Larissa Malone Edits Book on Classroom Management

Larissa Malone, associate professor at the Watson College, is co-editor of Decolonizing Classroom Management: A Critical Examination of the Cultural Assumptions and Norms in Traditional Practices. The book was published by Rowman & Littlefield in October.

Decolonizing Classroom Management introduces a framework for critically examining the cultural assumptions and norms embedded in traditional classroom management practices. The book helps educators and teacher educators orient toward liberation through questioning assumptive language, challenging popular classroom management models, and offering promising practices to create positive learning environments. The final section provides practices that can guide educators who aim to create thriving learning environments.

"The intent of the book is to ensure that all children, especially minoritized children, are seen as more than something to 'manage',” Dr. Malone said. “It was an honor to support talented academics from around the world in this quest to spread humanity, love, and a sense of community across classrooms through their scholarship."

"In this collection of highly readable essays, authors deconstruct prevailing systems that are rooted in whiteness and control. Using stories from their own practices, authors show what decolonized classroom management looks and feels like to both students and teachers," Christine Sleeter, professor emerita, California State University Monterey Bay wrote in a review.

About the Editors

Larissa Malone is an associate professor of Social & Cultural Foundations at UNCW’s Watson College of Education. She joined WCE in 2023 from the University of Southern Maine, where she was an Associate Professor and Chair of the Teacher Education Department. Her research centers on the minoritized experience in schooling.

Her co-editor, Flynn Ross, has worked in hundreds of classrooms across the United States as a teacher and teacher educator for over 30 years. Dr. Ross currently serves as Professor and Department Chair of Teacher Education at the University of Southern Maine.