2026 Theses Doctoral

The Politics of “Happy Diversity”: A Critical Narrative Analysis of DEIB Sense-Making in English Teacher Education at Predominantly White Institutions

Alharbi, Lama A.

Discourses of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) in English teacher education at Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) frequently assert inclusion while perpetuating hierarchies that influence recognition, legitimacy, and access (Miller & Kirkland, 2010).

In response to demands for Critical Race English Education that prioritizes race and racism while explicitly addressing White Supremacy in the discipline (Baker-Bell et al., 2017), this study explored how doctoral students of color in English Education programs at PWIs describe and make sense of DEIB discourses and practices. I employed Critical Narrative Analysis (CNA) to examine narratives produced from conversation circles, a Shared Circle centered on institutional DEIB statements, participant artifacts, Zoom conversations, and subsequent communications with seven doctoral students of color. The analysis examined how participants articulated experiences of belonging, misrecognition, institutional response, and methods for maintaining livability within racialized academic contexts.

The findings are organized into four themes: (a) racialized belonging and conditional inclusion, characterized by uneven recognition and legitimacy, constrained by spatial limitations; (b) DEIB as performative institutional discourse, where commitments circulated symbolically, lacking consistent accountability or material support; (c) protective refusal and survival practices, encompassing boundary-setting, selective withdrawal, and counterspace creation; and, (d) pedagogy as an ethical and political response, as participants reoriented teaching towards abolitionist, joy-centered, and representationally just classroom conditions. By foregrounding participants as knowledge producers, this study advances critical conversations in English and literacy education about DEIB as an institutional condition and a pedagogical project, supporting teacher education that takes principled stances against oppression and toward dignity (McLaren, 2008).