Garrett A. Duncan, Ph.D,
"a terrific asset as a teacher and colleague"
|
Garrett A. Duncan, Ph.D, "a terrific asset as a teacher and colleague" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
|
Challenging popular theories Garrett A. Duncan, Ph.D., examines highly competitive high schools with a substantial number of African-American students By Neil Schoenherr Garrett Albert Duncan, Ph.D., assistant professor of education and of African and Afro-American Studies, both in Arts & Sciences, didn't always want to be in the field of education.
"After working in a veterinary office for a few years, I discovered I was actually afraid of animals," Duncan said, smiling. While he still loves animals, at least from a distance, Duncan has found his true passion -- mentoring students. An award-winning educator, Duncan is credited with helping countless underrepresented young people excel in upper-level coursework at the junior high and high school levels. He also is a noted and renowned researcher, studying African-American adolescent development, critical educational theory, and language and literacy. Duncan earned a bachelor of science in biology from California State Polytechnic University in 1984 and earned teaching credentials in life science in 1989. During these years, while teaching at the middle school and later the high school levels, Duncan had "what was considered to be tremendous success as a teacher." "By this, I mean that the students who traditionally were not found in college-preparatory courses, mainly black and Latino students, were brought into college-prep courses through my chemistry classes," Duncan said. "Since these students were supposedly at risk and were not necessarily meant to succeed in school, those who bought into stereotypes about so-called uneducable black and brown students made me out to be a hero. "But I came into the classroom knowing that kids, as long as they are intellectually engaged and know that you care about them, will respond to what is going on. I actually learned more from those young people than they learned from me." Duncan had planned on going to graduate school to study behavioral science, but he was encouraged by the dean of his undergraduate college of education to pursue a doctorate in education. "I really wanted to challenge some of these popular theories and concepts about the education of students of color, mainly black and Latino, working class as well as middle class," Duncan said. "There was very little in the research literature that corresponded with what I knew about these students, and I wanted to contribute to redirecting the academic discourse about them." Duncan earned a doctorate in education from The Claremont Graduate School in 1994. "In going to graduate school, my purpose was to examine the social conditions and moral and material contexts that continue to produce what are essentially color-coded educational stratifications," he said. "My original orientation was very heavy in education theory, perhaps largely due to me trying to reconcile my experiences as a teacher with what was in the research literature." After graduation, Duncan was prepared to take a job as a language researcher at a university in southern California. But at the very last minute, circumstances changed and the position was closed. "Folks say things happen for a reason," Duncan said. "Three months later I saw an announcement for a postdoc position here at Washington University in African and Afro-American Studies. I applied for it, was offered the position, enthusiastically accepted it and have been very happy with the way things worked out." When Duncan first arrived at the University in 1996, he began working in an elementary-school setting on a project started by James V. Wertsch, Ph.D., the Marshall S. Snow Professor in the education department. Duncan still works with these same elementary schools, encouraging University students to do field work at them. "One of the things that concerns me is that oftentimes university professors will go into a setting, conduct their research, write their book or article and leave," Duncan said. "I think that exploits the community and only diminishes their view of researchers and Universities. I live in St. Louis and I have a commitment to the city and want to see it grow. That's why I keep coming back to these same schools -- I believe that Washington University has tremendous intellectual resources and has an obligation to share them with the community." While Duncan still works with elementary schools, his area of scholarly focus remains secondary schools, primarily high schools. He focuses mainly on the education of African-American youth in urban and suburban settings, examining the role of language in shaping their academic and social experiences in school. His current study of three local high schools and one in Rochester, N.Y., has lasted three years. To complete it, Duncan recently received a grant from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement of the Department of Education and the American Educational Research Association.
Duncan chose to focus on these particular schools because although "education is a core black cultural value," in most cases, competitive high schools tend to lack African-American students. "We should express outrage at the lack of black students, and black males in particular, in these highly competitive programs," Duncan said. "But we expect there to be few black students in these programs. They accept it as normal." Duncan said one of the things he's found by going into these high schools is that cultural models, such as "the purported anti-intellectualism of black students" that shapes how these students are perceived by teachers and by other students, are perhaps the greatest factors in the success or failure of these students in highly competitive settings. "Sports and hip-hop are the No. 1 explanatory devices teachers and administrators used to explain the absence of black males in highly competitive programs," Duncan said. "But black males never refer to these things as being relevant to how they see themselves as students. "I've concluded that the largest factor in determining the success or failure of these young men is how they are treated -- by their peers, teachers and administrators." Duncan is extremely appreciative of the backing he has received from the University community. "I could not have done the work that I'm doing without the support of the University," he said. "I can't imagine a better place to do this research. First and foremost, the University has the best students in the world. They are extremely bright, quite studious and come to class prepared and ready to argue passionately and intelligently about ideas. In addition, they have greatly assisted me in carrying out my research." Duncan also knows that he is valued by the departments of Education and African and Afro-American Studies, as well as by other programs and departments in the University. "They make sure I have what I need in order to do my work," he said. "The resources and moral support at this University are tremendous. If I can imagine it, it can be done." He gives back to his students the feeling of hospitality he receives from his peers. "Since his arrival at the University, Garrett has set a standard for having an impact on our students," said Wertsch, former chair of the Department of Education. "He has been a major presence in many students' lives, and this only promises to increase in the future. "He is a terrific asset as a teacher and colleague, and his work at high schools in St. Louis and the region -- as well as nationally and internationally -- make him a very visible member of the University community. I can't tell you how pleased we are to have him here." Students have responded well to Duncan's courses. He received the Council of Students of Arts & Sciences Faculty Recognition Award from 1998-2000. He was named Faculty Member of the Year by the Association of Black Students for the 1998-99 academic year and was named Outstanding Faculty Member by the Women's Panhellenic Association in 1998. "I'm truly happy to be here and I'm happy that I'm able to have an impact on these students," Duncan said. "They really are a pleasure to work with." |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
