The educational quality of Erie County and Buffalo, New York, as represented by school district performance was examined and the relationship between school district performance and the social environment was analyzed. Socioeconomic status, social stability and race were all found to be strongly correlated to school district performance. Within Erie County, Buffalo has the poorest school performance levels while Snyder and Williamsville, two high status suburban districts, have the highest school performance levels. The overall spatial pattern of school district performance based on the PEP test results for 1974 reveal a strong correspondence between school district performance and the social structure of Erie County. The distribution of Regents Scholarship winners within Erie County also straws the strong relationship between social status and school performance. The performance of the Buffalo schools schools a strong relationship to the social structure of the city. The performance of third, sixth and ninth grade pupils on reading and math PEP tests reveals an inner city-periphery contrast in school performance, especially for the elementary schools. The low-achieving schools are located in the inner city, especially the black ghetto, and the high-achieving schools are located on the periphery of the city. Elementary school performance is strongly correlated to income (SES), minority enrollment (race) and the percentage of broken hares (family stability).

The purpose of this study is to examine attitude change toward a particularly salient political and social issue "over time." A second purpose is the examination of the perception of party differences in their positions toward the aforementioned issues "over time."

In spite of efforts to improve diversity among the United States’ top tier colleges and universities, first-generation students of color continue to be largely underrepresented, one of the factors significantly contributing to this reality is the use of tracking in high schools. Even given the substantial research highlighting the ineffectiveness of ability grouping, the practice continues to be utilized in the majority of U.S. high schools. The findings of past studies reveal higher-track classes provide students with academic advantage while lower-track classes are noted by students’ lower consequent achievement. Attention to the makeup of low and high tracked classes further reveals the reason behind this difference in achievement may lay in that higher-track classes provide students with greater expectations, rigor and support to meet those expectations, and such belief and support likely breeds greater self-efficacy and therefore greater motivation in students. Thus, in order to provide this same uplifting environment to all students, detracking is posed as an alternative. This correlational survey study is intended to examine the effects of high and low educational tracks versus detracking upon the academic achievement of first-generation 9th grade students of color with a particular consideration of the mediating effects of self-efficacy and academic motivation. Student participants will be recruited from the Chaffey Joint Union High School district, completing a self-efficacy survey and an academic motivation survey once during the third week of the school year, and once again during the last week of the academic year. It is expected that the data will demonstrate a significant relationship between track and academic achievement such that those students enrolled in the lowest tracks will demonstrate the lowest achievement whilst no difference will be found in the achievement attained in the higher tracks versus the detracked curriculum. Furthermore, both self-efficacy and academic motivation are expected to mediate this relationship.

This research applies C. Wright Mills’ theory of vocabularies of motive to reveal the collective narratives, which were used to justify the atypical founding of an urban Jewish congregation in the 1970s. Prior to and during this period, US Jewish communities were migrating out of city centers into their surrounding suburbs. Most Jewish congregations followed their congregants and moved into the suburbs. This study identifies the collective justifications within the Hatchala Chadasha community, which are the accepted reasons for the organization’s atypical urban location and organizational structure. The findings of this research are based in the examination of interviews with individuals who were community members during the earliest years of Hatchala Chadasha’s existence. Patterns of similar accounts across the interviews revealed the collective narratives that defended four of the congregation’s fundamental decisions: why the congregation was founded, where the congregation chose to locate, how the congregation acted politically, and what organizational structure the congregation employed. These justifications are further examined, in relation to the behavior and values common within the broader Jewish community and other contextual components, to theorize why certain accounts became the accepted narrative within Hatchala Chadasha. Fundamentally, this research examines informants’ motive statements to discern and analyze the collective narratives formed in a community, which justify the community’s atypical behavior in the context of a predominant, external culture.

For birthing parents, the quality of care falls flat in the United States relative to other developed countries as rates of pregnancy-related deaths (PRD) continue to rise. California has in recent years made extraordinary progress in decreasing birthing parent mortality across the board. Yet, health disparities remain between race/ethnicities as Black birthing parents die at three to four times the rate of white birthing parents. In comparison to white Americans marginalized ethnic/racial groups in the United States have less access to quality care, experience and receive lower quality of health care and have less access to quality care, with few exceptions. Intersecting factors such as education, socioeconomic status and acculturation are investigated. Implicit bias, or racism is often overlooked within the medical professions that has real implications on the above-mentioned sociological factors and in turn birthing mortality rates. Institutional and grassroot methods to bring attention to these factors should be referenced for a more intentional approach to solving this social problem historically engrained in our medical institutions.

Acceptance by a parental figure is one of the most important protective factors for LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) youth and young adults (e.g., Ryan, 2009, 2010). Lack of parental acceptance may lead to a disruption in parent-child relationships and may increase risk for maladaptive behaviors and poorer psychosocial outcomes in LGBTQ youth (e.g., Bouris et al., 2010). Researchers have called for more inclusive samples and methods to better understand the experiences of families from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds (e.g., Heatherington & Lavner 2008). Specific to Latinas/os, cultural factors and theoretically informed interventions that facilitate parental acceptance need systematic investigation (e.g., Ryan, 2009, 2010). The purpose of this study was threefold: (a) examine the cultural strengths and challenges that influence Cuban-American and Puerto Rican parental figures’ journey toward accepting their LGBTQ child; (b) explore how these parental figures reach acceptance; and (c) assess for the impact of an expressive writing (EW) exercise on the affect of these parental figures. Interpersonal acceptance-rejection theory (IPART) and family stress theory were used as a frame for the analysis of the process of acceptance toward one’s LGBTQ child in this sample of Cuban-American and Puerto Rican parental figures. Thirty participants completed a writing intervention after the initial prescreening. The writing intervention asked participants to write a letter about their journey toward accepting their LGBTQ child, including the aspects of their heritage, cultural beliefs, and values that facilitated this process. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006, 2013) guided the research design and analysis. The following themes helped parental figures accept their child: (a) family (support, maintaining family unity); (b) interactions with LGBTQ people; (c) resisting and embracing Latina/o gender norms (caballerismo, marianismo); (d) cultural dissonance; and (e) immigration and the American dream. In addition, the following themes described the process of how these parental figures navigated acceptance toward their child: (a) noticing and attempting to change gender atypical behaviors and/or presentation; (b) initial reactions (negative reactions, immediate acceptance); (c) adjusting to the child’s LGBTQ identity; (d) seeking out resources about LGBTQ identity; (e) increasing awareness of LGBTQ oppression; (f) reframing religious and/or spiritual values and beliefs and working through religious and/or spiritual conflict; (g) coping and reframing machismo; (h) balancing family dynamics; (i) highlighting the positive identities in one’s child; (j) learning lessons from one’s child; and (k) benefitting from acceptance. Pre and post affect ratings using the writing intervention illustrated that Cuban-American parental figures were significantly happier and less anxious after writing their acceptance narrative. Although not statistically significant, Puerto Rican parental figures reported increased happiness and decreased anxiousness after writing their acceptance narrative. Implications for psychological practice with Latina/o parents who recently learned about their child’s LGBTQ identity will be discussed.

In this dissertation, I explore ‘green’ urban development and urban agriculture projects from the perspective of residents of an African American majority neighborhood in Kansas City—who reside in an area referred to as a ‘blighted food desert’ by local policy makers. In Kansas City, extensive city government support exists for urban agricultural projects, which are touted not just as a solution to poverty associated issues such food insecurity and obesity, but also as a remedy for ‘blight,’ violence and crime, and vacant urban land. Specific narratives of Kansas City’s past are used to prop up and legitimate these future visions for, and development projects in, the city. This dissertation lays out an argument for how, in Kansas City, the dominant narrative surrounding urban sustainability, agriculture, and history came to be constructed and informed by white voices, and documents how these narratives, primarily constructed by upper-middle class white local ‘foodies’, are harnessed to support green development projects that marginalize and displace people of color and the poor. Specifically, I draw on 26 months of ethnographic fieldwork to explore how this narrative was constructed and elevated in local policy circles, document the lived consequences of this whitened narrative from the perspective of residents of “food deserts,” and describe historical and current minority-led agricultural projects—which aren’t included in dominant accountings of Kansas City’s development. I also explore agentive actions of racialized groups in opposition to this dominant whitened discourse, documenting how one neighborhood council in Kansas City strategically utilizes urban food project funding to acquire other, more urgently needed, community resources. I bring light to important acts of resistance by some black and brown urban farmers, who explicitly work to shape city space by reinscribing spatialized histories of displacement and racism in Kansas City. In this project I understand racialization and representation as active, not passive, processes, that have the power to determine whose voices are heard, and who has power to shape city space and its use. By untangling the racialized construction of history and space, and drawing on narratives shared by oft-silenced groups, this dissertation project contributes to scholarly work committed to disrupting hegemonic spatialized whiteness (McKittrick 2011).

Structural racism is often perpetuated by well-intentioned White individuals who passively accept or are unaware of its existence. However, when their perceptions and understanding of the world are challenged through learning about structural racism, White people may experience emotions such as fear, and guilt, which seem to serve either a debilitating or a motivating role in multicultural attitude development. Self-compassion, which is the ability to process distressing emotions without resorting to avoidance of the emotional experience, may help White individuals work through strong negative affect that accompanies an awareness of structural racism and ultimately aid in the development of multicultural attitudes. This hypothesized model of moderated mediation was tested using a sample of White adults (N = 240; 70.8% women, 26.3% men, 2.9% gender-expansive) who completed an online survey. Awareness of structural racism had a larger positive relationship with White guilt in individuals who endorsed lower levels of self-compassion. For individuals with high levels of self-compassion, more awareness of structural racism was associated with more fear, which in turn was associated with lower multicultural attitudes. For individuals with low levels of self-compassion, more awareness of structural racism was associated with less fear, which in turn was associated with more multicultural attitudes. Contrary to the theoretical model, the indirect effect of awareness of structural racism on multicultural attitudes through White guilt was not moderated by self-compassion. Implications and recommendations for research and practice in the field of counseling psychology are discussed.

While Black women have etched a place for themselves as leaders within colleges and universities, few have advanced to the most senior levels of postsecondary administration and they remain underrepresented in those type of roles (Gamble & Turner, 2015; Jackson & Harris, 2007; West, 2015). Scholarly research has explored Black women’s experiences as institutional leaders (Davis & Maldonado, 2015; Smith & Crawford, 2007; Waring, 2003); yet the phenomenon of executive-level higher education administration, specifically as it relates to Black women’s perspectives, is not well known (Enke, 2014; Jean-Marie, Williams, & Sherman, 2009). Moreover, research that directs attention to Black women’s unique leadership experiences as executive-level leaders within a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) is scarce (Gamble & Turner, 2015; Mosley, 1980; West, 2015). This transcendental phenomenological study examined the perceptions of Black women’s leadership experiences in their roles as executive-level higher education administrators at a PWI and strategies they used to cope with their experiences. Black Feminist Theory, which centers the narratives of Black women and explores how intersecting oppressions impact their everyday lives, was used to frame the study. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews and a review of relevant documents were used to collect the voices of four Black women executive-level leaders. Data collected were analyzed using Moustakas’ (1994) phenomenological method of analysis and synthesized to reveal an essence of the experience of an executive-level higher education administrator at a PWI from the Black woman’s vantage point. Results indicated the meaning ascribed to the experience of being an executive-level higher education administrator were rooted in: Knowing Who You Are, Developing as a Leader, Engaging in the Rules of the Game, Building Relationships, and Navigating Bias and Conflict. Further, Finding Strength through Spirituality, Relying on Family and Friends, Pursuing Enjoyable Activities emerged as strategies used to manage the phenomenon. This study offers a unique view into Black women’s lived experiences and their perspective on leading at a PWI as an executive-level higher education administrator. Findings contribute to building transformative change at colleges and universities by providing insight and knowledge about the experiences of Black women in higher education administration.

The purpose of this study was to perform an in depth examination of the major factors that increase the reluctance among African Americans to seek mental health treatment.