Research Institute for Scholars of Equity (RISE): Conducting Mixed Methods Research to Improve Academic Outcome among PK-20 African American Latino/a Children, Youth and Young Adults

The Research Institute for Scholars of Equity (RISE): Conducting Mixed Methods Research to Improve Academic Outcomes among PK-20 African American and Latino/a Children, Youth and Young Adults, is a collaboration between North Carolina Central University (NCCU), Duke University and the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), whose aim is to create a cadre of scholars who value and advance equity by producing high quality, culturally competent, interdisciplinary, and relevant research. RISE will train a total of 60 upper-level undergraduate students from diverse majors who are interested in addressing educational inequities by designing and carrying out research and contributing to the public good through the dissemination of knowledge. RISE examines two specific themes: Race and Social Justice in Education, Policy, and Attainment and Teacher Preparation. RISE employs Critical Race Theory (CRT) (Bell, 1970; Delgado & Stefanic; 2001), a conceptual, analytical and interpretative framework compatible with developing cultural competence among interdisciplinary teams of future researchers. CRT is a lens for examining policies that impair social equity and advances understanding of the broader context of American schooling and the diverse experiences of students, families and teachers. CRT offers methodological tools that can disrupt discourses that impact communities of color: the counter-narrative (Milner & Howard, 2013) and cultural wealth analysis (Yosso, 2005). RISE mobilizes its recruitment efforts to include Underrepresented Minorities (URMs) to swell the number of URMs who are well-trained individuals such that they can pursue careers that grant them a place at the table in the policy arena.