Rate My Professor Abiola Farinde-Wu

Farinde-Wu's research employs Black indigenous qualitative methods to explore three intersectional lines of inquiry: educational experiences and outcomes of students of color, diversifying the teacher workforce with a focus on Black women educators, and preparing educators for diverse populations. She applies critical theories such as Black feminism and intersectionality to interrogate education policies, pedagogies, and practices in urban contexts. Notable publications include co-editing Black Female Teachers: Diversifying the United States’ Teacher Workforce (Emerald, 2017) and Mentoring While White: Culturally Responsive Practices for Sustaining the Lives of Black College Students (Lexington Books, 2022). Her highly cited articles encompass "Retaining Black Teachers: An Examination of Black Female Teachers’ Intentions to Remain in K-12 Classrooms" (Equity & Excellence in Education, 2016), "It’s Not Hard Work; It’s Heart Work: Strategies of Effective, Award-Winning Culturally Responsive Teachers" (The Urban Review, 2017), "Searching for Satisfaction: Black Female Teachers’ Workplace Climate and Job Satisfaction" (Urban Education, 2018), and "Teach Like a Black Woman: A Trauma-Informed Black Feminist Praxis" (Urban Education, 2025). In 2022, she received the American Educational Research Association Division K Early Career Award for her research on recruiting and retaining Black teachers. Farinde-Wu contributes to the field as an editorial board member for the American Educational Research Journal and Educational Researcher, and as book editor for Urban Education.