Biography

Daniella Ann Cook is an associate professor in the Department of Teacher Education (ITE) at the University of South Carolina. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, she received her masters and doctoral degrees from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to joining the faculty at USC, Cook served as an Assistant Professor of Education at The University of Tulsa and the Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Research Network on Racial and Ethnic Inequality in the Social Science Research Institute at Duke University. Her research and scholarship address three intersecting themes: historical and contemporary narratives of black educators, public policy with a focus on community engagement and identifying factors that support student access to rigorous curricula across diverse schooling contexts. These three areas reflect her commitment to the democratic project of sustaining racially just and equitable schooling for communities traditionally underserved by public education.  She conducted an ethnographic study of black educators in New Orleans post-Katrina to explore urban school reform narratives with an explicit focus on their effects on black communities during the single largest displacement of African American educators since desegregation. 

She is also actively involved in several professional organizations including the American Educational and Developmental Science Association (AESA) and the American Educational Research Association (AERA). In addition to presenting at international and national conferences, Cook has published in a wide range of journals including Multicultural Perspectives, The High School Journal, The Journal of Culture and Mathematics, Southern Anthropologist, Voices in Urban Education, the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education and served a two year term as an Associate Editor for  The Urban Review.

Educational Background

Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Masters of Arts in Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Bachelor of Arts in History; Bachelor of Science in Education, Miami University

Teaching areas/areas of expertise

Critical Multicultural Education, Black Education, Critical Race Theory, Culturally Competent/Relevant Pedagogy, Community Engagement and Urban Education, Qualitative Methodology

Research

Daniella Cook's interdisciplinary research concentrates on understanding how class, race and power affect the everyday schooling lives of students, teachers and communities traditionally under-served by public education across diverse contexts.

Teaching

Teaching areas/areas of expertise: Critical Multicultural Education, Black Education, Critical Race Theory, Culturally Competent/Relevant Pedagogy, Community Engagement and Urban Education, Qualitative Methodology

Selected Scholarship

Cook, D.A. (2019, October 14). Community and Education Reform in New Orleans Post Katrina Podcast title [Leading Equity Audio podcast]

Cook, D.A.  (Winter 2017/2018). In the Spirit of Ella: Race, Community & Education Reform in New Orleans Post Katrina. High School Journal.

Cook, D.A. & Williams, T. (2015) Expanding Intersectionality: Fictive Kinship Networks as Supports for the Educational Aspirations of Black Women. The Western Journal of Black Studies. 39 (2), 157-166.

Cook, D.A. (2015) Shifting the Center in Teacher Education: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Critical Race Theory and Teacher Education. The Urban Review. 47 (2), 233-236.  

Cook, D.A. (2013) An Engaged Dialogue: Reflections on Preparing African American Teachers for Diverse Classrooms. Multicultural Perspectives. 15 (1), 46 – 51.

Cook, D.A. (2013). Blurring the Boundaries: The Mechanics of Creating Composite Characters. In Marvin Lynn & Adrienne D. Dixson (Eds.) Handbook of Critical Race Theory in Education. New York, NY: Routledge.

Cook, D.A. & Dixson, A. (2013). Expanding Critical Race Theory and Method: A Composite Counter Story on School Reform and the Experiences of Black Teachers in New Orleans Post Katrina. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. 26 (10), 1238-1258.

Cook, D.A. (2010) Disrupted But Not Destroyed: Fictive Kinship Networks among Black Educators in Post Katrina New Orleans. Southern Anthropologist. 35 (2), 1 – 25.

 

Selected Presentations

What about Me?: Exploring the Multidimensionality of Black Teachers (November 2013). Paper presentation at the American Educational and Developmental Science Association (AESA) Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD.

Middle Class is not enough: Middle Class Black Parents Organizing for Educational Opportunity (June 2013). Individual paper presentation at the Centre For Education For Racial Equality In Scotland (CERES).

Cook, D.A. & Caves, K.M. Towards a Critical Race Implicit Theory: A Conceptualisation of the Impact of Structure on Individual Attitudes about Learning (June 2013). Individual paper presentation at the Centre For Education For Racial Equality In Scotland (CERES).

Psychological Musings: Towards a Critical Implicit Theory of Motivation & Achievement (May 2012). Individual paper presentation at the Critical Race Studies in Education Association (CRSEA), New York City, NY.

Trying to Talk to the Powers That Be: The Experiences of Black Educators with School Reform in Post-Katrina New Orleans (January 2011). Individual Paper presentation at International Conference on Narrative, Arts-based, and Post Approaches to Social Research (NAPAR) Conference, Phoenix, AZ.

Cooperation, Collaboration and Solidarity: Black Educator Fictive Kinship Networks in Post Katrina New Orleans. (September 2010) Individual paper presentation at Five Years of Post-Katrina Educational Reform Research Conference, New Orleans, LA.

Honors

Selected Participant, Division K New Faculty Seminar, Annual Conference for the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL (April 27 – May 1, 2013)

Selected Participant, Committee on Scholars of Color Annual Mentoring Dinner, Annual Conference for the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL (April 27 – May 1, 2013)

Awards

Recipient, 2011, Daniel G. Solórzano Travel Award for Critical Race Research on the Intersections of Race, Ethnicity, Class and Gender in Education, Critical Race Studies in Education Association