Exploring White Privilege Among Adult Learners in the Historically White College and University Classroom
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EXPLORING WHITE PRIVILEGE AMONG ADULT LEARNERS IN THE HISTORICALLY WHITE COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY CLASSROOM by LINDA ELAINE LOGAN (Under the direction of RONALD M. CERVERO) ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to understand how adult learners experience white privilege in higher education classrooms. There were two research questions guiding this study: (1) how does the social position of adult learners affect their experience of white privilege in the classroom; and (2) what are the manifestations of white privilege in the classroom. This was a qualitative case study conducted during the spring 2002 semester at a historically White university. The cases consisted of two higher education classrooms. Twelve racially diverse adult learners and two instructors participated in the study. Data collection methods included semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis. The study found that race, class, and gender affected how adult learners experienced white privilege in the classroom. First, White racialness privileged White adult learners and non-White racialness burdened adult learners of color in the classroom. Class was found to be empowering only to White adult learners who could claim higher social locations. When class intersected with race, White adult learners at the lower end of class claimed power from Whiteness. Adult learners of color from higher and lower social class locations drew on their class backgrounds to negotiate issues of race that operated in the classroom. A higher social class location was of no benefit in the classroom for non-White adult learners who could claim that status. The study found male gender and African American racialness of one of the instructors to be intimidating only among his White students in the study. Manifestations of white privilege included (1) assumptions of race that privileged Whiteness; (2) White domination of classroom discourse; (3) White domination of authorship of the subject content in the classroom; (4) White domination of instructional resources of the classroom; and (5) White domination of physical space of the classroom. The conclusions were: (1) white privilege is a major factor in the dynamics of higher education classrooms; (2) the historically White college and university acts to enable the operation of white privilege in its classrooms; and (3) adult learners of color are complicit with White adult learners in perpetuating white privilege in the classroom. INDEX WORDS: Adult education, Adult learner, African American, Classroom, Higher Education, Race, Skin color, Whiteness, White privilege EXPLORING WHITE PRIVILEGE AMONG ADULT LEARNERS IN THE HISTORICALLY WHITE COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY CLASSROOM by LINDA ELAINE LOGAN B.S., Savannah State College, 1975 M.Ed., Georgia Southern University, 1992 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2002 © 2002 Linda Elaine Logan All Rights Reserved EXPLORING WHITE PRIVILEGE AMONG ADULT LEARNERS IN THE HISTORICALLY WHITE COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY CLASSROOM by LINDA ELAINE LOGAN Major Professor: Ronald M. Cervero Committee: Juanita Johnson-Bailey Rosemary M. Phelps Libby V. Morris Robert J. Hill Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2002 DEDICATION I dedicate my dissertation to my oldest sister, Brenda E. Logan. For all my life, my oldest sister has been an inspiration and an example to follow. Although she graduated seventh in her high school class and magna cum laude of her undergraduate college class, she always told me that I was smart. When she earned her doctorate in 1983, even though I barely understood what a Ph.D. was, she gave me a dream to pursue. A retired teacher of 30 years, Brenda persuaded me to teach at the college level. And even now, as I make the final corrections to my own dissertation and pen this dedication, it is my sister Brenda, who now is a full time college professor, encouraging and inspiring me, still. Thanks, Brenda. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to acknowledge my immediate family and my extended family of friends, colleagues, and others who, over the last four years, helped me in ways that allowed me to stay the course, learn the dance, and take home the gold. What would I have done without my mom? Mrs. Helen Godbee Logan. She was always just an encouraging phone call away. Everyday. Each and everyday. And what would I have done without my dad? Mr. Benjamin Franklin Logan. Had it not been for his deep pockets, I could not have completed this process or kept talking to my mom on the phone. Everyday. And then there was my baby sister, Eloise Logan Sanderlin. She was always there with her late night long distance phone calls and special brand of laughter. My niece Tiffany Sanderlin and my nephew Logan Sanderlin always chimed in to let me know how much they loved me. And I must acknowledge my brother-in-law, Herbert Sanderlin, who was always available to debate public policy with me over the phone. That is, when he wasn’t in Kansas hunting quail. My second oldest sister, Melineze Logan Hite, and I would visit most times over email. What great times we had in cyberspace! My other brother-in-law, Rudolph Charlie Hite, and my nephews Benji Hite, Charlie Hite, and Laurence Hite, I also want to acknowledge because they too inspired me with the sheer pride and admiration they had for me as their sister-in-law and auntie who was on the way to becoming the third doctorate in the family. And finally, there is Aunt Margaret, the first doctorate in my family, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Aunt Margaret you are the best. For four years, I lived away from home, in a quaint, on-campus apartment. As I began to make new friends, the physical separation from my family and familiar places v vi and faces became less intense. I’d like to mention the first names only of my extended family of friends, colleagues, and others who cared enough to nurture me along the way. They are Juanita, Ron C, Libby, Ron S, Elaine, Janet, Pete, Nathaniel, Joyce, Johnny, Nita, J.P., Mike, Ron T, Jeffrey, Paula, Joel, Linda, Homer, Kate, my Chinese basketball team members, Geraldine, Diane, John, and Phyllis. Thank you all for all you’ve done. And inherently, I thank God for his son Jesus. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.......................................................................................... v CHAPTER 1 THE RESEARCH PROBLEM.......................................................... 1 Background of the Study................................................................... 4 Problem and Purpose of the Study..................................................... 8 Significance of the Study................................................................... 9 Definition of Terms............................................................................ 12 2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE.................................................... 13 Race and Racism in the United States............................................... 14 Whiteness/White Privilege in Higher Education............................... 28 Whiteness/White Privilege Studies in Adult Education.................... 41 3 THE RESEARCH DESIGN.............................................................. 49 The Sample........................................................................................ 52 Data Collection.................................................................................. 65 Data Analysis..................................................................................... 70 Reliability........................................................................................... 72 Validity.............................................................................................. 74 Ethics.................................................................................................. 75 Researcher Subjectivity..................................................................... 77 Summary............................................................................................ 83 vii viii Page 4 FINDINGS: PAINTING A PORTRAIT OF WHITE PRIVILEGE ...................................................................................... 86 Features of Social Position Affecting Classroom Experiences.......... 86 Manifestations of White Privilege in the Classroom......................... 112 Summary............................................................................................ 131 5 CONCLUSIONS: THE FACE OF WHITE PRIVILEGE................ 133 Summary............................................................................................ 133 Conclusions and Discussions............................................................. 142 Implications of the Study................................................................... 152 Concluding Remarks.......................................................................... 154 REFERENCES........................................................................................................... 157 APPENDICES A CONSENT FORM............................................................................. 165 B INTERVIEW GUIDE........................................................................ 167 CHAPTER 1 THE RESEARCH PROBLEM Overt racial domination of people of color in America is a thing of the past. Jim Crow, Black codes, and legal segregation are gone with