Faculty Profiles

Dr. Stephanie Masta is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie tribe of Chippewa Indians, and is also an Associate Professor in Curriculum Studies, with affiliate appointments in American Studies in the College of Liberal Arts and the School of Engineering Education Much of her research focuses on the experiences of Brown and Black individuals in K-20 educational environments, with particular interest in Indigenous peoples and their relationships to academic spaces. Stephanie’s work is also invested in uncovering the intersections of colonialism and race within the academy. Her research is narrative-based, and she uses both Indigenous methodologies and critical race/decolonial theories in her work. Dr. Masta has received external funding from the National Science Foundation and the Spencer Foundation. She has published in journals such as Anthropology & Education Quarterly, the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, the Journal of Philosophy and Theory in Higher Education, and Teaching in Higher Education. In 2022, Dr. Masta was the recipient of the College of Education Graduate Faculty Mentoring Award.

My research interests include:

• Critical qualitative and Indigenous methodologies
• Experiences of racialized youth in schools
• Influence of colonialism in educational spaces

Selected Publications

• Masta, S., Grant, J., & Holly, Jr., J. (2022). Theoretical intersections: Using CRT and Afropessimism to understand current bans on CRT. Journal of Philosophy and Theory in Higher Education, 4(3), 49-63.
• Masta, S. (2022). Theory-to-practice: Researching Indigenous education in the United States. International Journal of Multicultural Education, 24(1), 1-15.
• Masta, S. (2021). Classroom counterspaces: Centering Brown and Black students in doctoral education. Teaching in Higher Education, 26(3), 354-369.
• Masta, S. & Rosa, T. J. K. (2019). Understanding the dominant discourse of colonialism: A qualitative single case study of an 8th grade U.S. history classroom. The Social Studies, 110(3), 146-154.
• Masta, S. (2018). What the grandfathers taught me: Lessons for an Indian Country researcher. The Qualitative Report, 23(4), 841-852.
• Masta, S. (2018). Strategy and resistance: How Native American students engage in accommodation in mainstream schools. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 49(1), 21-35.
• Masta, S. (2018). I’m exhausted: everyday occurrences of being Native American. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 31(9), 821-835.
• Masta, S. (2016). Disrupting colonial narratives in the curriculum. Multicultural Perspectives, 18(4), 185-191.

• EDCI 61500 — Qualitative Research Methods in Education
• EDCI 61600 — Advanced Qualitative Research Methods in Education
• EDCI 68400 — Critical and Indigenous Methodologies