UNC School of Education

Assistant Professor of Science Education

T 919.843.9133
F 919.962.1533
ecparsons@unc.edu

307B Peabody Hall
CB 3500

An assistant professor of science education, Eileen R. Carlton Parsons teaches in the Culture, Curriculum and Change Doctoral Program and the Master of Arts in Teaching Program. Prior to joining the faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill, she taught physical science, chemistry and math in the public schools of North Carolina and worked as an assistant professor at Lenoir-Rhyne College and N.C. State University. The catalyst for her professional choices and the inspiration behind her professional efforts is to elucidate and improve the circumstances of marginalized populations in science education. Her service, research and teaching highlight access, equity and equality.

Parsons' professional activities revolve around social justice. In her capacity as a board member of the Association for Science Teacher Education, she chaired the Equity Committee and actively participated in the Inclusive Science Education Forum for which she was past chair and chair-elect. As a member of the Equity & Ethics Committee of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching (NARST), she co-coordinated the pre-conference workshop for underrepresented scholars in science education.

She has also served as the coordinator of NARST conference strands and assisted in the selection of the outstanding article in the organization's journal, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, and in the outstanding paper for the NARST conference. Currently, she serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching. She also serves on the editorial board of Science Education and the advisory board of Electronic Journal of Science Education.

• Postdoctoral Fellow 1998-1999 - Ford Foundation
• Ph.D. 1994 - Cornell University, Science Education
• M.S. 1992 - Cornell University, Science Education
• B.S. 1989 - The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Science Teaching (chemistry)
• Licensed in Science Teaching (9-12) and Math (9-12)

• African American Science Achievement (K-12)
• African American Culture
• Culturally Inclusive and Relevant Teaching
• Racial Equity
• Research Overview

• Instructional Strategies Courses
• Critical and Theoretical Perspectives
• General Research Methodologies

• 2005, Association for Science Teacher Education Contribution of Research to Practice Paper award.
• 1998 and 2002, Who's Who Among America's Teachers
• 1998, Powerful Ideas in Physical Science Summer Faculty Enhancement Program, National Science Foundation and Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge LA.
• 1997, Teacher Research Update Experience, National - Science Foundation and University of Florida, Gainesville FL.
• 1991, Outstanding Young Women of America

• 2005-2007, Exemplary Science Teachers and Teaching in Urban Elementary and Middle Schools: Teacher Practices and African American versus Euro-American Student Perceptions. Spencer Foundation Small Research Grant
• 2002-2004, Culturally congruent science instruction-A positive influence upon the achievement of African American students? American Educational Research Association Grant
• 1997-1998, The effectiveness of lecture versus role playing in college teaching; The Institute for Excellence in College and University Teaching Small Grants Program for Research

• 2008, AERA Division G-Social Context of Education, Affirmative Action Committee
• 2007-2009, American Educational Research Association, Division C (Section 4), Executive Review Board for Conference Proposals
• 2007-2010, Editorial Board of Science Education
• 2005-2010, Editorial Board, Journal of Research in Science Teaching
• 2005-2007, Workshop Co-Coordinator. National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST) Equity Committee
• 2004-2007, Member, NARST Equity Committee
• 2001-2003, Member, NARST Outstanding Paper Committee
• 1999-2000, Coordinator, Teaching Strand for NARST annual conference.
• 1998-1999, Co-Coordinator, Teaching Strand for NARST annual conference.
• 1998-1999, Member, NARST Outstanding Paper Committee Member
• 2005-2008, Board Member, Association for Science Teacher Education (ASTE)
• 2005-2008, Chair, ASTE Equity Committee
• 2003-2005, Member, ASTE Equity Committee
• 2003-2004, Chair, ASTE Inclusive Science Education Forum
• 2002-2003, Chair-Elect, ASTE Inclusive Science Education Forum.
• 2002, Conference Evaluation Coordinator, ASTE Program Committee

Parsons, E. C. (accepted). Positionality of African Americans and a theoretical accommodation of it: Re-thinking science education research. Science Education.

Parsons, E. C. (in press). Learning contexts, Black cultural ethos, and the science achievement of African American students in an urban middle school. Journal of Research in Science Teaching.

Parsons, E.C., Foster, S., Travis, C, & Simpson, J., (in press). Diversity knowledge in science teacher education: A case specific to African Americans. Journal of Science Teacher Education.

Parsons, E. C. & Moore, F. (in press). Black feminist thought: The lived experiences of two Black female science educators. In K. Scantlebury (Ed.), Re-visioning Science Education from Feminist Perspectives: Challenges, choices, and careers. The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

Parsons, E. C., Tran, L., & Travis, C. (in press). An investigation from the perspective of race of student roles in small, racially mixed science groups. International Journal of Science Education.

Parsons, E. C. (2007). Functioning in two disparate worlds. In K. Tobin & W. M. Roth (Eds.), The Culture of Science Education: Historical and Biographical Perspectives. The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

Parsons, E. C., Travis, C., & Simpson, J.S. (2005). The black cultural ethos, students' instructional context preferences, and student achievement: An examination of culturally congruent science instruction in the eighth grade classes of one African American and one Euro-American teacher. The Negro Educational Review, 56(2, 3), 183-203. (project funded by American Educational Research Association Grant)

Parsons, E. C. (2005). From caring as a relation to culturally relevant caring: A white teacher’s bridge to black students. Equity and Excellence in Education, 38(1), 25-34. (project funded by Ford Foundation postdoctoral fellowship)

Parsons, E. C. (2003). A teacher's use of the environment to facilitate the social development of children into subjects. Journal of Research in Childhood Education: An international journal of research on the education of children, infancy through early adolescence, 18(1), 57-70. (project funded by Ford Foundation postdoctoral fellowship)

Parsons, E. C. (2003). Culturalizing instruction: Creating a more inclusive learning context for African American students. High School Journal, 86(4), 23-30.

Parsons, E. C. (2002). Using comparisons of multiage learning environments in the United States to critique two teachers' achievement of their democratic aims. Learning Environments Research: An International Journal, 5(2), 185-202. (project funded by Ford Foundation postdoctoral fellowship)

Parsons, E. C. (2001). Using power and caring to mediate white male privilege, equality, and equity in an urban elementary classroom: Implications for teacher preparation. Urban Review, 33(4), 321-338. (project funded by Ford Foundation postdoctoral fellowship)