Full CV [PDF]

*published with graduate student, **published with undergraduate student, ***published with youth researcher, ****published with K-12 Teacher

Guest Edited Journals

• Farinde-Wu. A., Allen-Handy, A., & Hill-Jackson, V. (2020). Black women’s work: Exploring pipelines, pedagogies, and policies [Special Issue]. Theory into Practice.
• Jackson, T.O. & Allen-Handy, A. (2018). Centering the significance of qualitative studies on the sociocultural and sociopolitical contexts of education to inform policy [Special Issue]. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education Volume 31

Journal Articles

• Allen-Handy, A. (accepted). Extracting life-giving strength from my roots: An endarkened feminist (auto)nkwaethnography of navigating tenure as a Black woman at a predominantly white institution. Journal of Intersectionality.
• Allen-Handy, A., Farinde-Wu, A., & *Shannon, D.G., Johnson, J.W. (2021). Black women undergraduates: A phenomenological examination of their lived experiences and identity construction at predominantly white institutions. Journal of African American Women and Girls in Education 1(3), 65-84.
• Allen-Handy, A., *Meloche, A., ***Brown, J., ***Frazier, A., *Escalante, K., ****Wilkes-Walker, M., ***Burns, I., ***Edwards-Chapman, N., ***Ervin, Q., ***Wortham, I., ***Thomas, A., ***Thomas, M.., **Bugg, D. *Dia, J., (2021). Preserving history for the persistent legacy of our school: A critical youth-led participatory heritage project. Preservation, Digital Technology, and Culture. 50(1), 15-29. https://doi.org/10.1515/pdtc-2021-0003
• Wright, C., *Likely, R., Allen-Handy, A., & Flowers, A.M. (2021). “We deserve to be here”: A critical examination of Black female engineering teachers’ personal and professional experiences in education. Journal of African American Women and Girls in Education, 1(2), 119-140.
• Hancock, S.D., Allen-Handy, A., Williams, J., Butler, B.R., *Meloche, A., & Lewis, C.W. (2021). Teaching to empower: Social justice action projects as imperatives for educational justice. Teachers College Record. 123(13), https://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentId=23750
• Robinson, P.A., Allen-Handy, A., Burrell-Craft, K. (2021). Critical media literacy and Black female identity construction: A conceptual framework for empowerment, equity, and social justice in education. Journal of Media Literacy Education 13(1), 79-91.
• Allen-Handy, A., *Thomas-EL, S.L., & Sung, K.K. (2021). Urban youth scholars: Cultivating global leadership development through youth-led justice-oriented research. Urban Review, 53(2), 264-294. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-020-00568-w
• Allen-Handy, A., Ifill, V., Schaar, R.Y., *Woodard, M., Rogers, M. (2021) The emerging critical pedagogies of dance educators in an urban STEAM after school program for Black girls. Journal of Urban Learning, Research, and Teaching 16(1), 58-88.
• Champion, D., Tucker-Raymond, E., Millner, A., Wright, C., Gravel, B., *Likely, R., Allen-Handy, A., & *Dandridge, T. (2020). Designing for computational STEM and arts integration in culturally sustaining learning ecologies. Information and Learning Sciences, 121 (9/10), 785-804.
• Farinde-Wu, A., Allen-Handy, A., Hill-Jackson, V. (2020). Black women’s work: Exploring pipelines, pedagogies, and policies: The Issue Editorial. Theory into Practice
• Farinde-Wu, A., Butler, B.R., & Allen-Handy, A. (2020). Conceptualizing a Black female teacher pipeline: From recruitment to retention to retirement. Theory into Practice. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2020.1773160
• Farinde-Wu, A., Alvarez, A., & Allen-Handy, A. (2020). The ‘I’ in identity: A white future teacher confronts race in an urban school. Whiteness and Education. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23793406.2019.1711149
• *Donaldson, J.P. & Allen-Handy, A. (2019). The nature and power of conceptualizations of learning. Educational Psychology Review. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09503-2
• Sung, K.K., & Allen-Handy, A. (2019). Contradictory origins and racializing legacy of the 1968 Bilingual Education Act: Urban schooling, anti-blackness, and Oakland’s 1996 Black English language education policy. University of Maryland Law Journal on Race, Religion, Gender, & Class, 44, https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/rrgc/vol19/iss1/4
• Haslip, M.J., Allen-Handy, A., *Donaldson, L. (2019). How early childhood educators and young children practice love, kindness, and forgiveness: Findings from a strength-spotting intervention. Early Childhood Education Journal, 47(5), 531-547.
• Allen-Handy, A., & *Thomas-EL, S. L. (2018). Be(com)ing critical scholars: The emergence of urban youth scholar identities through research and critical civic praxis. Urban Education, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085918814589
• Garo, L., Allen-Handy, A., & Lewis, C.W. (2018). Race, poverty, and violence exposure: A critical spatial analysis of African American trauma vulnerability and educational outcomes in Charlotte, North Carolina. Journal of Negro Education, 87(3), 246-269.
• Allen-Handy, A., & Farinde-Wu, A. (2018). Gleaning hope in a vacillating DACA sociopolitical context: Undocumented students’ systems of support and success in K-16 Education. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 31(8), 784-799.
• Jackson, T.O., & Allen-Handy, A. (2018). Centering the significance of qualitative studies on the sociocultural and sociopolitical contexts of education to inform policy [Editorial]. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 31(8), 645-651.
• Haslip, M., Allen-Handy, A., *Donaldson, L. (2018). How urban early childhood educators used positive guidance principles and improved teacher-child relationships: A social-emotional learning intervention study. Early Child Development and Care, DOI: 10.1080/03004430.2018.1507027
• Allen, A., Hancock, S.D., Glass, T.S., & Lewis, C.W. (2017). Mapping culturally relevant pedagogy into teacher education programs: A critical framework. Teachers College Record, 119(1), 1-25.
• Farinde, A., Allen, A., & Lewis, C.W. (2016). Retaining Black teachers: An examination of Black female teachers’ intentions to remain in K-12 classrooms. Equity and Excellence in Education, 49(1), 115-127.
• *Triplett, N. P., *Bryant, A. C., *Brown, K. E., *Steele, A.., *Ardrey, T., Allen, A. & Lewis, C. W. (2016). Discipline disproportionality, student achievement, and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The Education Law and Policy Review, 3(1), 209-240.
• *Triplett, N. P., Allen, A., & Lewis, C.W. (2014). Zero tolerance, school shootings, and the post-Brown quest for equity in discipline policy: An examination of how urban minorities are punished for white suburban violence. Journal of Negro Education. 83(3), 352-370
• Allen, A., & Butler, B.R. (2014). African American women faculty: Towards a model of co-ethnic mentorship in the academe. Journal of Progressive Policy and Practice, 2(1), 111-122.
• Scott, L., Allen, A., & Lewis, C. W. (2014). Dispelling the disparities for African American male students: A review of three charter school models. Journal of African American Males in Education, 5(1), 2-22.
• Farinde, A., & Allen, A. (2013). Cultural dissonance: Exploring the relationship between white female teachers’ perception and urban black female students’ disciplinary infractions. National Journal of Urban Education and Practice, 7(2), 142-155.
• Allen, A., Scott, L., Lewis, C.W. (2013). Racial microaggressions and African American and Hispanic students in urban schools: A call for culturally affirming education. Interdisciplinary Journal of Teaching and Learning, 3(2), 117-129.

Edited Books

• Robinson, P A., Allen-Handy, A., Bryant, A., & Lewis, C. W. (Eds.) (2019). Global perspectives on issues and solutions in urban education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
• Farinde-Wu, A., Allen-Handy, A., Lewis, C.W. (Eds.) (2017). Black female teachers: Diversifying the United States teacher workforce. Charlotte, NC: Information Age
• Hancock, S.D., Allen, A., & Lewis, C. W. (Eds.) (2015). Autoethnography as a lighthouse: Illuminating race, research, and the politics of schooling. Charlotte, NC: Information Age

Book Chapters

• Bryant, A., Watson, M., & Allen-Handy, A., Lewis, C.W. (2022). What do we do in the meantime?: Practical solutions for eliminating educational inequities in urban schools right now. In Hucks, D., Sealey-Ruiz, Y., Showunmi, V., Carothers, S.C., & Lewis, C.W., (Eds.), Purposeful teaching and learning in diverse contexts: Implications for access, equity, and achievement. Charlotte, NC: Information Age
• Hines, D.E., Farinde-Wu, A., & Allen-Handy, A., Young, J.L. (2021). A pattern of practice: A historical analysis of disciplinary practices of Black girls with disabilities. In Hines, D.E.; Boveda, M.; Lindo. E. (Eds). Racism by another name: Black students, overrepresentation, and the carceral state of special education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
• Jackson, T.O., & Allen-Handy, A. (2021). Distractions cannot be bigger than the mission: Black women’s motherwork in urban education. In T.O. Jackson (Ed). Black mother educators: Advancing praxis for access, equity, and achievement. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
• Allen-Handy, A., Ifill, V., Schaar, R., Rogers, M., & *Woodard, M. (2020). Black girls STEAMing through dance: Inspiring STEAM literacies, STEAM identities, and positive self-concept. In K. Thomas & D. Huffman (Eds.). Challenges and opportunities for transforming from STEM to STEAM education. Hershey, PA: IGI Global
• Allen-Handy, A., *Thomas-EL, S.L., ***Bhuiyan, T., ***Carroll, X., ***Karlen, E., ***Medlock, I., ***Weeks, I. (2019). Urban youth/international scholars: Critical solutions in support of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. In P.A. Robinson, A. Allen-Handy, A. Bryant & C.W. Lewis (Eds.) Global perspectives on issues and solutions in urban education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
• Robinson, P.A., Allen-Handy, A., Bryant, A., & Lewis, C.W. (2019). Global perspectives on issues and solutions in urban education. In P.A. Robinson, A. Allen-Handy, A. Bryant & C.W. Lewis (Eds.) Global perspectives on issues and solutions in urban education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
• Allen-Handy, A., & Farinde-Wu, A. (2017). Reflecting back while gazing forward: Black female teachers and the diversification of the United States teacher workforce. In A. Farinde-Wu, A. Allen-Handy, & C.W. Lewis (Eds.), Black female teachers: Diversifying the United States’ teacher workforce (pp. 1-6). United Kingdom: Emerald
• Farinde-Wu, A., Allen-Handy, A., Butler, B.R., & Lewis, C.W. (2017). The urban factor: Examining why Black female educators teach in under-resourced, urban schools. In A. Farinde-Wu, A. Allen-Handy, & C.W. Lewis (Eds.), Black female teachers: Diversifying the United States’ teacher workforce (pp.73-92). United Kingdom: Emerald
• Allen, A., & Hancock, S.D. (2016). The emergence of critical presence ethnography: Capturing the ripples of self in educational contexts. In R. Hopson, W. Rodick, & A. Kaul (Eds.), New directions in educational ethnography (Volume 13): Shifts, problems, and reconstruction (pp.121-139). United Kingdom: Emerald Press.
• Allen, A. (2016). African American girls and the kaleidoscope of identity: Reflections and refractions of contextual influences and K-12 schools. In P. Larke, G. Webb-Hasan, & J. Young (Eds.). Cultivating achievement, respect, and empowerment (CARE) for African American girls in preK-12 settings: Implications for access, equity, and achievement. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
• *Covington, A.C., Allen, A., & Lewis, C. (2016) Culturally sustaining pedagogy and hip-hop based education: A professional development framework in rap cypher and battle to promote student engagement and academic achievement. In T. Petty, A. Good, & M. Putman (Eds.). Handbook of research on professional development for quality teaching and learning (pp. 488-497). Hershey, PA: IGI Global
• Allen, A., *Watson, M., *Childers-McKee, C., *Garo, L., & Lewis, C.W. (2015). Schools as conduits of racism: How mindsets, policies, and practices impact historically marginalized students. In L. Drakeford (Ed.), Race Controversy in American Schools (pp. 69-90). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.
• Allen, A. (2015). Leveraging the cultural wealth in family and friend networks: An examination of undocumented Latino college students’ support systems and academic achievement. In D. Mitchell, E. Daniele, K. Soria, & J. Gipson (Eds.), Student involvement and academic outcomes: Implications for diverse college student populations (219-236). New York, NY: Peter Lang
• Allen, A. (2015). Black self/white context: An autoethnography of hurt, hope, and heroism in predominantly White schools. In. S.D. Hancock, A. Allen, & C.W. Lewis (Eds.). Autoethnography as a lighthouse: Illuminating race, research, and the politics of schooling. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
• Hancock, S.D., & Allen, A., (2015). Common threads: Culturalized patterns and conceptual understandings in critical autoethnographic research. In S. D. Hancock, A. Allen, & C.W. Lewis (Eds.). Autoethnography as a lighthouse: Illuminating race, research, and the politics of schooling. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
• Allen, A., Hancock, S.D., Lewis, C.W. (2015). Implications of autoethnography for access to equity and achievement. In S.D. Hancock, A. Allen, & C.W. Lewis (Eds.), Autoethnography as a lighthouse: Illuminating race, research, and the politics of schooling. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
• *Robinson, D., Allen, A., & Lewis, C.W. (2014). Human capital investment: Supporting the development of visionary change agents in teacher preparation programs for urban schools and communities. In Y. Sealey-Ruiz, I. Toldson, & C.W. Lewis (Eds.). Teacher education and the Black community: Implications for access, equity, and achievement. Charlotte, NC: Information Age

• Urban Education
• Sociology of Education
• Justice-oriented Research
• Critical Participatory Action Research
• Youth Participatory Action Research
• Urban Teacher Education

• Drexel University (2021-Present)
  Associate Professor
• Drexel University (2019-Present)
  Founding Director Justice-oriented Youth (JoY) Education Lab
• Drexel University (2015-2021)
  Assistant Professor
• The Urban Education Collaborative, UNC Charlotte (2012-2015)
  Post-Doctoral Fellow
• YES Prep Public Schools (2008-12)
  Director of College Counseling and Alumni Programs
• Houston Independent School District (2007-08)
  Literacy Specialist
• Houston Independent School District (2001-07)
  Teacher

Ayana Allen-Handy, PhD is an Associate Professor of Urban Education and Chair of the Policy, Organization, and Leadership Department at Drexel University's School of Education. She is also the Founder/Director of the Justice-Oriented Youth Education Lab (The JOY Lab). Grounded in critical race and intersectional theoretical framings, her work is dedicated to justice-oriented urban education and is built upon debunking and (re)framing pejorative narratives of urban students, schools, and communities. Her work strives to (re)imagine urban from a place of decline to a place of possibilities. Therefore, her research employs asset-based critical perspectives which recognize the resources and assets that individuals and communities possess that derive from their lived experiences, and the role that power and privilege have played in maintaining inequitable educational opportunities. Particularly, her work centers the strengths that illuminate the community cultural wealth and funds of knowledge that are embedded in historically marginalized places and spaces and amongst the mosaic of diverse people groups therein. She seeks to highlight the human, cultural, and social capital that are often unrecognized and unacknowledged by the status quo. Her work does not focus on problems and issues in urban education alone, but critical solutions and participatory approaches in an effort to espouse equity, agency, and critical capacity building. For example, her work strives to support the capacity of students, teachers, schools, and communities to create, implement, and sustain their own solutions to issues that directly impact them through critical Youth and Community-led Participatory Action Research.