As schools have become more diverse ethnically and linguistically, the likelihood of cultural mismatches among students, families, and teachers has increased (Frank, 1999). Culturally relevant pedagogy has at its core the understanding that incorporating students‘ culture into the practices of the school and the classroom through culturally relevant curriculum is likely to improve student cooperation, inspire a greater understanding of the educational program, and increase academic outcomes (Brown, 2004). These pedagogies have the potential to be a vital tool toward closing the achievement gap, yet the practices associated with them are in danger of meeting the same fate as multicultural education. A lack of knowledge about the theory, practice, and implementation of culturally relevant pedagogy has led to ineffective attempts to meet the needs of students most at risk (White-Clark, 2005). Using the five themes of Critical Race Theory (Solórzano & Yosso, 2001) as the theoretical framework, the research examined how teachers perceive and implement culturally relevant pedagogy, and how students and their families perceive and evaluate these practices. This research conducted at a inner city, charter elementary school was grounded on Ladson-Billings‘ work on culturally relevant pedagogy and the three concepts of knowledge that she identified that teachers must bring to the classroom and impart to their students: a) Academic achievement, b) Cultural competence, and c) Sociopolitical consciousness (Ladson-Billings, 2001). The educational significance of this study resides in an analysis of its potential to influence teaching practices in many existing classroom settings that have an ethnically diverse population of students. On a micro level, through the use of catalytic validity and ongoing dialogue with the participants, the potential arose for members of the school community to have greater input in the structuring of their children‘s education. As members of the school community engage in future decisions regarding culturally relevant strategies, these research findings offer them an informed and critical perspective to work from.

This qualitative study examined 45 education speeches presented by President Obama and leaders of the U.S. Department of Education from January 2009 through December 2010. These speeches were interpreted with the use of critical discourse analysis and reviewed through the lens of interest convergence theory. The first aim of the researcher was to uncover the underlying ideologies represented in the Obama Administration’s education speeches. The second objective was to understand how those ideologies impacted the Administration’s proposed reform ideas. Specifically, the researcher was interested in how the underpinning ideologies and proposed solutions affected the education of poor students of color. The researcher found four primary ideologies in the education speeches. First, every speech was coupled with an economic agenda. Second, the speakers displayed great concern over America’s ability to remain a global economic leader. Third, there was an emphasis on the role of education in promoting equal opportunity and a belief in the American Dream. Finally, the speakers showed a deficit‐oriented perception of students of color. The researcher discovered that economic ideologies inspired the Obama Administration’s proposed solutions. As such, the author argues that the Obama Administration utilized interest convergence by focusing on the economic self‐interests of white policymakers. This study concludes with the author’s recommendations for change in the education of poor students of color. The author calls for strategic alliances throughout group identities in order to achieve educational equity.

Traditional policies dictate that Black-White multiracial people conform to monoracial minority status arising from Hypodescent (the “One-Drop Rule”) and White privilege. Despite some social recognition of Black-White persons as multiracial, racial microaggressions persist in daily life. Subtle racist acts (Sue, Capodilupo, Torino, Bucceri, Holder, Nadal, & Esquilin, 2007b) negatively impact multiracial identity development. Since 2007, studies have increasingly focused on the impact of racial microaggressions on particular monoracial ethnic groups. Johnston and Nadal (2010) delineated general racial microaggressions for multiracial people. This project examines the effects of racial microaggressions on the multiracial identity development of 11 part-Black multiracial university students, including the concerns and challenges they face in familial, academic, and social racial identity formation. Data were analyzed through a typological analysis and Racial and Multiracial Microaggressions typologies (Johnston & Nadal, 2010; Sue et al., 2007b). Three themes arose: (a) the external societal pressure for the multiracial person to identify monoracially; (b) the internalized struggle within the mixed-race person to create a cohesive self-identity; and (c) the assertion of a multiracial identity. Participants experienced Racial Microaggressions (Sue, 2010a; Sue et al., 2007b), Multiracial Microaggressions (Johnston & Nadal, 2010), and Monoracial Stereotypes (Nadal, Wong, Griffin, Sriken, Vargas, Wideman, & Kolawole, 2011). Implications included encouraging a multiracial identity, educating the school community, and eliminating racial microaggressions and stereotypes.

Data shows that there is an overall dearth of Asian Americans in the role of the principalship in K-12 public schools. According to the Department of Education (2019), Asian Americans made up 5% of the national student population, but less than two percent of all K-12 public school principals identified as Asian. This mixed methods study is designed to provide insight into why there is an underrepresentation of Asian Americans in roles of the principalship in K-12 public schools. Through the theoretical framework, Asian Critical Race Theory, the aim of this dissertation study is to a) examine the factors that may hinder or encourage Asian Americans from embarking on the journey towards the principalship and b) make recommendations and observations on how to break through the existing barriers that may inhibit Asian Americans from pursuing the role. The dissertation studied 92 principals and assistant principals in K-12 public schools and utilized a quantitative methodology with a questionnaire and a qualitative methodology with semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and field notes as data sources. Findings indicate that it is still difficult to be viewed as a competent, Asian American principal. Additionally, women experienced an added layer of challenges related to their gender; and first- and second-generation participants experienced greater difficulty in navigating the system. The findings hope to be the catalyst for promoting more Asian American principals in ways that their voices and stories may be heard. Moreover, this emancipatory research can serve as a liberating experience and contribute to the greater Asian American community, specifically our students. As we continue to make strides towards a more equitable and diverse society, we must prioritize our efforts to truly diversify our educational systems, which include understanding biases and breaking through the bamboo ceiling.

This critical hermeneutic phenomenological study investigates the lived experiences of Asian American women leaders in higher music education, in order to address their historic and ongoing underrepresentation in leadership roles. Asian Americans comprise a large percentage of students in schools of music and are represented at higher numbers among music faculty than their other minority counterparts, although they are still not at parity with the number of Asian American students. Despite their success as performers and teachers, Asian American faculty and students are subject to typecasting, racialized experiences, and xenophobic attitudes that are often ignored or unchallenged in higher music education institutions. These experiences, along with prevalent gender biases surrounding women leaders, have contributed to the "shockingly small" representation of Asian American women in leadership and administrative positions in music. The purpose of this research is to discover essential factors that impact Asian American women's leadership opportunities by learning about their racialized and gendered experiences in higher music education. A hermeneutic phenomenological study is especially suited for incorporating the researcher’s reflexivity while exploring nuances of the phenomenon and discovering commonalities between lived experiences. The study utilized Asian Critical Theory as the main conceptual framework. Lifeworld existentials, such as the lived space, lived body, lived time, and lived human relations of Asian American women, served as additional frameworks for data analysis and hermeneutic reflection. Data was collected from six Asian American women leaders in higher music education in the form of conversational hermeneutic interviews and focus groups, then analyzed to detect larger phenomenological themes. Findings indicate that Asian American women leaders experience dual conflicts in the workplace due to internal cultural influences and external influences of dominant male White ideals of leadership. They experience discrimination as members of the privileged oppressed, and their rich lived experiences are central to their development of community-based leadership values—among them, empathy, resilience, representing marginalized voices, and pragmatism. Asian American women leaders are driven by their missions to create space for belonging and inclusion in schools of music, and are committed to social justice around all forms of oppression.

The segregation of Roma minors in Slovak education system is an enduring and widespread phenomenon, despite its formal legal prohibition. The purpose of this paper is to critically analyse Slovak education laws and policy developments relating to this issue, and closely examine how the problem is framed and represented in the selected legal measures. By extension, I aim to investigate deeply entrenched societal assumptions from which problem representations derive, their limitations, produced effects, as well as the role of racism and systemic discrimination in the course of its creation. To this end, Bacchi’s ‘What’s the problem Represented to be?’ methodological approach combined with Critical Race Theory was used. Key findings of this study showed, that deeply entrenched prejudicial and racist assumptions underpin the policy-making processes, creating stigmatized category of Roma pupils. Additionally, the issue of segregation is addressed and problematized only vaguely, hampering possible desegregation efforts. And lastly, the focus on Roma children’s placement into mainstream education fails to account for complex problems that Roma face in regular schools.

This dissertation critically examines the entrenched Western classical music paradigm in K-12 and higher education music programs and its impact on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students. Utilizing Critical Race Theory (CRT) (Delgado & Stefanic, 2017) and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) (Ladson-Billings, 2022), the study explores how this dominance leads to epistemological and ontological imprisonment, marginalizing non-Western musical traditions and perpetuating cultural hegemony and systemic racism. Through qualitative peer research interviews with BIPOC university music education students, faculty members including the curriculum director, the research uncovers significant themes, including normalizing and cultural hegemony of Western classical music, the pressure to conform, resistance to pedagogical shifts, and structural barriers to implementing culturally sustaining pedagogies. Additionally, it highlights the duality and dialectical tension educators and students face navigating the dominant Western paradigm while striving to integrate diverse musical epistemologies. The dissertation passionately advocates for new possibilities in practice through transformative approaches to music education that honor students’ cultural backgrounds and challenge dominant narratives. The text suggests the need for changes in the curriculum, policies, and inclusive educational practices to better represent the diverse cultural backgrounds of all students. It offers practical recommendations for educators and institutions to create a fairer and

Latina community college students face significant barriers in achieving their educational goals, particularly transferring to 4-year institutions. Despite comprising a large and growing demographic within community colleges, their unique needs and experiences often remain unaddressed. This qualitative study explored the lived experiences of Latina community college students in Los Angeles County aiming to transfer to 4-year universities I sought to understand their challenges, needs, and supports as community college students. Employing a counter- storytelling approach, the study utilizes Platicas methodology and method, informed by Latina/o Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) (Huber, 2010) and Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) frameworks (Yosso, 2005). Data collection involved in-depth Platicas with Latina students to capture their experiences navigating community college. Two research questions guided this research: How do Latina students reflect and describe their experiences navigating community college, particularly in relation to transferring to a 4-year institution? What do Latina students identify as their needs, challenges, and supports within their respective community colleges to facilitate successful transfer? Understanding the lived experiences of Latina students is crucial for developing student-centered policies and practices that promote their success in transferring to 4-year institutions. This research aimed to contribute to a more equitable and inclusive educational journey for Latina students pursuing higher education.

This study examines the burden placed on racialized students to address race-related issues within social work education, highlighting that social work education is not meant for racialized students. Utilizing Critical Race Theory as a theoretical framework, this research employs focus groups and interviews to understand the experiences of these students and to provide insights into what changes need to be made. Findings revealed that the responsibility for promoting racial justice often falls disproportionately on racialized students, while essential concepts to racial justice, such as solidarity, unity, and collectivization are largely absent from the curriculum. Furthermore, the findings highlighted that race pedagogy is shaped by whiteness. This study emphasizes the need for change in race pedagogy and social work education, one that is committed to deconstructing whiteness and the colonial agenda. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis examines the relationship between law and justice. Firstly, it is argued that the concept of justice tends to be defined too narrowly as distributive justice or as a mechanism to maintain social order. It is argued that Jacques Derrida's understanding of justice not only gives a richer and broader understanding of the concept, but also on its complex relationship with the law. Lastly, some of the possible implications for jurisprudence (with specific reference to Critical Legal Studies, Critical Race Theory and Drucilla Cornell) are examined. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis ondersoek die verhouding tussen geregtigheid en die reg. Daar word eerstens geargumenteer dat geregtigheid te maklik gedefinieer word as distributiewe geregtigheid of as In meganisme om sosiale orde te bewerkstellig. Daar word geargumenteer dat Jacques Derrida se verstaan van die konsep nie aileen 'n breer en ryker verstaan moontlik maak nie, maar dat dit ook fokus op die komplekse verhouding met die reg. Laastens word sommige van die moontlike implikasies vir regsfilosofie (met spesifieke verwysing na Critical Legal Studies, Critical Race Theory en Drucilla Cornell) ondesoek,