Black Boys Matter in the Future We Imagine: Centering Teacher Relationships and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

• In Event: Enduring Erasures, Radical Futures: Black Males' Survival in Education

Abstract

There is a pressing need in educational research to understand how educators can foster an environment where all students perceive that they matter, particularly students who have historically been racially marginalized and disenfranchised. We conducted semi-structured interviews with five Black adolescent boys attending a high school in a Mid-Atlantic state to center their voices in educational research and understand their lived experiences in school. This study cross-pollinates mattering theory and culturally relevant pedagogy and uplifts Black boys’ narratives that highlight how humanizing teacher-student relationships, demonstrated through relational care, high expectations, accountability, and investment, bolster their sense of mattering. Which in turn, informs more equitable school practices and policies that support student well-being.

Authors

• Sofina Shekhar, University of Delaware

• Roderick L. Carey, University of Delaware

• Lauren M Strickland, University of Delaware

• Tia Navelene Barnes, University of Delaware