Date of Graduation

5-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College/School

School of Education

Department

International and Multicultural Education

Program

Catholic Educational Leadership EdD

First Advisor

Colette Cann

Second Advisor

Farima Pour-Khorshid

Third Advisor

Sonja Martin Poole

Abstract

This study investigated the experiences of seven Black women educators by exploring how they navigate the complex intersections of Black hair identity and the institution of education through collective healing circles. It aims to add dimension to the conversations around intersectionality by including hair and education as they are both vital to the way Black women’s worlds are animated. By foregrounding hair as a pivotal component of Black women’s intersectional identities, I aim to uncover how it impacts both pedagogy and praxis. Rooted in critical race theory, Black feminist thought, BlackCrit, and critical pedagogy, this work challenges conventional research paradigms by centering healing and restoration and challenging the dearth of literature on the pedagogies of Black women educators. The findings of this study explore the way Black women process messages around their identity through hair and race, how they rescript trauma through what I call post-traumatic hair subversion, and how they express liberation by remembering their past, their pain, and their power in a way that is restorative, healing, and reflective of who they are as educators. Ultimately, this study aims to celebrate and highlight the artillery Black women use to positively affect the lives of their students while thriving, healing, and subverting within the apparatus of education.

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