Dr. Marva McClean
Marva McClean is a distinguished author, educator, and advocate for social justice and equity, particularly in the realm of education with the forthcoming volume, Navigating Black Privileges across the African Diaspora set to problematize research on Black identity and the privileges inherent in the African diasporic displacement. Her book From the Middle Passage to Black Lives Matter: Ancestral Writing as a Pedagogy of Hope delves into the historical and contemporary struggles of the African diaspora, linking the trauma of the Middle Passage with the ongoing fight for Black lives in the modern era. McClean's work is a powerful exploration of how ancestral knowledge and storytelling can serve as a foundation for educational equity, offering a framework for hope and resilience. Through her writing and advocacy, she seeks to dismantle systemic inequalities in education, ensuring that marginalized voices are not only heard but also uplifted in the quest for a more just and inclusive society. In the groundbreaking book Indigenous Epistemology: Descent into the Womb of Decolonized Research Methodology co-authored with Dr. Marcus Waters, Dr. McClean challenges conventional Western research paradigms by centering Indigenous ways of knowing. This book offers a decolonized framework for research that honors and respects the epistemologies of Indigenous peoples, promoting methodologies that are rooted in cultural, spiritual, and ancestral knowledge. By reclaiming and validating Indigenous perspectives, the book contributes to the global movement towards more inclusive and equitable research practices. The book has been received positively across the globe, particularly in academic and Indigenous communities, where it is praised for its innovative approach to research and its commitment to social justice. It serves as a critical resource for scholars and practitioners seeking to engage in research that is ethically grounded in the values and traditions of Indigenous cultures. In the edited volume The Struggle for Justice, Equity, and Peace in the Global Classroom, Dr. McClean provides practical strategies and theoretical insights into how classrooms can be transformed into spaces of critical engagement, where students are empowered to challenge injustices and contribute to a more peaceful society. By addressing issues such as systemic inequality, cultural bias, and the need for inclusive curricula, McClean's anthology serves as a vital resource for educators committed to creating a global classroom that upholds the values of equity, diversity, and human rights.
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Papers by Dr. Marva McClean
Through a blend of non-traditional research methodologies and shifting paradigms, this book advances a plateau of transformational strategies to decenter curriculum and pedagogy into a vibrant platform of emancipatory strategies that embrace all children as change agents and co-collaborators in the global classroom. From across the continents; Australia and Oceania, Asia, North & South America, and Europe, researchers, authors, poets, community activists and artists delve into decolonized research methodologies including spiritual knowledge and ceremonial practices to demonstrate teaching and learning that honors historical empowerment and the agency of children in global classrooms.
McClean, Marva. (2019). From the Middle Passage to Black Lives Matter: Ancestral Writing as a Pedagogy of Hope. New York: Peter Lang Publishers.
In this narrative rooted in auto-ethnography, the author juxtaposes her personal story with that of international stories of resistance to oppression and calls on educators to include children’s personal stories as critical pedagogy to honor their funds of knowledge and foster their historical consciousness. With a focus on 18th century freedom fighter, Nanny of the Maroons, the text illuminates the resistance movement across the Black Diaspora and its historical connections with Indigenous people worldwide who have harnessed their ancestral roots to disrupt cultural hegemony. The author calls for a radical shift in the global curriculum to include stories of the historical empowerment of warriors of resistance.
From the Middle Passage to Black Lives Matter is a narrative of social justice which seeks to provoke the reader’s historical consciousness and provide authentic strategies to decolonize the global curriculum. Along with student writing samples, the book provides authentic strategies for an interactive teaching and learning process where the voice of the student becomes central to the discourse.
Through a blend of non-traditional research methodologies and shifting paradigms, this book advances a plateau of transformational strategies to decenter curriculum and pedagogy into a vibrant platform of emancipatory strategies that embrace all children as change agents and co-collaborators in the global classroom. From across the continents; Australia and Oceania, Asia, North & South America, and Europe, researchers, authors, poets, community activists and artists delve into decolonized research methodologies including spiritual knowledge and ceremonial practices to demonstrate teaching and learning that honors historical empowerment and the agency of children in global classrooms.
McClean, Marva. (2019). From the Middle Passage to Black Lives Matter: Ancestral Writing as a Pedagogy of Hope. New York: Peter Lang Publishers.
In this narrative rooted in auto-ethnography, the author juxtaposes her personal story with that of international stories of resistance to oppression and calls on educators to include children’s personal stories as critical pedagogy to honor their funds of knowledge and foster their historical consciousness. With a focus on 18th century freedom fighter, Nanny of the Maroons, the text illuminates the resistance movement across the Black Diaspora and its historical connections with Indigenous people worldwide who have harnessed their ancestral roots to disrupt cultural hegemony. The author calls for a radical shift in the global curriculum to include stories of the historical empowerment of warriors of resistance.
From the Middle Passage to Black Lives Matter is a narrative of social justice which seeks to provoke the reader’s historical consciousness and provide authentic strategies to decolonize the global curriculum. Along with student writing samples, the book provides authentic strategies for an interactive teaching and learning process where the voice of the student becomes central to the discourse.
Dr. McClean comments on the statistics of Black and Indigenous children in schools in the United States and around the globe, and emphasizes how the enduring effects of racism and inequity continue to shape their performance in school. She draws parallels between the struggle for equality today and the resistance movement against slavery centuries ago, and emphasizes the importance of empowering our youth with the resources to raise their historical consciousness and provide them with the tools to unearth the inaccuracies written within the texts they use in schools and empower themselves to write truth into history by sharing and writing their own stories based on their cultural legacy.
The book offers guidelines to assist youth to think critically, question relationships of power and to become agents of social change. The voice of the child is elevated with students’ writing samples and authentic strategies teachers may use to collaborate with students and bring their culture into the daily lessons of the classroom. This text is a reminder that there are heroes and heroines from our heritage and that teachers and students, parents and children, community and youth can engage as cultural workers to embrace diversity, break down barriers and celebrate the unique gifts of our humanity.