Racism, defined as the creation or maintenance of a racial hierarchy supported through institutional power, is a pervasive issue in the United States that affects educational institutions across the country in various ways, such as through unequal educational access, school funding, hiring practices, and school discipline. Rather than directly challenging and working toward combating injustices that emerge in institutions, most school leaders disregard race-based educational inequities by providing explanations for racist actions and patterns that occur. There is often a hesitancy to engage in discussions about race and racism in predominantly White spaces because it feels “uncomfortable” and can lead to conflict. This discomfort encourages colorblind ideology, resulting in a lack of dialogue that enables racial hierarchies to thrive. Thus, some members of society benefit from the system, while others are exploited. In this qualitative case study, I explore how students of color who attend an affluent, predominantly White, suburban, public middle school experience a course designed to discuss issues of race and racism. Although anti-bias education is commonly thought to be beneficial for schools located in urban areas, this dominant narrative disregards the needs of predominantly White suburban school communities that have traditionally ignored issues of race and racism, yet due to shifts in immigration patterns, are becoming more diverse. This study explores the challenges students of color face when discussing issues of race and racism in predominantly White, suburban school settings. The culture of silence that permeates educational institutions maintains racial hierarchies and disadvantages students of color who are often “subjected to institutionalized conditions that contradict their interests and their humanity.” Information gleaned from this study may be used to improve upon existing racial literacy courses in predominantly White spaces to ensure that all students feel safe and included in the curriculum.

This transformative mixed-methods research study, uniquely designed as a 12-week curriculum to facilitate critical media literacy, drew upon the principles of critical pedagogy to investigate Black adolescents ‘perceptions of the impact of media on their racial identities. Responding to the high rate of media consumption among Black youth, the Critical Encounters Unit engaged 79 Black high school students in the southeast United States in examining how they made sense of their media encounters. Data on participants ‘perceptions of the role media plays in constructing Black identities and societal perceptions of Blacks were gathered through pre-post study surveys of all participants‘ self-identities and media literacy, interviews with 15 participants, 467 student journals, and 15 video observation field notes. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015 / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Notre dissertation investigue les actions individuelles et légales de contestation des discriminations raciales ou ethniques par ses victimes, objet rarement étudié en psychologie sociale. Alors que les actions collectives s’inscrivent dans un cadre des relations intergroupes, nos études montrent que les actions individuelles restent plutôt dans le cadre de relations perçues endogroupales par les acteurs qui contestent les discriminations. Les implications en termes d’identité sociale dans ce type d’action sont différentes et nous postulons qu’une catégorisation à un niveau supra-ordonné (ex. comme membre de la société hôte ou être humain) facilite l’entreprise des actions individuelles de contestation des discriminations par la voie légale. L’égalitarisme qui rend saillant ce niveau de catégorisation supra-ordonné, et en tant que croyance qui délégitime le statut désavantagé des individus stigmatisés, faciliterait la remise en question du statu quo en augmentant la perception de la discrimination ainsi que la tendance à s’engager dans des actions de lutte contre les discriminations par la voie légale. De plus, motivés par des démarches qui rentabilisent le rapport coûts-bénéfices, les individus portés par l’égalitarisme et qui perçoivent la discrimination s’engageraient plus facilement dans des actions de contestation lorsqu’ils pensent qu’ils peuvent le faire au bénéfice de la collectivité plutôt que dans leur propre intérêt uniquement. D’autre part, l’entreprise d’actions contre les discriminations par la voie légale nécessite une connaissance relative de ces lois qui fonctionnent comme des normes injonctives indiquant aux individus ce qui est admis ou non en société (ex. caractère interdit de la discrimination). Une source experte (ex. organisme de lutte contre le racisme) qui véhicule ce type de normes injonctives anti-racistes serait particulièrement influente dans l’entreprise d’actions légales pour lutter contre les discriminations. / Doctorat en Sciences Psychologiques et de l'éducation / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished