About

Dr. Faheemah N. Mustafaa joined the University of California, Davis’ School of Education as an assistant professor in 2019. Her interdisciplinary research primarily focuses on understanding and supporting the academic performance and holistic well-being of Black/African American youth and other youth with historically marginalized identities. She also studies the identity-related beliefs and pedagogies of K-12 and postsecondary educators. With a background in psychology, her work emphasizes student experiences across the lifespan and children’s development across various contexts, including school, community, and the home. Driven by a passion for teaching and supporting others’ life journeys, Dr. Mustafaa has a diverse academic background, having earned a Ph.D. in the Combined Program in Education and Psychology and an M.A. in Higher Education from the University of Michigan. Prior to her current role, she was a postdoctoral researcher in Social-Personality Psychology at UC Berkeley and in Teaching and Learning at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development. She also has experience as a middle school science teacher in Miami, Florida, and continues to enjoy collaborating with early adolescents to support their pursuit of their highest potential. Beyond her professional pursuits, she finds joy in travel, nature, foodie-ism, and spending quality time with loved ones.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Psychology
• Political Science
• Social Science
• Social psychology
• Gender studies
• Pedagogy
• Engineering ethics
• Anthropology
• Law
• Developmental psychology

Selected publications

• Encouraging Culturally Relevant and Engaged Teaching Approaches in a Summer Camp for Students of Color Interested in Veterinary Medicine

  Journal of Veterinary Medical Education · 2026-01-22

  article

  In scientific fields such as veterinary medicine (VetMed), instruction is often content-focused and lecture-based, leaving insufficient room for students to make meaningful connections to the curricula or see themselves in related careers. Inclusive pedagogies such as engaged teaching and culturally relevant pedagogy help students to make connections between their lived experiences and academic content, and are associated with deepening students' motivation and interests. During the summer of 2024, Education and VetMed faculty from a large, research-intensive university collaborated to create a culturally relevant, engaged curriculum for a veterinary summer engagement program. This program was geared toward middle and high school students from racial-ethnic groups historically underrepresented in veterinary medicine. In this teaching tip, we highlight the ways VetMed faculty adapted their activities after collaborating with the Education faculty. Overall, the VetMed faculty focused on revising their activities around three core principles: connection, interaction, and relevance. The findings of this article showcase the ways in which these principles were enacted within the activities of the summer program, and the reactions the students had from participating in these activities. This pilot program exemplifies curricular ideas that veterinary medicine faculty can implement to create meaningful learning experiences in both K-12 pipeline programs and in higher education settings. Through supporting interdisciplinary collaborations, particularly between VetMed and Education faculty, we can foster learning environments that increase access and engagement to VetMed for youth from historically underrepresented groups.

  PublisherDOI

• Well-being Supports and Threats During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Black Adolescent Girls’ Lived Experiences and Reflections

  2025-01-01

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Changes in Black Girls’ Race-Gender Centrality Coincide with Stem Attitudes Following Participation in a Culturally-Relevant Informal Stem Learning Initiative

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• On “nature” and “nurture”: Black Educators’ backgrounds, teacher education experiences, and race-related pedagogical beliefs

  Teaching and Teacher Education · 2024-11-17

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Rural-urban residence and stage at breast cancer diagnosis among postmenopausal women: The women's health initiative

  UNC Libraries · 2024-05-01

  articleOpen access

  Background: Although social exposures have complex and dynamic relationships and interactions, the existing literature on the impact of rural-urban residence on stage at breast cancer diagnosis does not examine heterogeneity of effect. We examined the joint effect of social support, social relationship strain, and rural-urban residence on stage at breast cancer diagnosis. Methods: Using data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) (n = 161,808), we describe the distribution of social, behavioral, and clinical factors by rural-urban residence among postmenopausal women with incident breast cancer (n = 7,120). We used rural-urban commuting area (RUCA) codes to categorize baseline residential addresses as urban, large rural city/town, or small rural town, and the surveillance, epidemiology, and end results staging system to categorize breast cancer stage at diagnosis (dichotomized as early or late). We then used univariable and multivariable logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and associated 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the relationship between rural-urban residence and stage at breast cancer diagnosis. We included separate interaction terms between rural-urban residence and social strain and social support to test for statistical interaction. Results: Of the social, behavioral, and clinical factors we examined, only younger age at WHI enrollment screening was significantly associated with late stage at breast cancer diagnosis (p = 0.003). Contrary to our hypothesis, rural-urban residence was not significantly associated with stage at breast cancer diagnosis among postmenopausal women ([adjusted OR, 95% CI] for urban compared with small town: 1.08 [0.76-1.53]; large town compared with small town: 1.16 [0.74-1.84]; and urban compared with large town: 0.93 [0.68-1.26]).The associations did not vary by social support or social strain (p for interaction between RUCA and social strain and social support, respectively: 0.99 and 0.17). Conclusions: Future studies should examine other potential effect modifiers to identify novel factors predictive or protective for late stage at breast cancer diagnosis associated with rural-urban residence.

  PublisherDOI

• Black Educators’ Racial Identity Attitudes and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: A Psychological Framework and Survey of Within-Race Diversity

  American Educational Research Journal · 2023 · 7 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Sociology
  • Gender studies

  Historically, Black educators have played a critical role in Black youth's well-being. Consequently, they are often assumed to “naturally” engage culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP), obscuring the diverse ways Black individuals identify, think, and behave regarding race and culture. This psychological survey study examines in-service Black educators’ ( N = 238) multidimensional racial identity attitudes, background sociodemographics, and education contexts (postsecondary and current/teaching) in relation to their varied enactments of three CRP domains ( African American Curriculum, Culturally Relevant Teaching, Sociopolitical Commitment). Results show CRP variation across individuals according to their racial identity attitudes, backgrounds, and contexts. The resulting conceptual framework advances research and discourse on teacher race by challenging homogenizing, detrimental narratives. Findings have important implications for teacher workforce diversification, training, and retention.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A Visionary Working Model for Pursuing Social Justice Praxis Through Educational Psychology Courses

  Teaching of Psychology · 2022 · 7 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Political Science
  • Pedagogy

  Introduction We propose a visionary working model to normalize the pursuit of social justice praxis in educational psychology courses. Using our undergraduate course as an example, we discuss our roles as instructors, curriculum, and pedagogical strategies for forward progress. Statement of the Problem Despite stated commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion as integral to psychology research and practice (e.g., American Psychological Association statements), most educational psychology courses are highly theoretical and do not prepare learners to counter social injustices in praxis that are meaningful for the global majority. Literature Review We make the case for why educational psychology courses are ideal for training students for social justice praxis, and outline how diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies in the literature can be used as levers. Teaching Implications We provide assignment resources to illustrate how instructors can begin to integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout a course to co-construct more just futures. Conclusion Actualizing this visionary model of normalizing social justice praxis in educational psychology courses requires multi-level supports at global and local levels. Using case studies to address complex social injustices within an engaged teaching and learning environment has significant potential to empower and prepare learners to forward social justice.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Incongruent Impressions: Teacher, Parent, and Student Perceptions of Two Black Boys’ School Experiences

  Journal of Adolescent Research · 2021 · 5 citations

  • Psychology
  • Developmental psychology
  • Social psychology

  For many Black boys, poor academic performance and high rates of school discipline are often related to biases in how they are perceived and treated at school. These biases oftentimes misalign with how Black boys view themselves and how family members perceive them at home. Few studies examine how different stakeholders’ perceptions of Black boys manifest and shape the middle school experience. The current study employed an embedded case study design, using data from eight semi-structured interviews to explore incongruence among student, teacher, and parent perceptions of two middle school Black boys’ academic and social experiences. Findings showed greater congruence between the boys’ experiences and their parents’ perceptions of them compared to their teachers’ perceptions of them. Of note were teachers’ inaccurate reports of the boys’ career aspirations and academic interests and abilities. Implications of these patterns and their impact on Black boys’ experiences in school are discussed.

  PublisherDOI

• Turned Off from an Academic Career: Engineering and Computing Doctoral Students and the Reasons for Their Dissuasion

  International journal of doctoral studies · 2019-01-01 · 34 citations

  articleOpen access

  Aim/Purpose: We sought to understand factors that dissuade engineering and computing doctoral students in the United States from pursuing a career in the professoriate. Background: Many PhD students start the doctoral process excited about the possibility of becoming a professor. After a few years of doctoral education, however, many become less interested in academic careers or even come to loathe the idea of a faculty position. Methodology: Participants in a larger study (N = 744) completed a comprehensive survey about their educational experiences and career aspirations. This study focused on a subset of these respondents (n = 147), who indicated they did not want to pursue faculty positions and explained their reasoning with a brief open-ended response. We coded these open-ended responses. Contribution: We found a general lack of interest in the professoriate and disgust over the associated pressure-filled norms and culture; this aversion is the article’s focus. Respondents were critical of institutional norms that emphasize research (e.g., stress related to grant writing, publishing, and promotion as junior faculty) and described their own experiences as PhD students. Findings: Findings support rethinking the outdated faculty model and interchanging it with healthier and more holistic approaches. Recommendations for Practitioners: These approaches might include advocating for and emphasizing the contributions of research, teaching, and professional excellence as well as removing the secrecy and toxicity of tenure and promotion that discourage individuals from becoming the next generation of engineering and computing educators and knowledge makers. Recommendation for Researchers: Future researchers should explore in greater depth the extent to which junior faculty’s experiences in the professoriate influence doctoral students’ and postdoctoral scholars’ attitudes toward working in academia. To the extent that this is the case, researchers should then explore ways of improving faculty experiences, in addition to improving doctoral students’ experiences that are unrelated to their socialization. Impact on Society: Having a deeper understanding of the reasons why some doctoral engineering and computing students are uninterested in the professoriate is critical for removing barriers toward becoming faculty. Future Research: Researchers should explore the factors that would improve doctoral students’ perceptions of the professoriate, and better understand how they might disproportionately affect members of historically underrepresented groups.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• BLACK MALES AND EARLY MATH ACHIEVEMENT: AN EXAMINATION OF STUDENTS' STRENGTHS AND ROLE STRAIN WITH POLICY IMPLICATIONS

  Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering · 2019-01-01 · 9 citations

  article

  Ongoing policy discourse highlights the need to increase pathways into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics professions. While there is a policy push to increase STEM outcomes along the K-16 pipeline, and to expand access to career opportunities in these fields, there is also a targeted emphasis on increasing opportunities for underrepresented students as a strategic approach to diversify participation. Although male representation in STEM is generally high, the representation of males from some minority groups remains low−particularly black males. Given that STEM pathways begin at early points in students' academic matriculation, this study seeks to better understand black boys' STEM experiences and how those experiences relate to later STEM-related achievement. We focus on black boys' experiences in mathematics, specifically, because a foundational understanding of math is often needed to be successful in other scientific fields. This study employs a role strain and adaptation framework to examine the academic strengths and math-related strains that black boys possess in middle school and to investigate how these factors promote or hinder high school math achievement. The findings suggest that the strains and strengths of black boys while in middle school relate to their math achievement. Furthermore, it illustrates how holistic models that consider strains and strengths simultaneously better illuminate the individual relationships between each of these factors and the outcome.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Dara Naphan-Kingery

  Vanderbilt University

  16 shared

• Ebony O. McGee

  Johns Hopkins University

  16 shared

• Jeremy M. Lynch

  George Mason University

  16 shared

• Portia Botchway

  4 shared

• Stacey Houston

  4 shared

• Seanna Leath

  Washington University in St. Louis

  4 shared

• Michael S. Simon

  The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute

  3 shared

• Robert J. Jagers

  3 shared

Education

• PhD- Education and Psychology

  University of Michigan