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This study seeks to explore equity and social justice in a teacher preparation program through the lived experiences of teacher candidates who are attempting to enact equity and social justice in their teaching. This study suggests that for a university-based teacher education program to support teacher-candidates enactment, while addressing the tension between focusing on equity and social justice or pedagogy, they must: a) identify how the curriculum addresses equity and social justice, b) identify how teacher candidates are attempting to enact equity and social justice in the classroom, and c) identify what the teacher candidates gained from the curriculum that helped them incorporate equity and social justice in the classroom. This study applied a case study approach to reveal the lived experiences of teacher candidates, who are student teaching in diverse urban schools during their last year in a teacher preparation program. Findings suggest when incorporating social justice and equity, teacher preparation programs need to thread equity and social justice in the curriculum in a way that is fluid and integral. When supporting teachers’ enactment of equity and social justice, bold and courageous decisions must be made to dismantle the racist systems in education.
MICHELLE B. PASS. Staying the course: the persistence of African American biology majors at a predominantly White Institution. (Under the direction of Dr. CHANCE W. LEWIS)
Increasing the number of African Americans graduating with STEM degrees and entering the STEM workforce has been the focus of countless political reports and educational studies for decades; however, African Americans continue to experience waning graduation rates and mounting attrition rates in STEM disciplines while remaining vastly underrepresented in STEM fields. This study differs from previous studies that have focused on African Americans in STEM utilizing a deficit-based approach. This qualitative, phenomenological study examined the experiences of African American students who were successfully navigating the biology major at a predominantly White institution. This study sought to identify the factors that support the persistence of African American students in the biology major at a predominantly White institution, and to describe how these factors support their persistence in the biology major. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with six African American undergraduate biology students and analyzed using phenomenological analysis. Findings revealed that although the students were successful in the biology major, the lack of support from professors and peers within the biology major, adversely affected their academic and social experiences. Four themes emerged from the analysis of interview data. The themes are: self-determination, peer-support, independence, and adaptation. Recommendations for educational stakeholders and future research are discussed.
This study examined the influence of drama participation on foundational, digital, and Black Girls’ literacies of Black girls in an urban middle school. This case study used the Culturally Relevant Arts Education framework with Black Feminist Thought epistemology to address the following research questions: What are the experiences of middle school Black girls who participate in drama classes in relation to language, identity, and social media engagement? What perceptions do drama teachers have of urban middle school Black girls who participate in drama classes as they address language, identity, and social media engagement? Purposive criterion sampling was used to recruit participants for this study. Semi-structured interviews and a focus group were conducted with five Black females; four participants were middle school students who attended Stonybrook School (pseudonym), and one participant was a teacher who taught at the school. The findings of the study suggest that Black girls who participated in drama 1) Experienced enhanced foundational language, 2) Acquired a more positive racial identity, and 3) Demonstrated effective management of social media engagement. Additional findings suggest that the Black female drama teacher perceives Black middle school girls as mature enough to successfully navigate academics, identity, and social media engagement through practicing drama activities, despite the race and gender challenges they face. The findings from this study help inform educational practices, policies, and research aimed at improving outcomes for Black girls in urban middle schools.
