UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Mariah Harmon, assistant professor of education (teacher education) in the Penn State College of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction, has been named as the 2024 recipient of the James Anderson Outstanding Dissertation Award, presented by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE).
“Oftentimes, when we spend months and years working on a paper, project or dissertation, we often ask ourselves ‘Does this matter?’ ‘Am I pursuing a worthwhile question?’ ‘What will be my impact?’” Harmon said. “Throughout the dissertation process those questions came up for me, and I had to work through that uncertainty. I am honored to win this award because it helps to validate this work and confirm that it is important and it is needed.”
The award recognizes excellence in doctoral dissertation research that contributes to the knowledge base of educator preparation or of teaching and learning with implications for educator preparation. The award is named for James D. Anderson, whose landmark 1988 book, “The Education of Blacks in the South,” transformed the field of African American educational history.
“We are excited and very proud to learn Dr. Harmon has been chosen for this honor, as she is most deserving,” said Kim Lawless, College of Education dean. “She has dedicated her career to making education more equitable and accessible to everyone. During her time at Penn State, Dr. Harmon has become an invaluable contributor in this critical area of our college’s mission. I am pleased her great work is being recognized in this way. It provides further testimony the College of Education’s faculty is top tier.”
Harmon’s winning dissertation was “From Object to Subject: Exploring the Experiences and Developmental Needs of Black Women Pre-Service Teachers.” She discussed how researchers have identified racial matching — ensuring teachers of color work with students of similar racial backgrounds — to improve students’ achievement.
However, she said, calls to increase teacher diversity emphasize benefits to students without adequate consideration of minoritized teachers’ developmental needs or histories. While literature describes the knowledge that Black teachers bring to the teaching profession, Harmon said the process of developing it into pedagogy is not sufficiently researched, particularly in ways that will sustain them in the classroom.
“In this study, I focus on Black women pre-service teachers (BWPSTs) as a case of teachers of color learning to teach in U.S. schools,” Harmon explained. “As with teachers from other marginalized groups, even when teacher education centers issues of equity and justice, it seldom considers their particular developmental needs. Rather than positioning BWPSTs as agentic learners, policymakers too often position them as objects to solve ‘diversity’ issues. By uncovering Black women’s unique development as teachers, this study offers one possible design for teacher education to invest in their development as culturally responsive educators."
Harmon said in this social design study, she investigated four BWPSTs’ teaching ideologies by tracing their conversations in a teacher education counterspace, or an intentional space made by and for those who experience oppression. By using interaction analysis and comparative case study design, Harmon’s research documented BWPSTs’ experiences and development as caring educators, offering an empirical basis for redesigning teacher education to decenter whiteness in an effort to better support minoritized teachers.
“Everyone at Penn State has been so supportive and encouraging,” Harmon said. “They have also encouraged me to publish and get the work out there for a larger audience to read. I am working on it!”
Overseen by AACTE’s Committee on Research and Dissemination, the award includes a $1,000 cash prize as well as special recognition at AACTE’s 2024 Annual Meeting Feb. 16-18 at Gaylord of the Rockies Resort and Convention Center in Aurora, Colorado.
“I had some truly amazing mentors that supported me throughout this process,” Harmon said. “I want to send my appreciation to: Ilana Horn, H. Rich Milner and Nicole Joseph, [all at Vanderbilt University], and Keffrelyn Brown at the University of Texas at Austin. My family and friends, particularly my husband, Demarkcus Harmon, my son, Bowen Harmon, and my mother Terry Williams all kept me grounded throughout this process. I couldn’t have won this award without all of this support. I am strong because of the strength of my community. Ubuntu, I am because we are.”