Against the Grain: The Changing Nature of Leadership Preparation Cultivated Via Anti-DEI Policies

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 3:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Cultivating Equity-Centered Leaders: Preparing Tomorrow's Leaders (Table 7)

Abstract

The purpose of this presentation is to share how two professors of graduate programs are engaging in critical conversations around racial justice, gender equity, and class disparities while also navigating recently enacted state laws that forbid university faculty from engaging with “divisive concepts.” We use a qualitative approach including document analysis and duo-ethnographic journal entries demonstrating our struggles navigating new political challenges. Findings indicate that the shifting context severely hampered our attempts to cultivate critical consciousness and empathy among students. There was serious pushback against our goals to empower students to engage constructively with diverse perspectives and identities. While some challenges were not new, there was an increase in the intensity and reach of the resulting violence.

Authors

• Brenda Rubio, University of North Texas

• Katherine Cumings Mansfield, University of North Texas