Experiencing and witnessing microaggressions by Hispanic middle school students

Harris, Aaron (2023) Experiencing and witnessing microaggressions by Hispanic middle school students. Doctoral thesis, Northern Arizona University.

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Abstract

Racial microaggressions are brief intentional or unintentional verbal and non-nonverbal behavioral actions that are hostile, derogatory, or negative racial putdowns toward people of color. The purpose of this study was to understand if middle school students have experienced or witnessed microaggressions at school and in the classroom. In this study, six middle school students, three in 7th grade and three in 8th grade, who may have experienced or witnessed microaggressions were interviewed by the researcher. The students answered six interview questions regarding experiencing and witnessing microaggressions at school. The data was analyzed thoroughly using qualitative data analysis in order to determine if students had witnessed or experienced the following microaggressions: microassaults (discrimination), microinsults (insensitivity), and microinvalidations (nullification of experience). The data from the study determined that the study participants have not experienced or witnessed all three types of microaggressions. While the data revealed that students reported instances of experiencing and witnessing microaggressions, some types of microaggressions are more prevalent with students than others, such as microassaults and microinvalidations . While not a focus of the study, it is important to note that student participants reported witnessing microassault microaggression incidents outside of the school.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	microaggression; middle school students; Hispanic students
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of Education > Educational Leadership
Date Deposited:	05 May 2025 17:27
Last Modified:	05 May 2025 17:27
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/6126

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