Along with his career in education, Dr. Jason Rawls has worked as a DJ and hip-hop producer for over 20 years.
Ohio University’s Patton College of Education is implementing the first ever hip-hop based education program that will help prepare pre-service teachers to incorporate culturally relevant pedagogy into their own teaching styles.
The innovative and progressive program known as Hip-Hop OHIO Patton Education (HOPE) is led by program coordinator and longtime hip-hop producer Dr. Jason Rawls.
Hip-Hop Based Education (HHBE) teaches the value of incorporating hip-hop-based education, culturally relevant pedagogy, and relational pedagogy into the classroom to build healthy and affirming relationships while bettering engagement with students. Although this type of programming has been taught before, according to Rawls, this is the first time it will be incorporated into a College of Education’s Teacher Education program.