I'm learning to appreciate the resilience demonstrated by these students and the importance of culturally relevant pedagogy. Teach to the unique attributes of each child.

Since I have never been a classroom teach, I need help with identifying effective strategies to implement culturally relevant practices in diverse classroom settings. This must be an enormous challenge.

Post PhD, as I apply my assets to K-12 reform, I will be conscious to advocate for policies that address the systemic inequities contributing to the vulnerabilities of Black (actually all marginalized populations) girls in education.

Conversely, at the HBCU, there is a sense of belonging and support, with diversity being an integral part of the institutional culture.

For me, it emphasizes the need to advocate for and implement policies that actively promote diversity and inclusion, particularly in STEM disciplines where underrepresentation is prevalent. All students need to feel valued and included.

This is why there has to be authenticity in diversity statements and claims from organizations and those that represent the organization/institution. You can't simply thrive from enrollment, at some point the lack of guidance or mentorship becomes noticeable and people begin to leave or inform curious minds about their own experiences in an institution. The faculty needs to be diverse in every sense of the word but also have the ability to see someone wanting and willing to grow their knowledge and skills without regarding to the starting point in life or the way that they may be perceived.

Yosso (2005), Saldana, and other CRT challenge deficit narratives by identifying how individuals and populations leverage capital in academic spaces. My study will explore an asset-based approach in order to center my research participants experiences in lieu of focusing on attributes of the structure or systems where these experiences occur.

The link goes to a table of all the coding styles w/ definitions and the "further analysis" too. :)

It made me add the silly image.

That said, sometimes the experience does not align with expectations. For instance, although there are a greater variety of groups and clubs that promote inclusion today, many of them still do so in a manner that is ultimately exclusive of intersectional identities.

• Hiring more faculty of color in STEM fields to serve as mentors and role models.

• Developing mentorship and support programs that actively engage students of color.

• Addressing implicit biases and microaggressions in STEM disciplines to create a more inclusive learning environment.

She describes the liminal space as an intellectual, social, and emotional in-between zone where Black women are seen but not fully recognized, heard but often not listened to, included but not necessarily valued.

Evans-Winters situates liminality as a condition that Black women experience as they transition through various institutional spaces—most notably in education. She argues that Black women in academia often live in a constant state of tension between their cultural identities and the expectations of predominantly white, male-dominated institutions. This creates an ongoing negotiation of self, where authenticity, survival, and resistance constantly interplay.