Writing with Dignity Among Youth in Urban Communities: Using Mentor Texts as a Reflective Tool for Transformation
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Repository Usage Stats
views
downloads
Citation Stats
Attention Stats
Abstract
jats:p This article describes a three-year qualitative study on how youth of color in one community-based organization, Durham Community Youth, used the mentor text, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “What’s your life’s blueprint?” speech, as a reflective tool to transform themselves and their community. Using a critical literacy framework, the authors situate the study within the rich history of the Black community in Durham, North Carolina and examine how students’ writing advocated for their communities by speaking out against oppressive forces. The article offers implications on how educators can reimagine the implementation and intentionality of mentor texts for youth. </jats:p>
Type
Department
Description
Provenance
Subjects
Citation
Permalink
Published Version (Please cite this version)
Publication Info
Chen Lee, C, L Jacobs and JC Mann (n.d.). Writing with Dignity Among Youth in Urban Communities: Using Mentor Texts as a Reflective Tool for Transformation. Urban Education. pp. 004208592210817–004208592210817. 10.1177/00420859221081765 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/27395.
This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
Collections
Endorsement
Review
Supplemented By
Referenced By
Scholars@Duke
Jennifer Mann
Jennifer C. Mann, Ph.D. is a Research Scientist at the Center for Child and Family Policy in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, where she conducts equity-centered education research focused on improving educational opportunities for students from immigrant and refugee backgrounds. She teaches Child Policy Research in the Sanford School of Public Policy and serves as an Adjunct Instructor in Duke's Program in Education, where she teaches Instructional Methods for Teaching Multilingual Learners. Dr. Mann is also a 2026–2027 North Carolina Education Policy Fellow, a statewide leadership program that prepares education leaders to advance equitable education policy.
Dr. Mann is the principal investigator for the Critical In-Depth Reading and Wellbeing (CIDR) project, a five-year, school-based research and professional learning initiative that examines how literacy instruction can support adolescent wellbeing for students from immigrant and refugee backgrounds. Grounded in social-emotional learning, culturally responsive pedagogy, and critical literacy, CIDR partners with three North Carolina school districts to work with middle and high school ESL teachers and students. Using mixed-methods research, the project examines how teacher beliefs, instructional practices, and student outcomes evolve over time, with the goal of co-developing a flexible, scalable model that advances literacy, language development, and student wellbeing.
Beyond her project-based research, Dr. Mann leads the Equity in Research Learning Collaborative, which advances equity-centered research by supporting investigators in integrating equitable and community-engaged practices throughout the research lifecycle—from defining research questions and building partnerships to implementation, interpretation, and dissemination.
In addition, Dr. Mann supports BELLA (Bridging English Language Learning and Academics), an Institute of Education Sciences (IES)-funded research initiative focused on designing and testing asset-based professional learning to strengthen literacy instruction for educators of multilingual learners. This work is supported by multiple randomized controlled trials that have demonstrated significant improvements in literacy outcomes for multilingual learners whose teachers participated in BELLA professional development.
As part of Duke's Program in Education, Dr. Mann contributes to the strategic growth of Duke TeachHouse, supporting program development, funding acquisition, and long-term sustainability for equity-minded early-career teachers. She also co-leads the Bass Connections project, Scaling Duke TeachHouse: Innovating Public Education, an interdisciplinary initiative that studies the implementation and expansion of the Duke TeachHouse model while engaging undergraduate and graduate students in community-engaged research.
With 20 years of experience as an educator and teacher educator, Dr. Mann has taught high school English, elementary and adult English as a Second Language (ESL), and undergraduate and graduate pre-service teachers. She earned her Ph.D. in Teacher Education and Learning Sciences from North Carolina State University, with a specialization in Literacy and English Language Arts.
Dr. Mann's research interests include community-engaged scholarship, immigrant and refugee education, multilingual learner literacy, teacher professional learning, participatory qualitative methodologies, and education policy.
Areas of Expertise
- K-12 Education
- ESL Education
- English Language Arts
- Refugee & Immigrant Students
- Teacher Education
- Qualitative Research
Unless otherwise indicated, scholarly articles published by Duke faculty members are made available here with a CC-BY-NC (Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial) license, as enabled by the Duke Open Access Policy. If you wish to use the materials in ways not already permitted under CC-BY-NC, please consult the copyright owner. Other materials are made available here through the author’s grant of a non-exclusive license to make their work openly accessible.