Jolan Smith is deeply motivated to prepare her students to support children with disabilities. It’s part of who she is.
The associate professor in advanced studies in education and counseling at Cal State Long Beach specializes in families whose kids are in special education, with a focus on Black families and children.
“As a public school teacher and special educator for years, I could see what was happening in the classroom,” said Smith, who has taught in the College of Education since 2018. “I knew I could become more of a disability advocate by training teachers. We need to have strong education teachers who recognize people who have been marginalized.”
To that end, Smith is also training the next generation of underrepresented educators, serving as the faculty advisor for the Mary Jane Patterson Scholarships on campus, and the lead for the Future Black Educators (FBE) Network. We spoke with Smith about her teaching work, her research and its impact.
Q: How are you preparing the next generation of educators for special education, and what are some unique challenges they might face?
Jolan Smith: I was fortunate to have the first professor in my credential program be the child of deaf adults. As a result, she emphasized the value of families and centering the child with the disability. I remind my students of this throughout all my courses. The reason we are in this service profession is to hold steady to the needs of families and students, even as societal values and educational practices shift.
Q: Are there specific needs that Black students and families have, as well as other underrepresented groups, particularly in special education?
JS: There are strong associations and biases attached to Black families and people. In my research, that comes out. Black families in disability still must have the racial socialization talks that Black families with children without disabilities must have.
Because they have disabilities — oftentimes they’re unseen — my Black parents are doubly and triply fearful. That impacts what they’re willing to allow their children to experience. We must think about how we can ensure that Black families are accessing and utilizing their services and accessing the providers they want.
Q: How has your research and community activity moved the needle, in terms of special education and those who teach the subject?
JS: I do a lot of service supporting Black teachers. My area of research is more disability awareness and equity. I recently presented some research on supporting teacher candidates with disabilities, which is moving the needle already at our institution.
We can learn from the research how we can better support our teacher candidates with disabilities. As faculty with that background, we know how to support them. Teacher candidates with disabilities are able to get through academically, but oftentimes they struggle and are exited out when it comes to student teaching. They’re not getting all the way into the field.
I wrote an article and presented about that at the American Educational Researchers Association conference (April 8-12 in Los Angeles). Dr. Nina Woolridge, who runs the Single Subject Credential Program here, has already taken some of my recommendations and made changes.
Q: What is the Future Black Educators Network, and how are CSULB students involved with this project?
JS: Future Black Educators is an after-school program, housed at Jefferson Middle School. It’s a teaching lab for my Mary Jane Patterson Scholars, and for other Black students at (Cal State) Long Beach who think they might want to go into education.
We are building lessons that are fun and engaging. It’s more about building relationships and mentorship with the middle school kids. They want to see cool college kids who look like them, that they can grow up to be.
Q: How do you spark passion and excitement in your students, and motivate them to become teachers, specifically K-12 teachers with knowledge and skills in special education?
JS: I bring who I am to the classroom/field. I am a fun-loving, passionate person with big ideas, and a gift for storytelling. People learn through stories that they can relate to, or stories that fascinate them. I use stories from my past to reinforce values, such as learning from my students, humbling myself to work with families, seeking collaboration and partnerships to better my students, and I share my current life as an engaged lifelong learner who brings in current events and nuanced ways of centering those who are rarely centered.
