EMU Today

YPSILANTI – Sharon Hopkins is a single mom to a college student, full-time district-level administrator, experienced educational leader and researcher – and a graduating Eastern Michigan University student in the Doctor of Philosophy in educational studies program, which is meant to prepare educators from various community organizations to engage in effective research and practice regarding teaching and learning.

According to Christopher Robbins, EMU professor of social foundation and coordinator of the Ph.D. in educational studies, Hopkins “showed not only unmatched discipline and singularity of focus as a student in the program, but also remarkable brilliance and leadership in class and beyond.”

Those comments were based on Hopkins’ dissertation for the program – an archival study that sought to understand what role Black Consciousness development has played in Black kindergarten through 12th-grade student activism. A study led to the creation of a new research methodology and produced a fully developed pedagogical framework and philosophy that is historically significant and has an immediate positive impact on the lives of African American youth.

In the U.S. and Africa throughout the 1950s and 1960s, these students engaged in activism to resist anti-Black policies, laws, segregation, violence and colonialism. While historical records document some of this history, the psychological transformation students underwent to bring their activism to life has yet to be largely discovered.

Hopkins’ study used data from primary sources of Black student activists from the 1950s through the 1970s to explore the psycho-existential transformation Black students experience today that results in an activist orientation.

The study results highlight accounts of Black student activism to explore the testimonies of youth under 19. Hopkins foraged historical archives for these lesser-known testimonies to understand how the youngest participants viewed their activism. Among the materials studied were historical documents, such as poetry, prose, curricular units, interviews and digital artifacts published on social media in the 2010s and 2020s – all used to correlate how contemporary Black student activists come into Black Consciousness in the current social, political, and economic climate and how they act toward liberation.

From the data, Hopkins uncovered specific school experiences and pedagogies that the activists identified as integral to their Black Consciousness development and activism. From this, she developed the Black Consciousness Raising Pedagogical Framework (BCRP) as a guide for educators of Black youth to develop Black Consciousness and an activist orientation within them – or “Black youth who are inquisitive, proud, unapologetically Black and believe that they can enact change upon the world,” explained Hopkins.

In addition to her study, according to Robbins, Hopkins also “demonstrated impressive leadership and courage beyond her career and coursework” as a participant in a faculty search committee where she analyzed EMU’s faculty search process to understand how it facilitates or interferes with EMU’s efforts to broaden inclusion and diversity interests in hiring practices.

The analysis aimed to determine what qualifications were deemed most desirable by Eastern’ssearch committees and how the hiring process works to facilitate a more ethnically and racially diverse faculty that is representative of the racial and ethnic backgrounds within their student body.

Following her analysis, Hopkins provided her recommendations on better aligning hiring processes and practices that support the broadening of inclusion and diversity amongst faculty – including that universities should actively recruit diverse talent.

“If it is true that the applicant pool is not racially and ethnically diverse, then universities should aggressively create graduate recruiting programs to increase the number of Black and brown Ph.D. students who will be eligible for future professorships,” said Hopkins.

When asked what she had to say about her experience as an EMU doctoral student, Hopkins said she “developed immensely as a critical scholar, researcher and teacher educator throughout this journey, largely due to the efficacious teaching of the faculty – particularly my advisor, Dr. Robbins, and the mentorship and financial support of everyone in the department. I would encourage anyone interested in the intersections of critical theory and education to pursue a doctoral degree in the education studies program at EMU.”

About Eastern Michigan University
Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest public university in Michigan. It currently serves more than 14,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Engineering and Technology; Health and Human Services; and its graduate school. National publications regularly recognize EMU for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. Visit the University’s rankings and points of pride websites to learn more. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit the University's website. To stay up to date on University news, activities and announcements, visit EMU Today.