This dissertation contains three essays on the role of school principals and educational outcomes. The first essay estimates the effects of demographic congruence between teachers and their principals on teacher turnover. Teachers working under same-race principals are less likely to leave their schools. The effects of racial congruence between…

The purpose of this study was to understand near-peer mentoring emergent in student affairs higher education (SAHE) graduate preparation programs. Using qualitative methods grounded in a constructivist paradigm and informed by the diverse learning environments (DLE) model (Hurtado et al. 2012), we researched the experiences of graduate and…

This article provides tips on how popular media, specifically that of science fiction and horror, can be utilized in the classroom to elucidate complex concepts concerning race and ethnic relations. Drawing from the television series "Lovecraft Country," I highlight how concepts found in the work of authors such as W. E. B. Du Bois and…

Despite the colonizing dynamics of educational institutions and the extractive research paradigms of academia, we argue that family- and community-centered research partnerships can foster collective care, cross-racial solidarities, and more just educational ecosystems. Drawing from a long-term community research collaboration, the authors (a…

This much-needed guide provides the specific skills and materials necessary to facilitate effective dialogues across identity differences. We are living through arguably one of the most divisive times in our country and the world. People do not know how to communicate across differences in a way that advances the public good--from the…

The book, "Creating Third Spaces of Learning for Post-Capitalism: Lessons from Educators, Artists and Activists" seeks to explore counter-hegemonic social spaces, or what some call third spaces (Anzaldua, 1987/2021; Bhabha, 1994/2002; Soja, 1996) that have been created largely by social, community and artistic activists to prefigure a…

Background: Between early 2020 and today, our society has experienced a distressing global pandemic, horrifying brutalities committed against BIPOC individuals and communities, uprisings for racial justice, and a violent attack on our nation's capital. While these events and phenomena have been challenging and traumatic, they have also inspired…

This article builds from scholarship on anti-Blackness in education and spatial imaginaries in geography to theorize an anti-Black spatial imaginary as the prevailing spatial logic that has shaped the configuration and character of American social intuitions, including K-12 schools. As a spatial imaginary, anti-Blackness is circulated through…

Using a theoretical framework of critical race theory and conceptual frameworks of cultural education, this study explores the intersection of district-university partnerships and culturally responsive education. The purpose of this mixed methods case study was to examine the formulation and outcomes of a district-university partnership…

US schools have seen limited success in meliorating inequitable outcomes for students of color amid the expanding gap between student and educator racial demographics, yet there is a dearth of research on suburban schools and effective white educators of children of color. While districts and institutions of higher education work to diversify the…

The authors draw upon their lived experiences as Black women in the academy to conceptualize a framework for Black women's peer mentorship, or 'sister scholarship,' within academia. Through auto-ethnographic 'sister talks,' the sister scholar relationship is conceptualized as a sanctum from gendered and racialized trauma, an impetus for the…

Academic libraries need to have a stronger understanding of how to best support multiracial college students. The purpose of this study was to learn if multiracial students viewed their academic library as a place that increased their sense of belonging. Through interviews and a focus group with multiracial undergraduate students at the University…

This paper delves into the responses of two preservice teachers (PTs) in a book club on children's literature depicting activism and critical social issues. Through multiple sessions of reading, reflecting on, and discussing activism in various picturebooks, the PTs grappled with their own beliefs and connections to activism. Employing Bahktin's…

Underrepresented minority students faced challenges while attending predominately White institutions which influenced their persistence. With the increase of diversity across colleges, there was a need for campus leaders to implement culturally responsive practices to address minority student retention and persistence. The purpose of my…

Purpose: In this conceptual essay used to introduce the special issue titled, Clarifying the Role of Race in the Literacies of Black Immigrant Youth," I argue for centralizing race in research that examines Englishes and literacies of the largely invisible population of Black immigrant youth in the United States. My rationale for this…