Online Archive of University of Virginia Scholarship
Racialized Academic Devaluation and the Prosocial Classroom: Educator Compassion as Protective Factor in Mitigating Academic Discrimination130 views
Author
Williams, Dennis, Education - School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia0009-0007-1963-2509
Advisors
Jennings, Patricia, Curriculum and Instruction, University of Virginia
Abstract
This three-paper dissertation examines racialized academic devaluation as a systemic mechanism of oppression in K–12 U.S. schools and explores educator compassion as a potential protective factor. The first manuscript presents a systematic critical review (1970–2024), tracing how racialized perceptions, evaluations, and grading practices persist across decades and educational reforms, reinforcing racial hierarchies. The second manuscript employs Bayesian multilevel modeling and eye-tracking methods to analyze intersectional disparities in middle-school educators’ classroom surveillance and participation grading, revealing consistent devaluation of Black students, especially Black girls. The third manuscript tests the buffering role of teacher social-emotional competency, using confirmatory factor analysis and multilevel modeling to show that educator compassion and empathy can mitigate the negative academic effects of racialized academic discrimination. Together, these studies contribute to an abolitionist analytic of oppression, integrating Critical Race Theory, Black Feminist Epistemology, and contemplative paradigms to inform theory, practice, and policy that advance equity and justice in education.
Williams, Dennis. Racialized Academic Devaluation and the Prosocial Classroom: Educator Compassion as Protective Factor in Mitigating Academic Discrimination. University of Virginia, Education - School of Education and Human Development, PHD (Doctor of Philosophy), 2025-07-14, https://doi.org/10.18130/cqr0-9d52.
