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Toward Clarifying Mechanisms of Racism as Fundamental Causes of Educational Inequality

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Title: Toward Clarifying Mechanisms of Racism as Fundamental Causes of Educational Inequality
Language: English
Authors: David Enrique Rangel (ORCID 0000-0003-1512-544X), W. Carson Byrd (ORCID 0000-0003-0769-0983)
Source: Educational Researcher. 2026 55(1):46-54.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 9
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Descriptive
Descriptors: Equal Education, Racism, Educational Research, Social Theories, Socioeconomic Status, Social Bias, Social Class, Etiology
DOI: 10.3102/0013189X251356448
ISSN: 0013-189X
1935-102X
Abstract: This article proposes adopting fundamental cause theory (FCT) in education research. FCT's emergence and application in medical sociology can serve as an example of integrating relational theories of inequality with causal designs to propose more effective interventions to address racialized educational disparities. Additionally, despite the many contributions from the expanding scholarship in critical quantitative and computational methods, limited work has clarified and operationalized the causal mechanisms of racism in education. We contend that FCT can sharpen and crystalize this synthesis between critical theoretical frameworks and quantitative methodologies through its premise that racism is a fundamental cause of educational inequality, defining and testing for fundamental causal relations, and focusing on flexible resources that reinforce the durability of racialized educational disparities.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1494637
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Toward Clarifying Mechanisms of Racism as Fundamental Causes of Educational Inequality
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22David+Enrique+Rangel%22">David Enrique Rangel</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1512-544X">0000-0003-1512-544X</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22W%2E+Carson+Byrd%22">W. Carson Byrd</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0769-0983">0000-0003-0769-0983</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Educational+Researcher%22"><i>Educational Researcher</i></searchLink>. 2026 55(1):46-54.
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  Data: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Equal+Education%22">Equal Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Racism%22">Racism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Research%22">Educational Research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Theories%22">Social Theories</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Socioeconomic+Status%22">Socioeconomic Status</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Bias%22">Social Bias</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Class%22">Social Class</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Etiology%22">Etiology</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.3102/0013189X251356448
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  Data: This article proposes adopting fundamental cause theory (FCT) in education research. FCT's emergence and application in medical sociology can serve as an example of integrating relational theories of inequality with causal designs to propose more effective interventions to address racialized educational disparities. Additionally, despite the many contributions from the expanding scholarship in critical quantitative and computational methods, limited work has clarified and operationalized the causal mechanisms of racism in education. We contend that FCT can sharpen and crystalize this synthesis between critical theoretical frameworks and quantitative methodologies through its premise that racism is a fundamental cause of educational inequality, defining and testing for fundamental causal relations, and focusing on flexible resources that reinforce the durability of racialized educational disparities.
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  Data: 2026
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