Summary
As a former teacher, special educator and governmental education researcher, my scholarly interests are driven by real-world inequities I have witnessed and studied. My research is situated at the intersection of early childhood education, special education, disability studies, sociology of education, educational leadership and implementation science. I use critical qualitative and mixed-method approaches to examine how policy and practice interact with systems of power, particularly racism, ableism and linguicism, to shape the experiences of young children and their families navigating special education systems.
My research agenda is organized around three interrelated aims: investigating the sociocultural mechanisms that shape family engagement; examining the racialization of special education; and lastly, exploring the role of teacher-educators in the reproduction or disruption of inequality. Together, these strands are unified by a focus on the structural and social processes that affect the educational trajectories of young children at the margins of disability, race, ethnicity, language and socioeconomic status. I bring families, educators and administrators into view, attending to practices, policies and possibilities for transformative change.
Education
- Ph.D.., Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education Leadership Program, University of Oregon, United States
- M.A., Early Intervention, University of Oregon, United States
- Licenciatura in Educational and Clinical Psychology, Universidad Rafael Landívar, Guatemala
- Profesorado in Special Education, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala