Date of Award
2026
Degree Name
Leadership Studies
College
College of Education and Professional Development
Type of Degree
Ed.D.
Document Type
Dissertation
First Advisor
Dr. Eugenia Lambert
Second Advisor
Dr. Bobbi Nicholson
Third Advisor
Dr. Jason Gorgia
Abstract
This qualitative study examined how BIPOC and LGBTQ+ educators describe their experiences navigating curriculum restrictions and book bans in politically restrictive educational environments, their perceptions of administrator support, and how their identities uniquely shape their decisions about resistance and risk. Grounded in Scott’s theory of everyday resistance, the study explored the ways BIPOC and LGBTQ+ educators make decisions about resistance when curricular content connected to race, gender, sexuality, and marginalized identities is challenged or restricted. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with educators who identify as BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+, allowing participants to describe their experiences, decision-making processes, perceived risks, and understandings of professional responsibility. Findings suggested that educators’ responses to curriculum restrictions were shaped by concerns for student protection and commitments to educational equity. Administrator response was related to the visibility of resistance more than to whether resistance existed at all. Participants described resistance not only as overt opposition, but also as subtle, strategic, and protective acts intended to preserve inclusive learning environments while minimizing risk to themselves and harm to their students. Themes included visibility as resistance, strategic self-regulation under surveillance, and intellectual resistance through pedagogy. Participants also shared their perceptions of invisibility, disparate emotional burdens, and the disingenuousness of those implementing restrictions. This study contributes to research on curriculum censorship and BIPOC and LGBTQ+ educators’ experiences by highlighting how resistance is enacted in everyday professional practice. Implications for practice align with Scott’s assessment of the potential for aggregate impact of these “weapons of the weak.”
Subject(s)
Education.
Educational leadership.
Education and state.
Minorities.
Ethnic groups.
Sexual minorities.
Censorship.
Education -- Curricula.
Educational law and legislation.
Intellectual freedom.
Teachers -- Political activity.
Government, Resistance to.
Social action.
Academic freedom.
Educational change.
Minority teachers.
Sexual minority teachers.
Recommended Citation
von Stein, Julie Nicole, ""What does it mean if I am silent?”: BIPOC and LGBTQ+ educators’ narratives of identity, responsibility, and student protection" (2026). Theses, Dissertations and Capstones. 2118.
https://mds.marshall.edu/etd/2118
Included in
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Administration and Supervision Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Education Policy Commons, Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons
