Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Curriculum and Instruction: Literacy Education
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
2018
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Faculty
Faculty
Delphia Smith, Ph.D. ( She/Her)
Assistant Professor
Department/Office
- Curriculum and Instruction
School/College
- School of Education
Biography
Delphia S. Smith, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of reading/literacy education and holds an appointment in the Howard University School of Education. Her scholarly research centers literacy (reading), underestimated (Black and Brown) children, and inequities they face, often marked by unequal treatment, access, and outcomes. Smith's current research agenda wishes to explore the most effective way to improve reading for America’s K-12 students, particularly its underestimated [Black and Brown] children as well as ensure a more equitable educational system that affords all students opportunities and access to be successful.
A first-generation college graduate, Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in primary education at the University of the Bahamas (formerly the College of the Bahamas), a master’s degree in reading education at Florida International University (FIU), and a PhD in curriculum and instruction with an urban literacy focus at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC). During her time at UNCC, she was selected as an Urban Education Collaborative Doctoral Fellow, where she engaged in research and was afforded mentorship and professional development opportunities that prepared her for the professoriate. She also served as a 2017-2018 Graduate Life Fellow in the Center for Graduate Life & Learning at UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC. Here, she served as a liaison to her peers across campus, while working to discover new ways to support graduate student success through the creation and execution of programming.
Before entering the academy, Smith served as an elementary educator for over 11 years in the United States and her home country, the Bahamas. A lover of reading and writing, Smith has coauthored several children’s books that focus on areas such as race, diversity, and the importance of hard work and dedication.
Education & Expertise
Education
Master of Science (M.S.)
Reading Education
Florida International University
2009
Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.)
Primary Education
University of the Bahamas formerly College of the Bahamas
2003
Expertise
Reading/Literacy
Educational Disparities
Children's Literature
Academics
Academics
EDUC 321: Literature & Writing in Urban Elementary Schools
EDUC 323: Literacy Assessment & Instructional Frameworks in Urban Elementary Schools
EDUC 218: Foundations & Processes of Reading Acquisition
EDUC 410: Pedagogy & Content Literacy
Research
Research
Specialty
Literacy and underestimated children, educational disparities, educational equity/reform, children’s literature, text complexity and complex text, reciprocity of reading and writing and its impact on students’ comprehension, summer reading lossFunding
Presidential Microgrants: Faculty Travel Awards. Office of the Provost. Howard University; $2000; (2025).
Accomplishments
Accomplishments
Associate Cohort Member: The Educator Collaborative; 2025-2027
Fellow: The Reading League: Educators of Color Conference Community - Cohort 2; 2025
Fellow: Scholars Strategy Network 2025 Education Scholars Training Program (2025)
Faculty Fellow: 2024 Junior Faculty Writing and Creative Works Summer Academy; Howard University; May - September 2024
Fellowship Application Incentive Program (FAIP) Award, 2018
Fellow: 2017 Graduate Life Fellow. UNC Charlotte
Publications and Presentations
Publications and Presentations
Loving the skin, you’re in
Loving the skin, you’re in: a deconstruction of children’s literature that focus on body (size) issues in English Teaching: Practice & Critique, Vol. 23 No. 2, pp. 245-260
This paper aims to evaluate children’s literature that focuses on body size issues for elementary readers. The evaluative tool was used to evaluate six children’s books identified as critical literature supporting body image. The books evaluated focused on body image but were also tied to other themes such as body positivity, body neutrality, self-love, acceptance, diversity and inclusivity. All books acknowledged and celebrated the uniqueness of varied body types.
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: Decolonizing the Curriculum and Promoting Educational Equity in In I. Toldson (Ed), Black College Leadership in PK-12 Education.
This chapter will provide the foundations of how culturally relevant pedagogy can be used as a tool to decolonize teacher education program curricula and promote educational equity. This study’s main objective is to explore the literature and provide educators and administrators in educational institutions with critical information for shaping skills and dispositions to move current institutional practice towards instructions that are more culturally and linguistically diverse to accommodate the needs of underrepresented groups.
The National Teacher Shortage, Urban Education and the Cognitive Sociology of Labor
The National Teacher Shortage, Urban Education and the Cognitive Sociology of Labor
this article argues that at the social level, conceptions of labor are narrowly conceived on economic principles where a profession like teaching, which is not directly connected to the market, has a very low status in the broader society. Consequently, these economic tendencies act as tools of cognitive socialization and sociomental control that restricts and governs the way work is viewed in capitalist societies. The article argues for a shift in the way the teaching profession is viewed, as well as for policy surrounding better preparation, compensation, support, and recruitment of diverse teachers. To that end, the article brings new analyses to the teacher shortage with the cognitive divisions of labor framework.
COVID-19, Educational Disparities and the Implications for Minority Students.
COVID-19, educational disparities (achievement gap vs. opportunity gap), and the implications for minority students in T. Flowers (Ed), the Foundations of Urban Education: Key Issues, pp. 1-21. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
This volume explores key 21st-century issues impacting urban schools. It prepares teachers by focusing on theoretical and historical foundations, discussing topics like the achievement gap, charter schools, teacher pay, culturally relevant pedagogy, and teacher motivation
Children’s Books
Norma's Journey from an Island to the United States