About this Research Topic
Research elucidating the developmental processes in Black children and youths' schooling and educative experiences is increasing (e.g., Carter-Andrews et al., 2019;
Daneshzadeh & Sirrakos, 2018; Jackson & Howard, 2014; Neal-Jackson, 2018). Yet, the notion of “freedom dreaming” in relation to Black children and youth has received less attention within the fields of education and psychology. We draw from U.S. historian, Professor Robin D.G. Kelley's, concept of freedom dreaming to illuminate not only what we are fighting against in the education of Black youth (e.g., racial bias and discrimination, unfair disciplinary practices and criminalization, and Black youths' overrepresentation in special education and underrepresentation in gifted and talented programs), but also what we are fighting for - liberatory educational praxis that build on Black youths' individual and cultural strengths.
In the current call, freedom dreaming refers to: (1) actively uplifting the complex lives and stories of Black children and youth in educational settings; (2) elevating Black children and youths' intersectional experiences related to ability, gender identity, sexuality, age, and socio-economic class; and (3) highlighting the innovative work of scholars who understand and value community power in efforts to advance educational change. We draw on Dr. Bettina Love's (2019) call for educational freedom, wherein she states, “The practice of abolitionist teaching is rooted in the internal desire we all have for freedom, joy, restorative justice (restoring humanity, not just rules), and to matter to ourselves, our community, our family, and our country with the profound understanding that we must “demand the impossible” by refusing injustice and the disposability of dark children.” (p. 7)
Authors may explore subthemes such as the connections between critical action and improving school culture, abolitionist teaching and pedagogies, collective freedom building in educational settings, the tensions between struggle and freedom in educational settings, reimagining educational spaces as places of healing, and the power of Black joy, Black love, Black creativity, and Black imagination in education work. We are especially interested in manuscripts that address how youth, parents, educators, and advocates are envisioning and working towards educational settings that address and eliminate racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, classism, etc. Furthermore, we encourage authors to submit manuscripts that explore Black youths' schooling experiences across diverse geographical, sociohistorical, and cultural spaces and places (Butler, 2018), by employing freedom dreaming as a developmental lens to magnify the fullness of Black students' humanity (Joseph et al., 2019).
Questions may include (but are not limited to):
- How do Black youth claim their humanity and dignity within educational settings?
- How do we nurture and promote Black youths' capacity for joy, love, and creativity in educational settings?
- How have Black youth, Black families, and Black educators found ways to matter within educational settings that threaten to devalue and demean us?
- How have educators and community advocates “made the impossible possible,” by denouncing reformist efforts and pushing for radical change in educational policies and practices?
- How do we acknowledge the material realities and impact of structural oppression on Black youths' educational experiences (e.g., poverty, gentrification, displacement, school desegregation, school-to-prison pipeline, sexual abuse-to-prison pipeline (Morris, 2016)), without losing sight of their resilience and resistance to such oppression?
- Where do frameworks of radical healing (e.g., French et al., 2020) fit within scholarly narratives of education and pedagogy?
- What is the role of social media in the push for Black youths' educational freedom? How do online platforms offer new digital possibilities for community building and educational activism?
- How can scholars honor the insight that their work offers on Black youths' educational experiences, without inaccurately claiming to represent “all” Black youths' stories?
- How can we build more spaces for young Black thinkers and activists to engage and share their own perspectives?
Daneshzadeh & Sirrakos, 2018; Jackson & Howard, 2014; Neal-Jackson, 2018). Yet, the notion of “freedom dreaming” in relation to Black children and youth has received less attention within the fields of education and psychology. We draw from U.S. historian, Professor Robin D.G. Kelley's, concept of freedom dreaming to illuminate not only what we are fighting against in the education of Black youth (e.g., racial bias and discrimination, unfair disciplinary practices and criminalization, and Black youths' overrepresentation in special education and underrepresentation in gifted and talented programs), but also what we are fighting for - liberatory educational praxis that build on Black youths' individual and cultural strengths.
In the current call, freedom dreaming refers to: (1) actively uplifting the complex lives and stories of Black children and youth in educational settings; (2) elevating Black children and youths' intersectional experiences related to ability, gender identity, sexuality, age, and socio-economic class; and (3) highlighting the innovative work of scholars who understand and value community power in efforts to advance educational change. We draw on Dr. Bettina Love's (2019) call for educational freedom, wherein she states, “The practice of abolitionist teaching is rooted in the internal desire we all have for freedom, joy, restorative justice (restoring humanity, not just rules), and to matter to ourselves, our community, our family, and our country with the profound understanding that we must “demand the impossible” by refusing injustice and the disposability of dark children.” (p. 7)
Authors may explore subthemes such as the connections between critical action and improving school culture, abolitionist teaching and pedagogies, collective freedom building in educational settings, the tensions between struggle and freedom in educational settings, reimagining educational spaces as places of healing, and the power of Black joy, Black love, Black creativity, and Black imagination in education work. We are especially interested in manuscripts that address how youth, parents, educators, and advocates are envisioning and working towards educational settings that address and eliminate racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, classism, etc. Furthermore, we encourage authors to submit manuscripts that explore Black youths' schooling experiences across diverse geographical, sociohistorical, and cultural spaces and places (Butler, 2018), by employing freedom dreaming as a developmental lens to magnify the fullness of Black students' humanity (Joseph et al., 2019).
Questions may include (but are not limited to):
- How do Black youth claim their humanity and dignity within educational settings?
- How do we nurture and promote Black youths' capacity for joy, love, and creativity in educational settings?
- How have Black youth, Black families, and Black educators found ways to matter within educational settings that threaten to devalue and demean us?
- How have educators and community advocates “made the impossible possible,” by denouncing reformist efforts and pushing for radical change in educational policies and practices?
- How do we acknowledge the material realities and impact of structural oppression on Black youths' educational experiences (e.g., poverty, gentrification, displacement, school desegregation, school-to-prison pipeline, sexual abuse-to-prison pipeline (Morris, 2016)), without losing sight of their resilience and resistance to such oppression?
- Where do frameworks of radical healing (e.g., French et al., 2020) fit within scholarly narratives of education and pedagogy?
- What is the role of social media in the push for Black youths' educational freedom? How do online platforms offer new digital possibilities for community building and educational activism?
- How can scholars honor the insight that their work offers on Black youths' educational experiences, without inaccurately claiming to represent “all” Black youths' stories?
- How can we build more spaces for young Black thinkers and activists to engage and share their own perspectives?
Keywords: abolitionist teaching, Black youth, developmental processes, educational freedom, racial justice
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