“A new approach is necessary because the literature is virtually silent on the views of Black people themselves, dealing almost exclusively with European scholars whose analyses are inevitably coloured by European views of Black people.

Jones-Darrell, Janis

Reviere, Ruth

English

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University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
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Different Perspectives on Majority Rules (1996) People of Color in Predominantly White Institutions 
April 1996 
Educational Reforms: An Afrocentric Critique and New 
Approaches 
Ruth Reviere 
Dalhousie University, Novia Scotia 
Janis Jones-Darrell 
Dalhousie University, Novia Scotia 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/pocpwi1st 
 Part of the Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons 
Reviere, Ruth and Jones-Darrell, Janis, "Educational Reforms: An Afrocentric Critique and New 
Approaches" (1996). Different Perspectives on Majority Rules (1996). 7. 
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/pocpwi1st/7 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the People of Color in Predominantly White Institutions at 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Different Perspectives on 
Majority Rules (1996) by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. 
Educational Reforms: An Afrocentric Critique and New 
Approaches
Ruth Reviere
Dalhousie University, Novia Scotia
Janis Jones-Darrell
Dalhousie University, Novia Scotia
“A new approach is necessary because the literature is virtually silent on the views 
of Black people themselves, dealing almost exclusively with European scholars 
whose analyses are inevitably coloured by European views of Black people.”
The purpose of this presentation is to reexamine the approaches to educational reform, 
both curricular and methodological, from a new orientation. The focus will be on reforms 
that are meant to have an impact on the Black community. A new approach is necessary 
because the literature is virtually silent on the views of Black people themselves, dealing 
almost exclusively with European scholars whose analyses are inevitably coloured by 
European views of Black people. Our analyses, which we call Afrocentric (1), provide a 
new perspective because as African women we believe that we are privy to insights into 
the behavior of Black people that are absent from the literature. We believe that 
Afrocentrism is fundamentally about new orientations towards data and is attempting to 
formulate a new orientation by providing new yardsticks against which research should 
be judged. This new Afrocentric orientation to data pushes the debate into another realm 
where theory or the methodology becomes subservient to the wellbeing of people being 
researched.
This presentation is in two parts. The first part will examine curricular change and will 
provide a critique of the interdisciplinary approaches to antiracist education. The focus 
will be on university based reform. The argument will be presented that neither the 
reform process on its own, nor the altered curriculum, ought to be sufficient for afro 
centric scholars but we must also consider how these are to be used to effect real change 
in the lives of real people. It will be argued that this must be done by connecting the 
change to the actual structures within the university, such as its policies and its decision 
making structures. The position is taken that these cannot be done in isolation, but that
the connection must be made with all stakeholders. The change process must be 
supported and affected by both the university administration as well as the community 
and the two efforts must be intertwined.
The second part of the presentation reexamines the creation of theory within the human 
sciences. It is being argued that Eurocentric criteria, such as scientific objectivity, 
reliability, and validity that are traditionally used to judge such theories are inadequate at 
best, and at worst, deliberately misleading. We argue that such criteria can only unearth 
part of the story and therefore, are untrue because they bear little relationship to the lives 
of real people. The presentation will use the current debate into race and IQ as an 
illustration.
We have formulated a set of five Afrocentric research criteria which we call canons that 
are based on Molefi Asante's Afrocentric principles of Ma'at and Nommo (Asante, 1987 
& 1990). These are truth, harmony, justice, community, and commitment, and as we will 
argue, legitimate inquiry must satisfy these five canons. These five Afrocentric criteria 
shift the focus to the requirement that the researcher emphasize considerations of how 
knowledge is structured and used over the need for dispassion and objectivity; that the 
researcher reject the researcher/subject separation and not presume to be "the well from 
which spring theory and practice, whole and well-formed," but that theory and practice 
should be informed by the actual and aspired interests of the community; that the 
researcher actively avoid creating, exaggerating, or sustaining divisions between or 
within communities, but should strive to create harmonious relationships between and 
within these groups; that a research procedure be fair to all participants, especially to 
those being researched, and one whose applications are mindful of the welfare of all the 
participants; and that the research be grounded in the experiences of the community being 
researched. That is, that the experiences of community members become the ultimate 
authority in determining what is true and therefore becomes the final arbiter of the 
validity of research about their lives.
PRESENTERS
Ruth Reviere comes from the Caribbean, from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Her pre-
university education took place in the Caribbean, after which she left for the UK to read 
physics at the University of Manchester. On completion of her bachelor's degree she 
returned to St. Vincent and taught there for a number of years, returning to the UK in 
1986 to read for a Master of Science degree in physics education, this time at the 
University of Liverpool. When in the Caribbean she works with the Caribbean 
Examinations Council as an Examiner in physics and electricity.
Ruth values personal commitment and employs this as a focus for her current research 
activities. Professionally, she has headed the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Science 
Teachers' Association until her departure in 1991 and is an organizer of the Caribbean 
Regional and National Science Fairs. Since her arrival in Canada, she has become 
involved in issues involving education in the Black community and is a member of the 
African Canadian Education Project and the Black Educators' Association.
Ruth has completed a Master's degree in education at Dalhousie and is currently working 
towards her doctorate. Her area of interest involves the current research in racial 
differences in IQ that is coming out of U.S. and Canadian universities. She hopes to place 
this in its social and political context and to assess the impact of such research on the 
education of black children.
Janis Jones-Darrell, an African Nova Scotian indigenous to Canada, holds a B.A., REd., 
M.A. and a Certificate in Personnel Management and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. on a 
part-time basis. She is an experienced educator in administrative management; 
stakeholder liaison program coordination; teaching counseling; staff professional 
development; writing/research; educational and employment institutional policy change; 
and strategic planning.
She has worked extensively in the areas of race relations, cross cultural understanding, 
human rights, and anti-racist education over a twenty-five year period in educational 
institutions and a variety of other domains, including consulting. Many of her 
accomplishments have been at the community, public school, university, provincial 
government, and federal government levels.
Academic presentations and leadership in educational institutes have been provided for 
the Canadian Society for the Study of Education, the Canadian Education Association, 
the Canadian Association for the Study of Law and Education, the Federation of 
Municipalities, The International Association of Archivists, and the Board of 
Commissioners of Chiefs of Police, to name a few. She has published in three books, 
produced four videos, edited conference proceedings, written journal articles, resource 
lists, research results, and a variety of papers and proposals.
Jones-Darrell has been awarded several grants, educational fellowships, and received a 
medal for her community work which is in honor of the 125th anniversary of Canadian 
Federation.


Educational Reforms: An Afrocentric Critique and New Approaches

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Different Perspectives on Majority Rules (1996) People of Color in Predominantly White Institutions April 1996 Educational Reforms: An Afrocentric Critique and New Approaches Ruth Reviere Dalhousie University, Novia Scotia Janis Jones-Darrell Dalhousie University, Novia Scotia Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/pocpwi1st  Part of the Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons Reviere, Ruth and Jones-Darrell, Janis, "Educational Reforms: An Afrocentric Critique and New Approaches" (1996). Different Perspectives on Majority Rules (1996). 7. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/pocpwi1st/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the People of Color in Predominantly White Institutions at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Different Perspectives on Majority Rules (1996) by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Educational Reforms: An Afrocentric Critique and New ApproachesRuth ReviereDalhousie University, Novia ScotiaJanis Jones-DarrellDalhousie University, Novia Scotia“A new approach is necessary because the literature is virtually silent on the views of Black people themselves, dealing almost exclusively with European scholars whose analyses are inevitably coloured by European views of Black people.”The purpose of this presentation is to reexamine the approaches to educational reform, both curricular and methodological, from a new orientation. The focus will be on reforms that are meant to have an impact on the Black community. A new approach is necessary because the literature is virtually silent on the views of Black people themselves, dealing almost exclusively with European scholars whose analyses are inevitably coloured by European views of Black people. Our analyses, which we call Afrocentric (1), provide a new perspective because as African women we believe that we are privy to insights into the behavior of Black people that are absent from the literature. We believe that Afrocentrism is fundamentally about new orientations towards data and is attempting to formulate a new orientation by providing new yardsticks against which research should be judged. This new Afrocentric orientation to data pushes the debate into another realm where theory or the methodology becomes subservient to the wellbeing of people being researched.This presentation is in two parts. The first part will examine curricular change and will provide a critique of the interdisciplinary approaches to antiracist education. The focus will be on university based reform. The argument will be presented that neither the reform process on its own, nor the altered curriculum, ought to be sufficient for afro centric scholars but we must also consider how these are to be used to effect real change in the lives of real people. It will be argued that this must be done by connecting the change to the actual structures within the university, such as its policies and its decision making structures. The position is taken that these cannot be done in isolation, but thatthe connection must be made with all stakeholders. The change process must be supported and affected by both the university administration as well as the community and the two efforts must be intertwined.The second part of the presentation reexamines the creation of theory within the human sciences. It is being argued that Eurocentric criteria, such as scientific objectivity, reliability, and validity that are traditionally used to judge such theories are inadequate at best, and at worst, deliberately misleading. We argue that such criteria can only unearth part of the story and therefore, are untrue because they bear little relationship to the lives of real people. The presentation will use the current debate into race and IQ as an illustration.We have formulated a set of five Afrocentric research criteria which we call canons that are based on Molefi Asante's Afrocentric principles of Ma'at and Nommo (Asante, 1987 & 1990). These are truth, harmony, justice, community, and commitment, and as we will argue, legitimate inquiry must satisfy these five canons. These five Afrocentric criteria shift the focus to the requirement that the researcher emphasize considerations of how knowledge is structured and used over the need for dispassion and objectivity; that the researcher reject the researcher/subject separation and not presume to be "the well from which spring theory and practice, whole and well-formed," but that theory and practice should be informed by the actual and aspired interests of the community; that the researcher actively avoid creating, exaggerating, or sustaining divisions between or within communities, but should strive to create harmonious relationships between and within these groups; that a research procedure be fair to all participants, especially to those being researched, and one whose applications are mindful of the welfare of all the participants; and that the research be grounded in the experiences of the community being researched. That is, that the experiences of community members become the ultimate authority in determining what is true and therefore becomes the final arbiter of the validity of research about their lives.PRESENTERSRuth Reviere comes from the Caribbean, from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Her pre-university education took place in the Caribbean, after which she left for the UK to read physics at the University of Manchester. On completion of her bachelor's degree she returned to St. Vincent and taught there for a number of years, returning to the UK in 1986 to read for a Master of Science degree in physics education, this time at the University of Liverpool. When in the Caribbean she works with the Caribbean Examinations Council as an Examiner in physics and electricity.Ruth values personal commitment and employs this as a focus for her current research activities. Professionally, she has headed the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Science Teachers' Association until her departure in 1991 and is an organizer of the Caribbean Regional and National Science Fairs. Since her arrival in Canada, she has become involved in issues involving education in the Black community and is a member of the African Canadian Education Project and the Black Educators' Association.Ruth has completed a Master's degree in education at Dalhousie and is currently working towards her doctorate. Her area of interest involves the current research in racial differences in IQ that is coming out of U.S. and Canadian universities. She hopes to place this in its social and political context and to assess the impact of such research on the education of black children.Janis Jones-Darrell, an African Nova Scotian indigenous to Canada, holds a B.A., REd., M.A. and a Certificate in Personnel Management and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. on a part-time basis. She is an experienced educator in administrative management; stakeholder liaison program coordination; teaching counseling; staff professional development; writing/research; educational and employment institutional policy change; and strategic planning.She has worked extensively in the areas of race relations, cross cultural understanding, human rights, and anti-racist education over a twenty-five year period in educational institutions and a variety of other domains, including consulting. Many of her accomplishments have been at the community, public school, university, provincial government, and federal government levels.Academic presentations and leadership in educational institutes have been provided for the Canadian Society for the Study of Education, the Canadian Education Association, the Canadian Association for the Study of Law and Education, the Federation of Municipalities, The International Association of Archivists, and the Board of Commissioners of Chiefs of Police, to name a few. She has published in three books, produced four videos, edited conference proceedings, written journal articles, resource lists, research results, and a variety of papers and proposals.Jones-Darrell has been awarded several grants, educational fellowships, and received a medal for her community work which is in honor of the 125th anniversary of Canadian Federation.

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Educational Reforms: An Afrocentric Critique and New Approaches

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