Faheemah N. Mustafaa
Assistant Professor
Dr. Faheemah N. Mustafaa joined the School of Education in 2019 as an Assistant Professor in Learning and Mind Sciences and is a member of the Human Development Graduate Group. Trained as a psychologist, her scholarly work centers on improving student experiences across the lifespan (K-20), with particular emphasis on middle childhood and adolescent development across diverse contexts, including schools, out-of-school programs, and family settings. To do so, she employs multiple methods (quantitative and qualitative), evaluation approaches, and community-engaged partnerships to collaboratively impact students’ learning experiences.
Dr. Mustafaa is driven by a passion for mentoring and supporting others’ life journeys. A former middle school science teacher, she greatly enjoys partnering with adolescents to imagine and pursue paths toward their highest potential. Beyond work, she finds joy in travel, nature, foodie-ism, and quality time with loved ones.
Prior to joining the School of Education faculty, Dr. Mustafaa was a postdoctoral researcher in Social-Personality Psychology at University of California, Berkeley. In that role, she worked with multiple school districts around the nation to conduct applied social-psychological research addressing racial disparities in K-12 students’ academic and behavioral outcomes. Before that, she conducted postdoctoral research in teaching and learning at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development, where she focused on understanding the career aspirations and experiences of doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars in STEM.
Dr. Mustafaa earned her Ph.D. in the Combined Program in Education and Psychology and M.A. in Higher Education, both from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her interdisciplinary research primarily focuses on:
- Understanding and supporting the academic performance and holistic well-being of Black/African American youth and other youth with historically marginalized identities
- Studying the identity-related beliefs and pedagogies of K-12 and postsecondary educators
Dr. Mustafaa is currently considering Ph.D. applicants and undergraduate research interns to join her lab. Interested students should email her with a resume/curriculum vitae and brief (three-to-five-sentence) statement of interest. Students should follow up after two weeks if a response is not received.
Education
Ph.D. Combined Program in Education and Psychology
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
M.A. Higher and Postsecondary Education, Public Policy concentration
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
B.S. Biobehavioral Health, cum laude; Psychology minor
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Research Interests
- Teacher identity, beliefs, and perceptions
- Teacher-student relationships
- Race/ethnicity, gender, and schooling
- Quantitative and qualitative methods
- Evaluation and intervention research
- Equity in K-12 and higher education
Publications
Journal Articles
Pusey, T. S.G, Patterson Williams, A., Mustafaa, F. N., Brown, A. S.G, Finno, C.,
Mustafaa, F. N., Guzman, L.G, Moua, C.G, Coleman, C. W.G, & Patterson Williams, A. (2025). On “nature” and “nurture”: Black educators’ backgrounds, teacher education experiences, and race-related pedagogical beliefs. Teaching and Teacher Education, 154, 104840.
Mustafaa, F. N. (2023). Black educators’ racial identity attitudes and culturally relevant pedagogy: A psychological framework and survey of within-race diversity. American Educational Research Journal, 60(5), 847–881.
Mustafaa, F. N., & Martinez, M. N.G (2022). A visionary working model for pursuing social justice praxis through educational psychology courses. Teaching of Psychology, 50(2), 191–197.
Cole-Lewis, Y., Hope, E., Mustafaa, F. N., & Jagers, R. J. (2021). Incongruent impressions: Teacher, parent, and student perceptions of two Black boys’ school experiences. Journal of Adolescent Research, 38(3), 391–422.
Williams, K. L., Mustafaa, F. N., & Burt, B. (2019). Black males and early math achievement: An examination of students’ strengths and role strain with policy implications. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 25(4), 325–352.
Sealy-Jefferson, S., Mustafaa, F. N., & Misra, D. (2019). Early-life neighborhood context, perceived stress, and preterm birth in African Americans. SSM- Population Health, 7, 1–6.
McGee, E. O., Houston, S. L. IIG, Mustafaa, F. N., Botchway, P.G, & Naphan, D. E. (2019). Turned off from an academic career: Engineering and computing doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers and the reasons for their dissuasion. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 14, 277–305.
Carter, R., Mustafaa, F. N., Leath, S., & Butler-Barnes, S. (2018). Teachers’ academic and behavioral expectations and girls’ pubertal development: Does the classroom learning environment matter? Social Psychology of Education, 21(4), 973–1000.
Sealy-Jefferson, S., Roseland, M., Cote, M. L., Lehman, A. M., Whitsel, E. A., Mustafaa, F. N., Booza, J., & Simon, M. S. (2018). Rural-urban residence and stage at breast cancer diagnosis among postmenopausal women: The Women’s Health Initiative. Journal of Women’s Health, 28(2), 276–283.
Mustafaa, F. N., Lozada, F., Channey, J.G, Skoog-Hoffman, A., & Jagers, R. J. (2017). Perceptions of teaching practices, teacher support, and school engagement among middle school students: An examination of the Developmental Designs approach. Middle Grades Research Journal, 11(2), 83–98.
Carter, R., Mustafaa, F. N., & Leath, S. (2017). Teachers’ expectations of girls’ classroom performance and behavior: Effects of girls’ race and pubertal timing. Journal of Early Adolescence, 38(7), 885–907.
Richardson, B. L., Macon, T. A., Mustafaa, F. N., Bogan, E. D., Cole-Lewis, Y., & Chavous, T. M. (2014). Associations of racial discrimination and parental discrimination coping messages with African American adolescent racial identity. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(6), 1301–1317.
Book Chapters
Jagers, R., Mustafaa, F. N., & Noel, B. (2017). Cultural integrity and African American empowerment: Insights and practical implications for community psychology. Invited chapter in In M. A. Bond, I. Serrano-García, C. B. Keys, & M. Shinn (Eds.), APA handbook of community psychology: Methods for community research and action for diverse groups and issues (pp. 459–474). American Psychological Association.
*Chavous, T., Drotar, S., Fonseca-Bolorin, G., Leath, S., F., Lyons, D., & Mustafaa, F. (2016). Identity, motivation, and resilience: The example of Black college students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In J. DeCuir-Gunby & P. Schutz (Eds.), Race and ethnicity in the study of motivation in education (pp. 117–132). Routledge.
Note: *All authors contributed equally and are listed alphabetically.
Reports, Policy Briefs, and Commentaries
Mustafaa, F. N., Rico, T. C.G, & Jones, K. M.U (2025). Black girl brilliance: Using data to catalyze change for California’s Black girls. EdTrust-West, Oakland.
Diaz, M. X.S, Mustafaa, F. N., Moua, C. V.G, Grant, M. J.S, Inverness Research, Inc., & Cheng, H. H. (2025). The Ujima GIRL Project, Impact Report: 2021-2025.
Media coverage: UC Davis News, UC Davis College of Engineering, among others.
Taylor, A. N., Mustafaa, F. N., & Christensen, C. (2017). Diversity within diversity: The varied experiences of Asian and Asian American law students. Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research.
Mustafaa, F. N. (2013, November 26). Pursuing racial equity in evaluation practice. Invited guest post to the American Evaluation Association’s blog, AEA365.
G: Graduate student co-author.
U: Undergraduate student co-author.
S: University staff co-author.
C: Community partner co-author.
Fellowships and Honors
2025: Awardee, UC Davis School of Education Faculty Mentorship Award
2024: Honorable Mention, UC Davis Graduate Studies Distinguished Graduate and Postdoctoral Mentoring Award
2021: Awardee, UC Davis School of Education Faculty Mentorship Award
2019: Faculty Scholar, UC Davis Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives in the Social Sciences and Humanities (CAMPSSAH)
Professional Affiliations
American Educational Research Association
Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race (APA Division 45)
