ACADEMIC DEGREES

2016 Doctor of Philosophy: Early Childhood Education
University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
2008 Doctor of Education: Educational Administration
South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, South Carolina
2003 Master of Education: Divergent Learning/Gifted Education
Columbia College, Columbia, South Carolina
2001 Bachelor of Art: French Minor: English
University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2018-present Assistant Professor
Department of Teacher Education
Miami University
2013-2018 Clinical Assistant Professor
Department of Instruction and Teacher Education
University of South Carolina
2011-2013 Director of Alternative Learning Programs
Fairfield County School District
2009-2011 Director of Adult Education
Fairfield County School District
2007-2009 Assistant Principal
Charleston County School District
2001-2005 Early Childhood/Elementary French Educator
Richland School District One

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS

2000-present South Carolina Teacher Certification: Elementary and Secondary French/School Administration (K-12)/School Superintendency (K-12)

NATIONAL AWARD(S)

Spring 2022 Center for the Research and Mentoring of Black Male Teachers and Student’s Dr. Vernon Polite Research on Black Males Award

Spring 2020 Emerging Scholar Award from the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA) Special Interest Group on Critical Perspectives on Early Childhood Education

BOOKS

  1. Bryan, N. (2021). Toward a BlackBoyCrit Pedagogy: Black boys, male teachers, and literacy early childhood classroom practices. Routledge. National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Research Series.

  2. Ellis, A. L., Bryan, N., Sealey-Ruiz, Y., Toldson, I., & Emdin, C. (Eds.). (2021). The impact of classroom practices: Teacher educators reflect on culturally relevant teachers. Information Age Publishing.

  3. Wright, B., Bryan, N., Sewell, C., Yates, L., Barrett, C., Thomas, K., & Robinson, M. (Eds.). (2019). Gumbo for the soul: Males of color share their stories, meditations, affirmations, and inspirations. Information Age Publishing.

  4. Bryan, N. (under contract). Play-not: Race, class, gender, and the mischaracterization of Black boys’ play. Temple University Press.

  5. Cook, D., & Bryan, N. (under contract). Critical race theory and classroom practice. Routledge.

  6. Boutte, G., Bryan, N., & Wynter-Hoyte, K. (under contract). Revolutionary love in early childhood education. Scholastic.

PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

  1. Bryan, N., McMillian, R., & LaMar, K. (2022). Prison abolition literacies as a pro-Black pedagogy in early childhood education. Journal of Early Literacy. Special Issue.

  2. Bryan, N., Davis, D., McMillian, Jackson, J., & Cooper, R. (2022). Toward a Black PlayCrit in Educational Leadership: What school leaders need to know about Black boyhood play. Journal of School Leadership.

  3. Pinckney, H., Bryan, N., & Outley, C. (2021). Black PlayCrit: Examining the disruption of play for Black male youth. American Journal of Play, 13(3), 210-226.

  4. Bryan, N. (2020). “To me he teaches the way the child learns”: Black mothers on the pedagogies and schooling practices of a Black male kindergarten teacher.” Urban Review, 53(1), 491-515.

  5. Bryan, N. (2020). Remembering Tamir Rice and other Black boy victims: Imagining Black PlayCrit Literacies inside and outside urban literacy education. Urban Education, 56(5), 744-771.

  6. Bryan, N. (2020). Shaking ‘the bad boys’: Troubling the criminalization of Black boys’ childhood play, hegemonic White masculinity and femininity, and ‘the school playground-to-prison pipeline.’ Race, Ethnicity, and Education, 23(5), 673-692.

  7. Wynter-Hoyte, K., Bryan, N., Singleton, K.*, Grant, T.*, Goff, Green, D.*, & Michael, I.* (2020). A Seat at the kitchen table: Investigating the lived experiences of Black female preservice teachers in an urban education cohort initiative. Equity and Excellence in Education, 53(3), 342-364.

  8. Whatley, R.*, Banda, R. M, & Bryan, N. (2020). Challenging traditional conceptions of English curricula & pedagogy: A review of literature on teaching critical literacy through political music. Changing English: Studies in Culture and Education, 27(4), 431-445.

  9. Miller, N.J., & Bryan, N. (2020). This is how we do it: Toward the notion of otherbrothering in the research on Black male collegians and Black Male Greek Lettered Organization. Journal of Negro Education, 89(3), 203-214.

  10. Boutte, G., & Bryan, N. (2019). When will Black children be well? Interrupting antiBlack violence in early childhood education and schools. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood Education, 22(3), 232-243.

  11. Johnson, L., Bryan, N., & Boutte, G. (2019). Show us the love: Revolutionary teaching in (un)critical times. Urban Review, 51(1), 46-64.

  12. Bryan, N. (2018). ‘Playing with or like the girls’: Advancing the performance of multiple masculinities in Black boys’ play in early childhood classrooms. Gender and Education, 31(3), 309-326.

  13. Bryan, N., & Jett, C. (2018). “Playing School”: Creating possibilities to inspire future Black male teachers through culturally relevant play. Journal for Multicultural Education, 12(2), 99-110.

  14. Bryan, N., & Williams, T. (2017). We need more than male bodies in classrooms: Recruiting and retaining culturally relevant Black male teachers in early childhood education. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 38(2), 209-222.

  15. Bryan, N. (2017). White teachers’ role in sustaining the school-to-prison pipeline: Recommendations for teacher education. Urban Review, 49(2), 326-345.

  16. Johnson, L., & Bryan, N. (2017). Using our voices, losing our bodies: Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin and the spirit murder of Black male professors in the academy. Race Ethnicity, and Education, 20(2),163-177.

  17. Milton, T. W., & Bryan, N. (2016). Respecting the cultural continuum of Black male pedagogy. Urban Education, 56(1), 32-60.

  18. Bryan, N., Johnson, L., & Williams, T. (2016). Preparing Black male teachers for the gifted classroom: Recommendations for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Journal of Negro Education, 85(4), 489-504.

  19. Bryan, N., & Ford, D. (2014). Recruiting and retaining Black male teachers in Gifted Education. The Gifted Child Today, 37(3), 156-161.

  20. Bryan, N., & Browder, J. (2013) “Are you sure you know what you are doing?” The lived experiences of an African American male kindergarten teacher. Interdisciplinary Journal of Teaching and Learning, 3(1), 142-158.

BOOK CHAPTERS AND ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRIES

  1. Bryan, N. (2021). Black boys and mental health in urban communities. The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Critical Perspectives on Mental Health.

  2. Bryan, N. (2021). Black Male Teachers and Gender Equity in Early Childhood Education. Oxford Encyclopedia of Education.

  3. Muller, M., & Bryan, N. (2020). Toward a pedagogy of the veil: Addressing racism in early childhood education. In J. Kirylo (Ed.), Reinventing pedagogy of the oppressed. Bloomsbury Academic.

  4. Bryan, N. (2019). The Emmanuel Church Massacre and the school across the street: A Black man’s narrative of two racialized conflicts. In B. Wright, N. Bryan, C. Sewell, L. Yates, M. Robinson, & K. Thomas (Eds.), Gumbo for the soul: Males of color share their stories, meditations, affirmations, and inspirations (pp.139-144). Information Age Publishing.

  5. Bryan, N. (2019). Can anything good come out of the hood? Situating home and community as sites of Black cultural endowment. In C. Glover, T. Henry-Jenkins, & Troutman, S. (Eds.), Culture, community, and educational success: Reimagining the invisible knapsack (Race and Education in 21st Century). Lexington Books.

  6. Wynter-Hoyte, K., Muller, M., Bryan, N., Boutte, G., & Long, S. (2019). Dismantling Eurocratic practices in teacher education: A preservice program focused on culturally relevant, humanizing, and decolonizing pedagogies. In T. Hodges and A. Baum (Eds.), Handbook of research on field-based teacher education. IGI Global.

  7. Bryan, N., & Wright, B. L. (2019). And how are the boys? Towards an AfricanAmerican male pedagogy to promote academic and social success among Black boys in early childhood education. In B. Crawford, C. Newman, S. Platt, & A. Hilton (Eds.), Comprehensive education in the 21st Century: Increasing access in the age of retrenchment (pp.99-121). Information Age Publishing, Inc.

  8. Bryan, N. (2016) “Straight outta support”: Learning to navigate the academy as a Black male clinical faculty as a Predominantly White institution through R.A.C.E. mentoring. In D. Ford, M. Trotman-Scott, R.B. Goings, T. Wingfield, & M. Hensfield (Eds.) R.A.C.E. Mentoring through social media. Information Age Publishing.

  9. Bryan, N., Johnson, L., Smith, D., Garvin, B., & Broughton, A., (2016). Vision, voices, and actions: Creating pathways to social justice. In S. Long, M. Souto-Manning, & V. Vasquez (Eds.), Courageous leadership: Taking a stand for social justice. Teachers College Press.

  10. Kohler, M., Christensen, L., Roy, J., Kilgo, J., & Bryan, N. (2013). Among the periodicals: The Obesogenic environment. Childhood Education, 89(2),129-133.

WORK UNDER REVIEW

  1. Bryan, N. (under review). Race, place, disruption, and the hope, joy, and possibilities of Black boyhood play: Extending Black PlayCrit to illuminate play life. Teacher College Record.

  2. McMillian, R. & Bryan, N. (under review). Living within it all: Black Critical Theory, Imprisoned Black Radical Tradition, and the Art of BlackCrit Portraiture to center voices of those who are incarcerated. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education.

NATIONAL/REGIONAL PRESENTATIONS

  1. Bryan, N. (2023). When will children of Color be well? Interrupting violence and centering revolutionary love in early childhood education. Readiness Summit. Preschool Promise Dayton, Ohio.

  2. Bryan, N. (2022). Black Faces, White Spaces. Keynote Speaker. International Play Association USA Conference. San Antonio, Texas.

  3. Bryan, N. (2022). BlackBoyCrit Pedagogy: Learning from Black boys and male teachers in early childhood classrooms. Keynote Speaker. Early Care and Learning Council Learning Café Series.

  4. Cook, D., & Bryan, N. (2022). Black Educators’ enactment of fictive kinship networks as critical race praxis. Critical Race Studies in Education Association (CRSEA). Indianapolis, IN.

  5. Doucette, F., & Bryan, N. (2022). Racism and white supremacy in early childhood education. Invited Guest Panelist. High Scope Segregation by Experience Series.

  6. Bryan, N. (2022). Culturally Relevant Black Male Teachers. Black Male Educator Pedagogy Professional Learning Series. Bowie State University.

  7. Bryan, N. & DeJohnette, M. (2022). “He can play but…” Investigating Teachers’ Use of Exclusionary Discipline Practices During Black Boyhood Play. American Educational Research Association (AERA). San Diego, CA.

  8. Volk, D., Bryan, N., Kinard, T., Ganier, J., Valdez-Gainer, N., & Long, S. (2021). Playbased early childhood education and the perpetuation of white supremacy. National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Louisville, KY.

  9. Bryan, N. (2021). Race, place, and the disruption of Black boyhood play: Extending Black PlayCrit to illuminate inequities in play spaces. National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Day of Early Childhood Education Keynote Speaker

  10. Bryan, N. (2020). Racial violence against Black children in schools. Indiana University College of Education. Invited Guest Panelist.

  11. Bryan, N. (2020). Cultivating genius by addressing anti-Blackness in classrooms. University of Baltimore Maryland Department of Education Equity and Excellence Lecture Series. Invited Guest Panelist.

  12. Bryan, N. (2020). The Challenges of anti-Blackness. Crucial Conversations. Miami University. College of Education, Health, and Society.

  13. Bryan, N. (2020). Black children and Black pedagogy. Black and Highly Dangerous. Podcast Interview. Invited Guest.

  14. Bryan. N., McMillan, R., Ross, G., & Plair-Eason, A. (2020, July). #BlackLivesMatter: Racial justice in education. Miami University College of Education, Health, and Society. Department of Teacher Education.

  15. Bryan, N. (2020). Toward a Black PlayCrit: A critical discourse analysis of Black boyhood play in urban schools and communities. Center for the Education and Equity of African-American Students. Columbia, South Carolina.

  16. Rothrock, R. & Bryan, N. (2019). Reciprocal learning and partnership through critical geography. North American Community: Uniting for Equity. Dayton, Ohio.

  17. Bryan, N. (2019). Remembering Tamir Rice and other Black boy victims: Imagining Black PlayCrit inside and outside urban education. Critical Race Studies in Education (CRSEA). Los Angeles, CA.

  18. Bryan, N. (2019). Toward a Black PlayCrit: A critical discourse analysis of anti-black misandry in boyhood play. Doris Bergen Center for Human Development, Learning, and Technology. Miami University. Spring Research Symposium.

  19. Wright, B., Bryan, N., Marshall, J. & O’Bryant, S. (2018). The brilliance of Black boys: Cultivating success in the early years. National Association of Multicultural Education (NAME). Memphis, TN.

  20. Wynter-Hoyte, K. & Bryan, N. (2018). A seat at the kitchen table: Investigating the lived experiences of Black female preservice teachers in an urban education cohort initiative. National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Conference. Houston, Texas.

  21. Bryan, N. & Williams, T. (2018). “Playing school”: Storying the early childhood and imaginative play experiences of Black male teachers. American Educational Research Association. New York, New York.

  1. Bryan, N. (2021). New book explores how schools fail Black boys and how to fix the system. Interview conducted by Tana Weingartner. WVXU Local National Public Radio (NPR).

  2. Bryan, N. (2021). Author of “BlackBoyCrit Pedagogy” talks about new book. Interview conducted by FOX19 Now.

EXTERNAL RESEARCH FUNDING

  1. Sponsor: Spencer Foundation; Account: 202300147
    Project Title: Black to the future: Fugitive educational possibilities in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
    Funding period: January 1, 2022-December 31, 2023
    Principal Investigator: Rachel McMillian
    Role and contribution of candidate: [Co-PI, Nathaniel Bryan]; [I conceptualized the project, wrote project narrative, created budget, and collected data. 40 % contribution] Co-PI/Co-Is: Wilson, A. (Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois- Urbana-Champaign);
    Total funding: $46,116.00

  2. Sponsor: The Ohio State Department of Education, Account: 62984
    Project Title: Miami’s Literacy and Mathematic Lab
    Funding Period: May 27, 2022-June 20, 2024
    Principal Investigator: Michelle Cosmah Role and contribution of candidate: [Co-PI, Nathaniel Bryan]; [I conceptualized the project, wrote project narrative, created budget, and collected data. 20 % contribution] Co-PIs: Saine, P. (Department of Teaching, Curriculum, and Educational Inquiry, Miami University); Washburn-Moses, L. (Department of Educational Psychology, Miami University
    Total Funding: $499, 061.00

  3. Sponsor: Albany State Center for Educational Opportunity, Account ASCEO20201
    Project Title: Investigating the Impact of Teachers’ Exclusionary Discipline Practices During Black Boyhood Play on the Reading Achievement and Repeated Disciplinary Outcomes of Black boys in 3rd grade.
    Funding Period: January 2020-January 2021
    Principal Investigator: Nathaniel Bryan
    Total Funding: $5,000

INTERNAL RESEARCH FUNDING

  1. Weems, L., Bryan, N., & Acevedo, S. (February 2020). Fostering Spirit in Social Justice: Lessons from Endarkened Feminisms. Miami University College of Education, Health, and Society. Internal Grant Funding level: $5,000 (Funded)

  2. Bryan, N. & Saine, P. (December 2019). Inservice Teachers’ Perception and Application of Critical Race English Education Pedagogical Practices in High School Language Arts (ELA) Classrooms. Miami University Office of Research and Innovation. Internal Grant Funding level: $2, 975.00 (Funded)

  3. Bryan, N. (December 2019). Examining the use of exclusionary discipline practices during playtime on the reading achievement and repeated disciplinary outcomes of Black boys in 3rd grade: A Mixed Methods Approach. Miami University College of Education, Health, and Society. Internal Funding level: $4,000 (Funded)

  4. Bryan, N. (October 2019). Black maternal caregivers on the pedagogies and schooling practices of Black male kindergarten teachers: A case study. Internal Grant Funding Source: Miami University College of Education, Health, and Society. Total Funding: $3,014.

  5. Bryan, N. & Saine, P. (October 2019). Preparing Preservice and Inservice Teachers to Engage in Critical Race English Pedagogical Practices and Virtual Mentoring in High School English Language Arts Classrooms. Internal Grant Funding Source: Miami University College of Education, Health, and Society. Total Funding: $3,000.

  6. Rothrock, R. & Bryan, N. (April 2019). Reciprocal learning toward culturally relevant professional practices through community-based, environmental print analysis. Internal Grant Funding Source: Miami University Center for Teaching Excellence. Total Funding: $3,000

  7. Bryan, N. (December 2018). Playing with or like the girls: Portraitures investigating the performance of multiple masculinities in Black boys’ childhood play. Internal Grant Funding Source: Miami University College of Education, Health, and Society. Total Funding: $ 3,030.

SELECTED SERVICE

  • Early Childhood Recruitment Video, Department of Teacher Education, Miami University

  • Curriculum Revision, Literacy Committee, Department of Teacher Education, Miami University

  • Judge, Graduate Research Forum, Graduate School, Miami University

  • Secretary, Black Faculty and Staff Caucus. Miami University

  • Student Grievance Committee, Department of Teacher Education, Miami University

  • Faculty Affiliate, Doris Bergen Center for Human Development, Learning, and Technology. Miami University

  • Faculty Advisor, Aiken High School Cincinnati, Ohio (Miami T.E.A.C.H.- Grow your own’ Teacher pipeline project).

  • Grant Reviewer, South Carolina Department of Education, Office of Adult Education (May 2018-June 2018).

  • Editorial Board Member, Perspectives & Provocations, a journal of the Early Childhood Education Assembly, National Council of Teachers of English

  • Honorary Conference Planning Committee, Institute for the Study of the African American Child, Conference on Research Directions

  • Racial Reconciliation Fellow, Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion University of South Carolina

  • Diversity & Equity Committee, Active Member, College of Education, University of South Carolina

  • Graduate Faculty Member, University of South Carolina

  • Search Committee Member, Instruction and Teacher Education Department College of Education, University of South Carolina

  • Diversity & Equity Committee, Active member, College of Education, University of South Carolina

  • Editorial Board Member, Journal of African American Males in Education

  • Journal Reviewer, International Journal of Qualitative Research Studies

  • Journal Reviewer, The High School Journal

  • Journal Reviewer, Journal of Negro Education

  • Journal Reviewer, Journal of Teacher Education

  • Journal Reviewer, Race, Ethnicity, and Education

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

America Education Research Association, National Association of Multicultural Education, National Council of Teachers of English, Critical Race Studies in Education Association, National Association of Black School Administrators, Council of Adult Basic Education, South Carolina Association of School Administrators

SELECTION OF UNDERGRADUATE/GRADUATE COURSE TOPICS

  • Language, Literacy, and Culture in Early Childhood Education

  • Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (University of South Carolina)

  • Linguistic Pluralism (University of South Carolina)

  • Early Childhood Curriculum Methods

  • Service Learning

  • Internship in Student Teaching I & II

  • Early Childhood Methods I & II

  • Elementary and Middle Methods

  • Introduction to Diversity and Curriculum (Graduate)

  • Gender Diversity in Education (Graduate)

  • Dissertation Preparation Seminar (Graduate)

  • Reading and Writing Across the Content Areas

REFERENCES

Dr. Denise T. Baszile
Professor, Miami University
Department of Educational Leadership
513-265-2416
taliafda@miamioh.edu

Dr. Gloria S. Boutte
Professor, University of South Carolina
Founder, Center for the Education and Equity of African American Students
Department of Instruction and Teacher Education
(803) 777-0011
gsboutte@mailbox.sc.edu

Dr. Daniella Cook Associate
Professor, University of South Carolina
Department of Instruction and Teacher Education
(919) 423-5140
Daniella.cook@mailbox.sc.edu

Dr. Lamar Johnson Associate
Professor, Michigan State University
(803) 480-3991 j
ohn5589@msu.edu

Dr. Paula Saine
Professor, Miami University
Department of Teacher Education
(513) 433-4321
sainep@miamioh.edu

Dr. Susi Long
Professor, University of South Carolina
Department of Instruction and Teacher Education
(803) 777-0022
SLONG@mailbox.sc.edu