The anti-racism resource we published at the beginning of June gathered together a number of important sources, resources, literature and media to help educate everyone about the importance of going beyond merely acknowledging racism, but instead adopting ideologies that actively combat racism. Many of the resources on the list come from external sources; however, faculty members at the Florida State University College of Education have conducted research on anti-racism, education inequity, and culturally responsive pedagogy for years. In fact, some faculty members have devoted the majority of their professional careers to studying these topics. Below, we have highlighted a few articles written by our faculty members. Furthermore, we have also assembled a more complete list of publications, articles, and monographs published in peer-reviewed/refereed sources. You can download that list here.
Articles featuring Dr. Erik Hines:
Parental Characteristics, Ecological Factors, and the Academic Achievement of African American Males by Erik M. Hines and Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy This article discusses the ecological factors and parental characteristics that impact the achievement of African American males. One hundred fifty-three 11th and 12th grade African American males completed the Parenting Style Index (Steinberg, Lamborn, Darling, Mounts, & Dornbusch, 1994) and a demographic questionnaire. Results indicated that fathers’ education level and two-parent family structures are positive predictors of grade point average (GPA). Implications for counselor practice and research are delineated. Improving the Retention and GPAs of Black Males at a Primarily White Institution: A Living and Learning Community Approach by Dakota W. Cintron, Erik M. Hines, Paul Singleton II, and Monique N. Golden This study provides the results of a two-year follow-up evaluation on the influence of an undergraduate living and learning community (LLC) on Black male achievement at a Primarily White Institution (PWI). Results demonstrate the measurable short-term impact of the LLC approach for Black males at a PWI. The LLC was implemented at the PWI to improve the retention and academic outcomes of Black males. The authors speculate that several components of the LLC model (i.e., faculty director, study halls, success coaching, study abroad, and mentoring), likely contribute to the positive results found in this study and that the academic benefits students gain from this LLC model are likely to spill over into successive semesters.
Article featuring Dr. Nicole Patton Terry:
Diverse Vulnerable Learners with Reading Disabilities: A Call to Action by Nicole Patton Terry Special education has always been a civil rights issue in the United States and in many other nations. In fact, it could be argued that the legal rights of children with disabilities began with the fight for Black children. The passage of Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka in 1954 prompted the filing of several legal cases on behalf of children with disabilities for their right to equal protection guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. These efforts ultimately resulted in the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, currently the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA)—a law that protects the legal right of children with disabilities to a free and appropriate public education delivered in the least restrictive environment and governed by an individualized education program. It is, thus, quite ironic that Black children and many other racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse learners have had such a troubled history with special education. In truth, simply not enough research has been conducted with diverse vulnerable learners with disabilities to provide empirical evidence of how to ensure their success in school (Ford, 2012). Continued innovation in research and practice is required. Nonetheless, the contributors to this issue and I contend not only that the current research base provides a roadmap for how to begin to address reading difficulty and disability among diverse learners, but also that we as a field have a responsibility to do so with immediate urgency. After all, it is their legal right too. Collectively, the contributors wrestle with the troubling intersection of race, class, and disability as applied to students with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities that impair reading and writing achievement. Ultimately, this issue presents a call to action on behalf of diverse and vulnerable learners with learning disabilities and their families.
Articles featuring Dr. Lara Perez-Felkner:
Basic Needs Insecurity Among Doctoral Students: What It Looks Like and How to Address It by Lara Perez-Felkner, Jesse Randall Ford, Teng Zhao, Marshall Anthony Jr., Jamaal Andrew Harrison, and Sophia Glenyse Rahming. In this article, the authors look at the situation faced by many doctoral students in the U.S. and how they often face challenges while completing their studies, particularly among Black, Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian/Alaska Native students – groups that represent 31% of doctoral degree recipients. Through “narratives grounded in social justice and student success literature,” the article explores these experiences and concludes with recommendations on how to “retain future campus leaders, currently engaging in doctoral education.” Perceptions and Resilience in Underrepresented Students’ Pathways to College by Lara Perez-Felkner “Schools have attempted to address stratification in black and Latino students’ access to higher education through extensive reform initiatives, including those focused on social supports. A crucial focus has been missing from these efforts, essential to improving the effectiveness of support mechanisms and understanding why they have been insufficient: how students experience these reforms. […] How can the social context of schools keep underrepresented minority students on track to transition to college? This study investigates how students experience the social contexts of their schools in relation to their college ambitions, and the particular attributes of schools’ social contexts that might positively affect their transition to four-year colleges.”
Article featuring Dr. Laura Reid Marks:
The Role of Racial Microaggressions and Bicultural Self-efficacy on Work Volition in Racially Diverse Adults by Laura Reid Marks, Jennifer Yeoward, Melissa Fickling, and Kevin Tate. In this paper, we report findings from a study that investigated the relationship between racial microaggressions and work volition in a sample of 171 racially diverse adults in the United States. We found that higher levels of racial microaggressions across five of six racial microaggression dimensions (i.e., criminality, environmental invalidations, foreigner, invisibility, and undesirable/low achieving) related to lowered work volition. We also found that bicultural self-efficacy significantly moderated the relationship between four dimensions of racial microaggressions (i.e., invisibility, criminality, undesirable/low-achieving, and sexualization) and work volition. More specifically, high levels of bicultural self-efficacy buffered some of the effects of these racial microaggressions on work volition. Implications, limitations, and future directions for career research are discussed.
Article featuring Dr. V. Casey Dozier:
Cognitive Information processing theory: Applications of an empirically based theory and interventions to diverse populations by D. Osborn, V.C. Dozier, G. P. Peterson, E. Bullock-Yowell, D.E. Saunders and J.P. Sampson Jr. This book chapter summarizes the key elements of cognitive information processing theory (CIP; Sampson, Reardon, Peterson, & Lenz, 2004), which has been in existence for nearly five decades. The origins and key tenants of CIP theory are presented as well as empirical support and evidence of cultural validity for the theory. A case example involving an international student with a career concern is conceptualized from a CIP perspective. This chapter provides the reader an opportunity to identify the key elements of the CIP theory as well as explore the relevancy of CIP theory to various cultural contexts.
