Dismantling Barriers to BIPOC Student Success

• In Event: Faculty Are Subverting Racial Injustice and Expanding Educational Opportunities for Students Through Practitioner Research at Our Minority-Serving California Community College

Abstract

Elsewhere, I examine student outcomes that were associated with incorporating flexible student structures (including assignment deadlines) into my community college sociology course. In this manuscript, I discuss how flexible assignment deadlines level the playing field for BIPOC students who navigate the legacy of racial injustice in this nation. Here, I reflect on my personal journey as I deepened my praxis as a practitioner researcher. Influenced by relevant literature (Becker, 2016; Hills & Peacock, 2022; Marrero, 2016; Nickels & Uddin, 2021; and Patton, 2000), I became curious to discover what I might learn about student engagement (as evidenced by assignment submission) and achievement (as evidenced by course grades) through adopting a flexible assignment deadline (late work) policy. For example, Marrero (2016) examined a variety of nonacademic barriers to Latinx students’ academic engagement, persistence, and achievement and shed light on ways that educators can offer meaningful support.
Through this manuscript, I introduce my reader to a focal student from my study that I refer to as Jacinta (pseudonym), a Latinx student whose educational trajectory was significantly impacted by the flexible assignment deadline policy that I piloted in our Introduction to Sociology course. Since adopting the flexible assignment policy, I have improved in my ability accurately gauge my students’ growth (because they are able to earn credit for late work instead of receiving zeros missed assignments). This intervention is important for all of my students—yet it is critical for BIPOC students like Jacinta and so many other Delta College students that I serve who navigate life saddled by unearned disadvantages by virtue of their race/ethnicity and socioeconomic backgrounds. I attribute my engagement with the

aforementioned relevant literature and frequent discussions with colleagues within my FETA CoP with prompting a transformation in my outlook and pedagogical practices (which resulted in my deciding to craft the flexible assignment deadline policy). This manuscript explores these ideas in greater detail.

Author

• Marcus Green, San Joaquin Delta College