Assistant Professor, Education Policy, Organization and Leadership
340 Education Building
(mail code 708)
Champaign (UIUC Campus Mail), IL 61820
Adeoye Adeyemo, a University of Illinois alum and a former collegiate scholar-athlete. He received his B.S. in Finance and M.A in Education from the University of Illinois, and received his PhD. from the University of Georgia in Social Foundations of Education. He is currently an Assistant Visiting Professor in the Education Policy and Organizational Leadership Department in the College of Education at the University of Illinois.
Adeyemo has also presented iterations of these papers at the American Sociological Association, North American Society for the Sociology of Sport, and at the American Education Research Association conferences, where his work on Black males who play high school sports is uniquely positioned to lead an expansion of research that provides in-depth analysis of their experiences, beliefs, and aspirations. Beyond understanding the experiences, beliefs, aspirations and the role of race in Black male students’ lives, Adeyemo’s future research endeavors will examine the experiences of female students who play sports, and the experiences of Black male athletes in countries such as Nigeria and other African nations, in order to more broadly engage Black males who play sports, in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields. Moreover, his research will address the mental health implications of participating in football and the impact on the social determinate of health.
When researching, speaking and teaching about the issues facing urban communities and schools, Adeyemo uses his multiple identities (e.g., former college football player, Black male, sibling, former financial advisor, former Southside Chicago resident, researcher and scholar, to forge positive and impactful relationships with Black youth and other youth of color.
Adeyemo's research centers on understanding the experiences of Black adolescents who play sports and how their neighborhood, schooling, social and cultural forces may shape their aspirations and perceptions towards athletics and academics. He has recently published articles for the Urban Education and The Urban Review. His articles offer the scholar and research communities, empirical research that highlights Critical Race Theory as well as place, as an important but often neglected concept in understanding the experiences of Black male high school students who play sports. These studies also utilize interview and observation methods to illustrate how Black students’ beliefs and aspirations were shaped within their neighborhood and school contexts.
Adeyemo, A. O. (2023). Black on Both Sides: Toward an Understanding of the Athletic and Career Aspirations of Black Males who Play Sports. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 47(2), 126-157. link >
Adeyemo, A. O. (2022). Place, Race, and Sports: Examining the Beliefs and Aspirations of Motivated Black Male Students Who Play High School Sports. Urban Education, 57(1), 154-183. link >
Adeyemo, A. (2021). Toward Exodus from Bondage: Examining Resourcefulness of an Academically and Athletically High-Achieving Black Male Student who Plays High School Football. Urban Review, 53(3), 383-402. link >
Adeyemo, A. O., & Morris, J. E. (2020). Researching the neighborhood and schooling experiences of Black male high-school “students-who-play-sports” in Atlanta and Chicago. Teachers College Record, 122(8), 169-203.
Morris, J. E., & Adeyemo, A. O. (2012). Touchdowns and Honor Societies: Expanding the Focus of Black Male Excellence. Phi Delta Kappan, 93(5), 28-32. link >
CI 550: Methods of Educational Inquiry (CI 550) Offers a graduate-level introduction to research in education, including quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods designs and approaches. Key concepts include: identifying a research problem, reviewing the literature, design and analysis, communicating evidence, and the ethics of research. Students should gain the ability to effectively evaluate and critique design/methods sections of research publications; plan and design research studies; and organize a presentation of research to an audience of peers.
EPOL 412: Politics of Education (EPOL 412) Overview of the political structure and processes through which many of the major issues in education are treated; analyzes nature of the policymaking process in education and discusses the roles of principal participants in the process of educational decision making, but focuses on fundamental recurring issues in education and the ways these issues have been resolved or not resolved by the overall system. Particular attention to the role that both the federal and state judiciary as well as legislative authority have had in shaping educational policy.
EPOL 517: Race, Gender and Sexuality Issues (EPOL 517) Examines contemporary theories of race, gender, class, and sexuality, as well as analyzing how their dynamics play out in U.S. public schooling and history. In an attempt to discuss a range of disciplinary and theoretical approaches to diversity, we will shift among historical, sociological, political, theoretical and pedagogical issues. Traces the place of diversity in forming notions of citizenship, community, identity, and political affiliation/alliance. While two extended examples will focus on the interplay of race, class, and gender in the school-based issues of drop out rates and gendered interactions in the classroom and playground, we will also consider contemporary theories of diversity in local and global contexts.
EPOL 550: Methods of Educational Inquiry (EPOL 550) Same as CI 550, EPSY 550, and SPED 550. See CI 550.
EPOL 590: Advanced Graduate Seminar (EPOL 590) Seminar in educational policy studies; sections offered in the following fields: (a) history of education; (b) philosophy of education; (c) comparative education; (d) social foundations of education; (e) philosophy of educational research; and (f) historical methods in education.
EPS 423: Politics of Education (EPS 423) Overview of the political structure and processes through which many of the major issues in education are treated; analyzes nature of the policymaking process in education and discusses the roles of principal participants in the process of educational decision making, but focuses on fundamental recurring issues in education and the ways these issues have been resolved or not resolved by the overall system. Particular attention to the role that both the federal and state judiciary as well as legislative authority have had in shaping educational policy. Same as EPOL 412. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.
EPS 536: Race, Gender and Sexuality Issues (EPS 536) Examines contemporary theories of race, gender, class, and sexuality, as well as analyzing how their dynamics play out in U.S. public schooling and history. In an attempt to discuss a range of disciplinary and theoretical approaches to diversity, we will shift among historical, sociological, political, theoretical and pedagogical issues. Traces the place of diversity in forming notions of citizenship, community, identity, and political affiliation/alliance. While two extended examples will focus on the interplay of race, class, and gender in the school-based issues of drop out rates and gendered interactions in the classroom and playground, we will also consider contemporary theories of diversity in local and global contexts. Same as EPOL 517. 4 graduate hours. No professional credit. Prerequisite: Acceptance into the Master of Education with an emphasis on Diversity and Equity in Education Program or instructor approval.
EPS 590: Advanced Graduate Seminar (EPS 590) Seminar in educational policy studies; sections offered in the following fields: (a) history of education; (b) philosophy of education; (c) comparative education; (d) social foundations of education; (e) philosophy of educational research; and (f) historical methods in education.
EPSY 550: Methods of Educational Inquiry (EPSY 550) Same as CI 550, ERAM 550, and SPED 550. See CI 550.
SPED 550: Methods of Educational Inquiry (SPED 550) Same as CI 550, EPSY 550, and ERAM 550. See CI 550.