A photovoice project by Ashley Carter. Uploaded here to host on https://blogs.uw.edu/rmhersh for educational purposes.

1. RACIAL INEQUALITY IN
EDUCATION
Ashley Carter
Community Psychology

2. SEPARATE AND UNEQUAL
• Unequal access to educational resources and opportunities for
students of color and low-income students.
• Lack of access to highly qualified, credentialed, experienced
teachers.
• Lack of access to quality, engaging curriculum.
• Lack of access to quality educational facilities (decrepit, old, in need
of renovations).
• Lack of access to quality teaching and learning materials
(technology, updated books, etc.)
• Lack of access to AP classes, college prep courses, after-school
programs, extra curricular activities, etc.

3. FUNDING DISPARITIES
• Lower teacher salaries & teacher incentives → higher
turnover.
• Poorer working conditions.
• Smaller expenditures for teaching materials.
• High teacher-student ratios.
• Large funding & per-pupil spending disparities.
• Property taxes

4. MYTH OF COLOR
BLINDNESS
• Current educational discourse: color blindness and post-
racialism.
• Racial neutrality.
• If race no longer exists, then racial inequalities and
discrimination don’t either.
• Denial of effects of history and aftermath of slavery.
• Takes solutions to racial disparities off the table.

5. THE COLOR LINE IN AMERICAN
EDUCATION
RACE, RESOURCES, AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
LINDA DARLING-HAMMOND (2004)
• Review article that examines all the educational disparities, analyzes them in relation to race &
proposes educational reforms to equalize education.
• Re-segregation of schools → 98’-99’ 70% of nation’s Black students attended predominantly minority
schools → up almost 10% since 1980.
• High concentrations of poverty.
• In CA, overcrowded schools → multi-track schedule w/ shorter school days & years; lack basic
textbooks & materials; no college help; and untrained, unlicensed, unskilled, temporary teachers.
• Lack of highly qualified, certified teachers → Most segregated minority schools in CA, students are 5x
more likely than predominantly white schools to have uncertified teachers.
• Influences students achievement → study with middle school algebra classes showed students gains 5x as large
with fully certified teachers.

6. THE COLOR LINE IN AMERICAN
EDUCATION
RACE, RESOURCES, AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
LINDA DARLING-HAMMOND (2004)
• Unequal access to high-level courses and challenging curriculum, which affects student achievement.
• Study randomly assigned “at-risk” 7th graders to remedial, average and honors math classes → at the end of
the year, students assigned to honors classes outperformed all students w/ similar backgrounds.
• Study w/ 300 Black & White 1st graders across 7 Chicago schools found that the quality of instruction for Black
students was much lower, which created a racial gap in aggregate achievement.
• NCLB & High-stakes testing → push low scorers into SpEd; retaining students in grade; excluding low-
scorers from admission; encouraging students to leave or drop out.
• 300% increase b/t 97’-98’ & 99’-00’ in middle school dropouts; AA grad. rates from 71-59% b/t 02’-03’
• Reforms: resource equalization; opportunity to learn standards; curriculum & assessment reform; and
investments in quality teaching.
• Study examines the problem of racial inequality at the community & societal levels.
• Lack of focus on CP values: participation & self-determinism- letting students have a voice!

7. FUNDING DISPARITIES AND THE INEQUITABLE
DISTRIBUTION OF TEACHERS: EVALUATING SOURCES AND
SOLUTIONS
FRANK ADAMSON AND LINDA DARLING-HAMMOND (2012)
• Study examining funding disparities in New York and California in 08’-09’ school year and how they
relate to teacher salaries, quality of teachers and student outcomes.
• Results in CA:
• $$/pupil unadjusted ranges from $6,000-$18,000 & adjusted from $6,100-$23,500.
• high-salary districts spend more than 2x as much as low-salary districts for beginning teachers & 3x more for
more experienced teachers → 10 yrs of experience w/ bachelors degree & 60 add. Ed. Credits range from
$41,000 to $117,000 across state & in SF Bay area average salaries range from $54,000 in Oakland (low-income
& minority students) to $90,000 in Portola Valley (wealthy, predominantly white).
• Teachers w/out credentials average is 5% & less than 10% in most districts, but as high as 50% in some
districts; average of 9.5% of teachers w/ less than 3 yrs experience & most b/t 3-13%, but some districts have
as many as 60% of teachers w/ less than 3 years experience.
• Low-salary districts serve disproportionately serve students of color & ELLs & low-salary districts have 20%
larger class sizes, ultimately there is less resources overall.

8. FUNDING DISPARITIES AND THE INEQUITABLE
DISTRIBUTION OF TEACHERS: EVALUATING SOURCES AND
SOLUTIONS
FRANK ADAMSON AND LINDA DARLING-HAMMOND (2012)
• Results in New York state:
• $$/pupil ranged from $8,500-$20,700 at the 95th percentile (& over $54,000 at the very top) & adjusted for cost
diffs. From $10,400-$22,700 (& over $59,000 at the top).
• Excluding districts at high & low end, teacher salaries range from $32,370-$61,338 for beginning teachers &
$43,900-$95,786 for median salaries.
• Within Nassau County, the lowest median salaries are paid w/in Roosevelt Union School District which serves
100% minority students & highest in suburban districts such as Jericho Union (<1% in poverty).
• In CA, scores on the state API ↑ as proportion of teachers w/out full credentials ↓ & in NY % of teachers
w/out full credentials is significantly related to proportion of students failing NY state tests.
• Looks at problem in communities & society,
• Not focused on participation, action or self-determinism. Could possibly use photovoice or other PAR
research for teachers to show how funding disparities affect teaching & resources.

9. RECIPROCAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN EDUCATIONAL
DECISION MAKERS AND STUDENTS OF COLOR
OPPORTUNITIES AND OBSTACLES
MELANIE BERTRAND (2014)
• Explores possibilities for reciprocal dialogue between educational decision makers (school
administrators, teachers, district administrators) & a group of Black and Latino/a students called the
Council of Youth Research.
• The council does research on educational conditions, makes presentations to decision makers, in which they
ask for concrete changes.
• Previous research shows students of color can uniquely provide perspective into systemic racism in
education, which may manifest through inequitable access to resources (overcrowding, qualified
teachers, college prep, etc.).
• Research questions: 1.) How did educational decision makers respond to the Council students?, and 2.)
How did these responses promote or inhibit reciprocal dialogue?
• Findings from two studies in which educational decision makers were interviewed after attending
Council meetings or annual Council-organized event & asked about impressions, reactions and
whether Council presentations impacted school changes or reforms.

10. RECIPROCAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN EDUCATIONAL
DECISION MAKERS AND STUDENTS OF COLOR
OPPORTUNITIES AND OBSTACLES
MELANIE BERTRAND (2014)
• Findings & conclusion:
• 19 decision makers were coded as conveying inhibiting responses, 3 of which promoted dialogue as
well.
• Inhibiting responses were coded into 3 types: looking to the Council as a curricular model; discrediting; and
surprise → focused on performance rather than issues presented & content.
• Only 6 decision makers used strictly promoting responses.
• Categorized into 4 groups: reflection; intertextuality; seeking to enhance student voice; and instructional
change.
• Sheds light on potential pathways and obstacles to reciprocal dialogue & student voice efforts.

11. TAKEAWAY MESSAGES/POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
• More YPAR- youth participatory action research,
particularly Photovoice to show educational decision
makers the inequalities they actually face on a daily
basis.
• Changes in policy that equalizes funding and
resource disparities.
• More multicultural education, especially ethnic
studies & social justice to engage students of color.