San Jose State University SJSU ScholarWorks Dissertations Master's Theses and Graduate Research Summer 2019 The Ontology, Epistemology, and Axiology of Social and Racial Justice Educators: An Untapped Resource to Address the Unequal Educational Outcomes for Students of Color and Other Non- dominant Comunities Adriana Eva Rangel San Jose State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_dissertations Recommended Citation Rangel, Adriana Eva, "The Ontology, Epistemology, and Axiology of Social and Racial Justice Educators: An Untapped Resource to Address the Unequal Educational Outcomes for Students of Color and Other Non-dominant Comunities" (2019). Dissertations. 35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.3j85-dmm5 https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_dissertations/35 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses and Graduate Research at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE ONTOLOGY, EPISTEMOLOGY, AND AXIOLOGY OF SOCIAL AND RACIAL JUSTICE EDUCATORS: AN UNTAPPED RESOURCE TO ADDRESS THE UNEQUAL EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS OF COLOR AND OTHER NON-DOMINANT COMMUNITIES A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Educational Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership San José State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctorate of Education by Adriana E. Rangel August 2019 © 2019 Adriana E. Rangel ALL RIGHTS RESERVED The Designated Dissertation Committee Approves the Dissertation Titled THE ONTOLOGY, EPISTEMOLOGY, AND AXIOLOGY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE FACULTY OF COLOR: AN UNTAPPED RESOURCE TO ADDRESS THE UNEQUAL EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS OF COLOR AND OTHER NON-DOMINANT COMMUNITIES by Adriana E. Rangel APPROVED FOR THE EDUCATIONAL DOCTORAL PROGRAM IN EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY August 2019 Marcos Pizarro, Ph.D. Educational Leadership Roxana Marachi, Ph.D. Educational Leadership Ana Lomas, Ph.D. Campbell Unified School District Abstract THE ONTOLOGY, EPISTEMOLOGY, AND AXIOLOGY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE FACULTY OF COLOR: AN UNTAPPED RESOURCE TO ADDRESS THE UNEQUAL EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES FOR STUDENTS OF COLOR AND OTHER NON-DOMINANT COMMUNITIES By Adriana E. Rangel Despite repeated efforts towards educational reform, white students continue to experience higher educational attainment levels than historically underserved students. While the responsibility to change these outcomes has been vastly placed on the educational system, these disenfranchised populations have largely carried the blame for not improving their educational achievement. Thus, Students of Color have been portrayed as not possessing the drive nor interest to increase their educational attainment rates. Research notes many educators working with Communities of Color often lack the necessary critical consciousness around issues of race, privilege, power and oppression. These are warranted to adequately understand and support opportunities for marginalized populations. This research study employed a qualitative approach and multidisciplinary lenses to examine testimonios of five Faculty of Color committed to social justice. The premise of this study is to explore: 1) the ontological, epistemological, and axiological principles that shape how Faculty of Color approach their work; 2) the strategies used in professional training and credentialing programs where they teach; and 3) ways they navigate racial dynamics within academic institutions. This research study proposes an ontogeny model for social justice educators, and pronounces how critical this ontogeny is to reach social and racial equity at any level of formal education. iv Acknowledgements First of all, I would like to thank my ancestors for the rich history of struggle and survival that I have inherited and treasure. To the people that worked with me on this research, I am forever indebted to you. Thank you for darme la mano in spite of your many obligations and limited time. I feel truly honored. To my dissertation committee, your support made all the difference. Dr. Pizarro, you challenged me intellectually every step of the way and did not allow me to give less than my best. Dr. Marachi, for the kind support since the beginning, and Dr. Lomas, who inspired me to follow her steps and earn this doctorate. To Cohort # 1, especially to Noralee Jasso and Long Truong: you made this academic journey challenging and enjoyable. Noralee Jasso, our intellectual discussions were better than any class we could have taken. We challenged each other as we deconstructed traditional ideologies and constructed new knowledge together. I am looking forward to many years of writing together. To my familia, close and far, I love you and missed you all. Thank you for your support and patience. I hope to see you more often now. To my sons, Peter and Jonathan, thank you for supporting my dreams, for the food, back rubs, and the hugs. You two are the strength that empowers me. I hope that you find your life purpose and achieve all your dreams. I want to see you two accomplished and happy as I feel today. v To my husband, Pedro, you are my rock and you have been there through thick and thin. I feel as lucky today as the day I married you. Thank you for your patience and encouragement. I dedicate this research to all the students that inspired it; students who struggle every day in a system that needs to catch up to their needs, students like my brother, Sandro, whose potential is still hidden. For all the late bloomers and por los que no. vi Table of Contents List of Tables …….…………………………………………………….……………… x List of Figures …….……………………………………………………………………. xi Chapter One – Background of the Study ……………….……..………………………… 1 Setting the Context ………………………………………………………………….. 1 Unequal educational outcomes………………………….…………………….... 2 The responsibility of educators………………………………..……………….. 3 Preparing the next generation of educators……….……………......................... 4 Social justice education programs…..................................................................... 5 Statement of the Problem……………………………………...…………………….. 7 Purpose of the Study …………………………………………………………...….... 8 Research Questions……………………………………………..………………….... 9 Significance of the Study……………………………………………..……………… 9 Definition of Terms & Phrases…………..…………...…………………………....... 10 Delimitations……………………………………...………………………………… 12 Summary……………………………………………………..…..…………………. 13 Organization of the Study…………………………………………………………… 13 Chapter Two – Literature Review ……………................................................................ 15 Contributing Factors ………………………………………...……………………... 16 Critical Race Theory...………………………………………………………….. 16 Latina/Latino Critical Race Theory…………………………………………….. 17 Multiculturalism ……………………………………………………………….. 19 Critical pedagogies …………………………………………………………….. 24 Pedagogy of the oppressed………………………………………………..... 24 Cultural responsive pedagogy………………………………………….…... 24 Culturally relevant pedagogy……………………………………………..... 25 Culturally sustaining pedagogy ……………………………………….…… 27 Pedagogy of care…………………………………………………………… 28 Critical hope ……………………………………………………………...... 28 Culturally relevant care …………………………………………………..... 29 Nepantlera pedagogy………………………………………………….…..... 30 Reality pedagogy …………………………………………………….…….. 30 Sentipensante ……………………………………………………………..... 31 Fieldwork……………………………………………………….......................... 32 Reflections and counterstories………………………………...……………...... 35 Summary of Contributing Factors………………………………………………...... 39 Deterring Factors……………………………………………………………….…… 41 The false dichotomy of the social justice definition …………………….…… 41 Epistemology of the oppressor………………………………………..……....... 44 The role of whiteness and white privilege …………………………………… 46 vii Hegemonic constructions………………………………………………………. 47 Meritocracy…………………………………………………………………. 47 Deficit thinking…………………………………………………………….. 48 Tools of whiteness………………………………………………………….….. 50 Lack of critical faculty……………………………………………………….... 51 Superficial treatment of racism……………………………………………….. 52 Lack of diversity in teaching force…………………………………………... 53 Silence and isolation………………………………………………………...….. 55 Summary of Deterring Factors……………………………………………………… 57 Changing the Status Quo……………………………………………………………. 60 Chapter Three – Methodology ………………………………………………………..... 62 Participants ………………………………………………………………………..... 62 Site ………………………………………………………………………………...... 66 Protocol & Data Collection…………………………………………………………. 66 Limitations of the Study ……………………………………………………………. 67 Positionality and Biases …………………………………………………………….. 68 Validity………………………………………………………………………..…….. 69 Rational for Qualitative Approach ………………………………………………..... 70 Testimonio ………………………………………………………………..…….. 70 Anzaldua’s Mestiza Consciousness and the Path of Conocimiento…………...... 72 Critical race-grounded methodology …………………………………………… 73 Indigenous methodologies …………………………………………………...… 74 Chicana feminist epistemology ……………………………………………….... 77 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs ………………………………………………..... 79 The Social Justice Pyramid …………………………………………………….. 79 Dichos (sayings) …………………………………………………………..…..... 82 Summary of Chapter Three……………………………………………………..…... 82 Chapter Four – Findings ………... ………………………………………………..….... 86 Findings for Question 1 Ontology of social justice educators……………………………………….….... 86 El sacrificio (community sacrifice)…………………………….………..… 87 Dale la mano a tu hermano (relational commitment) …………………......