Research in Practice: Advancing Educational Equity for Black Youth

Professor Lerona Dana Lewis completed her doctoral studies in the Faculty of Education and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University, exploring the culture of faculty development in medical education. Her primary areas of expertise are school, family, and community relations, and the social practices that shape Black children's schooling experiences in K -12 contexts. She has extensive experience in Teacher Education with a focus on science education from a social justice perspective. Her approach to research design draws from mixed methods and arts informed methodologies and her research interests encompass developments in education in English-speaking and Francophone Caribbean countries. 

Professor Tya Collins’ endeavors as an educator span over two decades in a broad range of settings in teaching and administration. Her research emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach drawing from the fields of education, sociology, critical youth studies, Black studies, and disability studies. Some of her recent work focuses on Black student trajectories through and beyond inclusive and special education, their postsecondary outcomes, and the institutional practices and policies that impact these trajectories.