This study examines the racially relevant stories of African American teachers and educators in education settings. It explores the relationship of ideology, culture, and status as a minority while examining the intersection of this relationship in the context of a border community. It looks at beliefs and values about the teaching and learning process and attempts to determine if any of those beliefs, values and/or actions are functions of (real or perceived) racial discrimination. It also looks at reactions, responses, management, and eventual consequences of perceived institutionalized racism. This grounded theory study utilizes both survey and interview methods of data collection.
It first reports the findings from surveys which include demographic information about the identified population and their responses from the Multidemensional Inventory of Black Identity (MIBI) and focuses on African Americans' beliefs regarding the significance of race in (a) how they define themselves and (b) the qualitative meanings that they ascribe to membership in the racial group. Secondly, it reports the findings of 24 hours of semi-structured interviews exploring the participants' beliefs about the balance of power and privilege between African Americans, Whites, and non-White Hispanics both in the large U.S. society and within their professional education settings.
It concludes with a summary of the findings of both the survey and the interviews with a discussion of the degree to which they collectively adressed the questions which framed the study.
