Cultural War

The Critical Need for African Centered Education

Bibliographic Data

ID19215010
AuthorsKmt G Shockley (0000-0002-0719-7286, University of Houston, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume57
Issue6
Pages595-620
Publication date2026-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Black Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-9347 • E-ISSN: 1552-4566
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00219347251369046
OpenAlexW7163046501
LanguageEN
References cited8

This paper presents the findings from interviews of renowned Black education scholars discussing the challenges Black students are facing in the K-12 educational system. The paper begins with an introduction outlining the “cultural war” that has been waged against Black youth, it provides an overview of Afrocentric theory as it is used in the field of education, provides the methodology used to glean data, offers an analysis from interviews, and provides implications and discussion for the ways in which Black students would be better served if education policy, research, and practice were positioned to acknowledge the successes that African centered education has had among Black youth. The findings include three interconnected themes, including: the need for a culturally centered and culturally responsive pedagogy as educational imperatives, the role of expectations and cultural centeredness in shaping educational achievement, and the significance of intergenerational learning and humanely equitable relationships in fostering the academic and personal growth of Black students

Afrocentrism · Critical race theory · Critical theory · Cultural competence · Cultural diversity · Cultural knowledge · Educational research · Field (mathematics) · African cultural and philosophical studies · Critical Race Theory in Education · Indigenous and Place-Based Education

Tools

Open DOI