You Can't Be What You Can't See

This chapter presents the policy, practice, and societal contexts of initial teacher education in Ireland as a backdrop to the TOBAR programme. Primary teaching in Ireland is a high status and high demand profession, yet the teaching body is predominately white, female, and Catholic. In recent years, in response to changes in Irish society, and in initial teacher education and higher education policy, new initiatives have been introduced to diversify the teaching body. In the second section of this chapter, the authors present an overview of one such initiative: the TOBAR programme. The TOBAR programme supports Irish travellers to participate in initial teacher education programmes. Drawing on a series on interviews with students on the TOBAR programme, the authors report that the programme is having a positive impact on the students but that many challenges and barriers still exist.

Beyond the Statement

The purpose of this chapter is to share the experiences, motivations, and reflections of the authors' efforts of establishing an antiracism institute at a predominantly white STEM university in a small, rural county in Northern New York. To accompany their perspectives, the authors interviewed faculty members involved in this process to identify their motivations and hopes for the institute, along with the challenges and difficulties. This chapter traces the trajectory, motivations, expectations, and challenges of establishing an antiracism institute in a predominately white STEM institution.

The Impact of Implicit Bias on Policing Communities of Color

Systemic racism continues to be a significant problem in many, if not all, American institutions. As with any problem, systemic racism can only be properly addressed if it is acknowledged by the person and by extension an institution. The unjustified killing of George Floyd and many other minorities by predominately white police officers have brought both national and international criticism towards the institution of American policing. This chapter will discuss one of the probably causes of police misconduct towards people and communities of color: “implicit bias.” Briefly defined, implicit bias is having attitudes towards people or associate stereotypes with them without a conscious knowledge. The author will provide the background of systemic racism in America followed by policing organizational culture/subculture and the impact of implicit bias on communities/people of color. This chapter will conclude with recommendations to confront implicit bias and improve officer behavior.

Using a Headshot Assignment to Incorporate Critical Theory Into Photojournalism Classrooms

This case study uses a diversity and critical thinking exercise in a photojournalism class to show how journalism educators can incorporate race and gender conversations about ethics and judgment into traditionally skills-oriented courses. It is crucial that journalism students learn how to apply their skills properly in an era of social unrest, inequality, and dwindling media trust. Democratic citizenship and journalism are intertwined, but often the bigger ethical conversations are left out of skills-oriented courses. This can lead to a disconnect between the skills themselves and the responsibility of practicing the skills, especially when it comes to matters of power and representation. The field of photojournalism remains predominately White and male, which makes it all the more crucial for students to interrogate their own biases to ensure ethical coverage of their communities. The assignment asks students to make 36 portraits of strangers, and the subsequent classroom exercise has them confront their inherent biases by looking at the demographics of the people they photographed compared to the general population. Data for this case study consist of observations of the classroom conversations and a reflexive journalism exercise the students completed afterward. Findings indicate this exercise is a successful way to introduce racial and gender considerations as part of photojournalistic ethics and judgment. Students initially neglected to think about representation and diversity in their selection of people to photograph but afterward said they could effectively incorporate reflexivity into their work in an effort to provide more representative imagery and confront their own biases.

Exploring the Diversity of Everyday Experiences through the Humans of the University of Wisconsin-Stout Facebook Assignment

In this personal essay and research article mash-up genre, I reflect on my Humans of the University of Wisconsin-Stout first-year composition Facebook assignment, which was developed to teach my predominately white students about the diversity of everyday experiences. I share with readers how my positionality, as a former evangelical Christian Republican who left Christianity and became a liberal progressive a few years before this assignment, and the context of my university, a predominately white, midwestern polytechnic university, shaped my assignment design. I include Humans of UW-Stout Facebook stories, corresponding student reflections and homework, and my own personal reflection on the curriculum to empower instructors to teach diversity-focused FYC assignments and to inspire instructors to reflect upon how their own political and religious beliefs shape their curriculum.

Pathway to Expectations of Child Functioning Following Sexual Abuse: Caregiver Maltreatment History and Depressive Symptoms

Caregiver responses and behaviors often play a significant role in a child’s recovery following child sexual abuse (CSA). Caregiver expectations of their child’s postabuse functioning has been associated with child symptoms, such that negative expectations lead to worse outcomes for the child. Additionally, caregivers who experienced maltreatment in their own childhood may face difficulties providing support to their child after CSA. Caregivers’ own psychological symptoms may influence their expectations for their child’s future functioning following CSA. This study utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the association between caregivers’ childhood maltreatment histories, their expectations for their child’s future functioning following CSA, and the indirect effect of caregiver depressive symptoms on this relationship. Participants were 354 nonoffending caregivers presenting to treatment with their child following CSA disclosure. Caregivers were 23-72 years old ( M = 38.38, SD = 8.02), predominately white, and predominately biological mothers to the youth who were abused. Results indicated that caregivers who experienced maltreatment in childhood were more likely to experience depressive symptoms, which then lead to more negative expectations of their child’s future functioning. As negative expectations are associated with poorer outcomes for children following CSA, increased attention to caregivers’ depressive symptoms in treatment may promote more positive expectations for their child’s postabuse functioning.

Non-majority student perceptions of diversity and inclusion at a PWI and an HBCU

Purpose Using survey research, the purpose of this study was to examine perceptions of diversity to examine perceptions of diversity and inclusion among majority and non-majority students at a predominately White university (PWI) and a historically Black university (HBCU) observing any patterns of difference between majority and non-majority groups to make inferences regarding students’ sense of belonging, given current national efforts to establish inclusive excellence on university campuses. Design/methodology/approach Results based on Likert-scale responses on a validated questionnaire were analyzed using independent samples t-tests to identify differences for each survey item. Eta squared was used as an effect size measure. The PWI and HBCU were then compared by item analysis. A two-way factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the independent impact of each of the universities (i.e. PWI, HBCU) and the interaction of those two factors in their effect on the dependent variables (i.e. race, gender, sexuality). Findings Results indicated significant differences between the majority and non-majority groups on multiple items within each university site. Further, significant differences were observed between the universities in perceptions and experiences of diversity and inclusion. Originality/value Unique in this study was an examination of perceptions of inclusion at a PWI and an HBCU based not only on non-majority status of race, but also on gender and sexuality with the intention of expanding the research base associated with “sense of belonging” to other groups who have existed as “diverse others” in the context of majority culture dominance.