Sherry Marx

Regarding Whiteness: Exploring and Intervening in the Effects of White Racism in Teacher Education

This study examines the beliefs of nine white English-only speaking preservice teachers who tutored English language learners of Mexican origin as part of a university field service requirement. Over the course of a semester, participants were interviewed at length about their own reasons for becoming teachers, their beliefs about the children, and the ways in which race influenced their lives. Participants also were observed tutoring, and their learning journals were analyzed. Through various means of data collection, it became apparent that the good intentions of the participants were consistently undermined by the whiteness and the racism that influenced their beliefs about and behaviors with the children. The researcher consequently decided to intervene in the study, sharing data with participants and encouraging them to see the ways that whiteness and racism influenced their tutoring experience. Critical Race Theory and Critical White Studies together make up the theoretical framework that situates this study.

Pedagogies of critical race theory: Experimentations with white preservice teachers

We have taken to heart the call of critical race theorists and critical Whiteness scholars to open up a White discourse on White racism. As White, female, teacher educators, we endeavored to openly address Whiteness and White racism with our White students to help them become more aware of the advantages and biases inherent in their positionality as White teachers. As we did this, we were critically aware of both the negative and positive possible outcomes of our endeavors. Throughout our work with our students and our subsequent reflections on the results, we were able to establish ways of speaking about Whiteness that moved our students, and ourselves, to a more critical, more empowered understanding of race and Whiteness.

Demystifying Grounded Theory for Business Research

The grounded theory method (GT) remains elusive and misunderstood by many—even those who advocate its use. In practice, many research studies cite the use of GT but merely apply certain a la carte aspects or jargon of the method while not actually incorporating the fundamental principles of the methodology. Consequently, the purpose of this article is fourfold: (a) to demystify the key tenets of GT, (b) to discuss the problematic impacts of adopting an a la carte approach to GT, (c) to draw attention to GT as a rigorous method for business research, and (d) to advocate for the increased use of GT by more researchers where appropriate. Throughout the article, the authors use the example of a recently completed GT study by the lead author to highlight the multiple dimensions of GT and how they all work together.

How young, technical consumers assess online WOM credibility

Purpose – Specifically focusing on one antecedent (information seekers characteristics) for electronic word‐of‐mouth adoption and credibility assessments, the purpose of this paper is to attempt to shed light on consumer motivations for making and taking online recommendations, and how technically savvy consumers assess credibility online.Design/methodology/approach – To investigate the role and influence of word‐of‐mouth (WOM) amongst technically savvy online consumers, purposeful sampling was used to limit participants to those who have made online purchases and who spend more than three hours a day on the internet. Using an adaptation of the grounded theory method, this study was triangulated via one face‐to‐face interview with each participant, member‐checking, analysis of online communications deemed “not credible” by the participants, and through relevant literature from marketing and information systems (IS).Findings – Analysis shows that participants exhibit more of a “bricks‐to‐clicks” than a “c...

Transformative Professional Development: A Model for Urban Science Education Reform

This study presents a model of Transformative Professional Development (TPD) for use in sustained, collaborative, professional development of teachers in urban middle school science. TPD focuses on urban science teacher change and is responsive to school climate, teacher needs, and teacher beliefs with the intention of promoting change in practice. In this study, TPD was used to meet the needs of individual teachers and the collective needs of schools in reform efforts. The experiences of the eight teachers engaged in this process of professional growth, including their changes in practices and beliefs, provide the focus of this paper. Findings in this study revealed that through the use of TPD, participants in this study improved science teaching effectiveness and began to transform their negative school climate and create positive classroom learning environments.

ESL TEACHER EDUCATION ABROAD AND AT HOME: A CAUTIONARY TALE

In this article, we compared teacher attitudes and beliefs about culturally appropriate language teaching resulting from an examination of two groups of preservice teachers. One group of preservice teachers enrolled in an English as a Second Language (ESL) study abroad program in Mexico; the other enrolled in a traditional on-campus ESL program. Our findings indicate that study abroad students gained a more empathetic understanding of language and cultural issues that affect language learners than their on-campus counterparts, but that they also developed some misconceptions about language learning based on their study abroad experience.

Living and learning in Mexico: developing empathy for English language learners through study abroad

This paper provides a qualitative examination of university student experiences with culture, language, and race in a short‐term study abroad program in Cuernavaca, Mexico. All participants were White teacher education students from the United States earning their English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching endorsement and hoped to teach English language learners (ELLs). During the three week program, students took ESL Methods and Spanish for Teachers classes, and lived with host families in Cuernavaca. In addition to academic goals, the study abroad program was designed to help students develop empathy for the challenges faced by ELLs in the US through immersion in Mexico. Given that most teachers in the US are monolingual, native English speaking Whites and the majority of ELLs are native Spanish speakers, this study abroad experience provided many opportunities to develop empathy for ELL schoolchildren that the students’ usual milieu in the US did not. Daily journal entries, instructors’ observations, and pre‐ and post‐experience questionnaires were examined. Through our analysis, we found that students struggled with the cultural, linguistic, and racial dimensions of their short‐term study abroad experience and that most channeled these frustrations into some measure of empathetic understanding for the challenges facing ELLs in the US.

“Not Blending In” Latino Students in a Predominantly White School

This article reports the findings of a study on the experiences of a small but growing population of Latino students in a small-town secondary school. All teachers and administrators were surveyed regarding their impressions of Latino students. All students in the school (95% White, 5% Latino) were surveyed regarding their impressions of ethnicity, culture, and language in their own school experiences. In all, 26 adults, 25 of whom were White, and 800 students participated in the surveys. Ethnographic data augment survey findings. White students responded more positively than did Latino students, with more positive thoughts about the school and their own experiences in the school, for every survey question. Responses of White school personnel are contrasted to those of the only Latino teacher.

Taking off the Color-Blind Glasses: Recognizing and Supporting Latina/o Students in a Predominantly White School.

This article reports findings of a collaborative research project examining and seeking to improve the schooling experiences of a small but growing population of Latina/o students in a small-town secondary school over a 4-year period. The school was studied through ethnographic methods and surveys in 2005 and 2008. Initial findings were shared with the principal who proceeded to make substantial changes in school curriculum and climate, targeting an improved academic climate for Latinas/os. The story of the choices he made, the changes he and his staff implemented, and the consequent results regarding school climate for Latina/o students is the central narrative of this article. The theoretical framework of critical race theory and critical studies in Whiteness contextualizes this examination of change and enables analysis of why some changes were made rather than others as well as subsequent results for Latina/o students.

Understanding the Epistemological Divide in ESL Education: What We Learned from a Failed University-School District Collaboration.

In this critically reflective article, we share our perceptions of the epistemologies that shape our own understanding of successful ESL education and that of a school district that asked us to help redevelop its ESL program. Our differing epistemologies, ours critical and aimed toward social justice, theirs built on what we describe as neoliberal educational discourse and deficit constructions of ELLs and Latinas/os, inevitably led to the collapse of our collaboration. Our differences, particular points of tension, and the impact of this deep and wide chasm on policy and schooling are examined.