Amber M. Neal-Stanley

Amber M. Neal-Stanley serves as Assistant Professor of Curriculum Studies in Purdue University's College of Education, where her scholarship interrogates Black educational experiences through critical qualitative frameworks and faith-based liberation traditions. Her work centers on structural inequity, historical resistance, and humanizing pedagogical approaches grounded in Black radical thought.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Educational Theory and Practice, University of Georgia
• M.S.W. in Social Work, University of Georgia
• B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies, Bowling Green State University

Research Focus: Dr. Neal-Stanley's research synthesizes Black education studies, critical qualitative inquiry, and faith as transformative praxis. She examines historical Black women teachers' abolitionist traditions, the Black Church's role in early childhood education, and digital humanities for recovering marginalized educational histories. Her scholarship consistently centers remembering Black radical traditions while confronting anti-Blackness in educational systems through humanizing frameworks.

Publication Trends: Recent publications (2021-2025) reveal three dominant trajectories: (1) Historical analyses of Black women educators' spiritual resistance, (2) Conceptual models for leveraging religio-spiritual capital against anti-Blackness, and (3) Digital methodologies for reconstructing Black educational history. Her work increasingly integrates Black feminist thought with critical race theory to address contemporary educational struggles.

Scientific Recognition:

• Purdue University College of Education Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award (2023-2024)
• Research Fellow, The Crossroads Project at Princeton University's Center for Culture, Society, and Religion (2024-2025)

Academic Leadership: Teaching graduate courses in critical theory, qualitative methods, and Black educational history, Dr. Neal-Stanley prepares educators to dismantle structural inequity. Her Detroit Public Schools background and social work experience inform community-engaged scholarship that bridges historical analysis with contemporary activism, particularly through faith-based resistance frameworks.