Dr. Joy Banks
Associate Dean for Research & Development
  • Ph.D. University of Connecticut
  • M.A. University of Michigan
  • B.S. Eastern Michigan University

       Joy Banks, Ph.D., who joined the faculty at Bowie State University in 2010, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development. Previously she taught in the Department of Education at Catholic University and the Department of Special Education at North Carolina Central University. While at North Carolina Central University, she served as program coordinator for the division of learning disabilities and interim department chair for the Department of Special Education. As department chair she implemented an initiative to require all courses in the Department of Special Education to include a focus on social justice, culturally responsive teaching, and transformative pedagogy for youth with disabilities. Dr. Banks later led the entire NCCU College of Education faculty through the process of conceptualizing a conceptual framework that demonstrated a commitment to social justice through course transformation and inclusive of issues of social justice. Currently, she teaches courses in the Graduate Special Education program.
        Joy’s research explores the lived experiences of individuals whose identities reflect those of multiple marginalized groups, such as African-American college students with a disability. She is currently conducting phenomenological research on the identities and educational experiences of African-American college students with a disability attending historically black colleges and universities, with emphasis on university environments that cultivate the development of counternarratives. Multiple international teaching opportunities have afforded her the chance to examine teachers’ perceptions of inclusion in the United States, Belgium, and seven other international countries. 
        Prior to entering higher education, Dr. Banks taught middle school and high school students identified with special needs in Clark County Public School District, Las Vegas, Nevada and Fairfax County Public School, Virginia.
Publications

RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Improvement of Reading Skills for Special Needs and "At-Risk" populations.

PUBLICATIONS

  • Banks, J., (submitted). A reflection on a cross-cultural internship for students studying outside of their homelands. Journal of International Special Needs Education. 
  • Banks, J., & Hughes, M. (submitted). The role of HBCUs the retention of African-American college students with disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability.
  • Banks, J. (submitted). Barrier and supports to college transition: Ethnographic views of Postsecondary African-American Students with a disability. Remedial and Special Education. 
  • Banks, J., & Dunston, Y. (submitted). Teacher-efficacy as a conduit for teaching African-American students to read. Multicultural Perspectives.
  • Banks, J., & Hughes, M. (accepted). Double Consciousness: Postsecondary experiences of African-American male students with a disability. Journal of Negro Education.
  • Shockley, K., & Banks, J. (2012). I know I’ve been changed: Teachers’ personal transformations on issues of race and culture. Journal of Transformative Education, 9(4), 222-241.
  • Bacon, E., Banks, J., Young, K., & Jackson, F. (2007). Perceptions of African American and European American teachers on education of African American males. Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners, 10(1-2), 160-172.
  • Banks, J. (2005). African American college students’ perceptions of their high school literacy preparation. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 35(2), 22-37.   


PROPOSALS & PRESENTATIONS

  • A Reflection on an International Internship: What constitutes an effective internship for international students studying outside their homelands?, Dr. Joy Banks, Brother Jos Mathijssen, and Dr. Nancy McKnight Smith, Council for Exceptional Children Division of International Special Education Roundtable, Sligo, Ireland.
  • Double Consciousness: Postsecondary African-American male students’ with disabilities, American Education Research Association, Vancouver, Canada.
  • Race Matters: The role of HBCUs the retention of African-American college students with disabilities, Drs. Joy Banks and Michael Hughes, 15th Annual HBCU Summit on Retention, Ocean City, Maryland. 

MEMBERSHIPS

  • American Education Research Association
  • International Reading Association
  • State of Maryland Research Association
  • Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development