I am an associate professor in the School of Education at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, MO. I am also an affiliate faculty member with the Saint Louis University PRiME Center—which is a university supported research center focused on policy research in Missouri education.

Degrees

  • PhD, Social Studies Education, Graduate Certificate in Qualitative Studies and Research, University of Georgia

  • MA, Public Affairs, Georgia College and State University

  • BBA, Management, Mercer University

Practice Areas

  • History of Education | Race and Segregation in American Schooling (1954-1970)

  • Social Studies | Civic Education | Civic Mission of Schools

  • Policy and Policy Contexts of K-12 Schooling and Teacher Education

  • Qualitative Research Methods

Research Interests

The field of education consists of studying the complex and varying interactions that mediate and define teaching and learning. Because education in general and the act of schooling in specific are political, I believe that educational issues are best understood through studying the social, cultural, historical, and policy contexts that define them. These contexts bind what schooling can and cannot do. Accordingly, my research agenda focuses on uncovering and making sense of the relationships between schooling and the historical and political contexts that define schools. Specifically, I am interested in the following questions: Who is a good citizen? How do schools cultivate citizenship? In this sense, my scholarly identity is one of citizenship, citizen education, and the civic mission of schools.

My current research addresses the civic mission of schools through an analysis of white backlash politics. The white backlash is a politics of whiteness that pushes back against multicultural advancements in American society. It’s an expression of power. The white backlash works through social, political, and economic structures in ways that make it seem legitimate. I am interested in how this politics manifest in schooling. In other words, I study how white backlash politicians have used schools to promote whiteness and white supremacy and, thus, threaten democracy.