Through the Eyes of the Beholder

This chapter presents experiences of an elderly woman living in Africa from a Feminist theoretical perspective. Feminism is a theory that argues that men and women should be treated equally, politically, economically and socially. It includes sensitivity to all sorts of gender biases such as excluding voices of women in life debates. The aim of this chapter is to map the challenges and constraints posed by patriarchal value system, as it relates to the right to reproduction, child rearing practices and legal connotation, the discussion also includes opportunities in socio-cultural, Educational, economic and political participation. These experiences are situated in both public and private life. As the author wrote this narrative of her experiences, she went through major literature sources and could only locate a few relevant sources with similar narrations.

Teaching to Digress

This chapter explores the challenge of creating a “liberated” classroom, one that digresses from the norm in both content and structure according to feminist principles. This teaching project was designed to create a unique learning environment through the use of black feminist pedagogy. Charged with teaching a cross-listed course (Women's Studies, Black Studies) entitled “Black Feminist Theory,” the teaching team consisted of a professor, a graduate student, and an undergraduate student. The team came together from a diversity of educational experiences in the U.S. and Africa. This chapter is a reflection of the team's experiences co-teaching a “non-traditional” course as well as a collective inquiry about the strategic importance of incorporating oppositional discourse into the college curriculum.

Race as a Learned Identity

The chapter focuses on the concept of race as a learned identity based on lived experiences of the story teller. Her experience carried her through academic learning in two higher learning institutions in the United States in the south. Besides her learning of academic knowledge, her discovery of relationships on race in education was something not expected before her journey to the west in the US. The journey is a process of rediscovery of herself and her search for knowledge. The repositioning of herself in a racially diverse society such as the US sheds light on the complex issues on race, academic learning and issues on the support and structure of academic learning and professional development for marginalized populations in higher learning institutions. The finding revealed the question of what race is: it is not the knowledge that matters the most, it is the process of finding one's self in diversity that speaks louder on one's growth and development professionally and personally. It is the process of discovering one's race that matters.

Black, Female, and Foreign

Society has failed to acknowledge intra-group differences, and as a result, disregarded the ethnic distinctiveness, cultural practices, and norms of Afro-Caribbean emigrant (Rogers, 2001; Vickerman, 2001). In this chapter, the “triple-invisibility” of the Afro-Caribbean woman in the academy is explored within the context of race, gender, emigrant status and the goals concerning broader diversities related to higher education in the US.

Building Bridges

In this chapter, research on the roles of mentoring and cultural nourishment within the institutional environment is used to contextualize the personal narratives of two Black women educators. The narratives come from the authors—women who were formally educated in predominantly White institutions and informally educated in a variety of African-centered community and family settings—and are used to highlight lessons gleaned from the authors' experiences as women of color within predominantly White educational settings, both as students and employees. Examples are provided to reveal how those lessons now guide their current work interacting with and advocating for students of color in similar institutional settings.

Theoretical Discussion of Gender and Power

This chapter presents gender disparities found in the faculty of education at the time of this study. These are discussed from a theoretical point of view. The author takes a view that gender mainstreaming is a contested concept, practiced in various ways by governments, institutions and departments. Although practice varies, the aim is to eradicate gender inequality completely. This implies that any workplace that intends to support gender equity must also support multiculturalism. If multiculturalism is practiced in an institution or organization, the organizational culture will provide a leeway for gender diversity. The objective of this chapter is to compare the institutional culture to the societal culture of the University of Botswana. Gender mainstreaming practices at UB are analyzed. The chapter describes observed gender disparities, possible solutions and suggestions for what seems to work for the future. It also explains gender discrimination as rooted in both organizational and societal culture.

Perseverance

This chapter addresses the author's eight year journey to obtaining a Ph.D. at a large predominately White southern university. Through mentorship, compromise and giving into the system, the author learned the delicate balance between speaking up and using quiet strength. In addition to offering hope, this chapter addresses the familiar dilemma of doctoral students when faced with opposing committee members, approaching deadlines, and the infamous “clock”. The goal of this chapter is to empower women who are confronted with similar obstacles and emphasize the need for faculty mentors who look like and understand women of color. Although this chapter is filled with personal and professional trials, it will validate that determination will result in the realization of dreams.

Exemplar of Pearls of Wisdom for the Academy through Dr. Pearlie Dove's Career in Education

The subject of this chapter represents a woman of color, courage, and consciousness who began her early childhood preparation in the segregated “colored schools” of Atlanta, Georgia in the 1920s and 1930s. Pearlie Craft (maiden name) Dove is the focus of this originally conceptualized qualitative narrative which draws its scholarly influence from ethnography, reflective biography, and historiography as well as personal narrative to posit a methodological approach described as ethno-biographical research. The selected key participant for this chapter was born in 1921. The authors constructed the methodology from selected biographical notes, conversations, interviews, and critical theory of the era in which she was educated and lived. The conceptual model describes the foundation for the use of the term Pearlie's Pearls of Wisdom as attributes that can be models for men and women who aspire to promote principles over expediency. This chapter seeks to promote the overarching professional and personal qualities exemplified by Dr. Dove from 1949-2014.

Full Circle Moments

This chapter reflects an education journey that has shaped the author's cultural ideologies of education and teaching. Even though the latter part of the author's education journey is the main focus, the beginning of the journey is also chronicled. Most of the journey that is discussed (in the latter part) took place among culturally different institutions of higher education. The pressures and practical lessons learned pertaining to education and cultural perspectives are discussed and emphasized. How the journey has impacted the author's thought process and engagement with students is also mentioned, as consideration is given to how different perspectives impact individuals' interactions with others in the learning process, especially as an educator. Overall, this chapter hopes to inspire women of color who strive to pursue a profession in the field of education by offering motivation through recollection of an educational journey and through mentioned practical implications for teaching.

Gender and Education

The chapter focuses on the discussion of gender and education in Post Mao Era in the Chinese Education System, one of the largest educational systems in the world. As history turns to a new page in China's development, China of the Post Mao Era features an emphasis on education and respect for intellectuals and knowledge. Access to higher education was reopened to the public in 1979 and the Gaokao testing system as the selective assessment system to enter college was reestablished. The K-12 schools were established and expanded to provide basic education for school age children. Educational institutions continued to develop to include regular K-12 schools, vocational schools, 2 year-colleges, and 4-year colleges. However, when increased opportunities become available to the general population, is gender equality achieved in schooling and higher learning settings? In this chapter, factors that impact gender and schooling and college entrance assessments are explored and analyzed.