More than just a criminal
Talking back as a critical autoethnographic journey
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12215261 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Andrés Ramírez (0000-0002-0037-4892, Portland State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 1-11 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-12 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0951-8398 • E-ISSN: 1366-5898 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09518398.2025.2601570 |
| OpenAlex | W4417275360 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 23 |
This article explores the experiences of doctoral students with criminal records navigating higher education, using a critical theoretical framework to highlight the unique challenges and triumphs I faced. Drawing upon decoloniality and critical race theory perspectives and activism, I define my critical scholarship as challenging the dominant oppression through thoughts and actions. Through autoethnographic and self-reflective narratives, I reflect on how my lived experiences as a Latino who has experienced criminalization. I have shaped my academic pursuits and critical consciousness. The autoethnography discusses systemic barriers such as stigma, discrimination, and institutional biases, showing how these obstacles have informed the author’s path toward becoming a critical scholar. Also, I examine my development of a critical position outside the formal doctoral program, highlighting the influence of personal, community, and activist experiences. By sharing my stories, I offer insights into the intentionality of higher education programs in addressing or perpetuating inequalities and the commonalities that unite system-impacted students. This emphasizes the importance of creating decolonized and just spaces within academia and the need for institutions to critically examine and transform their practices to support marginalized students. Offering this perspective will help students benefit from exercising agency to offer a counter-story to the dominant narrative
Agency (philosophy · Autoethnography · Critical pedagogy · Critical race theory · Critical theory · Decoloniality · Higher education · Intersectionality · Oppression · Scholarship · Critical Race Theory in Education · Doctoral Education Challenges and Solutions · Posthumanist Ethics and Activism
Critical participatory action research
Thinking through the Decolonial Turn
Sociopolitical Development as an Antidote for Oppression—Theory and Action
Youth Action Research for Prevention
Value‐Based Praxis in Community Psychology
Epistemological resistance towards diversality
Community social psychologies for decoloniality
Coloniality of Power and Eurocentrism in Latin America
Mapping the Margins
Feminist participatory action research with men to prevent intimate partner violence
Examining Transformational Resistance Through a Critical Race and Latcrit Theory Framework
(De)colonizing Culture in Community Psychology
Just what is critical race theory and what's it doing in a nice field like education
Toward a Tribal Critical Race Theory in Education
Be Real Black for Me
Critical Race Theory, Latino Critical Theory, and Critical Raced-Gendered Epistemologies
Critical Race Methodology
Coloniality and Modernity/Rationality
| Highly cited | No |
|---|