The under-representation of racial minority students in Gifted and Talented Education (GATE)programs has been an issue with little to no resolution (Ford, 2002). These under-represented racial minority groups are experiencing the obstacles of discrimination. Ogbu’s (1987) observation offers a framework distinguishing minorities: voluntary and involuntary. Researchers report on the under-representation of “involuntary” minority groups (McBee, 2006). Researchers have offered keys to opening the gates of GATE programs to bring about racial equity. Recruitment processes: alternative assessments and teacher referrals are available to identify minority GATE students (Elhoweris, Mutua, Alsheikh, & Holloway, 2005). Retention practices: racial diversity of gate teachers, culturally responsive pedagogy, culturally responsive curriculum, and a classroom culture of caring are available to support racial minority gate students once in the program (Delpit, 2006). This mixed-methods study is of one school’s GATE program, Multicultural Middle School (MMS). The study used descriptive statistics to analyze percentages of racial representation of MMS’s GATE students and GATE teachers. The study also used questionnaires, observations, and interviews to analyze MMS’s GATE teachers’ knowledge and practices in regards to the research-based recruitment processes and retention practices of underrepresented racial minorities. This study found that the voluntary racial minority group was over-represented and one of four involuntary racial groups was under-represented. This study also found that MMS’s GATE program had achieved racial equity in three of the four involuntary racial minority groups. At the time of this study, MMS’s GATE program was trending toward equity.

Book Summary: Positive psychology has become a vibrant, well-regarded field of study, and a powerful tool for clinicians. But, for many years, the research in areas relevant to positive psychology, such as happiness, subjective well-being, and emotional intelligence, has been based on findings from largely White samples and has rarely taken the concerns of the ethnic community into consideration. Now, for the first time, leaders in the field have come together to provide a comprehensive reference that focuses specifically on how a culturally-informed approach to positive psychology can help capitalize on the strengths of racial minority groups and have a greater potential to positively impact their psychological well-being. Acting as a bridge between positive psychology theory and research—largely based on an essentialist view of human behavior—and the realities of practice and assessment in diverse groups, Positive Psychology in Racial and Ethnic Groups focuses on four main ethnic groups: Asian Americans, Latin Americans, African Americans, and American Indians.

Book Summary: Positive psychology has become a vibrant, well-regarded field of study, and a powerful tool for clinicians. But, for many years, the research in areas relevant to positive psychology, such as happiness, subjective well-being, and emotional intelligence, has been based on findings from largely White samples and has rarely taken the concerns of the ethnic community into consideration. Now, for the first time, leaders in the field have come together to provide a comprehensive reference that focuses specifically on how a culturally-informed approach to positive psychology can help capitalize on the strengths of racial minority groups and have a greater potential to positively impact their psychological well-being. Acting as a bridge between positive psychology theory and research—largely based on an essentialist view of human behavior—and the realities of practice and assessment in diverse groups, Positive Psychology in Racial and Ethnic Groups focuses on four main ethnic groups: Asian Americans, Latin Americans, African Americans, and American Indians.

Desis and Racial Minority Politics: Disrupting Assumptions of Ethnoracial Solidarity: Current sociological analyses of Desi political interests are incomplete because they gravitate toward flattened identity-based, and electoral-based, understandings of ethnoracial groups. This study examines the political agendas and campaigns of four political organizations, located in New York City and Washington, D.C., with South Asian-origin members and constituents. These groups are 1) The Washington Leadership Program; 2) South Asian Americans Leading Together; and 3) Seva New York; and 4) Desis Rising Up and Moving. I collected qualitative data via in-person interviews (n=40) and participant observations (n=10) with members and organizational leaders, and at public events and programs. A key finding from this study is that South Asians are not a cohesive political force. The narratives demonstrate that the political agendas and activities of each organization undoubtedly shift and evolve in response to racializing moments (such as the events and aftermath of September 11, 2001). The data also illustrate that because the political interests of South Asian Americans get activated in subgroups, along the margins, and fragmentally, their agendas still cannot be captured through a shared ethnoracial or "panethnic" experience. While the desire for ethnoracial solidarity comes from an identification of common cause, the internal fragments – defined by issues of class, religion, gender, sexuality, nation of origin, immigration and citizenship status, and language – point to the difficulty of developing an authentic practice of intra-ethnic solidarity for Desis. Further, each organization's relationship to building alliances and coalitions cross-racially further delineate the fragmented nature of Desi political values. Based on the narratives from participants and leaders in these organizations, I make a case for why sociologists need to expand their theoretical lens for interpreting South Asian political agendas and locate Desi politicization along an “assimilation-to-racialization continuum” that intersects the paradigms of “assimilation” and “racialization” in conversation with one another. The categories between the “assimilation-to-racialization continuum” are as follows: “Wholehearted Assimilation (of Racial Minorities into the Mainstream Elite),” “Model Minority Assimilation (into "Honorary Whiteness”) ,” “Normalizing Minority Representation and Racial Diversity,” “Racial Justice and Progressive Inclusivity,” and “Empowering the Most Marginalized for Social Justice & Transformative Change.” Although this study reveals the specificity of an “assimilation-to-racialization continuum” and its application to the political lives of South Asian Americans, we can nevertheless think of ways that this model can be extended to other ethnic and racial groups in the U.S. I posit that we adopt the “assimilation-to-racialization continuum” to better understand how fragmented ethnoracial communities engage the political sphere. / Sociology

Legalised desegregation through the implementation of the South African Schools law (Law no. 84 of 1996) sparked the hope of an opportunity to promote integration between learners and more than that, that the former would also extend to the larger community. The media has however indicated that racial-integration in schools is not necessarily experienced as positive by all the role players and that the process does not present itself as being problem-free. The goal of this study was to investigate the experiences of racial minority groups within majority school contexts; the challenges that are posed to them within the contexts; the factors that may play a role in their adjustment and functioning within the context; the negotiation of racial-ethnicity and social identity that accompanies it, and the possible relationship that exists between the former and their emotional intelligence (EI). These goals were realised through the launch of a theoretical, as well as an empirical investigation of aforementioned aspects related to the life worlds of racial minority groups in a majority school context. The empirical investigation was conducted from an INTERPRETIVISTIC-positivistic paradigm. Two schools where white and black learners are respectively in the minority were involved in the study. All the learners (grade 9-12) that were regarded as part of the racial minority group in the involved schools, were asked to complete an EI-questionnaire, the EQ-i:YV, after which six participants (three males and three females) from each school were selected on the basis of their scores achieved on the previously mentioned questionnaire. Afterwards qualitative techniques (focus groups, semi-structured interviews, observations and reflection) were implemented to investigate the (racial and social) identity negotiation, adjustment and functioning of the participants in their respective school contexts. The former was also related to their EI. Triangulation and crystallisation were implemented to verify the findings. Racism was identified as the biggest stumbling block to successful integration in the white school context, whereas language appeared to be the biggest stumbling block of the white participants’ adjustment and functioning within their black school context. Social categorisation emerged as a reality in both school contexts and white learners appeared to be evaluated as the higher-status group in both schools. From the results it appears that no relationship worth mentioning exists between the white participants’ EI and their identity negotiation within a black school context, whilst it appears as if a small relationship exists between the black participants’ EI and their identity-negotiation within a white school context. It appears however that a strong relationship exists between participants’ EI and their adjustment and functioning within their majority school context. The following additional factors (that are not applicable to EI) that can play a possible role in the adjustment and functioning of racial minority groups in majority school contexts have also been identified: home circumstances, faith, recognition of sport and/or cultural achievement and the support of one or more parents. AFRIKAANS : Daar is met die wettiging van desegregasie deur die Suid-Afrikaanse Skolewet (Wet no. 84 van 1996) gehoop dat die geleentheid geskep sou word om integrasie tussen leerders te bevorder en dat voorgenoemde na die breër gemeenskap sou uitkring. Uit die media blyk dit egter dat rasse-integrasie in skole allermins positief deur al die rolspelers beleef word en dat die proses nie sonder probleme verloop nie. Die doel van hierdie studie was om ondersoek in te stel na rasseminderheidsgroepe se belewenis van meerderheidskoolkontekste; die uitdagings wat binne hierdie kontekste aan hulle gestel word; die faktore wat moontlik ‘n rol in hulle aanpassing en funksionering in hierdie kontekste speel; die onderhandeling van ras-etniese en sosiale identiteit wat daarmee gepaard gaan, en die moontlike verband wat tussen voorgenoemde en hul emosionele intelligensie (EI) bestaan. Hierdie doelstellings is gerealiseer deur ‘n teoretiese, sowel as ‘n empiriese ondersoek na voorgenoemde aspekte van die leefwêrelde van rasseminderheidsgroepe in meerderheidskoolkontekste te loods. Die empiriese ondersoek is vanuit ‘n INTERPRETIVISTIES-positivistiese paradigma onderneem. Twee skole waar wit en swart leerders onderskeidelik in die minderheid is, is by die studie betrek. Al die leerders (graad 9-12) wat as deel van die rasseminderheidsgroep in die betrokke skole beskou kon word, is gevra om ‘n EI-vraelys, die EQ-i:YV, te voltooi, waarna ses deelnemers (drie seuns en drie dogters) op grond van die tellings wat hulle op voorgenoemde vraelys behaal het, geselekteer is. Kwalitatiewe tegnieke (fokusgroepe, semi-gestruktureerde onderhoudvoering, observasie en refleksie) is daarna geïmplementeer om die (ras-etniese en sosiale) identiteitsonderhandeling, aanpassing en funksionering van die deelnemers in hul onderskeie skoolkontekste te ondersoek. Voorgenoemde is ook met hul EI in verband gebring. Triangulasie en kristallisasie is geïmplementeer om bevindinge te verifieer. Rassisme is as die grootste struikelblok tot suksesvolle integrasie in die wit skoolkonteks geïdentifiseer, terwyl taalprobleme die grootste struikelblok in die wit deelnemers se aanpassing en funksionering in hul swart skoolkonteks blyk te wees. Sosiale kategorisering blyk in albei skoolkontekste ’n realiteit te wees en wit leerders blyk in albei skole as die hoëstatusgroep geëvalueer te word. Uit die resultate blyk dit dat daar geen noemenswaardige verband tussen die wit deelnemers se EI en hulle identiteitsonderhandeling binne ’n swart skoolkonteks bestaan nie, terwyl dit blyk of daar ’n geringe verband tussen die swart deelnemers se EI en hulle identiteitsonderhandeling binne ’n wit skoolkonteks bestaan. Daar blyk egter ’n sterk verband tussen deelnemers se EI en hulle aanpassing en funksionering binne hul meerderheidskoolkontekste te bestaan. Die volgende addisionele faktore (wat nie op EI betrekking het nie) wat moontlik ’n rol in die aanpassing en funksionering van rasseminderheidsgroepe in meerderheidskoolkontekste kan speel, is ook geïdentifiseer: huislike omstandighede, geloof, prestasie op sport en/of kulturele gebied en die ondersteuning van een of meer ouers. Copyright / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

<p dir="ltr">This dissertation is a two-study dissertation divided into two chapters focused broadly on the help-seeking experiences of racial-ethnic minority caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In chapter one, a systematic literature review was conducted to identify articles that have studied barriers in help-seeking for racial-ethnic minority caregivers of children with autism. A broad literature search across four databases was conducted (i.e., PubMed, PsycINFO, Education Resources Information Center, and Child Development and Adolescent Studies). The coding team identified 17 articles on help-seeking barriers for racial-ethnic minority caregivers of children with autism. A thematic analysis was then used to synthesize the help-seeking barriers identified across these 17 studies. Four themes emerged from our findings: logistical barriers, provider competence, ASD literacy, and cultural stigma. We also provided clinical recommendations for healthcare providers working with families with racial-ethnic minority caregivers of children with autism.</p><p dir="ltr">The second chapter was informed by the results found in chapter one. In chapter one, we found little research on Asian American caregiver perspectives on help-seeking barriers to autism services. Using caregiver perspectives, this research study sought to understand the help-seeking experiences of Asian American families. In this study, we conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 10 Asian American caregivers with a child aged 3-17 diagnosed with ASD. Interviews were conducted virtually, audio recorded, transcribed, and coded by three researchers. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Our results indicated four themes in perceived barriers by Asian American caregivers of children with autism interviewees. Themes included: (1) logistical barriers, (2) provider level barriers competence, (3) ASD literacy, and (4) cultural stigma. We deliver clinical recommendations for providers to address the four barriers found in our study when working with Asian American families of children with ASD.</p>