Centering Wellness in Research

• In Event: Blackness and Being: How Four Black Women Doctorates Shape Public HBCU Research

Abstract

1. Objectives or Purposes (500 words of text below)

The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the relationship between how previous research on Black educator wellness in the K-12 arena directly impacts and influences my work at UNCF, a higher education focused non-profit. By the end of this presentation the audience should have a clear connection between how they use research from various fields as a remedy to repair the harm inflicted by detrimental policies and envision a better education and research experience for future generations in the higher education arena.

2. Overview of the presentation and Perspective/ Theoretical Framework

Presenter 2 will share research from their dissertation, an oral history study which aims to understand the wellness practices of three activist Black women teachers who taught in the metro Atlanta, Georgia for five years or more to highlight how her previous research impacts her day to day career at a non-profit and drives the research design, methods, and implementation of best practices at UNCF. She will share excerpts for her dissertation and stories collected on life and wellness to provide examples of how a rigorous research agenda focused on Black education can be used to remedy previous policies and practices designed to stifle and harm Black students, teachers and educational stakeholders. Presenter 2 will also discuss the implications of teaching public school systems and navigating the pandemics of racism, sexism, white supremacy in the current climate. Using oral history as a methodology, this work is theoretically positioned within womanism (Walker, 1983; Maparyan, 2006), which centers the experiences of Black women and Africana Womanism (Hudson-Weems, 1993), which is grounded in Afrocentricity (Asante, 1980) and the experiences of African women.



3. Methods Techniques Scholarly Significance

Using oral histories, the presenter will share how their work at a non-profit connects to (a) research on the experiences of activist Black women teachers, and (b) wellness practices those who teach and do research can employ to remain in their profession. Some policy implications from this research and session include an introduction into the pitfalls of policy that ignores the experiences of Black women. The societal implications from this session include a possible reimagining of education and research to include teacher wellness.



4. Data Sources/ Evidence

Using evidence from oral history interviews, artifacts, and photovoice accounts on Black teacher wellness, this portion of the presentation will focus on how educator wellness is integral to wellness across all sectors. Furthermore, connections between interview data from the participant’s dissertation and anecdotal evidence from their current role at a higher education-focused non-profit will be explored.


5. Results

The overwhelming evidence from the interviews, artifacts, and photovoice (Wang & Burris, 1997) activities suggests that activist Black women teachers often engaged in unpaid labor in the name of their students, schools, and community. Similarly, Black women educators in K-12 and researchers in higher education find it difficult to maintain their physical wellness practices, however, their spiritual wellness practices give them strength to navigate and remain in educational professions.

Author

• Danie Marshall, Georgia State University