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.

Although research speaks to the relationships between stereotype threat and academic performance, and race-based psychosocial variables and academic performance, little research thus far has investigated these variables simultaneously. To address this gap in the literature, the current study examined the impact of a negative stereotype induction on persuasive writing performance and post-task self-perceptions of academic performance in a sample of Black, White, and Hispanic undergraduate students. Unique to the current study is an additional investigation which reviewed the role racial/ethnic centrality plays in the relationship between stereotype threat and writing performance. A researcher generated measure of persuasive writing was administered to assess writing skills, and was scored based on a holistic quality scale with reported efficacy in the literature. Racial/ethnic centrality was assessed via the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity, whereas post-task perceptions of academic ability were garnered via a survey used in prior stereotype threat research. Participants were randomly assigned to either a stereotype induced or stereotype not induced condition, and completed study measures either in person, or online. Findings were not indicative of statistically significant differences in persuasive writing scores across experimental conditions; however, race/ethnic and gender differences were noted. Furthermore, Black participants in the stereotype induced condition were found to report more negative self-perceptions of writing ability. Racial/ethnic differences in racial/ethnic centrality were found, with Black and Hispanic participants self-reporting higher racial/ethnic centrality when compared to their White peers. Lastly, a statistically significant interaction effect for racial/ethnic identity by racial/ethnic centrality by stereotype condition was found for persuasive writing performance.

No description available.

No description available.

Master of Science

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for a Masters Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for neck pain in the white population in the greater Durban area. The rational for this study was that there have been few epidemiological studies done on neck pain and even less when concerning different population groups. Discrepancies between population groups have been found in various pain related studies. The present epidemiological study eliminated any possible variables between population groups by studying only the white population in a specific geographical area (Durban). Therefore, physicians treating people with neck pain should use the risk factors that were established in this and other studies and integrate them in their treatment protocol. The study was conducted at three shopping centres around Durban that were randomly selected. Each shopping centre was grouped by the socio-economic status of the surrounding suburbs. There were 900 participants surveyed at three shopping centres by means of a questionnaire. The data were then statistically analysed using SPSS version 15. It was found that the overall prevalence of neck pain was 45%. The participants in this study that had neck pain were more likely to be females that were married or previously married, had a job that caused their heads to turn or to work with their arms above their heads. Lifestyle factors included one or a combination of the following: lead a stressful lifestyle, were emotional, had perceived bad posture, had previously experienced neck or head trauma, slept in awkward positions, watched television, required glasses and did not play squash.

Thesis (M.A. (Drama))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, Wits School of Arts, 2016 / This report is the final piece of a performance as research project exploring what it means to be white and English-speaking at the southern tip of Africa. The report is coupled with an autobiographical one man play about myself. The play explores, through a series of monologues, what it means for me to be a white South African. It moves from the specifics of my life to more general assumptions about whiteness and back again. This report runs parallel to the play almost as an extension of it working in dialogue to explore complicity and identity. As an extension of the creative project I have chosen to negate traditional chapters and style for more poetic language intertwined with analytical thinking, which links into the style of the play. The idea behind this is that every world, be it, performance onstage or analytical report writing is merely a part of the continuum called life and by blurring the lines between these it is easier to fuse the learning and the living into a cohesive whole. The creative research shows how the rehearsal and performance process of theatre-making helps to strip away the deceptions that people tell themselves making them complicit in the injustice of post-apartheid white privilege but in doing this it also creates a space where people can feel safe to dialogue about this complicity. / GR2017

It has almost been a decade since the inception of a 'New South Africa', without apartheid, which separated South Africans and classified them hierarchically according to their 'race'. The 'eradication' of apartheid has meant that South Africans have had to re-look at issues around racial identity without a dominating apartheid ideology. The purpose of the research was to describe and to look at some of the features and dynamics concerning racial identity that are prevalent in a post-apartheid South Africa. This was done by exploring the nature and type of interactions University of Natal Durban (UNO) students (doing a Human Behaviour and the Environment module) had with persons not from their own racial group, prior to coming to UNO as well as at UNO. The possible challenges, threats and opportunities students felt were afforded them because of their racial group were also explored. Literature concerning issues of racial identification in South Africa and other parts of the world was also examined. A descriptive research design, using a triangulated research methodology incorporating both quantitative and qualitative methods was used in the study. A non-probability sampling method with reliance on 83 available law, community development, nursing and psychology students representing the four racial classifications in South Africa, namely black, white, coloured and Indian was used. Data were collected through observations as well as through a self administered structured questionnaire. The findings of the research suggest that issues related to racial identification in a post-apartheid South Africa, for black, white, coloured and Indian students is in turmoil and requires reconstruction. The findings further indicated that questions about affirmative action and the future of non-black South Africans in South Africa is believed to be uncertain and negative. The issue of poverty and the internalised oppression and inferiority of black students was also identified to be problematic. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Natal, 1958.

Thesis (M.A.)--Eastern Illinois University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-79).