Thesis (Ph.D.)--Cleveland State University, 2007. / Abstract. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on May 8, 2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-121). Available online via the OhioLINK ETD Center. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-06, Section: A, page: 2672. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 210-216).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Toronto, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-06, Section: A, page: 2401. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 368-377).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisor: Jill A. Marshall. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI company.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2010. / Directed by Svi Shapiro; submitted to the Dept. of Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jul. 14, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 242-263).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-149).

This dissertation examines inequality in school funding in North Carolina from 1964 to 1997. It highlights local, county and state decisions about the distribution of educational funds, and shows that public officials have created and maintained school funding mechanisms that exacerbated inequalities between racial groups to preserve White capital and advantage White communities. Discriminatory taxation schemes, district-line gerrymandering and voter suppression ensured White control of school boards and boards of county commissioners, which presided over school budgets, resulting in uneven revenue distribution. I analyze these mechanisms as instances of theft—theft of civil rights and financial resources—within a tradition of kleptocracy in the state.I first focus on four case studies, including two rural and two urban and suburban counties, where I examine the correlation between financial inequities and racial segregation through quantitative and qualitative analysis. I ask how historical actors have addressed educational inequalities over time, and how local governments, courts and legislatures responded to these intertwined challenges. This study investigates the discrepancy between the legacies of Jim Crow in school finance and racially neutral arguments in education reform and school finance litigation. All four case-study counties became involved in the 1994 Leandro v. State lawsuit, which challenged the state’s school funding formula. The urban-rural plaintiff coalition highlighted contradictions in arguments about the root causes of resource inequalities in public schools. The Leandro case did not address racial discrimination, and I question and historicize this silence.

The Latinx communities are one of the fastest-growing minority groups in the United States, and that shift has brought new challenges to the field of education. An increase in the Latinx student body presents unique challenges to this particular group (Alemán, 2009a), such as the stigmatization of speaking Spanish in a country where the majority speak English (Murakami et al., 2013). Today’s Latinx leaders have endured similar patterns of discrimination to prior generations (Hondgneu-Sotelo, 2020). Latinx leaders who are aware of injustices that exist in their schools lead with social justice agendas to overcome inequities and barriers (López, 2003). The purpose of this study was to explore and examine how school leaders who identify as Latinx conceptualize and practice leadership for equity and social justice. To collect data, testimonios were conducted with all participants in this study. Testimonio presents participants with an opportunity to share their experience of oppression, views on how to challenge inequities, and their advocacy toward social justice (Huber, 2009). Two interviews were conducted per candidate lasting approximately 60 minutes. The first conclusion of the study: all participants in the study showed evidence of the implementation of culturally relevant pedagogical practices. Second, while the overwhelming majority of the participants in this study acknowledged racial discrimination and called out policies that maintained injustices in place, only two of the Latinx leaders in this study centered race and led their community with equity and social justice as the core of their work.

Racial and ethnic diversity in dental hygiene education remains low. Dental hygiene education has largely focused on integrating cultural competence education to meet the needs of the diverse patient populations. Dental and dental hygiene educators as practicing clinicians share the responsibility for meeting the needs of disadvantaged populations, since research has demonstrated the high level of influence dental and dental hygiene education has on the professional attitudes and behaviors of future oral health providers. Little to no studies exist on the current perceptions of racism among dental hygiene educators. Color-blind racial ideologies (CBRI) constitute a modern form of racial prejudice that remains a barrier to reducing instances of racism. This study investigated potential unconscious bias related to color-blind racial attitudes among dental hygiene educators using the 20-item, Color-Blind Racial Attitudes Scale. Of the 172 potential respondents, 89 (52%) completed all of the survey questions. The majority of the respondents were White, female and from the Northeast (74.2%, 93.3%, and 61.8% respectively). The mean CoBRAS score (55.73) indicated moderate levels of color-blind racial attitudes. Race was a significant variable in perceptions of racial dynamics and racism with statistically significant differences between groups as demonstrated by one-way ANOVA (F[6,82] = 3.496, p = .004). Elevated levels of color-blind racial attitudes among dental hygieneeducators were found, indicating a presence of cognitive aspects of stereotyping related to race. The demographic data collected adds to the existing evidence of a lack of diversity among dental hygiene faculty. To advance initiatives for diversity, equity, and inclusion in dental hygiene education, faculty professional development is warranted.

My dissertation examines the unique contribution of school district boundaries – over and above municipal boundaries – in the suburban context, which can tell us more about how today’s multiracial suburbs came to be structured and stagnated in such residentially and educationally segregated ways. Specifically, this dissertation aims to provide insight into how school districts are a compelling structural force in social and spatial hierarchies and explain why we need to build a deeper understanding of their unique role in the self-perpetuating segregation we find in suburban spaces. This study focuses on Westchester County, NY at key inflection points from the 1800s to 2023, including phases of suburbanization, diversification, and legal contention over housing access. This suburb north of New York City is a study of contrasts in many ways, as it has evolved into a profoundly racially and economically stratified county with extreme differences in wealth and demographics across its highly spatially fragmented landscape. This study is informed by a theoretical framework that takes a critical spatial approach to the study of local bordering practices. This dissertation demonstrates the need to take seriously the spatial dimensions of education, which point toward systems of power that shape our understanding of “good” and “bad” schools. Utilizing GIS mapping, municipal and school demographic data, legal documents, and real estate marketing data, I analyze the unique spatial impact of school districts on housing policy in a range of spatial contexts. Focusing specifically on publicly subsidized affordable housing, this research highlights the unique history of debates over segregated housing in Westchester, making it an ideal case study for understanding the relationship between school district boundaries, affordable housing access, and social reputation. I contextualize my analysis throughout with historical archival and demographic materials demonstrating how educational spaces have shifted through time. Centering the interconnected spatial relationships of educational and residential boundaries fills the gap in our understanding of the unique contribution of educational borders as powerful spatial structures that can create, reproduce, and interrupt society through their influence on collective individual action. The findings throughout this research shed light on the complexities of the relationship between school districts and municipalities in diversifying suburban spaces and emphasize the critical need for a more spatially aware research agenda in the study of the school-housing nexus. This dissertation demonstrates that school district boundaries shape children’s educational opportunities in a number of profound ways. My findings on next-door inequality emphasize how living on one side of a school district boundary or another can mean tens of thousands of dollars in difference in per-student spending and vastly different demographics in student populations. The racial and economic separation that is happening between school district neighbors in Westchester is only exacerbated by the extensive fragmentation of small districts that have been treated as sacrosanct for decades without consideration of any broader benefit to their reorganization.