This dissertation is an effort to better understand Black children's conceptions of smartness and the ways that teachers communicate smartness through their practice. Here, I reimagine smartness as a verb rather than a noun--that is, smartness is about what one does that is smart. I develop a conceptual framework that attends to race, mathematics,…

The first manuscript, "Measuring Reading Motivation: A Cautionary Tale" (Jones, 2020) is a mixed-methods study of Black girls' reading motivation while engaging in a summer reading program grounded in the Black Girls' Literacies Framework (BGLF; Muhammad & Haddix, 2016). This manuscript serves as the catalyst for this line of…

Using dyadic youth-adult interviews, the current study explored characteristics, benefits, and challenges of supportive youth-adult relationships for youths living in neighborhoods with high levels of community violence. Thirty-two dyads of youths between the ages 13 to 21 years (63% female, 88% Black) and their self-identified key adult supports…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare word-initial and word-final consonant cluster productions in young children who speak African American English (AAE) and compare their productions to what we know about cluster productions in children who speak Mainstream American English (MAE), in order to minimize misdiagnosis of speech sound…

Safety, security, freedom of expression, love, and support are critical components for adolescent youth that encourage growth and development. This study explored how Black girls make sense of their educational experiences while partnering with school staff through the RoyalSapphires program. Children must be in relationships with well intended…

The prison abolition movement has brought attention to the American carceral crisis, or better yet, the mass incarceration and disproportionate criminalization of Black people in America. It has also led to and fomented recent calls to defund prison systems, the police, and to remove police from schools. While discussions of prison abolition have…

Purpose: Lead is a well-established environmental contaminant that over the last 50 years has become recognized as a neurotoxin with its greatest concern for the developing child (i.e. both in-utero and postnatally). What is problematic is that children exposed to lead often come from lower socioeconomic status (SES), are largely Black communities…

Children with autism and their families often face challenges accessing early intervention and related services. African American children face additional challenges due to disparities in diagnoses and access to services. These disparities present a great need for parent advocacy to combat culturally insensitive service delivery and strained…

The purpose of this study was to describe community partners' (CPs) perceptions of an out-of-school swimming program (OSSP) for under­served children and youth. Participants were four CPs associated with the OSSP during three consecutive summers and parents of the children and youth who participated in the program. We employed a theoretical…

This issue brief is the first in a series examining timely topics that are relevant to Black families and children in the United States. The series identifies key information and opportunities for consideration by policymakers, researchers, practitioners, philanthropists, and others interested in supporting the progress of Black families and…

Purpose: Both fictional oral narrative and expository oral discourse skills are critical language competencies that support children's academic success. Few studies, however, have examined African American children's microstructure performance across these genres. To address this gap in the literature, the study compared African American…

The goal of the present study was to compare profiles among Black families of autistic youth who were identified Early ([less than or equal to] 2 years of age), Mid (age 3 or 4), and Delayed ([greater than or equal to] 5 years of age) to better identify the characteristics that contribute to early ASD identification and delayed ASD identification.…

The goal of every early educator is to prepare all students for school success--but for young Black children, entrenched biases and racial inequities have created an achievement gap that must be closed. Transform your practices "and" work for systemic change with this visionary guidebook, a comprehensive roadmap to promoting racial…

The qualitative multiple case study approach was utilized to describe the impact African-American cultural museum educational experiences have on redefining the identity of select African-American 5th grade boys matriculating at an urban elementary school. My research study posed one primary research question: How do African-American museum…

Purpose: This conceptual paper aims to explore biases in reading textbooks that have been used to teach generations of Americans, including children in urban communities. While these texts are no longer used, the images they present and the ideas embedded in these texts unfortunately contribute to who we are as a nation.…