Dr. Lionel C. Howard

Interim Dean, Graduate School of Education and Human Development; Professor, Educational Research

School: Graduate School of Education and Human Development

Department: Educational Leadership

Contact:

Email: Dr. Lionel C. Howard

Office Phone: (202) 994-4959

Dr. Lionel Howard is a developmental psychologist whose research interest includes, broadly, gender and racial identity development and socialization, motivation and academic achievement, and research methodology. He has worked on several local and national research projects focused on Black child development and improving the educational trajectory and schooling experiences of minoritized students. He has also served as a consultant on education policy and evaluation studies.

Dr. Howard has published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, Journal of Black Psychology, Journal of Orthopsychiatry, Journal of Boyhood, International Journal of Inclusive Education, Journal of Homosexuality, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, and Harvard Educational Review. He is co-editor of Facing Racism in Education (3rd Ed), published by Harvard University Press, and is completing a manuscript on researcher vulnerability in social science research. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and National Institute of Health.

Dr. Howard received his Ed.D. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University, Graduate School of Education, and completed a National Institute of Child Health and Development postdoctoral fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Department of Psychology and the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. He also has a M.A. in Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation from the University of Maryland, College Park, and B.A. in Applied Mathematics and Statistics from William Paterson University of New Jersey.

Education

Ed.D., Harvard University

Ed.M., Harvard University

M.A., University of Maryland, College Park

B.A., William Paterson University of New Jersey

Programs

PhD in Education: Education and Inequality Concentration

Expertise

Qualitative Research Methodology
Human Development and Psychology
Racial Identity Development
Gender Identity Development
Mixed Methods

Publications

English, D., Lambert, S., Zea, M., Bowleg, L. Tynes, B, & Howard, L.C. (2020.). Daily multidimensional racial discrimination among Black American adolescents, Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.

Howard, L.C. (in-press). Vulnerability in the act of research: Methodological praxis and strategies of self-care. In A. Ali & T. McCarthy (Eds.), Research Methods in Critical Youth Studies: A practical guide.

Howard, L.C., & Hammond, S. L. (2019). Vulnerable researcher: Implications for educational research and practice. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 32(4), 411-428. doi: 10.1080/09518398.2019.1597205.

Chan, C.D., Steen, S., Howard, L.C., & Ali, A.A. (2019). Disentangling the Complexities of Queer Theory and Intersectionality Theory: Research Paradigms and Insights for Social Justice. In K. Strunk & L. Locke (Eds.), Research Methods for Social Justice and Equity in Education (pp. 59-70). Switzerland: Palmgrave McMillian.

Chan, C., & Howard, L.C. (2018). When queerness meets intersectional thinking: Revolutionizing parallels, histories, and contestations. Journal of Homosexuality. 1-21. doi: 10.1080/00918369.2018.1530882.

Hatton, H., Howard, L.C., & Tekleselassie, A. (2017). Spinning plates: How external influences affect elementary rural principals’ ability to program for students. Changing and Planning, 48 (1/2), 3-25.

Howard, L.C., & Ali, A. (2016). (Critical) Educational ethnography: Methodological premise and pedagogical objectives. In, R. Hopson & W. Rodick (Eds.), New Directions in Educational Ethnography (Studies in Educational Ethnography)( Vol. 13).(pp. 141-163). United Kingdom: Emerald.

Jakeman, R.C., Henderson, M. M., & Howard, L.C. (2016). Reflective pedagogy: The integration of methodology and subject-matter content in a graduate-level course. Teaching in Higher Education, 22(2), 207-221.doi:10.1080/13562517.2016.1237494.

Gadsden, O., & Howard, L. C. (2016). A clinical deconstruction of the negative archetypes & complexes of African American masculinity. In W. Ross (Ed.), Counseling African American males: Effective therapeutic interventions and approaches (pp. 380-399). Charlotte, NC: Information Age.

Hicks-Martinez, Clayton, J., & Howard, L. (2015) An exploration of how elementary school principals approach the student retention decision process. Journal of Ethical Educational Leadership, 2(3), 1-19.

Howard, L. C., Rose, J. C., & Barbarin, O. A. (2014). Raising African American boys: An Exploration of Parental Educational Practices and Beliefs. In J. Moore and C. Lewis (Eds.), African American males in PreK-12 schools: Informing research, practice, and policy (Vol. 2) (pp. 87-106). United Kingdom: Emerald.

Howard, L. C., Rose, J.C., & Barbarin, O.A. (2013). Raising African American boys: An exploration of gender and racial socialization practices. Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 83(2), 218-230.

Howard, L. C., Rose, J. C., & Barbarin, O. A. (2013). Raising African American boys: An exploration of gender and racial socialization practices. Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 83(2), 218-230.

Howard, L. C. (2012). Performing masculinity: Adolescent African American boys' response to gender scripting. Thymus: Journal of Boyhood, 1, 95-113.

Howard, L. C. (2012). The schooling of African American male students: The role of male teachers and school administrators. International Journal for Inclusive Education, 16(4), 379-389. doi: 10.1080/13603116.2011.55093

Okeke, N., Howard, L. C., Kurtz-Costes, B., & Rowley, S. (2009). Academic race stereotype, academic self-concept, and race centrality in African American youth. Journal of Black Psychology, 35(3), 366-387.

Anderson, S., Attwood, P., & Howard, L. (Eds.). (2004). Facing racism in education (3rd ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

News and Media Mentions

March 2025 - Dr. Lionel Howard was chosen as an Outstanding Reviewer for 2024 for his service on the editorial board of the American Educational Research Journal (AERJ).
March 2024
- Dr. Lionel Howard was an invited panelist at the 42nd Annual Conference on the Black Family at Hampton University in Norfolk, VA (March 20-22, 2024). The conference theme was Elevating Black Families - Actualizing the Vision of the Beloved Global Community, and the panel was titled "Health Relationships and the Experiences of Black men."
- Dr. Lionel Howard and colleagues at Stanford University (Farzana Saleem, Ph.D.) and UCLA (Cameron Schmidt-Temple; Audra Langley, Ph.D.; Tyrone Howard, Ph.D. AERA President) published an article titled, "Understanding Teachers' Ethnic-Racial Socialization Practices with Students in School: A Qualitative Inquiry," in Urban Education.
March 2023 - Dr. Lionel Howard gave an invited research presentation at the Maryland Equity Project colloquium speaker series held in the College of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. His research presentation was titled, "Socio-emotional Learning and Development: The Implications for Black Boys." He also was an invited guest speaker for the EdD seminar at Hunter College CUNY.
December 2019 - Dr. Howard was invited by The Center for Innovative Teaching, Learning, and Engagement (CITLE), at Clark Atlanta University (a HBCU), to give a presentation entitled "Engaging Social Justice-Oriented Research." The center provides professional development opportunities to engage faculty in innovation and excellence in teaching, learning and scholarship that will further the goals of the undergraduate curriculum at the University.