Co-Creating the Sankofa Framework: Humanizing Research Through Reflexivity and Critical Consciousness

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 9:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Afrofuturism, Sankofa, and the Radical Imagination in Black Educational Thought

Abstract

This paper explores how teacher critical consciousness can transform the research process for high school students through the intentional integration of culturally grounded frameworks. Using a phenomenological narrative approach, I reflect on my experience teaching The College Board’s AP Research course during the 2024-25 school year. Central to this work is the Developmental Spiral of Critical Consciousness (DSCC) (Gibson, 2021), a framework developed to support teacher self-inquiry and liberatory pedagogical practices. Guided by this framework, I introduced my student to Sankofa; a Ghanaian principle meaning “to go back and retrieve it”, as a lens for understanding reflexivity in academic research. Student reflections demonstrate how Sankofa became a powerful tool for reclaiming personal narrative, strengthening inquiry, and fostering authentic engagement.

Author

• Ashley N. Gibson, Baylor University