Transformative Work

Dr. Alex Kenney is a Race and Social Justice in Education Research Post-Doctoral Fellow in the GSE’s Department of Educational Psychology. Dr. Kenney is a scholar of race with an exacting focus on the experiences of Black collegians at Historically and Predominantly White Institutions (HPWI). He investigates blatant and surreptitious…

Dr. Travis Dumas is a Race and Social Justice in Education Research Post-Doctoral Fellow in the GSE’s Department of Learning and Teaching. Dr. Dumas’s research interests include anti-Black racism and schooling inequity; school climate and culture; student academic outcomes and opportunities; and culturally relevant pedagogy and practices. Can you tell…

Education is the opportunity to better oneself. That’s Sayuni Dias’ take. Sayuni was three years old when she immigrated from Sri Lanka with her family to the United States. She never knew her maternal grandmother, an English teacher. “Maybe it was just in my blood,” Sayuni said. Now Sayuni teaches…

“During my two years at the GSE, I felt guided and supported, and like I really grew within the program,” said Allyson Ferry, a 2023 dance education graduate from the Rutgers Graduate School of Education (GSE). Ever since she was in grade school, Allyson knew she wanted to teach dance….

Every teacher is a civic teacher. That’s what Dr. Nicole Mirra, Associate Professor of Urban Teacher Education at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education (GSE), and her longtime colleague Dr. Antero Garcia presented at the 2024 South by Southwest (SXSW) EDU Conference & Festival in Austin, Texas, on March 6….

Rasha Abadir loves problems. Particularly, math problems. As a young girl, she was fascinated by the variety of ways to solve them. Years later, Abadir’s love of problem-solving led her to pursue a degree in mathematics, and, ultimately, a career in education. “All students can learn math,” Abadir said. “That’s…

Rutgers Graduate School of Education (GSE) is pleased to announce that three of its faculty members, Dr. Marybeth Gasman, Dr. W. Steven Barnett, and Dr. Nicole Mirra, have been recognized amongst the top 200 education scholars in the country in the 2024 RHSU Edu-Scholars Public Influence Rankings.  From left to right: Dr. Marybeth…

In her 32 plus years as an educator, Dr. Wanda J. Blanchett has taught and inspired countless people, from her early career to her current position as Dean of Rutgers Graduate School of Education. Dr. Blanchett has learned her own lessons too. “The biggest lesson that I’ve learned is it’s…

As a child, Dr. Juail Goode played school in the summer. She lined up imaginary students in the long hallway of her Newark high-rise and then led them to lunch in her family’s kitchen. Dr. Goode made grade books by stapling blank pages she had ripped from real ledgers, given…

As a young girl, Pooja Rajan must have asked her father 50 questions a day. Now, she has cut it back to 20 daily questions for Dad, but friends still know her as the one who asks another question before the first one is answered. “It is just how I’ve…

Six years later, Sean Brown still remembers the call with a parent. The mother expected to hear something critical of her child, but Brown was checking in to say how well the student was doing. “She was crying, and she needed a moment because she was just so moved that…

Dr. Esther Ohito’s family culture influenced her to pursue education, and not just because several relatives were teachers. Instead, it was her father instilling a sense of curiosity in his daughter that sparked her career choices. “I remember being really young and reading the newspaper to my father. At the…