Equity in Education Interviews from OnlineEdDPrograms.com
In education, equity has become a central concern, as education leaders both in PK-12 and higher education seek to ensure that all students have access to the opportunities and support they need to grow and thrive both intellectually and emotionally. While simple in concept, achieving equity in education is a challenge that is going to be difficult to achieve, but one that must be addressed. Barriers to educational equity include systemic racism and prejudiced sociopolitical structures that do not adapt to diverse learners and their needs. Due to the complexity and deeply rooted nature of educational inequity, fostering equity in education requires a multifaceted and ongoing approach that combines on-the-ground work, larger community-wide initiatives, policy changes, ed tech innovation, and research into the causes and potential solutions to the prejudices that are at the root of educational inequity.
Increasingly, more educators, education leaders, and scholars have taken up the important work of fighting for equity at the classroom, school, district, and community levels. To highlight the ongoing efforts of these individuals, and to provide current and future education leaders with greater insight into equity advocacy and research, OnlineEdDPrograms.com has begun an Equity in Education interview series, where we speak with individuals who are working within their spheres of influence to develop solutions to educational inequity.
Through these interviews, we hope to provide educators and educational administrators with resources to help them identify and challenge educational inequities in their own schools, school districts, colleges, universities, communities, and places of employment. Interviews focus on:
- The key barriers to equity that both students and educators face in PK-12 and higher education settings.
- The ways in which real education leaders, such as district superintendents, professors of education, and directors of educational organizations are addressing the issue of equity at their places of work.
- The latest scholarship that is being conducted on the issue of equity and how it affects different student and adult populations.
- How education technology is helping to address academic inequities and empower educators to better adapt their teaching to each student’s learning style and needs.
Equity in Education PreK-12 Interviews
Dr. Nasser Cortez is Assistant Professor of Clinical Education and Director of the Teacher Residency Program at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education. He mentors teachers-in-training and teaches courses on special education, multicultural student experiences, and classroom equity.
Dr. Jen Neitzel is the Executive Director of the Educational Equity Institute, an organization that is committed to fighting systemic racism and educational inequity by providing social justice trainings and professional development for educators and education leaders.
Equity in Education Higher Education Interviews
Dr. Thomas Brock is the Director of Columbia University’s Community College Research Center, which combines applied research with education leadership training and action-focused publications to improve community college education outcomes.
Dr. Sydney Freeman Jr. is Full Professor in the Department of Leadership and Counseling at the University of Idaho. Discover Dr. Freeman’s work to advance educational equity, including their research on HBCUs and minority-serving institutions, Black leaders at predominately white institutions, and the barriers faced by younger faculty of color.
Dr. Kimberly A. Griffin is Dean of the College of Education and Professor at the University of Maryland. Explore Dr. Griffin’s scholarship on educational equity among university faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates, her focus on equity in STEM, and her current work as Dean.