Majoritarian Stories and Counterstories: Critical Race Theory Approaches to Countering Deficit Discourse in Higher Education

This paper employs critical discourse analysis to interrogate rhetorics of academic deficit subtending institutional neglect of equitable opportunity for students of color at U.S. postsecondary institutions. It further reviews Critical Race Theory literature in education, paying special attention to research that foregrounds social class as a discriminate variable distinguishing truly liberatory pedagogies from the merely critical.

Building Racial Justice Into a Master's Program

This chapter describes a five-year equity initiative to transform a language teacher education professional master's program into one that cultivates racial justice and equity-minded practices in graduates. This chapter will review program work over the last five years on two critical efforts involved in the ongoing five-year equity-minded initiatives. The program activities include data review and planning from 2017 to 2018 and equity curricular re-design from 2018 to 2020, where faculty revised program goals, curriculum, and syllabi. Critical race theory and equity-mindedness frameworks guided this equity initiative's process, goals, and content. The authors argue that building racial justice into a professional master's program requires applying a critical race analysis to the normative assumptions about academic program redesign. Individual and institutional challenges are discussed, and recommendations for building racial justice into the curriculum, instruction, and program policies are provided.

Disability Life Writing

This dual autothnographic research study examined the knowledge and experience gained by two women through the course of narrative exchange. Using the theoretical lens of Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory, DisCrit, and the methodology of disability life writing, the authors explored themes of deficit thinking, cultural essentialism, intersectionality, ability profiling, and liberation. The authors made recommendations for educating preservice teachers using disability life writing and personal reflection. Other implications for teacher preparation coursework included teaching disability as a cultural model, exploring counter narratives for social change, and unpacking deficit mindset. Finally, the authors suggest further research for finding best practices for instruction and implementation of recommended practices.

Analyzing the Role of Implicit Bias From a DisCrit Perspective

Using a disability studies/critical race theory (Discrit) lens, the authors reviewed and analyzed specific literature within the pyramid model (PM) framework—a three-tier hierarchical framework for promoting social-emotional competence and reducing challenging behavior among young children—to understand the model's framing of implicit bias and the specific strategies noted in the literature that help teachers to recognize and counteract implicit bias and subsequently reduce disciplinary inequities among Black preschool children. Findings revealed that although the PM literature discussed, defined, and emphasized the importance of cultural responsivity, it did not engage critically with the construct of implicit bias (i.e., racism and ableism), specifically as it relates to the experiences of children most vulnerable to disciplinary sanction. This chapter ends with suggestions to help readers rethink the PM framework as a way to shift practice toward more equitable experiences for Black children in their earliest years of schooling.

Connecting and Critiquing the Canon

This article discusses the intertextual connections between the young adult novel, Pride by Ibi Zoboi, and the canonical text, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Similarities between the plot and structure of the two texts are discussed along with the differences in themes between the novels. Critical Race Theory is used to help make sense of the differences between the novels and critique the overwhelming whiteness of the canon. Implications for educators who wish to pair the two novels are provided.