The paradox of a credit-recovery program: alleviating and exacerbating racial inequity

Abstract

ABSTRACT This ethnographic case study examines how a racial equity-focused effort was contested and undermined by analyzing classroom observations and interviews with three teachers who worked in a credit-recovery program. Drawing on Critical Race Theory’s (CRT) whiteness as property and restrictive equality analytical lenses, this article illustrates that although the credit-recovery program was created to offer struggling Black students support and to address racialized academic disparities between Black and White students, it actually exacerbated racial inequity. Findings demonstrate that White parental demands, institutional practices, and meritocratic ideology combined to simultaneously advantage White students and disadvantage Black students. This article shines light on ways equity efforts are refashioned to support racial inequalities. The article concludes with implications for research and practice.