Upon entering college, Black males must negotiate a system that assumes they are in need of academic remediation and are lacking in higher-order critical thinking skills (Washington, 1996; Brown II, 2002; Harper, 2012). The low enrollment levels of Black males in college and their disenchantment with their college experiences has increased the…

Despite the vast research on African Americans and affirmative action, little qualitative analysis has been done to investigate how race exists and functions in American law schools. This dissertation researches the ways in which race is constructed, deconstructed, and reconstructed within two American law schools. Three primary lenses guide this…

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the development of the alternative black curriculum in social studies from 1890-1940. W.E.B. Du Bois and Carter G. Woodson worked in collaboration with women educators Nannie H. Burroughs and Anna Julia Cooper to create an alternative black curriculum that would support the intellectual growth of…

This qualitative study explores how Latina/os recount their experiences and successes (or lack thereof) at a flagship public university. It examines how Latina/os form their identities in relation to their notions of academic success in the college environment, where social dynamics of race/ethnicity, class, and gender operate and intersect.…

This is cross-case analysis of four new African American female principals who reported that coaching was critical to their success. They described the challenges inherent to all newcomers with particular attention to how their professional socialization was further confounded by factors of race and gender. The conceptual framework used for this…

Decades of research document underperformance of Latino/a youth in mathematics, yet little is known about the day-to-day mathematics socialization of Latino/a youth. This research used qualitative case studies of two Algebra 1 classrooms and seven Latino/a focal students to document and describe two major influences on Latino/a youths'…

Being in a doctoral program requires a substantial amount of one's time, energy, and commitment. Doctoral students face many challenges while pursuing their degrees. For example, some may be on financial aid, work full-time, and/or have a family. While doctoral students face many hurdles, Black doctoral students face additional barriers. The…

This study addresses the use of suspension and expulsion for defiant behavior. It examines the contributions of student and/or school characteristics and their relationship to suspension and expulsion for defiance, specifically focusing on African Americans. The purpose of this study is to examine factors that lead to students being suspended or…

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of African American mothers of children with an autism diagnosis as they negotiated an urban district special education system. Beginning with the question, "How do the dual oppressions of race and disability impact African American mothers of children with autism and their relationship…

This dissertation examines the impact mentoring relationships, between African American women doctoral students and faculty members, has on the students' professional identity development. Of particular interest is an examination of whether matched mentoring relationships between African American women doctoral students and African American female…

Literature verifies that Native American students are not graduating at a comparable rate as students from other ethnic groups. Furthermore, studies that focus solely on the persistence and completion rates for Native American students are fewer than for students who identify with other racial/ethnic groups. This research explored the inner…

This study examined the existence of implicit racial bias in nursing faculty using the Implicit Association Test (IAT). It was conducted within a critical race theory framework where race was seen as a permanent, pervasive, and systemic condition, not an individual process. The study was fueled by data showing continued disparate academic and…

This qualitative study examines deeply the career trajectories of 13 women of color administrators at the dean, vice president, and president levels in the California community college (CCC) system. The study focuses particular attention on the specific opportunities and challenges that some of these women have encountered on their leadership…

This dissertation explores the applicability of a "stretched" Expanded Nigrescence theory (Cross and Vandiver 2001; NT-E) to the racial identities/attitudes of six First Generation U.S.-Born Africans (FGAs) at a predominantly White institution (PWI). This instrumental case study blended ethnographic techniques and surveys to tell the stories of…

This study explored the experiences of seven Afghan women pursuing doctoral degrees in a variety of disciplines and programs across the United States. The guiding question for this study was: What factors influence Afghan women's journeys to and experiences in doctoral programs? In an attempt to understand Afghan women doctoral students, I…