College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations
Term of Award
Summer 2026
Degree Name
Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies (Ed.D.)
Document Type and Release Option
Dissertation (restricted to Georgia Southern)
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
Digital Commons@Georgia Southern License
Department
Department of Curriculum, Foundations, and Reading
Committee Chair
Ming Fang He
Committee Member 1
Peggy Shannon-Baker
Committee Member 2
Robert Lake
Committee Member 3
Kristen Duncan
Abstract
This dissertation explores the experiences of Black high school graduates from Title I high schools as they navigate and transcend systemic barriers. Theoretically, I draw upon a wide array of literature on Black intellectual critiques of power, privilege, oppression, marginalization, disempowering pedagogical practices, and unequal access to educational capital (Bell, 1993; Crenshaw, 1998, 2011; Dawson & Cameron-Kelly, 2010; DeCuir & Dixson, 2012; Delgado & Stefancic, 2000, 2012; Gordon, 1990; Harris, 1993; Ladson-Billings, 2003; Solorzano & Yosso, 2002; Taylor et al., 2016; Tyson, 2006; Yosso, 2006) and Endarkened Feminist Epistemology (Dillard, 2000, 2006b, 2012). Using counternarrative/conterstorytelling as methodology (e.g., He & Ross, 2012; Solorzano & Yosso, 2002; Yosso, 2006), I explore how Black graduates thrive despite experiencing oppression, marginalization, disempowering pedagogical practices, and unequal access to educational capital to remember and reclaim the experiences of Black graduates, critique dominant narratives, and reframe cultural capital. Six major findings have emerged from my dissertation study: (1) Black students challenge racism, exclusion, and invisibility while struggling to maintain their identities and sense of belonging. (2) Historically, Black students have been denied equitable opportunities and burdened by hardships and disadvantages, and have faced stereotypes, prejudice, racism, deficit theories, disempowering pedagogical practices, racialized standards, systemic marginalization, and punitive discipline policies that sabotage their brilliance and giftedness. (3) Public schools are racialized spaces that reproduce power structures and perpetuate inequalities that negatively affect Black students’ identities, self-worth, emotional well-being, and intellectual affirmation. (4) Although measures such as grade point average and class rank are considered the primary indicators of “academic performance,” hearing the stories of Black high school graduates is crucial for understanding how they navigate racialized spaces and places and develop resilient strategies that other Black students can follow. (5) Counterstorytelling empowers Black students and other disenfranchised individuals to speak out and speak back against majoritarian narratives, identify the roots of inequality, inequity, and injustice, and develop creative, resilient strategies to liberate themselves from all forms of oppression. (6) There is an urgent need for teachers, students, administrators, policymakers, parents, and other educational workers to collaborate to create culturally empowering curricula that respect Black students’ funds of knowledge, appreciate their talents and giftedness, and enable them to thrive despite oppression, marginalization, disempowering pedagogical practices, unequal access to opportunities, and all forms of injustice, while making schools inspiring spaces for learning and thriving for all.
Recommended Citation
Hardiman, C. R. (2026). Black skin, Endarkened curriculum: Black graduates' experiences in Title I high schools within the U.S. South (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Georgia Southern University.
Research Data and Supplementary Material
No
