Faculty Spotlight: Lynnette Mawhinney on Being a Teacher-Scholar

Dr. Lynnette Mawhinney is Professor of Urban Education and Senior Associate Dean for Strategic Academic Initiatives in the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University-Newark. She is also affiliated faculty in the Africana Studies and Global Urban Studies. Teaching has always been a deep passion for Dr. Mawhinney. She started her teacher training at Penn State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education/English and Communications with a minor in Movement Science for athletic training use with youth and adults. Later, she earned her Masters and Ph.D. in Urban Education at Temple University. 

I have always seen myself as a teacher-scholar; that is, my scholarship has always fed my teaching, and my teaching has always fed my scholarship.

As a seasoned educator, Dr. Mawhinney is proud to have taught within many diverse populations from the Indigenous reservations of South Dakota to urban Philadelphia. She has taught in a range of urban educational contexts, including middle school, high school, undergraduate, graduate, and GED and employment training programs for TANF (formerly known as Welfare) recipients and dislocated workers. For ten years, she also has conducted teacher trainings all over the world: in the U.S., Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, South Africa, Egypt, and Bahrain. She brings her international experience to RU-N by assisting in building up new abroad programs, along with international partnerships.

As a “secret artist” (e.g., potter, quilter), she applies visual-based approaches to her research and scholarship on the recruitment and retention of teachers of Color. Dr. Mawhinney is the Founder and Director of the Visual Studies in Education Lab (ViSE) at RU-N, a consortium of community members and scholars that aims to amplify community voices, challenge traditional research methods, and foster creativity through the power of visual and arts-based research. 

How does your research, scholarship or professional experience inspire your teaching? 

I have always seen myself as a teacher-scholar; that is, my scholarship has always fed my teaching, and my teaching has always fed my scholarship. Back in 2019, everything shifted in a particular way. I was sick of writing and reading about how racial inclusivity continues to be an issue in the PreK-12 classroom curriculums, so I decided to start writing literature for youth. To date, I have published an award-winning picture book called Lulu the One and Only and a middle years non-fiction graphic novel called Mamie Phipps Clark: Champion for Children that both push against the norm of white representation in children’s literature. The books certainly have foundations in my research, and  both books are coupled with free resources for teachers and parents to use the books with activities in the classroom or at home. 

What is one innovative or unique teaching practice you’d like to share? 

There have always been two guiding principles to my praxis: (1) to institute student-centered approaches and (2) to embrace innovation. One unique approach I have brought to my teaching was incorporating my martial arts practice as a field experience for pre-service teachers to help them see concepts of teaching methods applied in a place outside a traditional school classroom. 

Using martial arts to demonstrate the theory and skill of Vygotsky’s scaffolding, this was an innovation that triggered an  “ah ha” moment for my students to see how their educational training applied in a different space. Moreover, I also got to show my students a bit of myself and who I am. In essence, I showed my students my authentic self, and I hope it helped to “give permission” to them to do the same for their future classroom students.

How does your work advance the university's mission as a publicly engaged anchor institution?  

I would say that being a publicly engaged institution means getting outside and into the community. The students should push into the community, and the community should be welcomed into your university classroom. It honestly sounds like such a simple concept, but one that not all professors are willing to engage with. Through reciprocal relationship building and partnership, it ultimately bears so much fruit for everyone involved. 

For example, my Spencer Foundation grant supports research doing photovoice with teachers of Color in various urban school districts in the tri-State area.. The ultimate purpose of this work is building affinity groups to help retain teachers of Color. We (researchers and collaborators) have hosted a number of physical exhibits, along with a virtual exhibit, in various higher education spaces. When the physical exhibit was hosted here at RU-N, I invited Newark’s superintendent and other district administrators to have a special viewing and group dialogue around the retention of teachers of Color. This resulting discussion helped me, both as research and as the then department chair of the Department of Urban Education, to then think strategically in partnership around the concepts of how we can work together to retain teachers of Color.

Select Books from Dr. Lynnette Mawhinney:

1.     Apugo, D., Mawhinney, L., & Mbilishaka, A. (Eds). (2020). Strong Black girls: Reclaiming Schools in Their Own Image. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

2.     Rinke, C. & Mawhinney, L. (Eds). (2019). Opportunities and challenges in teacher recruitment and retention. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Press.

3.     Mawhinney, L. & Rinke, C. (2019). There has to be a better way: Lessons from former urban teachers. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

4.     Petchauer, E. & Mawhinney, L. (Eds). (2017). Teacher education across Minority Serving Institutions: Programs, policies, and social justice. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

5.     Mawhinney, L. (2014). We got next: Urban education and the next generation of

Black teachers. New York: Peter Lang.

Select Articles

1.     Mawhinney, L., Drame, E. R., Kares, F. R., Melaco, C., Duval-Diop, D., & Bowe, A. G. (2024). We’re more than Black History Month: A visual culture audit of a dual language diverse-by-design school. The Educational Forum, 1-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00131725.2024.2431616

2.     Mawhinney, L., Cabral, L., & Pierce, J. C. (2024). When we know better, we do better: Educators’ storied reflections on Black teacher attrition and retention. Journal of Black Studies, 56(1), 42-64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347241286262

3.     Mawhinney, L., Hannon, L. V., Wingfield, J., & Charriez, T. (2024). Resisting practice to impact policy: A case for moving toward an ESL/bilingual teacher education initiative. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 32(55), 1-18. DOI: https://epaa.asu.edu/index.php/epaa/article/view/8283

4.     Baker-Doyle, K. & Mawhinney, L. (2024). From a spark, a mighty flame: How germinal networks support teachers of Color to promote change in activist organizations and beyond. Teachers College Record. 126(3), 1-29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/016146812412626

5.     Mawhinney, L. & Baker-Doyle, K. (2024). Nurturing “a specific kind of unicorn-y teacher”: How teacher activists networks influence the professional identity and practices of teachers of color. Equity & Excellence in Education. 57(1), 31-46.

Select Photovoice Exhibitions

1.     Montclair State University. (October 26, 2024 to January 2025). Truth Tellers: Teachers of Color Photovoice Exhibition. Newark, NJ. (curator)

2. Rutgers University-Newark, Department of Urban Education. (September 30, 2023 to December 2023). Truth Tellers: Teachers of Color Photovoice Exhibition. Newark, NJ. (curator)

3.  Rutgers University-Newark, Department of Urban Education. (May 6, 2023 to August 2023). Community Scholars Race and Politics Photovoice Exhibition. Newark, NJ. (curator)

Reader Bonus! Lynnette’s Side Quest to Teach Students Financial Literacy

I do believe talking to students about financial literacy is really important. One book that I always point to for our students is Ramsey, D. (2013). The Total Money Makeover: Classic Edition: A proven plan for financial fitness. Thomas Nelson. It’s part of my soapbox, but I feel it is our responsibility to help students with this life skill and not go into extreme student loan debt for an education (thank you for listening to my TED Talk…lol!)