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“Why Do I Have to Send My Child There?” How Low-Income and Working-Class Black Mothers Perceive School Choice in Washington, D.C.
Get PDFDespite being cemented into the American education system, school choice policies remain controversial among scholars, practitioners, policy makers, and education reform advocates. This study seeks to understand how low-income and working-class parents, for whom school choice advocates claim these policies are intended to benefit, perceive school choice and what motivates these perceptions. In particular, this study focuses on low-income and working-class Black mothers who are often disadvantaged in the education marketplace. Taking advantage of a relatively robust school choice system in Washington, D.C., the author interviewed 10 low-income and working-class Black mothers. The mothers in this sample see school choice policies as an opportunity to exert agency over their children’s education opportunities; however, in reality their choices are limited by their positionality which constrains their real choices. These parents want options beyond their in-boundary traditional public school but policy makers must pursue equitable policies to make the school choice process easier and fairer
Social Inequity on the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration’s Doorsteps: Unpaid Governmental Internships
Get PDFSocial equity is embedded in the public service values of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA). Yet social inequity persists in the facilitation of unpaid governmental internships by some of its accredited programs. This research explores social equity, reviews the service learning pedagogical benefits of internships, explicates the contrasting U.S. legal paradigms permitting unpaid service, and discloses the prevailing pay practice for domestic internships. It then examines the governmental internship paradigm in light of model guidelines. It normatively contends unpaid governmental internships create an access barrier for prospective interns due to their associated socioeconomic opportunity costs. Beyond the normative perspective, using national evidence from paid interns across all majors, research documents (1) more early job offers, (2) more job offers, and (3) higher first position salaries for paid interns. These findings suggest paid governmental interns likely benefit from better outcomes than unpaid interns underscoring the urgency for remedial action from the NASPAA leadership. The article proposes that reconceptualizing governmental internships to a paid only standard yields more good than harm. This pivotal innovation could rectify a long-standing, critical social equity inconsistency within some NASPAA accredited programs. Institutionalizing a paid-only standard is achievable through accreditation modifications and federal reform. Additionally, the proposed national tracking of governmental interns could better inform service-learning pedagogy. Such a data set can spur research regarding paid internships as a pipeline for increasing the representation of the socioeconomically disadvantaged in governmental agencies
Parental Pains of Imprisonment: A Critical Qualitative Examination of Reentry Into Family Life
Get PDFThe purpose of this study is to grasp and become better informed about the experiences of formerly incarcerated mothers and fathers transitioning from correctional facilities (i.e., local jails, state & federal prisons) back into family life. Lacking in criminological literature on prisoner reentry is the intersection of parenthood and post-incarceration reintegration. Since available research often focuses on maternal and paternal reentry separately, this study encapsulates both to provide an in-depth analysis of experiences across race and gender. To gauge perspectives and experiences in-depth, this study is grounded in qualitative/triangulated methodologies. The data and findings from this study aim to assist institutional and community-based prisoner reentry programs and services in their efforts to improve the transitional process from incarceration to communities of formerly incarcerated parents. Study findings may also be applicable to the administration of justice by providing empirically sound policy implications for correctional officials and agencies that are both gender and culturally responsive
Texas, Our Texas: My Family\u27s Deep Roots in the Lone Star State
Get PDFIn this essay, Karen Kossie-Chernyshev traces her family\u27s connections to Texas history, from Mexican Texas history to the present
Identifying Genetic Differences Among African American And Caucasian Triple Negative Breast Cancer Genotypes
Get PDFTriple negative breast cancers (TNBC) are closely related to basal-like cancers and classified based on their molecular signatures and their progenitor cell type. TNBCs lack the presence of three common types of receptors known to fuel breast cancer growth: estrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptors 2 (HER2neu). TNBC represent 10-20% of all molecular breast cancer subtypes. Even though genomic and transcriptome analyses show that many of the molecular signatures associated with TNBC are not related to ethnicity, clinicians and researchers find that African American (AA) TNBC women have higher mortality rates compared to Caucasian (CA) women. The high mortality rates are linked to socioeconomic factors like access to adequate healthcare, but researchers are exploring the possibility that genetic differences between AA and CA patients may also play a role in racial disparities. Microarray analyses have been instrumental in characterizing TNBC and many other types of breast cancer. Related to TNBC, microarray analyses (a) validate the negative receptor-status of the cancers (b) identify and define the six sub-categories of TNBC validating the heterogeneity of the cancers as defined by Lehmann et al and (c) the microarray gene expression platform is proving to be useful towards determining genes differentially represented in AA and CA TNBC. Our approach is to use the microarray platform (and a cell line model) to further examine the differences between the transcriptomes of CA and AA women. For more accurate transcriptome comparisons, we’ve identified and compared AA Basal-A TNBC to CA Basal-A TNBC, and separately AA Basal-B TNBC compared to CA Basal-B TNBC. Bioinformatic analyses show that TCEAL8 and TCEAL9 genes, both located on X-chromosome are differentially expressed in AA compared to CA TNBC. The EFHD1 gene is identified as differentially expressed in AA Basal-B compared to CA Basal- B TNBC. These data serve as a preliminary study towards further characterizing molecular differences between the transcriptomes of AA compared to CA TNBC patient populations
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and The Role of Public Participation
Get PDFThis dissertation analyzes the role of public participation and the implementation of Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) funded developments in higher socio-economic communities. Using archival research, participant observation, and in-depth interviews, the dissertation examines the placement of North Court Villas, Frisco, Texas and 2640 Fountain View, Houston, Texas. The literature shows that the placement of LIHTC-funded developments continues to be distributed in low-income communities. Housing policies have not been able to resolve these imbalances, which has resulted in multiple court interventions. However, court rulings have not sufficiently addressed the aspects of public participation of these developments. Research shows that these developments are normally met in higher socio-economic communities with the same level of public resistance as any development associated with Not In MyBack Yard (NIMBY). Little is known about how local institutional actions on public participation have positively skewed the supply of LIHTC-funded developments in communities with higher economic opportunities. This dissertation uses archival research as an initial assessment to pinpoint the stakeholders who were actively engaged within the studied areas. Individual contact with stakeholders for an interview was initiated via e-mail, telephone, and various social media platforms. Following each interview, a snowball sampling took place where each participant was encouraged to refer other members within their community for an interview. 25 community stakeholders agreed to an in-person or virtual meeting. In addition, public hearings were used to corroborate and enhance the data was the collected from the interviews. The usage of three data collection methods resulted in the discovery of three themes: communication, space (location) and time. The data shows that the three themes serve as a crucial component to the way local stakeholders effectively utilize public participation to implement LIHTC-funded developments in higher socio-economic communities. Lastly, the themes show that greater public participation of residents in the decision-making process will lead to a greater probability of acceptance of LIHTC-funded development in higher socio-economic communities than in similar communities where public participation is minimal
Teacher Perceptions of Tier 2 Reading Interventions
Get PDFMany students in schools in the United States today are considered at-risk in their reading ability. The disproportionate number of students making inadequate progress places the fate of students at stake. Response to Intervention (RTI) was created to support student growth in reading while reducing the number of students requiring testing for disabilities. This study aims to examine teacher perceptions of RTI reading interventions. Specifically, this study will be concerned with the effects of Tier 2 reading interventions by examining their perceptions of professional development, data and progress monitoring, resources, and support surrounding reading interventions. While an extensive body of research analyzes Response to Intervention and its effects on students’ reading achievement, the amount of research on teacher perceptions of reading interventions is amiss. A quantitative, descriptive research design was utilized in this study. Likert scale survey research was used and analyzed in this study. A total of thirty-six participants completed the survey. Two research questions framed the study. Research question 1 had a mean of 2.2641. Research question 2 had a mean of 2.3114. Open-ended question 1 yielded four themes: time-consuming, inadequate support, large numbers of students in Tier 2, and resources. Open-ended question 2 yielded two themes: student grouping and ongoing, strategic training needed