Date of Award

7-26-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Publisher

Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2026

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Abstract

Black women in special education often engage in othermothering, a culturally grounded practice of care, advocacy, protection, and relational responsibility that extends beyond formal teaching duties. While existing research has documented the importance of Black women educators and the tradition of Black Othermothering, limited scholarship has examined how these experiences operate within special education or how they affect the mental health and wellbeing of Black women educators. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Black women who identify as Othermothers in special education and to examine how engaging in othermothering impacts their mental health and well-being.

Guided by the conceptual frameworks of Intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1989) and Black Othermothering (Collins, 2000), this study employed Black feminist–womanist storytelling (Baker-Bell, 2017) as its methodological approach. Participants included three Black women special educators, along with the researcher as a participant-researcher. Data were collected through reflective journaling, semi-structured interviews, and a culminating sista circle. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis with elements of constant comparative analysis.

Four themes emerged from the data: (a) Othermothering as an Identity, Calling, and Cultural Practice; (b) Othermothering as Expansive, Unbounded, and Racialized Labor; (c) Boundary Formation and the Evolution of Sustainable Care; and (d) Rest, Pleasure, and Self- Preservation as Resistance. Findings revealed that participants experienced othermothering as a deeply embedded aspect of identity that shaped their relationships, advocacy, and professional practice. Participants also described navigating significant emotional labor, racialized expectations, institutional challenges, and the pressures of disability advocacy within special education settings. At the same time, community, sisterhood, and culturally affirming spaces emerged as critical sources of healing and sustainability.

This study contributes to the literature by deepening understanding of how Black women in special education experience and make meaning of othermothering, highlighting the invisible labor educational systems often depend upon and emphasizing the need for collective approaches to educator well-being and support.

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