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Full-Text Articles in Curriculum and Instruction

Recovering And Reclaiming Black Histories: Integrating Historical Perspectives In Teaching And Research Oct 2026

Recovering And Reclaiming Black Histories: Integrating Historical Perspectives In Teaching And Research

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.


(Re)Membering As Resistance: Learning From My Grandma’S Story In A Time Of Historical Erasure, Akilah K. Lyons-Moore Oct 2026

(Re)Membering As Resistance: Learning From My Grandma’S Story In A Time Of Historical Erasure, Akilah K. Lyons-Moore

Occasional Paper Series

In the current moment of historical erasure—marked by book bans, curricular restrictions, and political efforts to sanitize discussions of race—(re)membering becomes a pedagogical imperative. Drawing on Morrison’s (1987) articulation of (re)membering and Black feminist theories of memory (Collins, 2000; Hartman, 2008; hooks, 1994), this paper uses narrative inquiry to trace the intergenerational educational journeys of a Black rural Southern woman born in 1914 and her granddaughter, a contemporary teacher educator. Through autobiography and lived experience, this paper examines how personal and communal histories counter disremembering (Trouillot, 1995) and the politics of being forgotten. By weaving together these two lives—rooted in …


Beyond The Chalkboard: Black Oral Traditions And The Kitchen Table As Pedagogy, Gerald D. Smith Jr Oct 2026

Beyond The Chalkboard: Black Oral Traditions And The Kitchen Table As Pedagogy, Gerald D. Smith Jr

Occasional Paper Series

This article positions the kitchen table as a vital pedagogical archive within Black educational history. Drawing on the work of various Black scholars, it argues that domestic spaces—kitchen tables, living rooms, basements, and barbershops have long functioned as fugitive classrooms where Black communities cultivated knowledge, identity, and political consciousness beyond the constraints of formal schooling. Using Carrie Mae Weems’ Kitchen Table Series as a central metaphor, the article traces how oral traditions, storytelling, and community dialogue preserved Black intellectual traditions during eras of segregation, educator displacement, and systemic erasure throughout history. Highlighting Black feminist educators such as Anna Julia Cooper, …


Voices From The Atrato: Reclaiming Afrocolombian Education From The Riverbank, Siris Sulay Mena-Rivera, Karen Chaverra-Mosquera, Maure Aguirre Ortega Oct 2026

Voices From The Atrato: Reclaiming Afrocolombian Education From The Riverbank, Siris Sulay Mena-Rivera, Karen Chaverra-Mosquera, Maure Aguirre Ortega

Occasional Paper Series

This article reconceptualizes the Atrato River as a living pedagogical archive that participates in the formation of Black education in Chocó, Colombia. Drawing on Black feminist oral methods, it centers a dialogue among Black educators to examine how educational knowledge emerges through relationships with the river, territory, memory, and community life. The analysis argues that river-based pedagogies distinct Afro-Colombian epistemologies that challenge White/Mestizo-centered and standardized models of schooling. Storytelling, river travel, intergenerational memory, and everyday territorial practices are examined as pedagogical processes through which Black communities sustain identity, historical consciousness, and collective sovereignty. The article further contends that the Atrato's …


Recovering A Gem: Melva L. Price, A New York City Teacher, Emmanuelle St. Jean Oct 2026

Recovering A Gem: Melva L. Price, A New York City Teacher, Emmanuelle St. Jean

Occasional Paper Series

The paucity of research on the experiences of Black women teachers in integrated New York City schools underscores the need for further investigation. Studying Black women teachers in integrated school settings opens the door for reshaping the traditional framings of Black women teachers as revolutionary individuals who largely taught and transformed the learning experiences of Black children. This article focuses on Melva Price, a Latin language teacher at a New York City high school. Price became a teacher during a period of intense marginalization and oppression. Her journey to becoming a teacher, her pedagogical practices, and her experiences as a …


Black Pedagogical Excellence From Fugitive Classrooms To Freedom Dreams: An Endarkened Perspective, Romonda Middlebrooks-Jefferson Oct 2026

Black Pedagogical Excellence From Fugitive Classrooms To Freedom Dreams: An Endarkened Perspective, Romonda Middlebrooks-Jefferson

Occasional Paper Series

This article traces the long tradition of Black Pedagogical Excellence (BPE), a lineage spanning fugitive literacy practices, Reconstruction and Jim Crow classrooms, Black literary societies, Afrocentric schools, and contemporary Hip Hop and Afrofuturist learning spaces. Using Endarkened Feminist Epistemology as a guiding framework, I conceptualize Black educators’ stories as theory and their classrooms as sacred, intellectual, and political sites. Through historical-literary analysis and synthesis of current research, the manuscript highlights four enduring constructs of BPE—care as resistance, ideological clarity, cultural attentiveness, and humanism—while demonstrating how Hip Hop pedagogy, storywork, and speculative literacy practices extend these commitments today. In a climate …


Black Women Educators: An Exploration Of Liberatory Pedagogical Practices At The Oakland Community School, Renée Wilmot Oct 2026

Black Women Educators: An Exploration Of Liberatory Pedagogical Practices At The Oakland Community School, Renée Wilmot

Occasional Paper Series

The aim of this paper is to analyze the autobiographical development and pedagogical practices of educators at the Oakland Community School (OCS). The OCS, in alignment with the Black Power Movement, developed revolutionary pedagogical practices that resisted Eurocentric curriculum which sought to normalize and reinforce white middle class values. Specifically, this paper will consider previous interviews and autobiographies with founding members of the school such as David Hillard and Huey P. Newton. As well as interviews with veteran school director, Ericka Huggins, and alumna, Kellita Smith. This information can reveal the ways K-12 experiences of the OCS school leaders became …


Introduction: Recovering And Reclaiming Black Histories: Integrating Historical Perspectives In Teaching And Research, Mariah Deans Harmon, Taryrn T.C. Brown Oct 2026

Introduction: Recovering And Reclaiming Black Histories: Integrating Historical Perspectives In Teaching And Research, Mariah Deans Harmon, Taryrn T.C. Brown

Occasional Paper Series

During one of our many virtual writing sessions–spaces that for us had become as much about thinking and collective sensemaking as they were about writing–Taryrn shared plans for an upcoming research visit to Zimbabwe. Supported by an International Center Global Fellows grant at her institution, the research visit was intended to extend her existing research agenda into a more explicitly global and transnational context. Yet, as our conversation unfolded, what began as a discussion of an upcoming research experience deepened into reflection on place, memory, family, and the histories that accompany us into our scholarly work.


Sanctuaries Of Resistance: The Prophetic Black Church As Fugitive Education, Charles E. Becknell Jr. Oct 2026

Sanctuaries Of Resistance: The Prophetic Black Church As Fugitive Education, Charles E. Becknell Jr.

Occasional Paper Series

This paper examines the Prophetic Black Church as a living site of education within the ongoing struggle against historical erasure. It shows how sermons, testimonies, and rituals function as teaching practices that preserve cultural memory and build critical awareness. Using pastoral autoethnography, the study interprets everyday acts of worship and community life as forms of learning that join faith with freedom. Through a narrative case study and theological reflection, the paper highlights how grandmothers, elders, and youth act as “freedom teachers,” sustaining Black learning amid surveillance and exclusion. Drawing on endarkened feminist praxis and fugitive pedagogy, the analysis reimagines the …


Bank Street School For Children’S Story Of Integrating Structured Phonics Into A Progressive Literacy Approach, Melanie Bryon, Douglas R. Knecht, Emily Linsay, Emily Schottland Apr 2026

Bank Street School For Children’S Story Of Integrating Structured Phonics Into A Progressive Literacy Approach, Melanie Bryon, Douglas R. Knecht, Emily Linsay, Emily Schottland

Occasional Paper Series

This article explores how the Bank Street School for Children (SFC), a historically progressive institution rooted in child-centered, experiential learning, has successfully integrated structured phonics into its literacy program. Traditionally focused on whole language practices, SFC recognized inconsistencies in student reading outcomes and, beginning in 2017 undertook a multi-year evaluation of its literacy approach. Guided by the core values of child development and equity, and research in cognitive science, the school adopted a research-based phonics program, implementing it across Kindergarten through fourth grade over multiple years. This shift aimed to ensure all students—not just those with strong language backgrounds—gain the …


Lessons From The Field On The Science Of Reading: School And Classroom Stories Across Contexts Apr 2026

Lessons From The Field On The Science Of Reading: School And Classroom Stories Across Contexts

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.


“It Was Hard, But It Worked:” Children’S Theories Of Learning To Read, Cristina Valencia Mazzanti, Laura Tiktin-Sharick, Madeleine Zuck, Tiphareth Ananda Apr 2026

“It Was Hard, But It Worked:” Children’S Theories Of Learning To Read, Cristina Valencia Mazzanti, Laura Tiktin-Sharick, Madeleine Zuck, Tiphareth Ananda

Occasional Paper Series

In this paper we come together as teachers, a school leader and a professor to examine children’s theories of learning to read captured in written and illustrated texts created by 143 children currently enrolled in kindergarten to sixth grade. This collection of children’s theories of reading was created in the context of a progressive elementary school located at Smith College, a women's liberal arts college in Massachusetts. Our hope in examining children’s theories is to humanize and historicize current debates about how reading is taught. We also hope to offer a counter narrative to the dichotomies currently shaping reading education, …


Thinking Narratively About Science Of Reading Forces, Moral Injury, And Teacherhood, Kyle C. Arlington Apr 2026

Thinking Narratively About Science Of Reading Forces, Moral Injury, And Teacherhood, Kyle C. Arlington

Occasional Paper Series

Stories of teachers’ classroom lives shape the public imagination of what it means to be a “good teacher,” yet these narratives are always partial, contextual, and entangled with broader cultural and institutional forces. This research essay narratively explores the experiences of Lisa, a veteran literacy teacher navigating Science of Reading (SoR) mandates in her elementary classroom. It examines how her identities, values, and visions for literacy teaching intersect with the discursive, material, and affective dynamics that shape how SoR unfolds in the context of Lisa’s classroom life. (Re)storying her experiences draws attention to the emotional toll and moral dissonance teachers …


All Flourishing Is Mutual: Cultivating A Gift Economy Of Literacy, Lindsey Lush, Melissa Kurtz Apr 2026

All Flourishing Is Mutual: Cultivating A Gift Economy Of Literacy, Lindsey Lush, Melissa Kurtz

Occasional Paper Series

In this paper, two scholars and practicing elementary educators argue that the policies and practices of the Science of Reading (SoR) movement in early literacy education are being constructed with the logic of a market economy, shaped by neoliberal ideologies of individualism, scarcity, and competition. Compelled by our concerns for the bodies and beings of readers and reading teachers in the context of our Northeast Georgia public elementary school and provoked by our shared engagement with The Serviceberry, Indigenous scientist and scholar Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book on lessons from the natural world, we engage a postqualitative approach to emergent, relational …


When Science Of Reading Policy Meets Classroom Reality: The Nonsense Word Problem, Lisa Dewing-Birno, Luis Lopez Apr 2026

When Science Of Reading Policy Meets Classroom Reality: The Nonsense Word Problem, Lisa Dewing-Birno, Luis Lopez

Occasional Paper Series

A central feature of many Science of Reading (SoR)-aligned curricula is the use of nonsense words in early literacy assessment to measure a student's ability to decode unfamiliar words using knowledge of letter-sound correspondences. However, the research base for using nonsense words as an instructional tool is much weaker and more contested. Through two narratives, we illustrate how the implementation of SoR instruction with nonsense words can be particularly problematic. We argue that effective literacy instruction demands what we call pedagogical clarity, the ability to integrate pedagogical practices with deep understanding of individual learners, their cultural and linguistic resources, and …


Uplifting The Legacy Of Black Teachers: Loving And Liberatory Pedagogies In A Science Of Reading Context, Natasha A. Thornton, Amanda L. Armstrong, Brooke Blacknall, Jordan Freeman, Elaine Nevers-Williams, Mukkaramah Smith Apr 2026

Uplifting The Legacy Of Black Teachers: Loving And Liberatory Pedagogies In A Science Of Reading Context, Natasha A. Thornton, Amanda L. Armstrong, Brooke Blacknall, Jordan Freeman, Elaine Nevers-Williams, Mukkaramah Smith

Occasional Paper Series

This article explores Black liberatory pedagogy (BLP) as a critical approach to navigating current Science of Reading (SoR) mandates, which are often restrictive and fail to honor the literacies and linguistic practices of Black children. Through the narratives of six educators—classroom teachers, teacher candidates, and teacher educators—the article examines how they have experienced and responded to the implementation of SoR standards and curriculum shifts. These stories also illuminate what becomes possible when teachers are in spaces that allow for autonomy, imagination, and culturally responsive pedagogy. The educators’ experiences, expertise, and cultural wisdom are centered, demonstrating how they enact BLP through …


Lessons From The Field On The Science Of Reading: An Introduction, Gail Boldt, Patricia Enciso Apr 2026

Lessons From The Field On The Science Of Reading: An Introduction, Gail Boldt, Patricia Enciso

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.


Why Indigenous Children's And Young Adult Literature Matter Nov 2025

Why Indigenous Children's And Young Adult Literature Matter

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.


The Healing Power Of Diverse Voices, Brian Lee Young Nov 2025

The Healing Power Of Diverse Voices, Brian Lee Young

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.


The Role Of Native And Non-Native Teachers In Selecting Children’S Literature By Native Authors, Trisha Moquino, Katie Kitchens, Laini Szostkowski, Tiffany Jewell, Debbie Reese Nov 2025

The Role Of Native And Non-Native Teachers In Selecting Children’S Literature By Native Authors, Trisha Moquino, Katie Kitchens, Laini Szostkowski, Tiffany Jewell, Debbie Reese

Occasional Paper Series

Our contribution to the Occasional Paper Series is driven by the editors request for articles that will provide readers with an opportunity to learn how to use Indigenous Children’s and Young Adult Literature (ICYAL) texts responsibly. In our experience, children encounter far too much anti-Indigeneity in literature, and therefore the classroom.. Before using a book, a teacher must select the book they plan to use in the classroom. If the teacher is seeking to “provide opportunities for students to develop interpersonal relationships between real live kids and those who live only on the page,” (Leitich Smith, 2020) we think it …


Kryptonian Frybread, Byron Graves Nov 2025

Kryptonian Frybread, Byron Graves

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.


Utilizing And Creating Indigenous Children’S Literature To Reclaim The Endangered Hoche Language, Jue Wang Nov 2025

Utilizing And Creating Indigenous Children’S Literature To Reclaim The Endangered Hoche Language, Jue Wang

Occasional Paper Series

Stemming from a large ethnographic study exploring young Indigenous children’s literacy and language practices in and out of school in a Hoche elementary school in rural Northeast China, this paper focuses on the navigation of Indigenous literature, language, and literacy learning of young Hoche children. Particularly, this reflective paper challenges the efficacy of Hoche language education in the oppressive context of the public schooling system, inviting Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators in China and across the world to rethink the urgency of reclaiming this endangered language and the power of Indigenous literature in understanding Hoche Indigenous ways of knowing, belonging, and …


“We Sing Too:” Pedagogical Approaches For Listening To Children In Indigenous Picturebooks, Rachel Stubbs, Anja Dressler Araujo, Kari Dressler, Jadyn Fischer-Mcnabb, Aubrey Hanson, Erin Spring Nov 2025

“We Sing Too:” Pedagogical Approaches For Listening To Children In Indigenous Picturebooks, Rachel Stubbs, Anja Dressler Araujo, Kari Dressler, Jadyn Fischer-Mcnabb, Aubrey Hanson, Erin Spring

Occasional Paper Series

This article explores how storytelling, particularly through picture books, facilitates learning across boundaries of age, culture, gender, and education. In this article, we emphasize the value of picture books in integrating Indigenous oral traditions into the classroom, highlighting how these texts foster a reciprocal relationship between listener and storyteller. By focusing on the act of listening, our article argues that Indigenous picture books require active participation and decentering of the individual, positioning listeners as part of a larger collective. This article also underscores the importance of viewing children as active, responsible, and agential members of their communities, aligning with Indigenous …


“I’M From The Federal Government And I’M Here To Help”: An Examination Of How Firekeeper’S Daughter Educates About Settler Colonialism, Robert Petrone Nov 2025

“I’M From The Federal Government And I’M Here To Help”: An Examination Of How Firekeeper’S Daughter Educates About Settler Colonialism, Robert Petrone

Occasional Paper Series

This essay offers an examination of various ways Angeline Boulley’s best-selling, award-winning Indigenous Young Adult novel, Firekeeper’s Daughter attends to and educates about settler colonialism. At the core of this analysis is the guiding question: In what ways does Firekeeper’s Daughter illuminate the ongoing social structure of settler colonialism within the context of what is currently known as “The United States”? Specifically, this analysis focuses on the topics of Native identity, including colonial mechanism of blood quantum; and the ways institutions such as the FBI operate from values and epistemologies of compartmentalization and deficit notions of Native Peoples. Across this …


Why Indigenous Children’S Literature Matters: A Native Hawaiian Perspective, Julie Kaomea Nov 2025

Why Indigenous Children’S Literature Matters: A Native Hawaiian Perspective, Julie Kaomea

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.


Making Connections To The Local: Exploring The Role Of Indigenous Literature In Early Childhood Education, Lori Huston, Dr. Jan Hare, Ashleigh Janis, Leigh Kweon Nov 2025

Making Connections To The Local: Exploring The Role Of Indigenous Literature In Early Childhood Education, Lori Huston, Dr. Jan Hare, Ashleigh Janis, Leigh Kweon

Occasional Paper Series

Indigenous children's literature is a vital resource for nurturing cultural understandings and appreciation from an early age for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. This paper presents insights gathered from a workshop titled "Nurturing Indigenous Childhoods Through Themed Picture Books: Making Connections to the Local," which emerged as a culmination of our collaborative work on a massive open online course (MOOC) centered on Indigenous pedagogy in early childhood education. We curated a list of Indigenous children's books and engaged in discussions on the significance of Indigenous literature in nurturing cultural identity and literacy learning. In doing so, we aspired to create …


Nurturing Authentic Indigenous Voices In Indigenous Children’S And Young Adult Literature: An Aotearoa New Zealand Case Study, Nicola Daly, Julie Barbour, Darryn Joseph, Te Kani Price, Pania Tahau-Hodges, Kawata Teepa, Nic Vanderschantz, Eboni Waitere, Bryony Walker Nov 2025

Nurturing Authentic Indigenous Voices In Indigenous Children’S And Young Adult Literature: An Aotearoa New Zealand Case Study, Nicola Daly, Julie Barbour, Darryn Joseph, Te Kani Price, Pania Tahau-Hodges, Kawata Teepa, Nic Vanderschantz, Eboni Waitere, Bryony Walker

Occasional Paper Series

At the heart of decision-making in children’s literature is the publisher who decides whose stories are told and how (Encisco et al, 2010). There is some research concerning inclusivity practices in the children’s literature that we see in libraries, homes and publishing houses (Caple & Tian, 2022; Daly, Vanderschantz, Mitchell & Blair, 2025; Daly, 2021; Stagg Peterson & Robinson, 2020). There is, however, little work examining how the publishing process can contribute to increased diversity in children’s picturebooks, particularly in relation to Indigenous languages and cultures. International research shows that there is limited cultural and linguistic diversity evident in children’s …


The Legacy Of Language: Indigenous Language In Children’S Fiction, Christine Hartman Derr Nov 2025

The Legacy Of Language: Indigenous Language In Children’S Fiction, Christine Hartman Derr

Occasional Paper Series

Generally speaking, storytelling is an honored tradition in many Native communities. I use the term generally with a disclaimer. There are currently 574 federally recognized tribal Nations on the land presently known as the United States of America. There are additional Native Nations recognized at the state level and tribal Nations left unrecognized. Each Nation has its own culture, language, traditions, and beliefs. The statements made in this paper could not be universally applicable to all Indigenous communities. There is no monolithic Native perspective that could adequately represent every Native Nation, nor should there be. We celebrate our differences as …


An Indigenous Feminist Reading Praxis For Imagining Anti-Colonial Futurities: Honouring The Spirit And Intent Of Katherena Vermette’S Writings, Jennifer Brant, Erenna Morrison, Jasmine Rice, Gayatri Thakor Nov 2025

An Indigenous Feminist Reading Praxis For Imagining Anti-Colonial Futurities: Honouring The Spirit And Intent Of Katherena Vermette’S Writings, Jennifer Brant, Erenna Morrison, Jasmine Rice, Gayatri Thakor

Occasional Paper Series

We conceptualize Indigenous literatures as integral tools for supporting teachers on their journeys toward truth and reconciliation. As such, we intentionally offer our work as a pedagogical guide for introducing Indigenous Children’s and Young Adult Literatures (ICYAL) in secondary level English courses, asserting that the delivery of such works must be taught in ways that align with anti-racist praxis, acknowledge varied experiences of racism, sexism, and gender-based violences, and promote liberatory thinking. Indeed, while Indigenous literatures are excellent pedagogical tools to engage conversations about social justice and anti-Indigenous racism, they must be paired with key lessons that dismantle harmful, disrespectful …


Introduction: Why Indigenous Children’S And Young Adult Literature Matters, Joaquin Muñoz, Dawn Quigley Nov 2025

Introduction: Why Indigenous Children’S And Young Adult Literature Matters, Joaquin Muñoz, Dawn Quigley

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.