Foreword: Under Attack And Counter Voices For Social Justice

As the voices of ignorance continue to attack democracy and social justice, we will continue to serve as a platform to counter those perspectives through the Center for Leadership, Equity and Research (CLEAR). Activism, anti-racism, and advocacy for the oppressed will continue to be the mission. We embrace Critical Race Methodology and Praxis that remain the driving epistemologies for the stories, research genres, authentic narratives, and counterstories of those who have been largely marginalized, racialized, and underrepresented

Introduction to the Special Issue

To illustrate the commitment of the Center for Leadership, Equity and Research, we came together to develop a theme for this special issue of the Journal for Leadership, Equity, and Research (JLER)..

Introduction To The Special Edition On Latina/o/x Postsecondary Education

This second special edition, like the first issue examining PreK-12 schooling, brings together diverse theoretical and methodological perspectives, including empirical qualitative and quantitative manuscripts centering Latina/o/x experiences and interrogating organizational practices. The campus contexts include a mix of community college and comprehensive public and research-intensive public and private institutions across the U.S. with historically white institutional designations and Hispanic serving institutional designations

The Chicana/o/x Promise: Testimonios of Educational Empowerment through the Enactment of La Facultad among First-Generation College Students

This article explores how Chicana/o/x[i] first-generation college students navigate through the educational realm that is built upon coloniality. Drawing on four testimonios, we show how multiplicative forms of marginalization to which Chicana/o/x college students are subject inform their academic trajectory and empowerment. The article focuses on four main sources of oppression—class (capitalism), familial immigrant documentation status (racist nativism), disability (ableism), and sexuality (heteronormativity)—and how Chicana/o/x students turn them into sources of self- and community- empowerment.  Employing Chicana feminist perspectives and intersectional approaches further allows us to reveal sociopolitical and cultural processes that limits Chicana/o/x students’ access to resources and opportunities and how these processes inform the ways in which these individuals proactively achieve and represent the Chicana/o/x Promiseof hope, resistance, and success.

Introduction To The Special Edition On Latina/o/x Prek-12 Education

Listening to Latina/o/x Voices: Maximizing Opportunities and Minimizing Obstacles in Distinct Educational Context

Perceptions Of Inequality As Racial Projects: Uncovering Ethnoracial And Gendered Patterns Among First-generation College-going Asian American Students

Through a Racial Formation Framework, this article explores how Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese American first-generation college students at a large research university perceive inequality in the United States. Drawing on 129 interviews, our findings suggest that students operate under a Racial Formation Inequality Spectrum in which they conceptualize contemporary racial projects through distinct structural-to-cultural explanations. Korean American students in this sample deploy a cultural understanding of inequality embedded within structural frames, while Chinese and Vietnamese American students employ more structural perspectives integrating critiques of cultural explanations. We also find that gender shapes these factors, as most women respondents are more likely than men to view inequality from a structural lens and utilize more sophisticated conceptualizations where they critique purely cultural explanations. Ultimately, we argue that the discourse about perceptions of inequality can serve as a form of racial projects. The results of this research shed light on how social locations such as ethnorace and gender contribute to divergent understandings of inequality in the United States as described by Asian American college students. The findings have direct implications for student sense of belonging and success in higher education contexts

From Truancy and Alienation to School Fluency and Graduation: Increasing Student Engagement by Bridging Institutions

This Policy Brief explores how a community-based truancy prevention program mediates against absenteeism, truancy, and dropping out and positively transforms the lives of Black and Latino youth. Findings suggest that community–school partnerships are critical in the quest to combat truancy and the alarming dropout rate among urban youth. This study shows how committed individuals can work to engage and empower low-income urban youth who are disengaged from school. Extensive interviews and observations with Latino and Black youth demonstrate how the intervention program mediates against social and academic failure. Using grounded theory, this case study explores four student- identified dimensions that impact his (re)engagement with school:(a) the importance of space that promotes peer relations, (b) incentive structures within programs,(c) the need for social networks, and (d) youth advocacy as a mechanism for institutional accountability. Implications for combating truancy, reducing dropout, and promoting student engagement are discussed

Superstar or Scholar? African American Youth’s Perceptions of Opportunity in a Time of Change

Through a Multiple Marginality Framework, this exploratory case study highlights how African American male youth in an urban high school setting perceive the opportunity structure during the historic election of the first African American President. Youth optimism generated by Obama’s election gives students a sense of hope despite the persistent inequality they face in inner-city communities and schools. Findings suggest that the pervasive influence of both structural and cultural factors—such as poverty, racial ideology, racial tracking in schools, and street socialization—help explain students’ aspirations and constrained expectations to pursue professional athletics. The implications of this study call for a reemphasis on the relevancy of school and community factors and influences in improving the perceptions of opportunity for African American male

Superstar or Scholar? African American Youth’s Perceptions of Opportunity in a Time of Change

Through a Multiple Marginality Framework, this exploratory case study highlights how African American male youth in an urban high school setting perceive the opportunity structure during the historic election of the first African American President. Youth optimism generated by Obama’s election gives students a sense of hope despite the persistent inequality they face in inner-city communities and schools. Findings suggest that the pervasive influence of both structural and cultural factors—such as poverty, racial ideology, racial tracking in schools, and street socialization—help explain students’ aspirations and constrained expectations to pursue professional athletics. The implications of this study call for a reemphasis on the relevancy of school and community factors and influences in improving the perceptions of opportunity for African American male

A ‘master status’ or the ‘final straw’? Assessing the role of immigration status in Latino undocumented youths’ pathways out of school

Previous research on undocumented youth and young adults in the United States asserts that immigration status is a “master status” wherein undocumented status overshadows the impact of other social locations. Drawing primarily on interviews with 45 Latina/o undocumented immigrant youth who stopped out of school, I assess whether the “master status” explanation accurately characterizes how immigration status shapes undocumented youths’ pathways out of school. Using an intersectional lens, I argue that multiple social locations disrupt educational pathways and set the stage for immigration status to emerge as the “final straw” that pushes undocumented youth to leave school. Specifically, I show how race, class, gender, and first-generation college student status heavily shape undocumented youths’ educational journeys. I find that their resistance to these other forms of marginalization is weakened by the emerging salience of undocumented status as a severe, relatively insurmountable legal barrier. I highlight the process through which these multiple social locations work together to lead undocumented youth to stop out of school. I contend that using an intersectional lens enhances understandings of how multiple social locations intersect and interact over time to marginalize immigrants