Rachel McMillian

Rachel McMillian is an Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's College of Education. Her scholarship bridges Black Education and Critical Prison Studies, employing counterstorytelling to examine:

• Educational experiences of Black individuals incarcerated during youth
• Black liberatory education within carceral spaces
• Intersectional pedagogies in early childhood and urban education

Her recent publications explore:

• Abolitionist literacies in early childhood education
• Black anarchism as educational philosophy
• Critical analyses of anti-Black disciplinary practices
• Testimonies of Black educators in carceral contexts

Scientific recognition includes:

• AERA Division B Outstanding Dissertation Award (2022)
• UCEA Barbara L. Jackson Scholar (2019-2021)

Her work engages with:

• Urban education reform
• Teacher training paradigms
• Play-based learning for Black boys
• Critical race theory applications