Resisting developmentalism
A Black mother-teacher's relational pedagogy of knowing her child
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21718436 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Margaret A King (0009-0003-4296-7674, University of Washington, corresponding author), Maggie R Beneke (0000-0001-8981-0744, University of Washington) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 541-554 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1463-9491 • E-ISSN: 1463-9491 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/14639491251397977 |
| OpenAlex | W4416756778 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 42 |
Early learning contexts often promote narrow developmental expectations that inherently ignore and dismiss Black boys’ ways of knowing and being. However, adults in their lives can resist how rigid racial-ability hierarchies are instantiated in early childhood. This qualitative case study examines how a Black mother-teacher and her preschool-aged son engaged in co-resistance within their classroom. We asked: How are a Black mother-teacher's beliefs about child development constituted through, and in resistance to, normative developmental expectations, and how she and her son negotiate those expectations in their early learning environment? Findings reveal forms of resistance enacted through protection, the valuing of multiple ways of knowing, and collaborative learning. These insights illuminate how resisting developmentalism in solidarity with Black children is both relational and pedagogical
Developmentalism · Early childhood · Early childhood education · Negotiation · Normative · Qualitative research · Solidarity · Critical Race Theory in Education · Early Childhood Education and Development · Parental Involvement in Education
Fundamentals of Qualitative Research
Exploring Sociocultural Perspectives on Race, Culture, and Learning
(Re)Imagining Black Boyhood
Troublemakers
“Hey, Black Child. Do You Know Who You Are?” Using African Diaspora Literacy to Humanize Blackness in Early Childhood Education
Cycles of Fugitivity
Who May Be Competent? Mothering Young Children of Color with Disabilities and the Politics of Care
(Un)Standardizing Emotions
A DisCrit Analysis of Quality in Early Childhood
Smartness as Property
Children's Development as Participation in Everyday Practices across Different Institutions
Disrupting Anti-Blackness in Early Childhood Qualitative Inquiry
Disrupting hegemonic conceptions of parental engagement
Mutual Contributions of Individuals, Partners, and Institutions
Black families’ resistance to deficit positioning
Shaking the bad boys
DisCrit mothering
A friend who understand fully’
Who raised you?”
DisCrit Mothering As A Radical Act
Parental Involvement Across Middle and High School
A Womanist Experience of Caring
Investigating Young Children’s Conceptualizations of Disability and Race
Sharpening Justice Through DisCrit
I’m a Teacher, I’m Gonna Always Protect You”
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, Second Edition
Naturalistic inquiry
Dis/ability critical race studies (DisCrit)
Member Checking
Raising Middle-class Black Children
Parent Involvement as Ritualized Practice
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |