Cultural and Economic Foundations of Educational Equity in the African Diaspora

This three-paper dissertation examines African-centered education (ACE) in the United States and the effects of Zambia’s Child Grant Program (CGP) on child schooling outcomes through a diasporic lens. This perspective emphasizes how shared and parallel experiences shape the lives of people of African descent across contexts.Paper 1 analyzes how African-centered preschool programs are implemented, focusing on pedagogy, routines, curriculum, and family engagement. Drawing on Black Critical Theory (BlackCrit), findings show that culturally sustaining pedagogy operates through three mechanisms: sustained racial literacy development via professional development, integration of African cultural practices as lived elements of instruction, and the application of principles such as Ubuntu and Ujamaa through family and community engagement. These practices position ACE as a coherent institutional framework that supports identity, belonging, and collective responsibility.Paper 2 examines Black families’ early childhood education decision-making using a sequential mixed-methods design. Results identify two interacting dimensions: culturally grounded meaning-making and structural constraint. Nationally, spiritual practices are strongly associated with evaluations of childcare quality, while structural vulnerability predicts access challenges. ACE families exhibit intensified patterns of cultural engagement and prioritize racial and cultural alignment. Qualitative findings show that parents define quality through relational trust, community accountability, and protection from racialized harm, reframing school choice as a process of identity formation.Paper 3 evaluates the impact of Zambia’s CGP on enrollment and grade attainment. Results show short-term enrollment gains among older children that diminish over time, but sustained transfer exposure leads to longer-lasting improvements. Findings suggest two pathways: short-term school re-entry and longer-term progression and retention.Together, these papers demonstrate that educational equity is shaped jointly by cultural and economic systems. Culturally grounded learning environments and sustained income support represent complementary strategies for improving outcomes among Black and African-descended children.