Abstract
Most private schools in the United States have a history of racialized segregation. Despite this, families from historically oppressed backgrounds often choose to navigate private schools for the academic and social benefits they promise. As diversifying institutions, private schools must attend to how the unique context of private funding changes how they engage with meaningful racial equity work. The article uses a case study of one traditional, private school to investigate (1) its patterns of racial discrimination and (2) how/if the school enables or disrupts those patterns. The analysis found primary patterns of racial discrimination at both the interpersonal and institutional level. Stakeholders most frequently identified racial discrimination through isolation, overt racism during sports, and racially discriminatory dress code enforcement. The analysis also found the school was willing to engage in meaningful racial equity work if and only if it also aligned with the school’s public image and the priorities of the major donors and legacy families.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bell, D. (2004). Silent covenants: Brown v. Board of Education and the unfulfilled hopes for racial reform. Oxford University Press.
Bolgatz, J., Crowley, R., & Figueroa, E. (2020). Countering White Dominance in and Independent Elementary School: Black Parents Use Community Cultural Wealth to Navigate Private School Speak. Journal of Negro Education, 89(3), 312–327.
Caldas, S. J., Bernier, S., & Marceau, R. (2009). Explanatory factors of the Black achievement gap in Montreal’s public and private schools: A multivariate analysis. Education & Urban Society, 41(2), 197–215.
Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist policies. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 140, 139–167.
DaCosta, K. (2006). Dress code blues: An exploration of urban students’ reactions to a public high school uniform policy. The Journal of Negro Education, 49–59.
DeCuir-Gunby, J. T. (2007). Negotiating identity in a bubble: A critical race analysis of African American high school students’ experiences in an elite, independent school. Equity & Excellence in Education, 40(1), 26–35.
DeCuir-Gunby, J. T., Martin, P. P., & Cooper, S. M. (2012). African American students in private, independent schools: Parents and school influences on racial identity development. The Urban Review, 44(1), 113–132.
Delgado, R., Stefancic, J., & Liendo, E. (2012). Critical race theory: An introduction, second edition Temple University Press.
Dixson, A. D., Anderson, R., C. K., & Donnor, J. K. (2017). Critical Race Theory in education: All god’s children got a song Second Edition. Routledge.
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1903/2015). The souls of black folk. Yale University Press.
Fazio, R. (1990). Multiple processes by which attitudes guide behavior: The mode model as an integrative framework. Advances in Experimental Psychology, 23, 75–109.
Gillborn, D. (2015). Intersectionality, critical race theory, and the primacy of racism: Race, class, gender, and disability in education. Qualitative Inquiry, 21(3), 277–287.
Golden, D. (2006). The price of admission: How America’s ruling class buys its way into elite colleges—and who gets left outside the gates. Broadway Books.
Hall, D. M., & Stevenson, H. C. (2007). Double Jeopardy: Being African-American and Doing Diversity in Independent Schools. Teachers College Record, 109(1), 1–23.
Harris, K. M., & Marcucci, O. (2021). The promise of private education: A case study of racialized, gendered, and socioeconomic disparities in achievement in one private school. Teachers College Record, 123(6), 1-32.
Harris, K. M., & Marcucci, O. (2023). At the confluence of COVID-19 and anti-Black racial violence: Exploring independent schools’ diversity, equity, and inclusion practice. Journal of School Choice, 17(4), 594-617.
Horvat, E. M., & Antonio, A. L. (1999). Hey, those shoes are out of uniform: African American girls in an elite high school and the importance of habitus. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 30(3), 317–342.
Jack, A. A. (2019). The privileged poor: How elite colleges are failing disadvantaged students. Harvard University Press.
Jones, C. P. (2000). Levels of racism: a theoretic framework and a gardener’s tale. American Journal of Public Health, 90(8), 1212–1215.
Khan, S. R. (2021). Privilege: The making of an adolescent elite at St. Paul’s School. Princeton University Press.
Knipp, H., & Stevenson, R. (2021). A Powerful Visual Statement: Race, Class, and Gender in Uniform and Dress Code Policies in New Orleans Public Charter Schools (p. 08861099211010026). Affilia.
Ladson-Billings, G., & Tate, W. F. (1995). Toward a Critical Race Theory of Education. Teachers College Record, 97(1), 47–68.
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1986). But is it rigorous? Trustworthiness and authenticity in naturalistic evaluation. New directions for program evaluation, 1986(30), 73–84.
Morris, E. W. (2005). Tuck in that shirt! Race, class, gender, and discipline in an urban school. Sociological Perspectives, 48(1), 25–48.
National Center for Education Statistics (2021a). Private school enrollment. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cgc.
National Center for Education Statistics (2021b). Private School Universe Survey: Data tables. https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/tables1718.asp.
Pavlakis, A., & Roegman, R. (2018). How dress codes criminalize males and sexualize females of color. Phi Delta Kappan, 100(2), 54–58.
Purdy, M. A. (2018). Transforming the elite: Black students and the desegregation of private schools. UNC Press Books.
Reardon, S. F., & Yun, J. T. (2003). Private school racial enrollments and segregation. In R. D. Kahlenberg (Ed.), Public School Choice vs. Private School Vouchers. Century Foundation.
Smithson, J. (2000). Using and analysing focus groups: limitations and possibilities. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 3(2), 103-119.
Solórzano, D. G., & Yosso, T. J. (2002). Critical race methodology: Counter-storytelling as an analytical framework for education research Qualitative inquiry, 8(1), 23–44.
Tatum, B. D. (2003). Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? and other conversations about race. Basic Books.
Tracy, S. J. (2010). Qualitative Quality: Eight Big-Tent Criteria for Excellent Qualitative Research. Qualitative Inquiry, 16(10), 837–851.
Trebbe, J., Paasch-Colberg, S., Greyer, J., & Fehr, A. (2017). Media representation: Racial and ethnic stereotypes. The International Encyclopedia of Media Effects, 1–9.
Walton, N. (2010). The price of admission: Who gets into private school, and how much do they pay? Economics of Education Review, 29(5), 738–750.
Warikoo, N. K. (2016). The diversity bargain: And other dilemmas of race, admissions, and meritocracy at elite universities. The University of Chicago.
Acknowledgements
The research was supported by a grant from the Education Research Service Projects Program of the American Educational Research Association.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Marcucci, O., Harris, K.M. “To Be Self-Critical Doesn’t Serve in Its Best Interests”: Stakeholder Perspectives on How Private Schools Enable Racial Discrimination. Urban Rev (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-024-00699-4
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-024-00699-4