Search Results (95)

The intention of trans and queer (TQ) center(ed) diversity work is to address the persistence of heterosexism, trans oppression, and other manifestations of oppression in higher education. Yet, TQ center(ed) diversity work has often been in a precarious position of understaffing and limited resources. In the current moment, the impact of anti-DEI legislation on TQ center(ed) diversity work is evident by the recent shutting down of centers and services across the United States. Yet, how do those in these roles navigate these challenges and still imagine liberatory futures in the face of such legislation? This paper stems from a larger participatory action research project, which explored the narratives of 14 TQ center(ed) diversity workers as they navigated the tumultuous sociopolitical climate that seeks to disrupt and/or defund their work. Our findings underscored how TQ center(ed) diversity workers found ways to subversively navigate their practice in the face of anti-DEI legislation, including empowering students to engage in the action of ‘complaints.’ Additionally, their stories revealed the challenges in being able to think about liberation within an institutionalized role, especially given the spectrum of sociopolitical contexts where they were present. Full article

This review examines how demographic knowledge is framed and reimagined within a Scottish widening access higher education programme. Drawing on my positionality as a former international student and widening access graduate, alongside over 15 years of community-based work with disadvantaged Roma populations, I reflect on how notions of population “need” are often shaped by national policy priorities and narrow imaginaries of populations—typically white, Scottish, and urban. While these narratives reflect lived realities, they risk overlooking multilingual, racialised, and globally mobile populations increasingly present in both the student body and the communities that graduates will serve. Based on my work since 2021 in placement coordination and teaching, I outline how applied changes to placement partnerships, thematic content, and assessment practice can challenge and reframe these dominant narratives. Drawing on Foucault’s concepts of population, discipline, and control, and Esposito’s theorisation of community, immunity, and exclusion, and coupled with anti-oppressive pedagogies, I argue for a reorientation of demographic literacy toward more plural, critically engaged, and globally attuned understandings of population. In reframing demographic literacy as a site of justice, I move it beyond a technical skill of interpreting population data toward a critical practice of interrogating how populations are constructed, which groups are rendered visible or invisible, and how imaginaries of “need” shape inclusion and exclusion in higher education. Such a shift positions international students not only as beneficiaries of widening access but as active population actors whose experiences and knowledges expand the terms of justice and belonging in higher education. Full article

This study reconceptualizes resilience by centering marginalized teachers’ agentic resistance as a critical pathway to wellbeing. Using critical qualitative inquiry, we conducted in-depth interviews with 17 U.S. teachers who identified with marginalized racial, gender, and/or sexual identities to explore how they resist structural oppression and sustain their professional and personal identities. Findings revealed that resistance emerged in various ways, including inclusive curriculum design, confrontation with colleagues or administrators, embodied identity expression, and support drawn from contexts and resources for resistance. These resources included social movements and ancestors’ legacies, demonstrating that resistance is not merely individual coping but a collective, identity-affirming practice. We argue that resilience must be reframed to include intentional and proactive resistance, which enables marginalized teachers to challenge oppressive school structures, promote educational equity, and sustain their own flourishing. This study offers a critical framework that shifts resilience from passive endurance to politically engaged practice, emphasizing the need for institutional supports that empower marginalized teachers to resist, persist, and thrive in inequitable educational systems. Full article

In the face of escalating sociopolitical hostility toward diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, trans and queer (TQ) center(ed) diversity workers in higher education are navigating increasingly precarious professional landscapes. This study explores the lived experiences of TQ-center(ed) diversity workers through a general qualitative design informed by participatory action research (PAR). Drawing on the concept of “burn through,” critiquing the role of institutions in the exhaustion of practitioners, and the theory of tempered radicalism, describing the fine line diversity workers must navigate to advocate for change within oppressive systems, we examine how these practitioners persist amid institutional neglect, emotional labor, and political antagonism. Findings from interviews with eight participants reveal three central themes: the systemic nature of burn through, the protective power of community, and the multifaceted role of liberation in TQ-center(ed) diversity work. Participants described both the toll and the transformative potential of their roles, highlighting community as a critical site of resistance and renewal. This study contributes to the growing literature on TQ advocacy in higher education and underscores the need for institutional accountability and collective care in sustaining liberatory futures. Full article

In the context of today’s neoliberal governance of schooling, the psychological, emotional, cultural, and spiritual costs of internalized racism remain unaddressed. However, when Youth of Color embody internalized racial oppression (IRO), they become “psychologically homeless,” which affects their wellbeing in devastating ways. This article advances an anti-racist research agenda in education, suggesting that education researchers’ implementation of “healing methodologies” in school is key to tackling issues of IRO. To this end, this paper advocates for education researchers to embrace, incorporate, and combine art-based and walking approaches into participatory “healing methodologies” to provide students with embodied practices that can support them in exploring, reconciling, and repairing hidden injuries while re-establishing inner strength and equilibrium for wellbeing and body restoration. Full article

Diversity, equity, and inclusion, most commonly known as DEI, serves as a framework for practices that promote the fair treatment and full participation of all members of a community. Culturally responsive teaching and critical pedagogy are commonly associated with DEI as part of the larger strategy to validate and inspire learners while improving their self-efficacy and ability to challenge oppressive systems. While DEI is becoming increasingly better known in higher education, Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs) are heralded in the literature as a model for this work. Nevertheless, there is relatively limited empirical research exploring facets of DEI and culturally responsive teaching on HBCU and other minority-serving institutions’ campuses. This paper examines the campus of an HBCU located in the Mid-Atlantic United States, with an institutional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, via a comprehensive DEI climate study that included separate surveys of students and faculty/staff. More specifically, the study explored whether all community members consider the campus inclusive, whether all community members experience a culture of belonging, whether adequate resources and supports exist for all campus members to succeed, whether faculty exhibit culturally responsive teaching practices, and whether the perceptions of faculty and staff differ from those of students. The purpose of the study was to help address the gap in the DEI literature exploring the practices of minority-serving institutions. According to the results, participants found the University to be an inclusive place, expressing strong satisfaction with the campus climate and experience. Further, when the presence of culturally responsive teaching practices was explored, strong evidence was indicated. Possible areas for improvement include greater supports and resources for LGBTQIA+, Indigenous, and disabled community members. Full article

Social work has historically operated as an extension of the carceral state, embedding policing, surveillance, and punishment into youth-serving institutions under the guise of care. This paper examines carceral seepage—the infiltration of punitive logics into social work practice—across child welfare, education, and juvenile legal, revealing how these systems function as interconnected circuits of criminalization rather than support. Using abolitionist frameworks, we critique social work’s complicity in punitive interventions and address common concerns about safety, scalability, and sustainability. Instead of reforming oppressive institutions, we argue for a fundamental transformation of social work, advocating for non-carceral models such as community-led crisis response, restorative justice, and mutual aid. By divesting from punishment and investing in collective care, abolitionist social work can move beyond harm reduction and toward genuine liberation. Full article

This paper explores the complex power dynamics of UK social work higher education through an autoethnographic account of a Black woman course leader’s experiences over a period of two years, focusing on issues related to race, internalized oppression, and class. Drawing on Critical Race Theory (CRT), narrative analysis, and lived experience, it examines how systemic inequities manifest through three interlinked themes: (a) academic contrapower harassment (ACPH), (b) internalized oppression and toxic team dynamics, and (c) the interplay of harassment, institutional failure, managerial inaction, and the marginalization of social work as a discipline. This study illustrates how the intersectionality of multiple identities—namely, race, gender, and professional identity—impacts career progression, well-being, and institutional inclusion. This study examines the tensions between social work’s ethical foundations and performance-driven academic environments, advocating for systemic and policy interventions to stimulate institutional reform and cultivate a more equitable culture that enhances educational outcomes and, ultimately, improves social work practice. Full article

Polish scholarly literature has not comprehensively analysed the image of the French Revolution of 1789–1799 in history textbooks. Similarly, 20th- and 21st-century historiography has presented no exhaustive overview of these events. This article does not claim to exhaust the subject matter. In addressing the topic of the French Revolution, the author seeks to connect with ongoing research in Poland concerning the philosophical interpretation of selected themes in Polish and world history. Moreover, given that the philosophical interpretation of these events in history education compendia has been and remains consistent with historiographical approaches, the author also extends the discussion to a broader consideration of the historiography of the French Revolution from the late 19th century to the present day. The French Revolution occupies a significant place in Polish historical education. However, while contemporary historiography increasingly associates it with crisis, injustice, and oppression, textbook narratives continue to uphold the myth of the French Revolution—favoured in Poland since the late 19th century—as a crucial event perceived as beneficial for France. Full article

Intersectional oppression and invisibility are primary drivers of cognitive and mental health disparities that affect Black women’s wellness. Older Black women additionally experience compounding effects of ageism, which may place them at increased risk for a decline in cognitive functioning and mental wellness. To date, limited strengths-based, culturally relevant programming has focused on aging Black women. Fewer have incorporated Black women elders into conversations on Black liberation and the transformational change needed to create possible futures rooted in equity, healing, and health. This manuscript describes the inception and development of Radical Imagination, a creative aging program for Black women in the San Francisco Bay Area. Over ten weeks, 42 Black women (M age = 73.6, SD = 6.20; range: 58–85 years old) participated in the program, which incorporated brain and mental health education, art-making, storytelling, and photography. Grounded in principles of Afrofuturism and radical healing, participants explored past narratives of Black women and created a collective vision for a future that centers on Black women’s needs. Approximately 54.8% of participants attended more than one workshop. Upon program completion, exit surveys indicated that participants reported a moderate level of hopefulness about their ability to shape the future. Respondents reported overall satisfaction with the workshop series. We conclude with reflections on our process and recommendations for ways to support aging Black women using Afrofuturism and the arts. Full article

This study examines a social-justice-focused environmental education program serving marginalized students through fostering engagement with local communities and natural environments. It presents a focused ethnographic case study of teachers of color who designed and implemented an ethnic studies and environmental education curriculum intended to address the educational alienation experienced by many students as well as the intersection of social justice and environmental stewardship. The study considers how teachers at two very different urban schools—one a continuation school, the other a traditional college preparatory high school—provided a venue for students to advocate on behalf of oppressed communities with which they identified. Researchers collected qualitative data from a variety of sources: field notes from participant observation of outdoor and classroom activities, document review of curriculum and student projects, focus group interviews with 86 students, and semi-structured individual interviews with teachers and alumni. Students in this innovative program did not fit the classic climate justice activist profile by engaging in climate marches, raising money for environmental organizations, or lobbying Congress for better environmental legislation. However, a key finding from the program and the teachers who lead it is to broaden our understanding of what it means to be a climate activist. Full article

Kara Walker’s art, known for its stark depictions of race, history, and power dynamics, offers an invaluable entry point for discussing race in higher education. Integrating Walker’s work into the humanities classroom allows for critical engagement with historical and contemporary issues of race, ethnicity, and systemic oppression. Through her use of silhouettes and narratives that expose the brutal legacies of slavery, racism, and colonialism, Walker’s art challenges students to confront uncomfortable truths and foster deeper conversations about intersectionality. Discussing Walker’s art can lead to explorations of how race intersects with class, gender, sexuality, and disability, revealing the layered and compounded experiences of marginalized groups. Through the flipped classroom approach, students were introduced to Kara Walker’s work outside of class through assigned readings and materials. During class time, discussions were facilitated by students themselves, enhancing peer-to-peer learning. The session was led by a pupil responsible for elaborating on Walker’s work and guiding the discussion. In-class time was dedicated to small-group discussions where students critically engaged with the themes in Walker’s art. These groups provided space for more intimate, reflective conversations. After small-group discussions, insights were shared in a larger panel discussion format. This allowed students to synthesize ideas, compare perspectives, and engage with a wider range of interpretations of Walker’s art. By engaging with Walker’s work, students develop a more nuanced understanding of oppression and social justice, making her art a powerful tool for transformative education. Full article

Beyond Inclusion aims to explore and revise embedded societal norms which are reproduced throughout practice. In this paper, Queer will be utilised not only to disrupt, but to divest from the cis-normative and hetero-normative standards which are often cemented by the fields within which we work. Informed by collected narratives, ethnohistory and theoretical developments in pedagogy, Beyond Inclusion will explore the multifaceted and multidisciplinary application of Queer pedagogy in order to celebrate Queer, and use Queer to celebrate all which deviates from normalcy. With the intention of empowering youth, community and educational pedagogues to feel confident in Queering their pedagogy, this paper aims to agitate systems of oppression by unusualising the usual, and usualising the unusual, by illuminating what is considered to be normal and why, and how normalcy impacts those who reside on the outskirts of hegemonic culture. Readers will be invited to mobilise Queer, in order to re-examine, reimagine and reconstruct new and Queered ways of upholding anti-oppressive practice. This research will present pragmatic actions which have been informed by questionnaires and interviews with Queer participants, and aim to improve lived experiences for young Queer people and Othered communities. This body of work emphasises negotiated practice, in that the reader will not be provided with definitive solutions, but instead be autonomised in deducing and producing their own knowledge and actions from the information presented. Full article

Many Black, Asian, and ethnic minoritised students on university courses leading to professional qualifications face racism on placement. Our own institutional review at one UK university highlighted differential placement outcomes for students in the Schools of Social Work, Education, and Health Sciences. To investigate, a qualitative study was conducted between April to October 2024, using focus groups and interviews with 20 students and 19 staff (lecturers and placement supervisors from the NHS, County Council, and schools). Researchers used NVivo to support the thematic analysis of the qualitative data. Key findings identified various enabling factors, including the significance of supervisory placement support and the quality of placement environment. However, our data further confirmed several inhibiting factors, including power dynamics, systemic failures, and broken trust, contributing to racialised and oppressive placement conditions. We recommend that the university and placement providers have a dedicated system for reporting race-specific incidents to a dedicated person/team who are trained and accountable for tackling and preventing racists incidents on placements. Full article

Racial justice rhetoric is approached via collaborative auto-ethnography and oral interpretation, demonstrating how race, place, and faith intersect in a community devoted to religion and education. Community narratives wield immense power, but they are never complete. Stories and the cultures that retell them are alive and growing, so finding a voice can influence change. When racial justice voices are gradually over-written and forgotten, archival research and a commitment to engaged scholarship can identify and hold up historical leaders as role models. This article reintroduces a largely forgotten Catholic leader, Monsignor Thomas G. Fahy, into higher education’s narrative on race. Freie’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed provides a theoretical frame for an auto-ethnography relating pentimento “un/re/discovery” of Fahy leading to a digital oral/aural performance of some of his most enlightened speeches. Northern New Jersey saw widespread civil unrest and violence in the 1960s, and rather than turn away, Fahy turned “right out the gate” to listen and collaborate with Newark’s racial justice activists. Conclusions include a need for sustained attention to historical justice leaders in nurturing positive futures and the socio-political power of storytelling as a digital/oral rhetorical form. Full article