Shifting the educational narrative for youth of color

Abstract

Youth of color are owed an “education debt” from this country, built on systems that sought to disenfranchise people of color, from colonialism and slavery to legacies of redlining and present-day criminalization practices (Ladson-Billings, 2006). Black, Indigenous and Latinx youth have consistently been pushed out of schools at higher rates than other groups (Morris, 2016). In recognizing this problem, this dissertation examined the ways that one alternative program in an urban-area in the Northeast sought to re-engage youth of color through emancipatory pedagogical models. All students, except for one, were youth of color with the majority of students being of Caribbean origin (i.e. Haitian, Dominican, Puerto Rican, Trinidadian, St. Lucian, Jamaican). In examining a need for emancipatory pedagogies, I conducted interviews with alumni and focus groups with current students to understand the multitude of reasons that students had been pushed out of traditional schools in their previous educational experiences. I then conducted interviews with past and present staff, as well as observations in the program, to understand the different pedagogies that were created that promoted decolonization and liberation in this particular alternative program. I then analyzed the short and long-term impacts of the program, primarily in understanding how the program shaped student identities. This study employed a qualitative approach, including a Youth Participatory Action Research component, to examine the factors listed above. MAXQDA was used to code transcripts of focus groups and interviews to determine themes in understanding the development and impact of emancipatory pedagogical models. Findings indicated the importance of creating a foundation for emancipatory pedagogies through staff spaces and conversations to understand implicit biases and teaching philosophies. This work should then be enhanced by building deep and supportive relationships with students and teaching in ways that uplift students’ cultures and promote critical consciousness. Key impacts of these pedagogies were found in racial identity, which was tied to gender identity and academic identity.