School of Education

I have been a professional educator for over 24 years. Prior to joining the academy, I was an elementary teacher and taught first, second, and third grades. As a teacher educator, I draw upon my own classroom teaching experiences focusing on the complexities of teaching diverse learners and attending to social justice issues pertaining to the marginalization of children in U.S. schools.

I consider myself a scholar-activist and am committed to social justice issues pertaining to the historical and contemporary oppression, miseducation, and liberation of children of Color in U.S. schools. My teaching, scholarship and service is a means of activism. I explicitly apply my knowledge and understanding of my field to interrupt institutional inequity and promote social justice in education.

My scholarly agenda coheres around equity methodologies aimed at improving schooling outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse students through teacher development and learning from the teacher identities and praxis of Black women educators and faculty. I design research projects and situate my research, teaching, and service within spaces that acknowledge the perspectives and voices of historically oppressed and marginalized populations.

My most recent research projects the development of culturally relevant/sustaining practices with preservice and practicing teachers of Color and the teacher identities and praxis of Black mother educators.

• Ph.D. Curriculum, Teaching and Educational Policy. Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. (2006)
• M.Ed. Curriculum and Instruction. Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion, Indiana. (1998)

• B.S. Elementary Education K-8. Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. (1996)

• Teacher learning and development across the professional continuum (preservice, induction, and continued professional development) specifically focused on preparing teachers for diversity; teaching for social justice; culturally responsive pedagogy; teachers of Color; urban education; identities and praxis of Black women educators and faculty.

• Jackson, T.O., & Flowers, N. C. (2019). Look on me and be renewed: Black mothers as scholar-activists in teacher education. In R. Jeffries (Ed.), Queen Mothers: Articulating the Spirit of Black Women Teacher-Leaders. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

• Jackson, T.O. (2018). Preservice teachers of Color and the intersections of teacher identity, race and place. In P.A. Schutz, JY. Hong, & D. I. Cross Francis (Eds.), Research on Teacher Identity: Mapping Challenges and Innovations (pp. 207-216). Cham, Switzerland: Springer Publishing.

• Garvin-Hudson, B., & Jackson, T.O. (2018). A case for culturally relevant science education in the summer for African American youth. International Journal of Qualitative Research in Education, 31(8), 708-725.

• Jackson, T.O., & Bryson, B.S. (2018). Community mapping as a tool for developing culturally relevant pedagogy. The New Educator, 14(2), 109-128.

• Jackson, T.O., Ballard, A., Drewery, M, Membres, B., Morgan, L. & Nicholson, F. (2017). “Black like me”: Female preservice teachers of Color on learning to teach for social justice with a Black female professor. In A. Farinde, A. Allen-Handy, & C. Lewis (Eds.), Black Female Teachers: Diversifying the United States’ Teacher Workforce (pp. 93-113). Bingley, United Kingdom: Emerald Publishing Group Limited.

Links:

Indianapolis Freedom School Partnership

School of Education at IUPUI receives grant to train 300 Indiana schools in cultural competency

• American Educational Research Association

  • Division G: Social Context of Education

  • Division K: Teaching and Teacher Education

  • SIG-Research Focus on Black Education

• National Association for Multicultural Education

• National Council of Teachers of English