scholarly journals Tolerable Suboptimization: Racial Consequences of Defunding Public Universities

2021 ◽  
pp. 233264922110156
Author(s):  
Laura T. Hamilton ◽  
Kelly Nielsen ◽  
Veronica Lerma
Keyword(s):  
Academic Advising ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Public Higher Education ◽  
Corporate Sponsorship ◽  
Marginalized Students ◽  
University Leadership ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Fiscal Constraints ◽  
Cultural Programming ◽  
Organizational Hierarchies

We argue that the public defunding of public higher education and turn to private revenue streams—for example, non-resident tuition, grants, philanthropy, and corporate sponsorship—generates organizational racial resource disparities. We draw on a year-long qualitative case study of a University of California campus with a majority Latinx and low-income student body, including ethnographic observations and interviews with administrators, staff, and students, to argue that these disparities may impede majority-marginalized universities’ abilities to serve their student body. Our data demonstrate how limited organizational resources impact the provision of academic advising, mental health, and cultural programming for racially marginalized students. We articulate a racial neoliberal cycle of resource allocation: Colorblind constructs of “merit” lead to racial segregation and generate racialized organizational hierarchies that result in unequal organizational access to private resources. University leadership at resourced-starved majoritymarginalized universities may respond to fiscal constraints by accepting and normalizing suboptimal support for students—what we refer to as “tolerable suboptimization.” Tolerable suboptimization may also be unevenly applied within universities, such that supports accessed or needed by marginalized students are the most impacted. As a consequence, institutional racism can take on the appearance of financial necessity.

scholarly journals Tolerable Suboptimization: Racial Consequences of Defunding Public Universities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura T. Hamilton ◽  
Kelly Nielsen ◽  
Veronica Lerma
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Underrepresented Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Higher Education ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Student Activists ◽  
University Services

The defunding of public higher education has dramatically impacted public universities in the United States, and schools with racially marginalized student bodies are most likely to feel the crunch. Yet, scholars have directed little attention to the on-the-ground racial consequences of limited public postsecondary funding for students. In this article we ask: How is the defunding of public higher education reflected in the organizational practices of a university serving historically underrepresented students? And how do resource constraints affect racially (and often economically) marginalized students’ access to core university services? We draw on a year-long case study of a University of California campus serving a majority Latinx and low-income student body, including ethnographic observations and interviews with administrators, student-facing staff, student activists and organizers, and Black and Latinx students. Our findings identify defunding as a contemporary mechanism through which racial disparities in postsecondary educational experiences are maintained.

scholarly journals Student Engagement for Equity and Social Justice: Creating Space for Student Voice

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda McMahon ◽  
Geoff Munns ◽  
John Smyth ◽  
David Zyngier
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Student Voice ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Visible Minority ◽  
Marginalized Students ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
Cognitive Levels ◽  
Teaching Learning

This paper describes three student engagement initiatives that have been successfully implemented in Australia and Canada, where social justice educators are struggling with issues resulting from reforms that marginalize visible minority and low-income students. The projects envision student engagement in critical democratic ways. Using different strategies, they are informed by approaches that: respect students, educators and teaching/learning processes; connect on emotional as well as cognitive levels; and shift away from narrow notions of schooling to broader visions of education for marginalized students. Transferable to other locations, these programmes provide insights into what is possible when student engagement is enacted in equitable, socially just, and transformative environments.

scholarly journals Disparities in baseline neurocognitive testing for student concussion management in Massachusetts high schools

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. e000752
Author(s):  
Julia Campbell ◽  
Jonathan Howland ◽  
Courtney Hess ◽  
Kerrie Nelson ◽  
Robert A Stern ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Schools ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Neurocognitive Testing ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Concussion Management ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Baseline Testing

PurposeThere is evidence of socioeconomic disparities with respect to the implementation of student-sports concussion laws nationally. The purpose of this study was to examine school sociodemographic characteristics associated with the provision of computerised baseline neurocognitive testing (BNT) in Massachusetts (MA) high schools, and to assess whether the scope of testing is associated with the economic status of student populations in MA.MethodsA cross-sectional secondary analysis of surveys conducted with MA athletic directors (n=270) was employed to investigate school characteristics associated with the provision of BNT. Correlation and regression analyses were used to assess whether the scope of testing is associated with the economic status of student populations in MA.ResultsThe scope of BNT was independently associated with the economic disadvantage rate (EDR) of the student population (β=−0.02, p=0.01); whether or not the school employs an athletic trainer (AT) (β=0.43, p=0.03); and school size (β=−0.54, p=0.03). In a multivariable regression model, EDR was significantly associated with the scope of baseline testing, while controlling for AT and size (β=−0.01, p=0.03, adj-R2=0.1135).ConclusionAmong public high schools in MA, disparities in the provision of BNT for students are associated with the economic characteristics of the student body. Schools that have a greater proportion of low-income students are less likely to provide comprehensive BNT. The clinical implications of not receiving BNT prior to concussion may include diminished quality of postconcussive care, which can have short-term and long-term social, health-related and educational impacts.

Many lessons from a school: What classroom discourse analysis reveals

2010 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Zuengler
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Classroom Discourse ◽  
Culturally Diverse ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Classroom Discourse Analysis

In my talk, I foreground what I and my colleagues have learned about discourse in the numerous classrooms we observed in a four-year research study at an urban high school. While Jefferson High had a student body that was linguistically and culturally diverse, it was homogeneous socioeconomically, being labeled ‘low income’. Some of the research I address reveals how the classroom discourse both co-constructed and was influenced by these phenomena. Additionally, my survey of the research reveals that theoretical frameworks shape the research process and, ultimately, what we learn about classroom discourse.

scholarly journals Teaching Progress: A Critique of the Grand Narrative of Human Rights as Pedagogy for Marginalized Students

2015 ◽  
Vol 103 ◽  
pp. 26-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robyn Linde ◽  
Mikaila Mariel Lemonik Arthur
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Grand Narrative ◽  
Marginalized Students ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Human Rights Regime ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
The Individual

With the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, education about human rights became an important focus of the new human rights regime and a core method of spreading its values throughout the world. This story of human rights is consistently presented as a progressive teleology that contextualizes the expansion of rights within a larger grand narrative of liberalization, emancipation, and social justice. This paper examines the disjuncture between the grand narrative on international movements for human rights and social justice and the lived experiences of marginalized students in urban environments in the United States. Drawing on our experience as professors who teach human rights, social justice, and social movements courses at an urban, four-year college in Providence, R.I., with a student body which includes large populations of students who are of color, first-generation, economically disadvantaged, and nontraditional in other ways, we explore the relevance and impact of these grand narratives for the lives of our students and their sense of agency. In particular, we advocate for a critical and transformational approach to human rights pedagogy to counter and overcome the pervasive individualization that undergirds the grand narrative of human rights. We argue that a critical (and radical) human rights pedagogy must evaluate the position of the individual in modern life if liberation through human rights law and activism is to be possible.

Fear of a Black (and Poor) School: Race, Class, and School Safety Policy Preferences

2019 ◽  
pp. 215336871988167
Author(s):  
Adam Dunbar ◽  
Aaron Kupchik ◽  
Cresean Hughes ◽  
Raven Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
School Safety ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Security Measures ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Public Preferences ◽  
Race And Class ◽  
Security Practices

School security and punishment practices have changed throughout the United States since the 1990s. Yet we know little about public support for these practices nor how this support varies when considering different students. The current study uses an experimental approach to assess public preferences for school punishment and security practices and how public opinion relates to student body race and class, as well as attitudes about crime. Results indicate that participants prefer security measures for schools with more low-income students and mental health services for schools with more high-income students. We also find that participants with racialized views of crime, along with those who view crime as a growing problem and fear victimization, are more supportive of carceral disciplinary policies and less supportive of therapeutic policies. We conclude by considering how ostensibly race-neutral mechanisms, such as attitudes about poverty and crime, may contribute to racially disparate surveillance and punishment practices.

scholarly journals Performance-Based Aid, Enhanced Advising, and the Income Gap in College Graduation: Evidence From a Randomized Controlled Trial

2020 ◽  
pp. 016237372097918
Author(s):  
Christopher Erwin ◽  
Melissa Binder ◽  
Cynthia Miller ◽  
Kate Krause
Keyword(s):  
Academic Advising ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Equal Opportunity ◽  
Family Income ◽  
Student Loans ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Academic Preparation ◽  
College Graduation ◽  
Time To Degree ◽  
High Satisfaction

Income gaps in college enrollment, persistence, and graduation raise concerns for those interested in equal opportunity in higher education. We present findings from a randomly assigned scholarship for low-income students at a medium-sized public 4-year university. The program focused solely on the first four semesters of enrollment and tied aid disbursements to modest academic benchmarks and enhanced academic advising. Meaningful decreases in time to degree appear to be driven by students with the lowest academic preparation and family income. Treated students took out approximately 20% less in student loans during the duration of the program. Participants also indicated high satisfaction with the program’s model of enhanced academic advising.

The Evolution of Academic Advising: One Institution's Historical Path

2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 17-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia N. Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Academic Advising ◽  
Land Grant ◽  
Land Grant University ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Diverse Student Body ◽  
Diverse Student ◽  
History Of

The 130-year history of academic advising at a large land-grant university is explored. The story of how advising structures, procedures, and programs were created to meet growing numbers of students, the increasing complexity of the curricula, and the expanding advising needs of a diverse student body emerges in the descriptions related.

Intersectional Understandings of On-Time High School Graduation and College Readiness for Traditionally Marginalized High School Students

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 424-443
Author(s):  
Nakia M. Gray-Nicolas ◽  
Chandler P. Miranda
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
College Readiness ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Marginalized Students ◽  
School Students ◽  
Students First

Conventional definitions of “on-time graduation” and “college readiness” often place the needs of traditionally marginalized students (first-generation, low-income, immigrant and/or students of color) in a deficit light. This multi-case study explores how school leaders at two public high schools are redefining and reframing these policies for their specific student populations. The findings suggest that extending graduation beyond 4 years and using intersectional understandings of college readiness increase traditionally marginalized students’ opportunities to finish high school and pursuing postsecondary education.

Multicultural Advising

2020 ◽  
pp. 127-141
Author(s):  
Chloe Robinson ◽  
Tomicka N. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Advising ◽  
Cultural Landscape ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
Diverse Student Body ◽  
Diverse Student ◽  
Core Components

Since the cultural landscape of most higher education institutions is changing, it is paramount that colleges and universities make a concerted effort to connect with students from various backgrounds. The academic advising department could be the catalyst for change for many institutions of higher learning when seeking to support a diverse student body. Despite an increase in enrollment of students from various backgrounds on many college campuses, various challenges remain when attempting to advise and mentor diverse student populations. This chapter will examine some of the demographical changes taking place on college campuses across the U.S., the importance of multicultural advising and core components of this approach. Finally, the ways in which multicultural advising can be implemented within higher education will be examined.

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