Article

Visual Ethnography Assessment of Departments of Animal Sciences at Three Land Grant Universities: Who is Welcome?

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Abstract

Physical artifacts present in educational settings make visible the values of the institution. These messages signal the institution’s desire for a culturally inclusive and supportive environment. Given the land grant mission of inclusive education, the labor heritage of agriculture, and the saliency of stereotype threat in creating an inclusive learning environment, critically assessing the equity climate of departments of animal sciences in land grant universities is overdue. This study utilizes Banning et al.’s 2008 taxonomy based on visual ethnography methodology to interpret the equity climate of three departments of animal sciences at land grant institutions to answer the critical question: who is welcome? The systematic coding and thematic analysis reveal exclusive learning environments clearly communicated by the physical artifacts present.

Keywords: visual ethnography, critical theory, Higher Education, social justice, agriculture

How to Cite: Archibeque-Engle, S. (2015) “Visual Ethnography Assessment of Departments of Animal Sciences at Three Land Grant Universities: Who is Welcome?”, Journal of Critical Thought and Praxis. 4(1).