This qualitative research study examines the experiences of undocumented Latina/o graduate students. Specifically, the study explores how undocumented students have navigated entrance into graduate school and how their immigration status has impacted their educational and occupational aspirations. Utilizing a Latina/o Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) framework this study challenges forms of racism that exist through immigration policies and laws that limit the opportunities for undocumented students. The study draws on a Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) model, and argues that undocumented college graduates utilize forms of capital embedded in their culture and communities of support to navigate institutions of education and successfully obtain their degrees. The study employs an oral history methodology with 20 Latina/o students attending the University of California or California State University System at the time of the study. The study provides insight into the lived experiences of undocumented students and how those experiences inform how they strategize and mobilize key resources in higher education. Additionally, this work has important implications for educational practitioners and policy makers interested in broadening post-baccalaureate access for this student population.

This qualitative study provided an in-depth look at the experiences of Mexican-origin students who participated in a voluntary busing program designed for integration purposes. In an effort to address the gap in the prevailing literature on desegregation studies, the experiences of their parents was also included. The socio-cultural dimension of schooling was utilized as a framework to examine the social, cultural, and environmental components that impacted the learning of students who participated in a voluntary busing program designed for integration purposes. The components within the socio-cultural dimension were also examined in conjunction with a framework that considered several critical conditions of schooling in order to position the educational experiences of students as central to the analysis. Results from the data analysis included the following: (a) the reasons why parents and students opted to participate in the PWT program, (b) the experiences of PWT students and their parents at or with the receiving school, and (c) the students' and parents' reflections regarding the significance of the PWT program. The participants also offered valuable recommendations that were included as implications for policy with regard to the schooling process. The findings posited the need for further research pertaining to the experiential contributions of the participants; the narratives also illustrated the knowledge to be gained about the impact of voluntary busing programs.

This work investigates the resistive and healing practices that Black women, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary folks enact in the face of daily racialized and gendered terrors as they navigate higher education. Central to my theorizing of academic spaces is the understanding of schooling as a contested space that reifies identity-based harm. I locate the impact of this reality within both a historical and contemporary context by reckoning with the substantiation of institutions of higher learning made possible by slave holding governing faculties, endowments bolstered by investments in the military and prison industrial complex, enduring racial stratification in the numerical and ideological presence of marginalized peoples, and the maintenance of interlocking systems of domination that undergird school policies. As Black women, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary folks contend with academic spaces rife with systemized difference, they foster alternative relationships to the university that center their well-being. Using Black feminisms and Critical Race Theory, my dissertation captured narratives that explore life histories and capacity to create affirming relations against the backdrop of educational violences within higher education. Undergraduate Black women, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary students were recruited to participate in individual interviews, capturing their life histories inclusive of their educational trajectories, understanding of the impact of race and gender throughout their schooling, and their hopes for the future of education for their community. Findings reveal the significance of informal, student-initiated support spaces to mitigate the impact of daily antiblackness in both academic and social spaces on campus. Dorm rooms, group chats, passing periods, and other such counterspaces significantly combatted the effects of navigating “just the system itself.” Further, archival documents were reviewed using content analysis to explicate the foundations of the research site as a racialized project and identify Black student activists organizing in the 1960s. Both the foundational constructed difference and adamance in maintaining the status quo is a through line that helps to articulate the continued nature of racialized difference within higher education.

This dissertation explores the educational experiences of Chicana/os in the first half of the twentieth century using one of the most ethnically diverse communities in the state of California—South Central Los Angeles—as a case study. Driven by the following questions, my research explored: 1) What were the social and economic conditions of the Mexican community of South Central Los Angeles during 1930-1949? 2) What were the dominant discourses about this population during the period understudy? 3) What influences did dominant discourses have in how Chicana/o students experienced schooling during 1930-1949? In answering these guiding research questions, this dissertation places Chicana/o youth at the center of educational policy-making and builds on previous historical scholarship documenting the pervasiveness of racism within and beyond schools. It contributes to our understanding of the link between local discourses of Mexican juvenile delinquency and school district policy and practice.

Drawing on a Critical Race Theory (CRT) in education, this dissertation discusses collective Mexican schooling experiences in South Central Los Angeles by exploring the connections between the social conditions of Mexican families, dominant juvenile delinquency rhetoric and educational policy. I utilize archival research methods, and hone in on quantitative sources, such as U.S. Census Population Schedules from 1930 & 1940, to illuminate on the qualitative experiences of Mexican students. Pairing U.S. Census data with school district literature, correspondence, photographs, school yearbooks & student newspapers along with special collections such as the Carey McWilliams, Manuel Ruiz, Mexican Voice and LAUSD papers, add depth in understanding how the education of Chicana/o students was rationalized and designed.

This dissertation finds that discourses of deficiency framed youth as deficient in moral character and intelligence, which functioned to justify vocational training programs as a suitable option for Mexican students. Thus, vocational training programs were theorized as curricular examples of structures of deficiency, as they were anchored on the perceived low educational ability of Mexican students. Structures of deficiency also manifested themselves in the ways teachers taught Mexican students. In particular, I argue that the use of intimidation tactics and corporal punishment in the classroom, were manifestations of the structures of deficiency. These practices often used to teach Mexican students, were rooted in deficit notions of academic ability, which deemed these students educable only under the threat of physical violence.

This mixed-methods study of Chicano and Latino educational experiences of Latino Military Veterans utilizes critical analyses of a data set from the 2010 Population Representation in the Military Services Report and data drawn from ten participants who were interviewed using portraiture and theoretical sampling methodologies. Three research questions guide this study: 1) What are military recruitment rates of Latina/os?; 2) How does the life story of a Latino military veteran who graduated from an Orange County high school in the mid-90s shape his post-secondary academic trajectories?; and 3) How does identity influence the educational experiences of Latino military veterans? Critical race theory, borderlands theory and queer theory underwrite Jotería (Spanish for a Latina/o culture-specific Queer Theory), an intersectional framework used to inform how multiple social constructs and systems of oppression shape the educational experiences for Latinos as “Brown bodies.” Findings revealed Latina/o demographic inequalities in the Navy military branch of the military, intersectional identities of Chicano and Latino study participants work as a form of habitus aligned with the institutional needs of the military, and the life story of a Latino military veteran, who also identifies as Chicano, underscored the high value placed on education.

In the fall of 1944, a group of concerned citizens in Westminster, California got together to protest the segregation of Mexican origin children into so-called "Mexican schools." Angered that their children had been racially targeted, parents from the Mexican American community drafted a petition to school officials. Outlined in the petition were the parents' concerns regarding their children's education and their plea to the district to reconsider its separatist policies. Largely ignored by school officials, the parents saw fit to file suit.

The case of Mendez et al. v. the Westminster School District et al. marked a watershed moment in the history of this country and the ongoing battle for racial equality. What began as a community struggle eventually emerged as a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of 5,000 people of predominately Mexican ancestry. Named in the lawsuit were five key families, a number of students, and a host of people from across Orange County. Not readily identified in the lawsuit or subsequent inquiries about it, however, were the countless women who participated in efforts to dismantle "Mexican schools" in California. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine this void.

This study of the Mendez case tells the story of a Mexican American community's quest for social justice. It examines the grassroots movement of those who organized to challenge de jure segregation in their neighborhood schools and their reasons for doing so (see Figure 1). Guiding this study are questions regarding the many people who contributed to the Mendez case and the multitude of ways in which they lent their support. Particular to this study of Mendez et al. v. the Westminster School District et al. is an investigation into the participation of Mexican origin women and their varied contributions to desegregation efforts.

This qualitative study focuses on the experiences of Women of Color in doctoral programs to highlight the challenges they face, the silences they encounter, and the navigational tools they utilize to persist through their programs. Women of Color continue to be marginalized in academia and face many challenges when earning graduate degrees (Gutierrez y Muhs et al., 2012; Keating, 2006; McKee & Delgado, 2020; Montoya, 2000). This research specifically examines the experiences of marginalization and the silence that they encounter in doctoral programs. Using Critical Race Theory (Solórzano, 1998), Black Feminist Thought (Collins, 2000), and Chicana feminist theories (Anzaldúa, 2002; Delgado Bernal, 1998), I focused on nine Women of Color doctoral students from the fields of Sociology, Psychology, Education, Gender Studies, STEM, and History. To center the voices of Women of Color in my dissertation, I utilized the methodology of pláticas and video testimonios. I gathered 75 survey/intake forms, 9 individual pláticas, 6 video testimonials, and 1 group plática. The analysis gave insight into how their gender, race/ethnicity, and other intersecting identities impact their educational journeys toward completing a doctoral degree. The findings bring attention to the isolation, imposter syndrome, and violence they experienced. An aim of this research was to also uncover the silences Women of Color encounter in academic settings. Theorizing with my collaborators, I created the Spectrum of Silence, which begins with Being Silenced, then shifts to the In-Between Silences, and ends with Choosing Silence. The Spectrum of Silence names the different types of silence that are experienced by Women of Color in doctoral programs. It extends our understanding of how silence is not static but shifts and flows depending on the context. Through a spectrum, not only can we recognize the detrimental ways Women of Color experience silence but also the way they exercise their agency as they navigate oppressive structures. Implications for this research point to (a) the power of utilizing race-gendered informed methodologies such as testimonios and pláticas for research on Women of Color, (b) the pedagogical implications of the Pedagogy of Silence, and (c) the need for more Faculty of Color to support the type of critical research Women of Color aspire to conduct.

This qualitative dissertation study aims to examine the role that social justice-based After-School (AS) programs play in the development of asset-based oppositional behaviors that express critical agency and social action among urban Chicanx-Latinx youth. Research has proven that youth developmental models that cultivate agency among youth of color directly contributes to Positive Youth Developmental (PYD) outcomes. However, few studies have explained how or outlined specifically what engaged Chicanx-Latinx AS youth participants to develop a resistance behavior that reflects a critique of social oppression and motivation of social justice—Transformational Resistance (Solorzano & Bernal, 2001). Simultaneously, the study investigates the potential PYD impacts that transformational resistance behaviors has on their social, emotional, and mental well-being. Utilizing Latina/o Critical Theory (Delgado Bernal, 2002) and Chicana/o school resistance frameworks, the study sought to understand how Chicanx-Latinx youth make meaning and theorize on their process of developing a critique of social oppression and motivation for social justice.

Employing qualitative case study methods, the study focused on 16 Chicanx-Latinx youth participants, ages 15 to 24, who participated in a social justice-based AS program in the inner city of Los Angeles. At two school-based research sites, 18 semi-structured interviews and two focus groups were conducted: 8 interviews with AS youth participants from a youth leadership and mentoring program, 8 interviews with AS youth participants from a youth leadership Hip Hop program, and 2 interviews with the program directors of the social justice-based community youth program, Advancing Justice (pseudonym). In terms of data collection and analysis, in-depth individual and focus group interviews, participant observations and youth-generated projects were collected and preliminarily coded. Preliminary themes were identified and presented to youth participants and staff as a reflexive and collaborative process. Following this collaborative process, final themes were identified. Study findings indicated that the intentional role that creating safe spaces that focused on healing circles contributed to the development of Transformational Resistance outcomes. Youth in the study reported that ethnic studies curriculum and pedagogical approaches contributed to transformational resistance and PYD outcomes such as increased self-efficacy. Finally, the study’s findings and recommendations will be utilized in a Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR) strategy to directly support a youth-led, grassroots organizing campaign for the establishment of a Department of Youth Development and Services in Los Angeles County.

There is a paucity of scholarship that centers the experiences and resistance efforts of Students of Color in higher education institutions. More specifically, there is a need to grow Chicana/o student activism literature in the late 20th Century through a Critical Race Theory lens. This study centers the multiple people that participated in the 1990-1993 movements for Chicana/o Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). By focusing on this historical moment, the dissertation contributes to a variety of academic discourses.

The theoretical framework used in this study is Critical Race History (CRH) that draws from existing scholarship in Critical Race Theory in Education, Critical Race Theory in the Law, Chicana Feminisms, and Jotería Theories. The CRH lens is used to analyze a number of academic writings that inform the topic, hundreds of archival documents in institutions as well as with individuals, and 39 oral histories of students, community leaders, faculty, staff, and administrators that witnessed and took on leadership roles during the 1990-1993 period.

The dissertation finds that the racial climate in the 1990's in California impacted the discourse on departmentalizing Chicana/o Studies at UCLA. Specifically, the dissertation finds that race is complicated by elements of class and citizenship in a number of archival documents. The oral histories also surface racial, class, and citizenship tensions, and further include gender and sexuality into the narrative.

Momentum around the institutionalization of Ethnic Studies in United States K–12 classrooms is gaining widespread attention. Given the social, cultural, and political influences surrounding racialized schooling contexts, it is pertinent to understand the impact and importance of Ethnic Studies in schools and consider what can be learned from teachers who already possess knowledge and insights developed through Ethnic Studies. While increased attention is focused on the development, implementation, and teaching of Ethnic Studies content, this dissertation examines the role of Ethnic Studies in shaping Filipino American teachers’ classroom practices and pedagogies.

Guided by critical race theory and portraiture, I conducted two rounds of in-depth interviews and two focus groups with seven Filipino American public school teachers working in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles regions. Through analysis of their experience regarding how Ethnic Studies shapes their teaching, I determined that having a background in Ethnic Studies: (a) enabled critical perspectives to be woven into mainstream content; (b) affected teachers’ engagement with students and communities; and (c) and shaped their teacher identities.

I conclude that Ethnic Studies has the potential to transform how teachers of color are recruited, retained, and developed, legible in the narratives of Filipino American teachers working to deconstruct systems of power with frameworks learned in Ethnic Studies.