Protecting the Black Child in the Classroom, K-12: Examining the faults of public education and proposed solutions (Poster 44)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Friday 3:20 p.m.
  In Invited Poster Session: 2025 AERA Undergraduate Fellows Research Poster Fair

Abstract

In understanding public education in a wider, historical context, Black children have consistently been neglected and left unprotected (Love, 2023, p. 258). This study aims to examine the early foundations of public education and the ripple effects that has on its current state, briefly highlight disparities in schools based on race, introduce and define “protection” and to provide possible solutions through the utilization of community-based education programs (Dove, 2021, p. 20). I believe that developing a curriculum centered on the needs of local communities will best benefit Black children. In doing so, children will develop adequate skills in literacy and other traditional academic fields, while also understanding the greater society around them, based on historical foundations and values (Mazama, 2003, p. 246). To develop my thesis and support my claims, I utilized an array of books discussing: the history of public education, Afrocentric curriculum pedagogies, the development of Afrocentric community-based schools and educational reform. To provide anecdotes from people who have completed the K-12 education system, I conducted interviews with students and professors at Xavier University of Louisiana. The interviews attested to the variance in educational experiences but also compared the similar underlying factors attributing to their respective journeys. In its totality, there are a multitude of ways to address protecting Black children in classrooms K-12, but I believe change will begin with community-based schools, the Black community defining “education” and viewing children as people, opposed to an academic subject (Love, 2023, p. 85).

Author

• Lillian Nero, Xavier University of Louisiana