Thesis advisor: C. Patrick Proctor / Dominant conceptualizations for family-school relations across U.S. educational research, policy, and practice continue to privilege the behaviors, experiences, and practices of white, upper- and middle-class families, while failing to address the race and class power-relations that permeate educational institutions and their neighborhoods. In the field of bilingual education, there is an emergent body of research that examines issues of language, race, and class within the experiences of families in two-way dual language bilingual education, where children from multiple racial, cultural, and economic groups are educated together with the goals of bilingualism and biliteracy. However, this scholarship has not related the experiences and relations in bilingual programs to the broader issue regarding the dominant and deficit discourse of family-school relations in the U.S. In response, this dissertation situates families’ experiences in a two-way dual language bilingual program within the broader ideological, political, and historical dimensions of U.S. family-school relations. A theoretical orientation informed by Critical Race Theory, Critical Poststructuralist Sociolinguistics, and Feminist Poststructuralist frameworks was used to highlight how racialized positionalities of families in schools reverberate beyond individuals’ identity construction, connecting to discourses about families at other societal scales. This study utilized participant observations, semi-structured interviews, and artifact generation. Data was analyzed using discursive and textual analytical approaches. Findings include (a) an investigation of how the legal and institutional contexts related to family-bilingual school relations contribute to the racialization of people and their languaging; (b) an analysis of how raciolinguistic ideologies are deployed to naturalize the designation of linguistic and ethnoracial labels upon families; and (c) a generation of portraits highlighting how families ruptured deficit positionings by reporting on systems of oppression, their dynamic language practices, and their expansive relations across groups of people, places, and temporal scales. Ultimately, this dissertation argues that despite individual efforts of stakeholders in bilingual programs to foster the wellbeing and development of families, the racist and classist foundations of schooling will ensure the reification of oppressive educational experiences for multiply minoritized families. At the same time, these families will continue to find ways to survive, resist their subjugation, and reimagine more liberatory worlds. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction.

The unresolved long-term effects of slavery and past and ongoing systemic racism directed toward Black Americans can be seen in the devaluing and aggressively racist treatment of Black students in Los Angeles County schools. Through qualitative interviews with Black education community members in Los Angeles County, this study collected Black education community members’ perspectives on the need for a multiphase education reparations system for Black youth, beginning with early learners (ages 0 to 8), and what components such a system should include. Participants overwhelmingly supported an education reparations system due to the over-policing and criminalization of Black students and the history of racist and unjust policies and inequitable education; participants suggested multiple components of a potential education reparations system that can be grouped as student supports, family supports, educational resources, and societal and policy reforms. The study concludes with a proposal for introducing an education reparations system in Los Angeles County led by Black community leaders and grounded in community outreach and ongoing organizing.

The COVID-19 pandemic strained and highlighted the fragility of the U.S. mental health care system, during a co-occurring period of increased societal attention to racism. Existing disparities in MH access and utilization worsened. This three-study dissertation explores and describes mental health utilization rates and experiences of individuals with multiple marginalized identities and applies Intersectionality Theory as a critical lens of analysis. Study 1 describes, maps and analyzes trends in mental health utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic with data from the COVID-19 Research Database, utilizing a 1- year pre-COVID-19 comparison group. On average U.S. adults utilized more mental health visits per person per month during the first year of the pandemic compared to 1-year prior. However, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and adults aged 65 and older saw a statistically significant decrease in mental health visits during the first year of COVID-19. Findings of disparities in access and utilization emphasize the need for more structural solutions to address mental health equity. Study 2 explores and describes the experiences of eight women of color navigating mental health services during COVID-19 and a concurrent period of increased societal attention to racism, through qualitative interviews analyzed using a narrative approach. Key findings from these interviews were as follows: 1) these women sought mental health services due to increased fears of racial violence and being burdened at work to teach others about racism, 2) changes due to COVID-19 like telehealth, made accessing therapy easier for most of these women during this period, but 3) they had to put in additional work to find culturally responsive therapists, and 4) they experienced racism perpetuated by mental health professionals within the therapeutic dyad. Study 3 applies Intersectionality Theory and Intersectional Quantitative methods to identify and describe potential disparities in mental health utilization for individuals at the intersection of gender and race. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) was utilized to address the variability of serious mental illness, education level, income level, and age category on overall mean mental health utilization per person per month, and the mean change in visits during COVID-19 compared to pre-COVID-19 among U.S. adults with a mental health diagnosis. Disparities in mean mental health visits by the intersection of race and gender and independent variables, such as education and income, demonstrate key intersectional findings that not all quantifiable measures such as income level, impact all women of color similarly because of the intersecting systems of power and oppression. These findings demonstrate the need for Intersectional methods informed by racial and social justice in the identification of disparities in mental health utilization to inform training and policy interventions to increase access to culturally responsive mental health care services. / 2026-08-19T00:00:00Z

This study explored the work of critically race-conscious on the front lines of understanding, addressing, and confronting issues of race, racism, and institutionalized systems of power within their school context. Using personal narratives and critical racial reflections as a qualitative research methodology, this research bears witness to four Black principals using the race card to cultivate spaces filled with love, joy, and genius through high expectations and community.

This thesis investigates how norms regarding good parenting and ideas about the best interest of the child interact with race and whiteness. It explores different themes found in the main government report (SOU) conducted by the state appointed committee  (Inseminationsutredningen) in a qualitative discourse analysis. The focus has been to discern how race and whiteness is presented through its non-disclosure in the material. The main body of theory consists of work surrounding critical race theory, critical adoption studies, parenting as white privilege, discourse analysis and critical studies of Swedish reproductive politics. This thesis sets out to investigate how the report discusses race, but also how whiteness is constructed in relation to parenting. The general conclusion is that the reports reluctance to talk about race and the analogy with adoption both helped establish a view on insemination as a practice for white parents. Since the report repeatedly said that insemination could not be viewed as a human right, it would imply that only those best qualified would be entitled to insemination. The vagueness of the criteria put forth by the report, indicates that not all people will have the same ability to qualify as parents, since parents with immigration background often are seen as less adequate parents, because of their lack of Swedishness. While the report does in fact not deny people of non-Swedish status access to insemination, this thesis shows that ideas about who can be viewed as both Swedish and adequate parents are closely related to race and whiteness. Combined with the reluctance to mention race and how the analogy with adoption positioned the insemination couple as white, I suggest whiteness can be viewed as an unspoken criteria, an invisible hurdle that only non-white Swedes will encounter.

The rapid increase in the number of non-tenure-track faculty members (Curtis, 2014), has prompted research about this group (Allison, Lynn, and Hovermann, 2014; Coalition on the Academic Workforce, 2012; Eagan and Jaeger, 2009; Umbach, 2007). There is also a large body of literature that explores the experiences of faculty members of color (Joseph and Hirshfield, 2011; Stanley, 2006a; Turner, González, and Wood, 2008). However, there is very little research about the experiences of non-tenure-track faculty members of color (NTFOCs). This study centered the experiences of NTFOCs to understand how this group experiences racism and other forms of systematic oppression in their work environments. The theoretical frameworks for this study were critical race theory (CRT) (Bell, 1980; Delgado and Stefancic, 2012; Ladson-Billings and Tate, 1995) and critical race feminism (CRF) (Wing, 1997). Critical race methodology was integrated throughout the research process (Solórzano and Yosso, 2001; Solórzano and Yosso, 2002). The sample consisted of 24 NTFOCs who worked at four-year, historically White colleges and universities. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Ten themes emerged that revealed the ways NTFOCs experienced racism and marginalization in their work environments: (a) not treated like a professional; (b) lack of support; (c) formal discrimination; (d) racialized evaluations; (e) racialized and gendered microaggressions; (f) feeling unsafe in the classroom; (g) unpaid labor; (h) balancing job responsibilities; (i) lack of resources; (j) different treatment than White colleagues. Four additional themes regarding the ways NTFOCs navigated these experiences with oppression and marginalization: (a) relying on systems of support; (b) negotiating speaking out against forms of oppression; (c) disclosing personal information; (d) deciding how to interact with department/program colleagues. These findings have implications for the personal well-being of NTFOCs, how they perform their job, and their ability to gain secure employment. The findings highlight the need for campus constituents to recognize the work of NTOFCs and to create better work conditions for them. / Ph. D. / There has been a rapid rise in the number of non-tenure-track faculty members (Curtis, 2014). These faculty members are underpaid and lack job security relative to their tenured and tenured-track colleagues (Allison, Lynn, & Hovermann, 2014; Coalition on the Academic Workforce, 2012; American Federation of Teachers, 2010a). However, there is little research that considers race and the experiences of non-tenure-track faculty members of color (NTFOCs). This study sought to explore how NTFOCs experienced racism in their work environments. I interviewed, 24 non-tenure-track faculty members of color about the ways they experienced racism in their classrooms and departments, and how they navigated these experiences. Participants worked at predominantly and historically White colleges and universities across the United States. Ten themes emerged that revealed the ways NTFOCs experienced racism and marginalization in their work environments: (a) not treated like a professional; (b) lack of support; (c) formal discrimination; (d) racialized evaluations; (e) racialized and gendered microaggressions; (f) feeling unsafe in the classroom; (g) unpaid labor; (h) balancing job responsibilities; (i) lack of resources; (j) different treatment than White colleagues. Four additional themes regarding the ways NTFOCs navigated these experiences with oppression and marginalization: (a) relying on systems of support; (b) negotiating speaking out against forms of oppression; (c) disclosing personal information; (d) deciding how to interact with department/program colleagues. The findings highlight ways that NTFOCs are marginalized by the nature of their positions as well as intersections of racism and sexism.

Despite progress in recent years, the K–12 education system still grapples with pervasive discriminatory and inequitable practices that hinder students’ learning experiences and future success. Such practices can have far-reaching consequences, threatening students’ long-term outcomes and putting their well-being at risk. This study delved into the effects of exclusionary practices on academic performance and student withdrawal, with a particular focus on minority students with disabilities. By examining archived data, this research analyzed various exclusionary practices, including in-school suspension, out-of-school suspension, Baker Acts, and law enforcement referrals. To uncover correlations and determine hypothesis acceptance, the study employedsophisticated statistical techniques such as logistic regression. Results of the study show exclusionary discipline practices significantly correlate with dropout rates for minoritized students with disabilities. In other words, students of this study who are subject to these practices are not more likely to drop out of school. The study recommends implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and providing training to educators on how to instruct students with disabilities. Further study is needed to explore the quantitative impact of specific discipline practices on learning and detrimental effects of instructional loss on student engagement. Nonetheless, this research underscores the urgency of using professional development to identify and address discriminatory and inequitable practices in the K–12 education system to ensure all students have the opportunity to succeed.

This essay explores how in the Harry Potter series, J. K. Rowling's magical heroes function asparadigms whose roles reflect on issues of race, prejudice and racism. Those issues include goodand evil, socialism and aristocracy, purity and impurity, freedom and indebtedness. This essayfocuses on showing how those themes are reflected and confronted in the dipole between HarryPotter and Draco Malfoy. Additionally, the Critical Race Theory, a theory that examines howculture uses and assorts power and race in society, is implemented to show how race andprejudice are reflected in the magical world. By further analyzing Harry and Draco's upbringingand social milieus in relation to the theme of good vs. evil, the development of these characters ispresented in response to their contrasting surroundings. The paper concludes that thesecharacters evolve in the final novels and make conscious choices to achieve the common causeof defying evil, despite their opposing backgrounds. / Denna uppsats utforskar hur J. K. Rowlings magiska hjältar, i Harry Potter-serien, fungerar somen paradigm vars roller reflekterar frågor kring ras, fördomar och rasism. Dessa frågor inkluderargott och ont, socialism och aristokrati, renhet och orenhet, frihet och skuldsättning. Dennauppsats fokuserar på att visa hur dessa teman reflekteras och konfronteras i dipolen mellan HarryPotter och Draco Malfoy. Dessutom implementeras Critical Race Theory, en teori somundersöker hur kultur använder och sorterar makt och ras i samhället, för att visa hur ras ochfördomar återspeglas i den magiska världen. Genom att ytterligare analysera Harry och Dracosuppväxt och sociala miljöer i förhållande till temat ’gott mot ont’, presenteras dessa karaktärersutveckling som ett resultat av kontrasterande omgivning. Uppsatsen drar slutsatsen att dessakaraktärer utvecklas i de sista romanerna och gör medvetna val för att uppnå det gemensammamålet till att bekämpa det onda, trots deras motsatta bakgrunder.

This thesis examines gender verifications issues in track and field from a feminist and antiracist perspective. In 2019 the international governing body for the sport of athletics (World Athletics) introduced limits on blood testosterone levels for women with some types of Differences in sex development (DSD) in races from 400 metres to 1 mile. According the eligibility rules Caster Semenya and other athletes with heightened testosterone levels need to lower their testosterone levels in order to be eligible to compete in middle distance running races in the women’s class. This thesis discuss the relationship between gender verifications in athletics and the protection of athletes right to privacy according to article 8 ECHR and prohibition of gender and race discrimination according to article 14 ECHR. The balance between the interests for fair competition in sports and the protection of athletes human rights is an ongoing discussion. Complex relationship between states accountability and international non-governmental sports organizations can put athletes in a vulnerable position.  This paper includes three research questions. Firstly, can the state parties to the ECHR be accountable if the eligibility rules infringe human rights? Secondly, is the eligibility rules in compliance with the right to respect for private and family life according to article 8 ECHR? Thirdly, is the eligibility rules in compliance with prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of sex and race according to article 14 ECHR.

School orchestra programs are overwhelmingly concentrated in suburban districts, which are becoming increasingly racially and economically diverse. Diversifying suburbs lie at the crossroads of race, racism, and whiteness and findings drawn from these settings can have implications for racial dynamics in all educational contexts. The purpose of this instrumental case study was to explore how racially underrepresented students perceive race within an urban characteristic high school orchestra program through the lens of critical race theory. I developed a composite counter-story to examine the racialized experience of school orchestra told from the perspective of students of color with a particular interest on competition. Participants were six students and two teachers affiliated with the same high school orchestra program in Texas. Emergent thematic findings examined students' sense of racial belonging, mechanisms upholding the racial status quo, and fulfilling aspects of students' orchestra participation. Though the lens of critical race theory, I discuss how everyday whiteness, property of whiteness, and meritocracy function to maintain white hegemony in school orchestra.