Kysa Nygreen

UMass Amherst Associate Professor Kysa Nygreen
Associate Professor
Department of Teacher Education & Curriculum Studies | College of Education
216 Furcolo Hall

2019-20 Scholars Project Title: Building Sustainable Ethnic Studies Programs in K-12 Settings

In recent years, a growing number of public schools have implemented Ethnic Studies courses for middle and high school students. These programs respond grassroots organizing by communities of color who are demanding schools that better reflect, affirm, and serve local communities. There is research evidence to support the benefits of Ethnic Studies in K-12 settings; however, these programs remain controversial. While academic and political debate has centered on making the case for (or against) Ethnic Studies, scholars have yet to tackle questions about how to build and sustain high-quality programs after they are established. This includes attention to the preparation, recruitment, support, and retention of teachers who are capable of teaching Ethnic Studies well. This is where my research seeks to contribute.

Selected Publications as of 2019:

  • Nygreen, K. (2013). These kids: Identity, agency, and social justice at a last chance high school. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  • Nygreen, K. (2018). Neoliberal reform and family engagement: An intersectional gender analysis. Policy Futures in Education
  • Nygreen, K. (2017). Troubling the discourse of both/and: Technologies of neoliberal governance in community-based educational spaces. Policy Futures in Education 15(2), 202-220.
  • Nygreen, K. (2017). Latina/o parent organizing for educational justice: Love, healing, and resistance. Journal of Latinos in Education, 1-13. [Published online 03 Feb. 2017]
  • Nygreen, K. (2017). Negotiating tensions: Grassroots organizing, school reform, and the paradox of neoliberal democracy. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 48(1), 42-60.
  • Nygreen, K. (2016). Competing paradigms of educational justice: Parent organizing for educational equity in a neoliberal reform context. Equity & Excellence in Education, 49(2), 202-214.