University of Delaware experts exploring Black and brown history and topics all year long

From education to public policy, UD professors are consistently exploring the experiences of Black and brown people all year long.

Mar 3, 2025

1 min

Roderick L. CareyYasser Payne

While Black History Month officially ended on Friday, the topic is one that is always top of mind for many professors and experts here at the University of Delaware. Below are a small list of these experts and the areas they explore throughout the year. Click on their profiles or email mediarelations@udel.edu to connect. 






Roderick Carey, associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, can discuss the importance of gender and race diversity in teaching.














Ann Aviles and Ohiro Oni-Eseleh, both professors in the College of Education and Human Development, can share resources for displaced families and guidance for parents, educators and other community members who want to support them.













Yasser Payne, professor of sociology, examines notions of resilience, structural violence and gun violence with Black Americans.

Connect with:
Roderick L. Carey

Roderick L. Carey

Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences

Prof. Carey's research serves to make sense of the school experiences of black and Latino adolescent boys and young men in urban contexts.

Teacher EducationPost-Secondary EducationDevelopmental PsychologyAfrican American Education‎Latino Education
Yasser Payne

Yasser Payne

Professor, Sociology and Criminal Justice; Africana Studies

Prof. Payne's research examines gun violence; policing and reentry; and educational inequality in street-identified populations.

Gun ViolenceStreet EthnographySchool Violence and School-To-Prison PipelineExperiences With PoliceEthnographic Field Research‎‎

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The surveys asked participants to report their emotions and emotion-related experiences — like feelings of enjoyment, worry or boredom — as well as their teaching and learning behaviors in mathematics and English language arts (ELA). Using the new observational tool they developed — the Teacher Affect Coding System — McLean and Jones also assessed teachers’ vocal tones, body posturing, body movements and facial expressions during classroom instruction and categorized outward displays of emotion as positive, negative or neutral. For example, higher-pitched or lilting vocal tones were categorized as positive, while noticeably harsh or sad vocal tones were categorized as negative. Overall, McLean and Jones found that teachers spent most of their instructional time displaying outward positive emotions. Interestingly though, they did not find any associations between these positive emotions and students’ content-related emotions or learning attitudes in ELA or math. “This lack of association might be because outward positivity is the relative ‘norm’ for elementary school teachers, and our data seem to support that,” McLean said. “That’s not to say that teachers’ positivity isn’t important, though. Decades of research has shown us that when teachers are warm, responsive and supportive, and when they foster positive relationships with their students, students do better in almost every way. It could be that positivity works best when done in tandem with other important teacher behaviors or routines, or it could be that it is more relevant for different student outcomes.” However, they did find that a small subset of teachers — about 10% — displayed notable amounts of negative emotions, with some showing negativity during as much as 80% of their instructional time. 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