<p> This study focused on the cultural congruity and academic self-concept of African American students in a community college setting who participated in a Black Culture Center. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between cultural congruity and academic self-concept through the following two research questions: what relationship, if any, exists between cultural congruity and academic self-concept, and does cultural congruity influence academic self-concept among African American students participating in a Black Culture Center in a two-year historically White college setting. The results of this study provide support for both hypotheses: there was a significant positive correlation between cultural congruity and academic self-concept, and cultural congruity was a significant independent predictor of academic self-concept after controlling for gender, college GPA, college units completed, participation type, and student-faculty interactions. There were two conclusions that were supported by the findings of this research study; (a) increasing the cultural congruity of African American students is likely to result in an increase in academic self-concept, and (b) providing strong academic support and increased opportunities for positive faculty interactions is likely to increase the academic self-concept of African American students. Recommendations based on the findings and conclusions of this study include a commitment by institutions of higher education to invest dedicated resources towards the creation, maintenance, and growth of formal ethnic communities for African American students on historically White campuses. Additionally, it is recommended that college campuses provide targeted academic intervention and support to first-year African American students.</p><p>

Black and Hispanic students continue to be excluded from the learning environmentmore than three times the rate of their White classmates. The effects of this include low student achievement, reduced chances of graduating from high school, and an increased chance of entering the school-to-prison pipeline. Restorative justice was introduced to schools and school systems as an alternative to suspension and other exclusionary practices. The purpose of this study was to examine how school personnel implement and sustain restorative justice practices to reduce the number of Black and Hispanic students disproportionately affected by zero tolerance policies or exclusionary practices. The overarching research question of this study was the following: How do school personnel describe and understand the implementation of restorative justice practices? To address my research question, I conducted a single case study of a school in a large Atlantic coast school system. Data collection methods included: semi-structured interviews of school personnel and leadership, observations, and document review. Four major findings emerged from this study: (1) Cultural understanding, understanding implicit bias, and student-school personnel relationships create the conditions to reduce schoolwide disciplinary infractions and improve climate and culture; (2) School leadership intentional about supporting the mindset shift of staff from punitive to restorative contributes to the development of a positive learning community and supports the implementation of restorative justice and its associated practices; (3) Sustainability of restorative justice depends on the following levers: consistency of restorative justice practices, staff support, and onboarding of new staff members; (4) Professional development, specifically professional development at the school and district level, served as the vehicle to build the capacity of staff as it relates to restorative justice theory, mindset and cultural proficiency (cultural understandings).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: David Selby.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina Wilmington, 2009. / Title from PDF title page (January 13, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-73)

<p> The purpose of this ethnographic case study was to examine how a white male teacher creates a culturally relevant pedagogy infuses arts integration to create an authentic learning environment for his students. This study traced student engagement, perceptions of, and performance in their English language arts class. This study concentrated on 21 Latino students and 3 black students in a middle school ELA classroom in an underperforming urban school. The questions that guided this study were, 1. How does this White male teacher integrate art within English language arts framed by the Common Core? 2. How does art integration and public display of art shape students&rsquo; perceptions of school and English language arts? 3. How does a white male teacher create a Culturally responsive pedagogy while navigating the required modules and common core standards. Data included field notes during class as well as audio, and visual recordings, interviews with the teacher and students, and student artifacts to trace the ongoing learning and teaching in the class. Findings show that giving students a platform to publish their work in a more public sphere outside of the classroom can be a crucial element in a culturally responsive pedagogy. This teacher helps his students get their ideas and questions out of the classroom into the school environment. The students embrace this more creative way of learning and thinking and it fuels their learning.</p><p>

<p> As overt acts of racism are becoming increasingly visible and publicized on college campuses, institutions may be tasked with addressing issues around hate speech or racist marches. Meanwhile, white supremacy covertly impacts institutions through biased policies and practices. In this context, student affairs professionals can either perpetuate or combat racism. This study examined how 10 white women working as mid-level student affairs professionals in highly diverse institutions in Southern California made meaning and engaged in anti-racist allyship. The findings were organized along four themes: perceptions of campus climate at diverse institutions, developing white racial consciousness, efforts toward anti-racist allyship, and complexities of white allyship. Participants noticed the impact of historical and geographical contexts, and they identified aspects of climate specific to their institutions. They described the process of developing racial consciousness in a cyclical way, and they understood anti-racist allyship as advocacy. The complexities of white allyship included role confusion, difficulty identifying racism, white privilege, and the consequences of allyship. Emerging from this theme, a conceptual model of white anti-racist identity development is proposed. Recommendations for policy and practice include revision of the ACPA and NASPA (2015) social justice and inclusion competency, increased professional development opportunities around racial justice, and the inclusion of research on racial identity development and disrupting white supremacy in graduate degree programs. Recommendations for future research are also provided.</p><p>

<p> Latino males in California continue to be underrepresented at four-year universities across the state (Casselman, 2014). Although four-year institutions may have programs and practices in place to support Latino males in their degree completion, literature revealed that some institutions fail to understand the factors that prevent students of color from fully maximizing such programs and the responsibility institutions have in creating practices and programs that support access and equity in student engagement (Harper 2009; Kuh 1991). In what ways can four-year institutions create or enhance existing support and engagement opportunities, so that they meet the needs of Latino males at four-year institutions? </p><p> While literature exists on the experiences of Latino males at community colleges (Wood, Palmer, &amp; Harris, 2015) this study seeks to understand how participation in student support and engagement programs and practices at four-year universities impacts the intersectional identities of this group. This study is particularly relevant and crucial as additional funding for California public four-year institutions has become increasingly tied to four-year graduation rates (Bollag 2016; Wheaton, 2017). </p><p> The purpose of this study was to understand the ways in which the diverse identities of Latino males (race, gender, class, sexual orientation, citizenship status, etc.) are impacted by their use of student support and engagement programs and practices. Through extensive interviews that were analyzed through the lens of Latino Critical Theory (LatCrit), the individual experiences of Latino males were captured through rich descriptive detail of the participants&rsquo; experiences, resulting in a qualitative analysis of those experiences. </p><p> Findings revealed that Latino males bring a tremendous amount of knowledge and skills to their institutions as they negotiate various expectations from their families, communities and of themselves. Although Latino males may not be able to fully maximize support opportunities, they demonstrate a diligent work ethic, an ability to navigate unfamiliar, and at times hostile environments, while continuing to remain committed to family and community responsibilities. Additionally, this study produced a five-step theoretical model demonstrating the factors that influence how and why Latino males utilize campus services, and recommendations for how institutions can adapt to the needs of these students, rather than the students adapting to the needs of the programs and practices. </p><p>

Based on intercultural education, socio-cultural analysis, and decolonization and critical pedagogy perspectives, this dissertation explores contradictions in Peruvian intercultural education policy and examines the potential role that African and Afro-Peruvian thought may have in the reform of this policy. Despite redefinitions of the Peruvian state as multicultural/multilingual and the adoption of intercultural concepts in Peruvian education law, the official interpretation of intercultural principles has tended to undermine the social transforming potential implicit in intercultural education. First, official Peruvian education policy overlooks the historical and cultural contributions of non-European and non-Incan social groups. Second, it fails to address inequality and inequity between socio-cultural groups in the access to economic-political resources. Third, it restricts intercultural education programs to Indigenous speaking communities. This study notes how Peruvian intercultural education policy is shaped by state discourses on national identity and by the structure of official Peruvian identity, the Castilian-Inca mestizo entity, and thus ignores Peru's African, Asian, and Middle Eastern roots. By arguing for the inclusion of Afro-Peruvian traditions, this research offers a model for opening intercultural education policy to other excluded socio-cultural groups. Archival and contemporary evidence is used to show how the substantial African presence in Peru has been erased from official history, with negative socio-political consequences for Afro-Peruvians. It presents the philosophical, political, pedagogical, and sociological contributions of the Senegalese Leopold Sedar Senghor (1906–2001), and the Afro-Peruvians Nicomedes Santa Cruz Gamarra (1925–1992) and Jose Carlos Luciano Huapaya (1956–2002) as bases for rethinking Peruvian cultural diversity and intercultural policies from decolonized, democratic, and global perspectives. Further, it presents objections and counter-proposals to intercultural education policies of the Peruvian state that were gathered in a small pilot study of the personnel of the Afro-PeruvianYapatera High School and the nonprofit organizations CEDET and Lundu. Finally, it articulates these counter-proposals with Senghor, Santa Cruz, and Luciano's theoretical inputs for decolonizing and democratizing Peruvian intercultural education policy.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2006. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 232-237). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2006. / Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 232-237). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.