'Critical' Convenings of Scholars and Policy Analysts Seeks Equity, Advocacy

Throughout the summer, a select group of faculty, policy analysts and doctoral students gathered at a series of multi-day workshops as part of the ASHE Institutes on Equity and Critical Policy Analysis. Five institutes were launched this summer, as part of the $1.4 million Ford Foundation grant, and sponsored over fifty emerging scholars from across the country.

The idea for the Institute arose from a 2004-2005 ASHE Equity Task Force that sought to identify the reasons for and implications of the “racial gap” in scholarship. As such, the topics discussed at the summer convenings included the need to analyze data from critical perspectives to address the persistent inequities in higher education along racial and ethnic lines. Involvement in the summer institute provided opportunities to reflect on and enhance one’s own scholarship and practice as well as creating networks of scholars and policy makers whose work is rooted in and committed to racial and ethnic underserved communities.

Administered by the Center for Urban Education (CUE) at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, the Institutes are an ongoing collaboration with prominent higher education research and policy centers: Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California Los Angeles, the Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance (IHELG) at the University of Houston Law Center, Teachers College at Columbia University, the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) and the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). Here is a sampling of what occurred at the 2009 Institutes:

The Institute on Scholarship and Publishing from an Equity Perspective—held in Santa Fe, New Mexico on June 24-26—hosted nine junior faculty members. Senior faculty and journal editors from The Review of Higher Education, Educational Policy, the Journal of Higher Education and Research in Higher Education were in attendance to offer feedback on manuscripts-in-progress as well as other tips on publishing and crafting a research agenda. The institute directors were Dr. Michael Olivas and Dr. Amaury Nora of the University of Houston.
Teachers College Professors Anna Neumann and Aaron Pallas facilitated the session on Research Methods for Critical Analysis of Qualitative Data (June 28-30 in Santa Monica, California) The session focused on techniques of research design and what it means to be a critical researcher. As part of a group exercise, the eight fellows applied qualitative strategies to texts from the Top Ten Percent Plan in Texas.
The institute on Research Methods for Critical Analysis of Quantitative Data (June 30 and July 1-3 at the UCLA campus) under the direction of Professors Sylvia Hurtado and Mitchell Chang. Two intensive tracks were offered to the Fellows: “Using Multilevel Modeling to Study How to Narrow the Equity Gap” with Marvin Titus, Maryland and “Using Structural Equation Modeling to Study Educational Equity Issues” with Geoffrey Maruyama, Minnesota. Fellows had the opportunity to learn about sophisticated statistical techniques and to apply these ideas to their own research projects.
Led by the Co-Directors of the Center for Urban Education at USC, the Institute on Principles and Methods of Participatory Critical Action Research (July 6-8 in Santa Monica, California) welcomed faculty and system-level administrators interested in starting critical action research projects at their own institutions. During the Institute, participants were asked to conceptualize and plan their project, allowing time for constructive feedback and consultation from the group and the institute directors, Drs. Alicia C. Dowd and Estela Mara Bensimon.
The final institute session, Critical Policy Research and Analysis (WICHE offices in Boulder, Colorado on July 12-15)—brought together an impressive group of policy scholars and guest speakers to the table to discuss various issues related to policy research. For example, on the first day, Drs. Dolores Delgado Bernal and Octavio Villalpando (University of Utah) introduced the group to Critical Epistemologies and Critical Race Theory, and their relevance to higher education research. Other panel discussions included topics on “the right thing to do versus the necessary thing to do” and “framing the agendas for policy work.” The policy session was led by David Longanecker (WICHE President), Michelle Cooper (IHEP President) and Brian Pusser of the University of Virginia.

While each Institute is stand alone in respect to their area of specific scholarship, the Institutes as a whole are creating new capacity and a community of scholars to support equity and critical policy analysis within and beyond the academy, pushing the boundaries to integrate more critical and equity-minded research to the field of higher education. Participants underscored the importance of the equity focused trainings, citing the unique opportunity as a “special chance to have candid conversation about issues of race, power, equity, prestige, and how each of us can use our own platforms to engage in the meaningful work of seeking a more just and equitable education system and society.”

Other Institute Fellows highlighted the value of building personal professional capacity as build (ing) confidence in my skills as a researcher and scholar,” and to the inroads that were made into creating a communities to support their practice as equity scholars in citing the “collegial, supportive environment that was cultivated (at the institutes).”

These inaugural institutes represent an important first step in building the capacity of scholars and engaging in important conversations about race and ethnicity and the role in plays in policy decisions and campus practices. Special thanks to the Institute Directors and 2009 Fellows for engaging in these important conversations! We will continue meeting, virtually and in person, throughout the year. At the annual meeting of ASHE in November, the Institutes on Equity and Critical Policy Analysis will feature a special symposium session, Building a foundation for conducting equity-based research and critical policy analysis: Emerging findings from the ASHE Institutes, through which Institute Directors will share their experiences from the summer Institutes. In addition, a pre-conference session on Thursday, Nov. 5 and an evening reception on Friday, Nov. 6, will serve to reunite the growing community of equity-minded scholars.

By: Sandra G. Luca

'Critical' Convenings of Scholars and Policy Analysts Seeks Equity, Advocacy pdf