![April-Louise Pennant](https://profiles-cardiff.imgix.net/attachments/5966?w=200&h=200&auto=format&crop=faces&fit=crop&q=90")
Overview
** ANNOUNCEMENT**
My new book Babygirl, you've got this! Experiences of Black Girls and Women in the English education system is AVAILABLE NOW to order !!
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As a sociologist specialising in education and social justice, I focus on how various identities such as social class, gender, ethnicity, culture, and race intersect to shape individuals' experiences, interactions, and societal navigation. Recently, I've embarked on historical, heritage, and memory research supported by the Leverhulme Trust as an early career fellow.
My belief in the transformative potential of education drives my efforts to ensure that curricula embrace diverse narratives and histories, fostering a sense of belonging and appreciation for different community contributions to society. Moreover, I strive to empower all students with the knowledge and resources to navigate the education system effectively.
Centring on marginalised communities, my research integrates their experiential knowledge with theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence to illuminate alternative narratives. Through critical and creative methodologies, I aim to critique the unequal structures within education and society, thereby advancing empathy and social justice.
Specifically, my work sheds light on intersecting barriers, social injustices, and challenges faced by Black communities, with a particular focus on girls, women, enslaved Africans, and their descendants. I also highlight their resilience and innovative strategies for navigating the education system and society, despite numerous obstacles.
Ultimately, my research challenges existing structures by questioning who is (un)seen and (un)heard, and who holds power, while striving to shift these dynamics in favour of equity and inclusion.
Profile image credit: Fatima Halidou
Publication
2024
- Pennant, A. 2024. Why the ‘P’ in PhD stands for (Black) Power. In: Ackah, W. et al. eds. The Black PhD Experience: Stories of Strength, Courage and Wisdom in UK Academia. Bristol: Policy Press
- Pennant, A. 2024. Babygirl, you've got this! Experiences of black girls and women in the English education system. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
- Pennant, A. and Handford, M. 2024. 'The discursive construction of Black British women graduates' in-groups and out-groups: A corpus-informed intersectional analysis. Corpora
2023
- Pennant, A. 2023. Rebuking the 'Work Twice as Hard for Half as Much' mentality among Black girls and women. In: Lessard-Phillips, L. et al. eds. Migration, Displacement and Diversity: The IRiS anthology. Oxford Publishing Services, pp. 138.
2022
- Pennant, A. 2022. Who's checkin' for Black girls and women in the "pandemic within a pandemic"? COVID-19, Black Lives Matter and educational implications. Educational Review 74(3), pp. 534-557. (10.1080/00131911.2021.2023102)
- Pennant, A. 2022. Migration narratives: diverging stories in schools, churches, and civic institutions [Book Review]. Immigrants and Minorities 40(3), pp. 380-382. (10.1080/02619288.2022.2067694)
2021
- Pennant, A. and Hannagan-Lewis, I. 2021. Running against the wind: Report on Black Lives Matter and staff experiences of race, gender & intersectionality in the Welsh Government. Project Report. [Online]. Cardiff: Welsh Government. Available at: https://www.gov.wales/running-against-the-wind-2022
- Pennant, A. M. 2021. My journey into the ‘heart of whiteness’ whilst remaining my authentic (Black) self. Educational Philosophy and Theory 53(3), pp. 245–256. (10.1080/00131857.2020.1769602)
2019
- Pennant, A. M. 2019. Intersectional identities within black British women’s educational experiences and journeys, role of. In: Peters, M. A. and Arday, J. eds. Encyclopedia of Teacher Education. Singapore: Springer, (10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_373-1)
2018
- Pennant, A. and Sigona, N. 2018. Black history is still largely ignored, 70 years after Empire Windrush reached Britain. The Conversation
Articles
- Pennant, A. and Handford, M. 2024. 'The discursive construction of Black British women graduates' in-groups and out-groups: A corpus-informed intersectional analysis. Corpora
- Pennant, A. 2022. Who's checkin' for Black girls and women in the "pandemic within a pandemic"? COVID-19, Black Lives Matter and educational implications. Educational Review 74(3), pp. 534-557. (10.1080/00131911.2021.2023102)
- Pennant, A. 2022. Migration narratives: diverging stories in schools, churches, and civic institutions [Book Review]. Immigrants and Minorities 40(3), pp. 380-382. (10.1080/02619288.2022.2067694)
- Pennant, A. M. 2021. My journey into the ‘heart of whiteness’ whilst remaining my authentic (Black) self. Educational Philosophy and Theory 53(3), pp. 245–256. (10.1080/00131857.2020.1769602)
- Pennant, A. and Sigona, N. 2018. Black history is still largely ignored, 70 years after Empire Windrush reached Britain. The Conversation
Book sections
- Pennant, A. 2024. Why the ‘P’ in PhD stands for (Black) Power. In: Ackah, W. et al. eds. The Black PhD Experience: Stories of Strength, Courage and Wisdom in UK Academia. Bristol: Policy Press
- Pennant, A. 2023. Rebuking the 'Work Twice as Hard for Half as Much' mentality among Black girls and women. In: Lessard-Phillips, L. et al. eds. Migration, Displacement and Diversity: The IRiS anthology. Oxford Publishing Services, pp. 138.
- Pennant, A. M. 2019. Intersectional identities within black British women’s educational experiences and journeys, role of. In: Peters, M. A. and Arday, J. eds. Encyclopedia of Teacher Education. Singapore: Springer, (10.1007/978-981-13-1179-6_373-1)
Books
- Pennant, A. 2024. Babygirl, you've got this! Experiences of black girls and women in the English education system. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
Monographs
- Pennant, A. and Hannagan-Lewis, I. 2021. Running against the wind: Report on Black Lives Matter and staff experiences of race, gender & intersectionality in the Welsh Government. Project Report. [Online]. Cardiff: Welsh Government. Available at: https://www.gov.wales/running-against-the-wind-2022
Research
I am currently working on the Leverhulme Trust funded project : The source of the stream: centring the enslaved Africans who built Penrhyn Castle | The Leverhulme Trust
Previously, as part of my Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) postdoctoral fellowship, I worked on the project: Understanding to Overstand the education system: The educational journeys and experiences of Black British women graduates.
I am a Research Associate at the Chair for Critical Studies in Higher Education Transformation (CriSHET) at the Nelson Mandela University in South Africa. I am also a Honorary Research Associate at Bangor University's School of History, Law and Social Sciences. Additionally, I am a member of the GW4/National Trust partnership's expert Community of Practice (CoP), working with specific National Trust properties under the theme of Colonial Connections.
My research interests include:
- Social justice
- Educational inequalities
- Education policy
- Workplace inequalities
- Workplace policy
- Race, ethnicity, culture, gender and social class / Intersectionality
- Black Feminist Theory and Epistemology
- Black Girlhood Studies
- Black British and Black diasporic identities and intersections
- Anti-Black racism
- Bourdieu's Theory of Practice
- Critical Race Theory
- BlackCrit
- Memory
- History
- Heritage
Teaching
Previous teaching
- Year 2 undergraduate module: Education Policy and Social Justice, University of Birmingham (2018)
- The Birmingham Project, University of Birmingham (2017)
I am also an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA)
Biography
Honours and awards
- Honarary Research Associate in the School of History, Law and Social Sciences, Bangor University (2023)
- The Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship (2022)
- Research Associate at the Chair for Critical Studies in Higher Education Transformation (CriSHET) at the Nelson Mandela University in South Africa (2022)
- Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Cardiff University (2021)
- Welsh Government 'Valuing Diversity' Award (2021)
- WeAreTheCity and The Times and The Sunday Times 'Rising Star' Award in the Education & Academia category (2019)
- Westmere Scholar for the College of Social Sciences at the University of Birmingham (2018)
- Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) 1+3 Award at the University of Birmingham (2015)
- Outstanding International/Multicultural Initiative of the Year at the University of Kent's Student Awards (2015)
- Student of the Year at the University of Kent's Students Awards (2015)
Professional memberships
- African Carribean Research Collective
- Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA)
- British Academy Early Career Researcher Network
- Learned Society of Wales Early Career Network
- British Art Network (BAN)
- British Sociological Association
Academic positions
- 2023- present: Honarary Research Associate, School of History, Law and Social Sciences, Bangor University
- 2022- present: Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, Cardiff University
- 2021 - 2022: ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow, Cardiff University
Speaking engagements
- Exploring Histories of Labour: inclusive heritage and collaboration, Being Human Festival, Amgueddfa Cymru | Museum Wales (2023)
- Centring the enslaved Africans who built Penrhyn castle: Curating with care, diverse histories and visitors in mind, National Trust Curating Our Cultural Heritage 2023 & beyond Conference, MShed (2023)
- Black History Month Exhibition '50 Plaques & Places', The Tabernacle (2023)
- Mapping race, anti-racism and legacies of empire in Aberystwyth, Online (2023)
- Black Atlantic, BBC Arts & Ideas (2023) Listen here.
- Dr April-Louise Pennant, The British Academy Early Career Researcher Network Research Cafe - Cardiff Special, sbarc|spark, Cardiff University (2023)
- Centring the source of the stream & strengthening global connections in the heritage sector, INTO Global connections workshop, Bath Assembly rooms (2023)
- A Work in progress: Centing the enslaved Africans who built Penrhyn castle, Memory Studies Association Conference, Transgenerational memory, education, museums and activism session, Newcastle (2023)
- Research-in-progress- The Source of the Stream: centring the enslaved Africans who built Penrhyn castle, Amgueddfa Cymru | Museum Wales' lunchtime seminar series (2023)
- Mapping Out the all the Black in the Union Jack: Being a Black woman scholar-activist in modern Britain, Black Europe Summer School, the Netherlands (2022)
- How to be a Transformer in educational spaces and places, University of Kent (2022)
- Penrhyn Castle & the Pennants - a Personal Journey by Dr April-Louise Pennant, Black History Cymru 365 (2021)
- Promoting An Anti-Racist Wales: Lessons from Running Against the Wind, Race Council Cymru (2021)
- Black women in education, Wales & reparations, Surviving Society Podcast (2021)
- Stories of our times: The legacy of Penrhyn Castle (Pt 1, 2 and 3), The Times Podcast (2021)
- Respecting Race in the Workplace, Llywodraeth Cymru / Welsh Government Podcast (2021)
- Black bodies in white educational spaces, Bristol Conversations in Education research seminar series (2021)
- #NavigatingInSilence: Black British Women in education and the workplace, Centre On The Dynamics Of Ethnicity (CoDE) webinar (2021)
Some of these speaking engagements, along with others are available to be listened to on my personal website here.
Committees and reviewing
- 2022- 2023: SOCSI Ethics Committee
- 2021- 2022: The Migration, Ethnicity, Race and Diversity (MEAD) Research Group
Contact Details
+44 29208 70911
Glamorgan Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff, CF10 3WA
Research themes
Specialisms
- Memory
- Critical heritage, museum and archive studies
- Social Justice
- Black studies
- Culture, representation and identity
