Black-Affirming Curriculum: An Analysis of the Pedagogy, Sociocultural Perspectives, and Ways of Being in Out-of-School Programming
Schools are microcosms of the larger society, and as such, reproduce the same classism, heteronormativity, ableism, Christian normativity, racism, sexism, and other oppressions that exist outside school walls. The inequities that exist in the world targeting BIPOC persons are reflected in schooling climates in multiple ways, such as whitewashed curriculum, and/or low standards and expectations. With systemic racism and oppression perpetually and pervasively permeating schooling for Black students who engage in academic-based afterschool and summer programming, especially at the nexus of existing in low-income/disinvested areas, the risk of these legacies transmitting to out-of-school time (OST) programming through curriculum and instruction is high. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore how OST programming contexts allow for a space in which curricula can be leveraged to affirm Black students’ sociohistorical and contemporary selves. Through the qualitative document analysis of curricular materials and programmatic observations of two OST programs predominately serving Black youth, rooted in Boutte and Compton-Lilly's (2022) Pro-Black Pedagogies scholarship, I ask: (1) In what ways does Black-affirming curriculum in these OST programs actively contribute to a historical, critical, and liberatory knowledge base of Black culture? (1a) What are examples of African tradition, history, language, and culture in the curriculum? (2) What elements of Black-affirming curriculum in OST contexts can be leveraged to disrupt curricular frameworks shaped by historical and current political efforts to erase Black youth and race-conscious education? (2a) What are examples of equity-focused solutions which benefit African Diasporic children and families? And (2b) What are examples of approaches that emphasize collective healing and love for Black children? Findings strongly show evidence of the transformative potential of OST spaces for Black students who engage in Black-affirming curriculum and delivery, effectively disrupting dismissive hegemonic ways of thinking, being, and doing, through intentional and systematic culturally sustaining praxis. Findings include explorations of: History as Liberatory Memory; Culture as Identity Stabilizer; Language as Intellectual Power; Healing & Love as Pedagogical Praxis; Counter-Political Curriculum Design; Community-Embedded Pedagogy; and OST as Protective Educational Space.
African Tradition, Culturally Responsive Praxis, Educational Equity, Liberatory Epistomologies, Out-of-School Time, Pro-Black Pedagogy
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