Raquel Oxford

‘We make the road by walking’: a collaborative inquiry into the experiences of women in academia

This paper documents collaborative inquiry research by six academic women to answer research questions, including: what institutional factors and personal socialization experiences influence diverse junior faculty women’s success during the tenure process? Data were collected through storytelling, dialogue and reflection over four years following a four-phase format. Implications for the long-term success and retention of diverse women faculty in academia were discussed.

Engaged Scholarship in the Academy: Reflections from the Margins

This paper represents a series of reflections on collective and individual efforts of diverse women scholars to reconcile alternative views of scholarship within the academy. We document our collective experience with embedding the concept of the “scholarship of engagement” in our practice of research, teaching, and service through a process of collaborative inquiry. In addition, we discuss individual efforts to challenge university colleagues and students (many of whom are teachers in training) to interrogate issues of social justice, diversity, and marginalization in their academic environments. Our experiences provide a critical examination of the supports needed for diverse women faculty who engage in critical dialogues that challenge traditional institutional structures while on the tenure path.

Teaching ayala : A thematic, standards-based approach

Standards-based instruction is not yet the norm at the post-secondary level but the life and work of Francisco Ayala provide a rich source of inspirational and practical applications for the goal areas of the Standards for Foreign Language Learning. In light of this special issue in honor of Francisco Ayala, as well as the increasing importance of applying National Standards in higher education settings including literature courses, the purpose of this paper will be to present standards-based learning scenarios that utilize Ayala as the thematic basis.