07. Social Justice and Intercultural Education
Paper
“Am I Gonna Just Totally Self-Destruct?”: How Divisive Concepts Legislation in the United States Shapes Educators’ Wellbeing and Professional Practice
Elyse Hambacher1, Denise Desrosiers2, Katherine Ginn2, Kathryn Slater2, Macy Broderick2
1University of Florida, USA; 2University of New Hampshire, USA
Presenting Author: Hambacher, Elyse
In the fall of 2020, amidst widespread pandemic closures and ongoing international protests in response to racialized police violence, a public conversation emerged about whether and how teachers ought to teach students about race and racism. The conversation was propelled by a political messaging campaign, which involved the intentionally decontextualized repurposing of the term “critical race theory” (CRT) as a “shock phrase” (Bartolomé & Macedo, 1997, p. 237) with considerable political utility that suggested radical indoctrination by educators. By February of 2021, in a pattern reflecting national trends in political polarization, 36 U.S. states had undertaken legislative efforts or executive actions to “restrict education on racism, bias, the contributions of specific racial or ethnic groups to U.S. history, or related topics” while 17 states had seen efforts to expand the same; seven states witnessed efforts in both directions (Stout & Wilburn, 2021). In states where restrictive legislation or executive orders were enacted, the chief mechanism for enforcement was the threat of legal action against schools and districts as well as disciplinary action against individual teachers alleged to have taught “divisive concepts.”
The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate the experiences of five white educators with self-identified commitments to social justice education as they navigate teaching in New Hampshire (NH), a state in the US that at the time of data collection, had recently enacted a law prohibiting the teaching of “divisive concepts.” The paper is guided by two research questions: 1.) How do teachers and administrators in one predominantly white school district describe their work in the context of the recent passage of divisive concepts legislation? 2.) How do these educators see legislation prohibiting the teaching of divisive concepts as shaping their practice and leadership?
Like many teachers, those we include in this analysis cited moral commitments to the well-being of young people and to improving the world for future generations as central reasons for their decision to enter the profession. The strong thread of moral concern that runs through the accounts of the teachers highlighted in this study bears many similarities to the concerns expressed in Santoro’s (2018) study of teachers’ demoralization. We draw on Santoro’s theoretical framework which defines teacher demoralization as a loss of access to the moral rewards of the work. Teachers experience demoralization when they are confronted with moral concerns they cannot resolve or avoid. These fall into two broad categories: concerns relating to harm to students and those relating to the degradation of their profession. First, demoralization may arise from demands that teachers engage in practices they suspect are “developmentally inappropriate, pedagogically ill-advised, or damaging to students’ social-emotional well-being" (Santoro, 2018, p. 62). Second, teachers may become demoralized when conditions in the school and the broader community make them accomplices in processes that degrade the profession of teaching.
While demoralization is primarily an effect of the conditions of teaching and not, as is often suggested about burnout, a consequence of insufficient or systematically depleted internal resources of the teacher, Santoro (2018) argues that teachers may find means with which to prevent or rebound from demoralization. Santoro presents five categories of strategies observed among teachers striving to re-moralize their teaching practice: professional community, voice/writing, activism, teacher leadership, and student-centered action. Together, demoralization and re-moralization situate our understanding of the experiences and actions of the educators in this study. While our study is situated within a US context, it has relevance abroad as schools throughout Europe consider how to teach topics related to race and colonial histories.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThis study is part of a larger study that examines how 17 self-identified justice-oriented teachers and administrators in one predominantly white school district engage with concepts of race, anti-racism, and whiteness. In collecting our data, many of the participants discussed recent divisive concepts legislation as it relates to their work as teachers and education leaders. While our initial study did not center on such legislation, we were struck by the extent to which our participants spoke about this in our interviews. Given the timely nature of divisive concepts legislation, we explore how the educators think about their work in the current context and how it shapes their practice and leadership.
South Adams School District1 (SASD) is a suburban, progressive-leaning area in NH with a district population of approximately 2,000 students. Of the 2,000 students, 87% are white.
This district was selected as a unique case (Patton, 2022) because they have been responding to racist incidents in their schools with district-wide initiatives for the last several years. SASD proves fruitful opportunities to examine how teachers and administrators in a mostly white, affluent school district think about their obligations as justice-oriented educators in the context of divisive legislation.
For the larger study, required criteria included teachers and administrators who have organized and/or elected to participate in anti-racist professional development (PD) in the past two years. Initial recruitment efforts began with administrators and key planners of school-based anti-racist PD initiatives. We used snowball sampling, which was useful because it drew on a small pool of initial informants to nominate others who fit our selection criteria. We asked participants about educators in SASD who spearheaded and/or participated in these efforts and often heard the same names mentioned as others we should talk with. We focus on five (four teachers and one administrator) of the 17 participants in particular because of the extent to which they discussed this legislation having an impact on their personal and professional lives.
Semi-structured interviews were our main source of data. Each participant engaged in
two interviews with a member of the research team. We also drew on district-related documents and observed community meetings to contextualize the study. The research team analyzed the data inductively using constructivist grounded theory guidelines (Charmaz, 2014) which includes a process of initial coding, focused coding, and discussing the data in multiple iterations to bring our themes into greater focus.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsOur data show that divisive concepts legislation 1) threatened educators’ personal lives and professional integrity, 2) inhibited their voice and pedagogy, and 3) was filtered through variability in school and district leadership support. However, 4) many educators expressed commitment to persisting in critical teaching despite the risks.
Threats to educators’ personal lives and fear of professional repercussions: We found persistent anecdotes that described confusion about the language and implementation of the legislation; worry that their teaching could be misinterpreted by students, community members, and fringe groups as “contentious” or “controversial”; and fear of backlash from families or community members and subsequent professional sanctions. The educators reported real and perceived threats to their livelihoods and concerns about their mental health.
Inhibited voice and pedagogy: This atmosphere has created a chilling effect and thwarts these teachers’ ability to enact the moral values that led them to become educators in the first place. Guided by their moral beliefs of educating students to think critically and become global citizens, they find their voices quelled, and they are hesitant to make instructional decisions they believe would be best for students.
Variability in school and district leadership support: For the most part, teachers felt strongly supported by their superintendent’s leadership, which assuaged some of their fears about the legislation and their ability to persist in anti-racist and justice-oriented teaching. However, a few teachers’ interviews pointed to worries, sadness, and in some cases frustration in instances when leadership support revealed its limits.
Persisting in critical teaching and leading: Despite the myriad emotions that the participants felt, we found that many of them were adamant about continuing to teach in critical ways because of their moral centers that call them to educate students to be reflective, democratic, and agentic human beings in society.
ReferencesBartolomé, L. & Macedo, D. (1997). Dancing with bigotry: The poisoning of racial and ethnic
identities. Harvard Educational Review, 67(2), 222-246.
Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory. Sage Publishing.
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods. Sage Publishing.
Santoro, D. (2018). Demoralized: Why teachers leave the profession they love and how they can stay. Harvard Education Press.
Schwartz, S. (2022, October 4). Map: Where critical race theory is under attack. Education
Week. https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/map-where-critical-race-theory-is-
underattack/2021/06
Stitzlein, S. M. (2022). Divisive concepts in classrooms: A call to inquiry. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 1-18.
Stout, C. & Wilburn, T. (2021, February 1). CRT map: Efforts to restrict teaching racism and
bias have multiplied across the U.S. Chalkbeat. https://www.chalkbeat.org/22525983/map-critical-race-theory-legislation-teachingracism
Walker, T. (2022, February 1). Survey: Alarming number of educators may soon leave the
profession. National Education Association News. https://www.nea.org/advocating-
forchange/new-from-nea/survey-alarming-number-educators-may-soon-leave-profession
Watkins, R. (2022, July 19). Young NH teachers leaving the profession. The ‘heartbreaking,
infuriating’ reasons why. Seacoast Online https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/education/2022/07/19/why-young-newhampshire-teachers-students-leaving-profession/10056587002/
07. Social Justice and Intercultural Education
Paper
Understanding International Students’ Academic, Wellbeing and Sociocultural Adaptation
Angela Christidis, Emma Sweeney, Sue O'Hara
University Of Exeter, United Kingdom
Presenting Author: Christidis, Angela
The UK currently hosts around 605,130 international higher education students in the 2020/21 academic year, hitting its 600,000 target a decade earlier than hoped (Higher Education Statistics Agency, 2022). Of the international students in the UK in 2020/21, almost 25% were recorded as EU students, while the rest of 75% were from non-EU countries.
How are we coping with the growth of international students? To respond to this growing demand and preparing our students as global citizens, what can be done to improve the student experience of both international and home students?
Recent studies indicate that academic and social integration of international students in the destination country often plays a major role in their academic performance, employability outcomes and integration into the wider community (Spencer-Oatey et al, 2017). Alongside the overall strategy to achieve a continual upward trajectory in international student numbers, it is important to build a diverse, culturally rich and engaged community where both international and home students benefit from the presence and integration of international students in the community.
Research has shown that there are cultural differences in teaching and learning of staff and students from a diverse range of ethnicities and nationalities (Montgomery, 2010; Trahar and Hyland, 2011). This paper intends to investigate these issues in depth, aiming to improve understanding of the international students’ academic, well-being and sociocultural adaptation. At the same time, it is also essential not to compromise the needs of home students.
Aims and Objectives:
- Foster cohesion and enhance understanding between international and domestic students
- Consider social, cultural and education impacts of international students on domestic students
- Enhance interaction and integration between international students and host communities
- Implement strategies and activities to promote intercultural integration and intercultural competence
- Improve academic staff’s ability to interact with students from culturally diverse background
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThis paper used a mixed method approach to explore the experiences of international students attending the degree programmes at any level and faculty. Research participants were encouraged to participate in a wide range of structured activities to develop their intercultural competence skills, such as weekly intercultural cafes and intercultural competence workshops, which enable them to become more culturally agile and aware of global issues.
Several approaches were adopted to cover the whole student lifecycle, ranging from pre-departure briefing in their home country until post study work experience. Interviews, focus groups, questionnaire and online digital platforms had been adopted to gather their views. For example, one-to-one interview and semi-structured interview containing open-ended questions were used to explore research participants’ experiences. The length of the interviews ranged from 30 to 90 minutes. Participants were asked to share their learning journey and student experience through pen portraits and emotional journey.
For content analysis, NVivo software was used to analyse data to identify common themes and provide recommendations to inform future institutional policies.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThe increase in international student numbers on campuses would have a direct impact upon the student experience. Through our interviews and focus groups, we found that research participants were very much going through the cycle of cultural shock (UKCISA, 2018). In general, their confidence and resilience improved over time as they adjust and adapt to the academic and sociocultural environment. This finding is similar to the conceptual model of international student adjustment and adaptation proposed by Schartner and Young (2016; 2020).
The paper addresses differential experience of key student cohorts e.g. international, mature students and emphasise consistent, robust support and guidance for every student. It is anticipated that the research outcome will create and strengthen learning communities, so that a higher percentage of students will feel part of a community of staff and students and a sense of belonging to the university or college. Students will be able to develop supportive peer relations, meaningful interaction between staff and students, and develop knowledge, confidence identify as successful higher education learners, and a higher education experience that is relevant to their interests and future goals.
As Trahar and Hyland (2011) suggested, “academic staff are core players in the process of internationalisation”. Academic and professional services staff would also be invited to attend workshops and training to increase the cultural awareness and improve the ability to interact with students from culturally diverse background.
The ultimate goal is to encourage ALL students and staff to develop “intercultural competence” that would enable them to interact effectively across cultures (Cena et al, 2021) and prepare our educational institutions to embrace a truly integrated multicultural environment.
ReferencesCena, E., Burns, S., and Wilson, P. (2021). Sense of belonging, intercultural and academic experiences among international students at a University in Northern Ireland. Journal of International Students, 11(4), 812-831.
HESA (2022). Higher Education Student Statistics: UK, 2020/2. 25 January 2022. https://www.hesa.ac.uk/news/25-01-2022/sb262-higher-education-student-statistics
Montgomery, C. (201). Understanding the International Student Experience (Universities into the 21st century) Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, pp.158.
Schartner, A. and Young, T.J. (2016). Towards an integrated conceptual model of international student adjustment and adaptation, European Journal of Higher Education 6(4): 372-386.
Schartner, A. and Young, T.J. (2020). Intercultural transitions in higher education: international student adjustment and adaptation. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2020, pp. 208.
Spencer-Oatey, H., D. Dauber, J.J., and Wang, L. (2017). Chinese students’ social integration into the university community: hearing the students’ voices. High Education 74: 739-756.
Trahar, S. and Hyland, F. (2011). Experiences and Perceptions of Internationalisation in Higher Education in the United Kingdom. Higher Education Research and Development 30(5):623-633
UKCISA (2018). Facing culture shock. UK Council for International Student Affairs. Adapted from Orientated for Success, edited by M Barker, Australian International Development Assistance Bureau, 1990.
07. Social Justice and Intercultural Education
Paper
Does One Need To Identify To Belong? Engineering Identity and the Sense of Belonging According to Gender and Migration Background.
Mieke Cannaerts, Sofie Craps, Greet Langie
KU Leuven, Belgium
Presenting Author: Cannaerts, Mieke
Western society values free will, equal chances, and self-expression, especially when there is economic prosperity [1]. Choice is essential to free will, but more choices make a decision more substantial, leading to more risk, and more responsibility. This makes choosing a study field a big step in someone’s identity development. It is part of who they will become and how other people will see them [2].
When people have the freedom to pursue their dreams, they conform more easily to gender stereotypes in their study choices. They search for a sense of belonging, by following their gender identity [1]. A society where academic fields come with stereotypes of who belongs and who does not, impacts someone’s choice according to their gender or background. Looking at engineering for example, white males dominate the field [3]. This can influence the feeling of belonging to engineering for someone that does not identify as white or male. It is likely that they will choose a different study field, or have more difficulties with persisting once entered [4].
The sense of belonging is defined as ‘one’s personal belief that one is an accepted member of an academic community whose presence and contributions are valued’ [5, p. 701]. Having a strong sense of belonging is related to higher motivation, more academic self-confidence, higher engagement, and higher achievement [5]. When someone does not see themselves represented in a study domain, or do not conform to the stereotypical image that society has of that domain, it decreases the chances of a positive identification with this domain [6]. In some cases, it entails modifying their identity or narrative to fit it. For example, some women described themselves becoming less feminine during their STEM education. Archer et al. [7, p. 23] theorize that this is partially out of a need to be taken seriously in their field of study that has a strong link with masculine traits. When the identity that is needed to belong in the study field diverges too far from the own identity, this can lead to drop out [8].
The purpose of this study is to investigate how the discipline-specific identity is related with the feeling of belonging with the related study programme. The focus is on the field of engineering that is typically dominated by (white) men [3]. For example, of all the new students enrolled in the Bachelor Engineering Technology at the KU Leuven (Belgium), 10% is female, and 8% have a migration background [9].
Looking at Belgium, we see that female students and students with a migration background face different barriers. While intake for students with a migration background is low, they are already underrepresented in secondary education tracks that prepare for engineering programmes in university [10]. After completing these secondary education tracks, they face less hurdles in choosing engineering. Conversely, female students are not underrepresented in secondary education tracks, but do not make their way to engineering [11]. However, once they enter the program, students with a migration background struggle more with persistence than students without a migration background. For female students, we see that they often do better than male students [12], something we do not see in several other university, for example in Germany [13] and the US [14].
Although they face different barriers, both female students and students with a migration background, seem to have difficulties to identify with engineering. This study asks how engineering identity is related with the feeling of belonging for first-year students of engineering programmes, and how this relationship is different according to their gender or migration background.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThis contribution is part of a broader study that focusses on the recruitment and retention of engineering students, conducted at the KU Leuven, Belgium. In October 2022, an online survey was organized with first-year students in engineering science, engineering-architect, engineering technology, and bio-engineering sciences. Although students were encouraged in a course to participate, participation was voluntary. Informed consent was obtained after approval of the Privacy and Ethics Committee (G-2022-5665).
After data cleaning, 942 respondents remained (response rate of 75% ). Among these respondents, 249 students were registered as female, 95 with a migration background from outside the EU, and 39 from within the EU.
We investigate the link between two concepts, engineering identity and the sense of belonging. Following Godwin et al. (2020), the concept of engineering identity was measured by three subscales on a five-point likert scale (from ‘not at all important’ to ‘very important’):
(1) ‘Recognition’ measured the extent that people in their environment see the student as an engineer (3 questions);
(2) ‘Interest’ looked at the enjoyment and fulfilment of studying engineering (3 questions);
(3) ‘Competence’ focused more on students’ belief to perform well in engineering programmes (4 questions originally, but one was omitted).
The concept sense of belonging is based on some subscales of the questionnaire of Good et al. (2012) and was also measured on a five point likert scale (from ‘not agreed at all’ to ‘completely agreed’):
(1) ‘Membership’ measured whether a student feels part of the engineering community (4 questions);
(2) ‘Acceptance’ looked at the extent to which a student feels accepted in one’s program (4 questions);
(3) ‘Trust’ focused on the trust that a student has in one’s teachers (4 questions).
In this study, it was analysed how the relationship between engineering identity and the sense of belonging differs according to gender and migration background.
(1) Migration background was measured by the student’s birth country and by their parent(s) or grandparents' birth country. For the students with a migration background, we make a distinction between inside or outside the EU [12].
(2) Gender will be measured as the sex according to their passport. Unfortunately, we are not able to measure if people identify as non-binary or transgender, so we will not be able to distinguish these groups.
Data was analysed in R. The different subscales were confirmed with affirmative factor analysis, followed up with t-tests, and linear regression analysis.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsBoth engineering identity [15] and sense of belonging [5] have been shown to impact retention rate and study results of students. Since the engineering field is dominated by white men, female students and students with a migration background often have a lower sense of belonging and a weaker engineering identity. In the engineering courses at the KU Leuven, there is a difference in retention rate when it comes to people with or without a migration background, while we do not see that same difference when it comes to someone’s gender. Female students also perform better than men [12]. That is why we are interested to see if the difference in the sense of belonging and engineering identity between students with and without a migration background is bigger than between female and male students.
As of the date of submission of this abstract, the analysis of the data has been ongoing. First results of the t-tests show that all subscales show a significant difference (p<0,01) between male and female students, as well as between students with and without a migration background. However, a first look at linear regression models, show that female students only score significantly lower on the ‘trust’ subscale, but not on the other subscales for sense of belonging. For students with a migration background, a slightly lower, but significant effect of the sense of belonging ‘membership’ subscale was observed. When it comes to engineering identity, female students score significantly lower score on the ‘competence’ subscale than male students. For students with a migration background, there is a significant increase on the subscale ‘interest’, and a decrease on the subscale ‘recognition’ in comparison with students without a migration background.
More in depth analysis is necessary before specific results can be made public.
References[1]N. S. Yalcinkaya and G. Adams, “A Cultural Psychological Model of Cross-National Variation in Gender Gaps in STEM Participation,” Personal. Soc. Psychol. Rev., vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 345–370, 2020, doi: 10.1177/1088868320947005.
[2]H. Rose and M. B. Schwartz, “Does Choice Mean Freedom and Well-Being?,” J. Consum. Res. Inc., vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 344–355, 2010, doi: 10.1086/651242.
[3]M. Charles and K. Bradley, “Indulging our gendered selves? sex segregation by field of study in 44 countries,” Am. J. Sociol., vol. 114, no. 4, pp. 924–976, 2009, doi: 10.1086/595942.
[4]E. Blosser, “An examination of Black women’s experiences in undergraduate engineering on a primarily white campus: Considering institutional strategies for change,” J. Eng. Educ., vol. 109, no. 1, pp. 52–71, 2020, doi: 10.1002/jee.20304.
[5]C. Good, A. Rattan, and C. S. Dweck, “Why do women opt out? Sense of belonging and women’s representation in mathematics,” J. Pers. Soc. Psychol., vol. 102, no. 4, pp. 700–717, 2012, doi: 10.1037/a0026659.
[6]R. M. O’Hara, “STEM(ing) the Tide: A Critical Race Theory Analysis in STEM Education,” J. Constr. Psychol., vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 986–998, 2022, doi: 10.1080/10720537.2020.1842825.
[7]L. Archer, J. Moote, E. MacLeod, B. Francis, and J. DeWitt, “ASPIRES 2: Young people’s science and career aspirations, age 10-19,” London, 2020.
[8]H. T. Holmegaard, L. M. Madsen, and L. Ulriksen, “A journey of negotiation and belonging: understanding students’ transitions to science and engineering in higher education,” Cult. Stud. Sci. Educ., vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 755–786, 2014, doi: 10.1007/s11422-013-9542-3.
[9]KU Leuven, “Instroomsitueringen generatiestudenten 2021-2022,” Levuen, 2022.
[10]Unia Interfederaal Gelijkekansencentrum, “Diversiteitsbarometer Onderwijs,” Brussel, 2018.
[11]Vlaams ministerie van onderwijs en vorming, “Leerlingenaantallen,” 2022. https://onderwijs.vlaanderen.be/nl/onderwijsstatistieken/themas-onderwijsstatistieken/leerlingenaantallen-basis-en-secundair-onderwijs-en-hbo5 (accessed Jan. 23, 2023).
[12]KU Leuven, “Doorstroomsitueringen met cijfers over de studieprestaties tot en met de cohorte generatiestudenten van academiejaar 2020-2021,” Leuven, 2022.
[13]E. Höhne and L. Zander, “Belonging uncertainty as predictor of dropout intentions among first-semester students of the computer sciences,” Zeitschrift für Erziehungswiss., 2019, doi: 10.1007/s11618-019-00907-y.
[14]J. J. Park, Y. K. Kim, · Cinthya Salazar, and S. Hayes, “Student-Faculty Interaction and Discrimination from Faculty in STEM: The Link with Retention,” vol. 61, pp. 330–356, 2020, doi: 10.1007/s11162-019-09564-w.
[15]A. Godwin and A. Kirn, “Identity-based motivation: Connections between first-year students’ engineering role identities and future-time perspectives,” J. Eng. Educ., vol. 109, no. 3, pp. 362–383, 2020, doi: 10.1002/jee.20324.
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