Theses and Dissertations

Advisor

Molina, Danielle

Committee Member

Cutts, Qiana

Committee Member

Lemley, Stephanie

Committee Member

Briscoe, Kaleb

Date of Degree

5-16-2025

Original embargo terms

Immediate Worldwide Access

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

Educational Leadership (Higher Education Leadership)

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Education

Department

Department of Counseling, Higher Education Leadership, Educational Psychology, and Foundations

Abstract

Understanding the experiences that Black women faculty encounter in instructional spaces of Educator Preparation Providers licensure programs (hereafter referred to as EPPs) at predominantly White institutions are important for institutional change and reform to occur. In spaces of EPPs, Black women faculty are forced to cope and deal with racialized issues such as feelings of social isolation, a lack of inclusion, acts of microaggression from students, disrespectful acts, and students challenging their knowledge and credentials. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how Black women faculty narrate their teaching experiences in EPPs at PWIs. The use of Collins’ (1986, 2009) Black Feminist Thought, complimented by Crenshaw’s concept of Intersectionality (1991, 2017) were used to guide the data collection and analysis processes for the study. In this study, Black women faculty shared stories regarding ways that their identities, ways of knowing, and ability to navigate racist and sexist spaces vary from faculty of other races and genders. Data were collected using the Demographic Intake Questionnaire, the autoethnographic interview, a narrative semi-structured interview, and a follow-up member checking session. I identified four themes from the data analysis process: 1) gender and race, 2) whiteness as the standard, 3) challenging experiences for Black women faculty, and 4) countermeasures. These themes indicated that Black women faculty experience unique challenges in instructional spaces of EPPs on their quest to prepare teacher candidates for racially diverse student populations. Institutional leaders can use the findings to develop a plan to counteract the levels of racial oppression and white ideologies that permeate systems and structures of PWIs.

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