Communal Healing as Pedagogy: Integrating Black Male Studies and Cultural Betrayal Trauma Theory to Reimagine Learning in Higher Education

Abstract Book of the 10th International Academic Conference on Education

Year: 2026

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Communal Healing as Pedagogy: Integrating Black Male Studies and Cultural Betrayal Trauma Theory to Reimagine Learning in Higher Education

Demere Coker

ABSTRACT:

Higher education institutions continue to struggle to provide a sense of belonging for diverse populations. In the absence of representation, innovative ideas are hindered from emerging in homogeneous environments with limited knowledge of diverse lived experiences. Black men and Black women experience a distinct yet interconnecting form of systemic oppression, institutional betrayal, and mistrust. This paper explores how integrating Black Male Studies and Cultural Betrayal Trauma Theory can aid in communal healing in higher education institutions that have long championed division and separation.
This conceptual paper synthesizes research on theoretical frameworks, integrating Black Male Studies and Cultural Betrayal Trauma Theory within Transformative Learning Theory. The framework examines how survival-based coping , adultification , racialized surveillance, and intra-cultural betrayal affect the scope of what Black men and Black women can fully offer higher education. This study draws on practice-based examples and a dialogic methodological framework that centers on critical reflection and meaning-making. Intertwining Transformative Learning Theory, Black Male Studies, and Cultural Betrayal Trauma Theory positions communal healing as a collaborative learning practice, which will aid in improving higher education institutions.
The analysis reveals that when cultural component frameworks, such as Black Males Studies and Cultural Betrayal Trauma Theory, are aligned with Transformative Learning Theory, they provide Black men and Black women with a sense of safety. Safety fosters the restoration of trust and promotes shared accountability, ultimately leading to communal healing. Narrative dialogue, critical reflection, and culturally grounded group engagement emerge as pedagogical techniques that foster innovative ideas rooted in resilience, belonging, and acceptance.
This paper argues that the inclusion and application of liberating frameworks can lead to global change by incorporating Black men’s and Black women’s experiences into peer relationships. Centering a learning environment that values lived experience and collective acknowledgement will advance innovation and belonging in higher education.

Keywords: Black Male Studies; Cultural Betrayal Trauma; Communal Healing; Transformative Learning; Higher Education