Consulting

  • School Curriculum and Instruction

  • School Culture and Climate

  • Healthcare Systems

School Curriculum & Instruction

Ayo Magwood was recognized as a leading expert on social justice education in a 2023 Harvard Educational Review article. She developed a set of principles and resources that focus on teaching about the historical and economic context of societal inequities, rather than on interpersonal bias or privilege. Some of her strategies are featured in this 2022 Psychology Today blog. Here is a sample of her extensive set of educator resources.

Her ProEquity model is an instructional framework for teaching about historical and structural racism that develops an “honest and appreciative” view of U.S. history, fosters civic deliberation, and builds a “we” classroom identity:

  1. Distinguish between empirical questions about racism (e.g. structural racism) that are not up for debate, vs. policy questions (e.g. affirmative action) which should be deliberated across the ideological continuum.

  2. Design data inquiries to help students assess the empirical evidence on structural racism (“show, don’t tell”) and trace the throughlines from historical to contemporary structural racism.

  3. Frame policy issues as “value tensions” to foster openness to differing viewpoints, develop civic reasoning skills, and encourage an “honest yet appreciative” view of the United States.

  4. Use an understanding of social psychology principles to develop student psychological flexibility and foster a ‘we’ classroom identity that is conscious of subgroup differences.

School Culture & Climate

Ayo Magwood supports her clients’ efforts to “fix systems, rather than individuals” by identifying the root causes of equity and inclusions challenges and addressing them with data-driven and evidence-based strategies. 

Guiding principles:

  • Fixing systems, rather than individuals

  • Preventing biased behavior, rather than biased thoughts

  • Identifying and addressing root causes

  • Fostering a “we” identity that is conscious of subgroup differences

Healthcare Systems

Ayo Magwood helps healthcare institutions to identify the specific pathways through which structural racism impacts health disparities in their catchment area, and to use this insight to address health disparities. Sample slide deck.

Informing healthcare practices with an understanding of the structural factors that impact health outcomes can help healthcare systems do their jobs better and more effectively. Studies suggest that greater health equity would yield substantial savings for healthcare systems.