Trailblazers, Reciprocity, and Doctoral Education: The Pursuit of Critical Race Praxis and Survivance among Doctoral Students of Color

This study utilized a mixed-methods, survey research design to explore the experiences and motivations of Students of Color who pursue doctoral studies in colleges or departments of education and the agential decisions they make to carry out their motivations. Data collection included dissemination of a 61-item survey via Qualtrics inclusive of Likert-based and narrative items. Participants included 40 respondents who were either doctoral students, candidates, postdoctoral scholars or early career scholars within two years of obtaining their doctoral degrees. Critical Race Theory and Vizenor’s concept of survivance frame an understanding of how race and racism impacted the lives of doctoral Students of Color and how they enacted an active presence in their doctoral studies in spite of obstacles. Findings based on participants’ narratives revealed (a) high levels of interest in addressing educational inequities and the collective advancement of Communities of Color, and (b) recurring efforts to leverage their experiences to advance praxes based on equity and social justice within their teaching and research activities. Such findings reiterate the value of recruiting and retaining doctoral Students of Color who seek to engage in Critical Race Praxis due to their unwillingness to compromise commitments to their cultural communities or anti-oppressive education.