Erica O. Turner, Ph.D.
Erica O. Turner is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Policy Studies. Her research examines racism and inequity—and efforts to challenge those—in education policy and practice. She uses a sociocultural, critical race approach to understanding educational policymaking and practice, and the consequences of educational inequity for students, families, communities, schools, and policymakers. Her scholarship illuminates how diverse groups—from school district leaders to students to community members—make sense of and negotiate education problems, policies, equity and justice amidst shifting social, political, and economic contexts.Through her research and teaching she seeks to deepen how we conceptualize policy problems, racial equity, educational aims, and policy alternatives and ultimately to contribute to the knowledge necessary to make public schooling more equitable and just. Professor Turner has published on these topics in her book Suddenly Diverse: How School Districts Manage Race and Inequality (University of Chicago Press, 2020) and in journals such as the American Educational Research Journal, Educational Researcher, Journal of Education Policy, and Urban Education. Her work has been supported by grants from the University of Wisconsin, the Spencer Foundation, the State Farm Companies Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. Professor Turner was a middle school teacher before earning her PhD at the University of California, Berkeley.
Thursday, March 24, 2022 | 8:30 AM - 9:45 AM (CDT)
How School Districts Manage Race and Inequality
How do school district leaders respond to demographic change? Why do they take managerial approaches to the equity issues they identify? What are the implications for educational leaders and equity in schools? In this talk, Dr. Erica Turner will address these questions through stories and lessons gleaned from her study of two Wisconsin school districts' efforts to address increasing inequality and diversity while grappling with pressures associated with major economic, political, and demographic shifts that have challenged school districts across the country. Centering race and using the notion of "colorblind managerialism," she explains how and why these two districts--one relatively well off and more progressive, one conservative and more working class--adopt similar, business-inspired policy approaches that do not fully address the inequality and diversity district leaders faced. Indeed, these efforts can perpetuate existing inequalities and advance new forms of racism. But there are ways forward. The talk is based on Dr. Turner's book, Suddenly Diverse: How School Districts Manage Race and Inequality (University of Chicago Press, 2020).
