, 1987 / Refer to the document

Thesis (M.Ed.) -- University of the North, 1992 / Refer to the document

M.Ed. / The aim of this study was to explore, with the intention of providing a rich description, the experiences of black women enrolled at an historically white university. Limited studies in the South African context have revealed that many women have alienating and marginalising experiences in formal education from as early as primary schooling up to their learning experiences as adults. This often takes the form of disrespect from patriarchal teachers and institutions or androcentric content or information that excludes or undermines the efforts and experiences of women. Furthermore, the general position of women in broader society is filled with disparity and devaluation, as women are often the primary care givers, the lowest paid employees in formal employment, and unpaid workers within the family structure. For black women, who are often triply exploited through race, gender and economic disadvantage, the struggle to belong and even survive within higher ' education appears to be more challenging. As a result, black women sometimes view the university as alienating, androcentric and patriarchal which leads to descriptions of feeling restricted, silent, invisible or the 'other'. Traditional and cultural restrictions placed on black women often further exacerbate these experiences. Consequently, black women's stories are neither told nor heard within broader society or within texts in higher education institutions. The overarching perspective in which the study was grounded was that of socio constructivism, using qualitative research methods to explore the experiences of black women pursuing post graduate studies at an historically white university. Data for this study were collected via semi-structured, in-depth interviews with ten black women within the Education Faculty. I used the constant comparative method of data analysis to search for recurring themes and patterns. From the findings, it was clear that the prevailing perception of participants was that racial bias was present in almost every experience in higher education. In addition participants cited a number of constraints, which impacted negatively on their experiences. Many participants also reported a perceived lack of support from lecturers, which exacerbated an already challenging situation. As opposed to the many negative experiences, some positive experiences related to professional growth and learning opportunities were cited. Some participants also made observations about measures for the university to become more accessible to black women. The main implications arising out of the study are that management needs to endorse policy to deal with issues of both obvious and subtle racial bias. Staff development training, which incorporates methods for dealing appropriately with adult learners and practices that promote woman-positive and culturally responsive programmes, must compliment this. In addition, greater support should be afforded students, particularly part- time students, for increased opportunities to consult with lecturers and effective language tutoring. Accessible measures for part time students to raise their complaints via the SRC should also be created. Moreover, serious consideration needs to be given to the provision of adequate, affordable and efficient childcare facilities as a service for all students.

No description available.

Consuming the U.S. Virgin Islands: Conservation and Education in America’s Paradise examines the relationship between conservation and public education on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands where there exists no public high school. By interrogating Euroamerican conservation ideologies and policies, this project identifies the ways an expansive, continuous and layered American project of empire fosters the physical and intellectual displacement of the native people of St. John. The U.S. Virgin Islands’ status as an unincorporated territory of the United States provides for a catastrophic convergence of imperialism, environmental racism and consumptive tourism on the 19 square miles of St. John where more than two-thirds of the island belongs to the U.S. National Park Service. Territoriality frames the conflict around public education on St. John by revealing the ways in which federal institutions, such as the Department of Interior (responsible for administering the National Park Service and U.S. territories), exerting disproportionate measures of power operate to meet the demands of white colonial stakeholders rather than those of the local Black island constituency. The “hidden” nature of American colonial possessions as “U.S. territories” coupled with an exploitative Caribbean tourism industry help to permanently fix islands like St. John as remote objects of consumption and desire for primarily white, non-native travelers. This reality produces what I call "the crisis of Paradise." For the U.S. Virgin Islands, patterns of leisure, extraction, and exotification that characterize the Caribbean as a whole destructively entangle with the territory’s moniker “America’s Paradise.” Through the interdisciplinary use of critical Black feminist ethnography, archival records and oral histories, this work explains how native Black people’s mobilization for a public high school for St. John attempts to resist the colonial effort to reduce the land and its people to mere entities of play, respite, and relaxation and, thereby, render them unfit for comprehensive, quality public education. This project enhances understandings of “American” public education and illuminates the ways social and political self-determination have always been at the center of Black people’s struggles in the West. / 2023-11-01T00:00:00Z

The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry was to share the experiences of Black children and families attending early childhood programs across New York City. The theoretical lenses of Anti-Blackness, Intersectionality, and Critical Childhood Studies were employed to provide counter-stories to the dominant narratives told about young Black children and families in traditional educational settings and to examine how the intersection of various identity markers contributed to the participants’ experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six families and one teacher across Brooklyn and the Bronx. The children ranged in age from 4 to 8 years old and attended Head Start 3-K, Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 2nd grade programs in public, private, and charter schools. Child-centered research methods were utilized when interviewing the children. In addition, classroom observations were conducted in one child participant’s school for additional insights into the moments that shaped their memories of preschool. This study aimed to learn what young Black children and their parents had to say about their early childhood experiences in their own words. An additional aim was to identify conditions and practices that need to be preserved as well as those that should be discontinued as we seek to create more equitable and just learning outcomes in educational spaces. Implications for policy and practice are offered based on insights learned from young Black children and their parents.