Theresa Y. Austin, Professor
B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, 1976
M.A., 1980; Ph.D., 1991

Professional Interests

Bilingualism Through Second and Foreign Language Education; Sociocultural Issues in Second Language Learning; Language and Literacy Policy and Planning; Cross-Cultural Pragmatics; Technology-Assisted Language Learning; Bilingual, Second and World Language Teacher Education; ESL/Bilingual Testing and Evaluation.

Maria José Botelho, Assistant Professor
B.A., University of Massachusetts Amherst (Elementary Education), 1984
B.A., (Cultural Anthropology), 1996
M.Ed., (Reading and Writing), 1996
Ed.D., (Language, Literacy, and Culture), 2004

Phone: 413-545-1110
E-Mail: mbotelho@educ.umass.edu

Professional Interests

Critical literacies; the possibilities and challenges of multiliteracies pedagogies; critical multicultural analysis of children’s and young adult literature; critical collaborative inquiry as professional learning; and rethinking school literacy practices through the exploration and convergence of critical literacies, multiliteracies, and Waldorf language arts practices.

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Meg L. Gebhard, Associate Professor
B.A., New York at Binghamton, 1986
M.A., Syracuse, 1989
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 1999

Phone: 413-577-0863
E-Mail: gebhard@educ.umass.edu

Professional Interests

Meg Gebhard’s research agenda centers on understanding second language literacy development, teachers’ professional development, and the discourses of educational reform in the United States. Her work is informed by an institutional perspective of second language learning with a focus on analyzing how classroom practices shape and are shaped by the contexts of public schooling in the United States, particularly schools engaged in reform efforts.

Denise K. Ives, Assistant Professor
B.S., Brigham Young University, 1994
M.A., Saginaw Valley State University, 2002
Ph.D., Michigan State University, 2008

Phone: 413-545-0660
E-Mail: dives@educ.umass.edu

Professional Interests

Literacy Education, Multiliteracies, African American Language, Critical Sociocultural Theory, and Ethnographic and Case Study Methodology.

Nelida Matos, Lecturer and Coordinator of the ESL/Reading Licensure Program

B.A., Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, 1973
M.A., (Reading and Multicultural Education), 1998
Ed.D., University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2008

Phone: 413-545-7044
E-mail: nmatos@educ.umass.edu

Professional Interests

Parental involvement and home-school partnerships, critical literacy, and multicultural education.

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Elizabeth McEneaney, Assistant Professor
B.A., (Mathematics) Carleton College, 1983
M.A., (Mathematics Education) Western Governor’s University, 2012
M.A., (Sociology) Stanford University, 1998
Ph.D., Stanford University, 1998

Phone: 413-545-0529
E-Mail: emcenean@educ.umass.edu

Professional Interests

Sociology of education, program evaluation and the use of data by school administrators and teachers , educational policy, urban education, the charter school movement, the role of community and non-profit organizations in supporting schooling and child well-being, authentic assessment, research methods and statistics.

Kysa Nygreen, Assistant Professor
B.A., Barnard College, 1997
M.A., University of California, Berkeley, 2001
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2005

Phone: 413-545-0541
E-Mail: knygreen@educ.umass.edu

Professional Interests

Equity in Education; Race/Ethnicity; Alternative High Schools; Undocumented Students; Paticipatory Action Research; Ethnography.

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Marie-Christine Polizzi, Lecturer and Advisor for ESL Licensure Program

B.S., Psychology, Universite de Toulouse Le Mirail, France, 1997
M.S., Social & Organizational Psychology, Universite de Toulouse, 1998
M.A., Hispanic Literature and Linguistics, Purdue University, 2005
PhD candidate, Spanish Applied Linguistics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2006-present

Phone: (413) 545-3675
E-Mail: mpolizzi@educ.umass.edu

Professional Interests

Applied and Educational Linguistics, Sociocultural Theory (Vygotskyan Framework) and Critical Sociocultural Theories applied to L2 Learning/Teaching, Bi- and Multilingualism, SLA, L2 development, Concept-Based Pedagogy, Dynamic Assessment.

Masha Kabakow Rudman, Professor Emerita
B.A., Hunter, 1953
M.S., 1956
Ed.D., University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1970

Phone: 413-545-1116
E-Mail: rudman@educ.umass.edu

Professional Interests

Issues in Children's Literature; Critical Multicultural Analysis of Children's Literature; Helping Children Cope with Loss/Bibliotherapy; Elementary Teacher
Education; Curriculum Integration; Multicultural Education.

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K.C. Nat Turner, Assistant Professor
B.A., Brown University, 1999
Ed.M., Harvard University, 2001
Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2008

Phone: 413-577-0497
E-Mail: nturner@educ.umass.edu

Professional Interests

Multimodal media production in the development of multiliteracies (especially critical media literacies);language and literacy practices of culturally and linguistically diverse urban adolescents (particularly African Americans) in school and non-school settings; racial justice/reparations in education; hip hop studies; community/school/university collaboration.

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Laura A. Valdiviezo, Assistant Professor
B.A., Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, 1993
M.A., Clark University, 1996
Ed.D., Teachers College, Columbia University, 2006

Phone: 413-545-7043
E-Mail: lav@educ.umass.edu
Office Hours: Thursdays, 4:00-6:00 p.m.

Professional Interests

Teachers' implementations of educational policy, in particular on their interpretations of language policy and policy that affirms multicultural education and diversity in schools. The research takes a socio-cultural approach to study the implementation of policy and conceives teachers as political actors who can inform both policy and practice. This research analyzes teachers' beliefs and practices in educational settings that host culturally and linguistically diverse students.

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Jerri Willett, Professor
Department Chair
B.A., Florida, 1967
M.A., San Francisco, 1971
M.Ed., Hong Kong, 1980
Ph.D., Stanford, 1987

Phone: 413-545-0246
E-Mail: willett@educ.umass.edu

Professional Interests

Second Language and Literacy Socialization; Home/School Connections; Second Language Teacher Education; Ethnographic Research Methods; Content Instruction for Second Language Development.

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