GSEHD Community Takes Part in JCT Conference on Curriculum Theory and Classroom Practice
GSEHD was well represented by faculty, students, and alumni at the Journal of Curriculum Theorizing's Conference on Curriculum Theory and Classroom Practice.
Sandra Vanderbilt
Sandra Vanderbilt
Research Assistant Professor
School: Graduate School of Education and Human Development
Department: Educational Leadership
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Sandra Vanderbilt
Dr. Sandra K. Vanderbilt is an educator and community-based researcher in Washington, DC. Her research interests include youth storytelling, counterstory, critical literacy, critical dis/Abilities studies, dis/Ability justice, and the life and educational philosophy of Mr. Rogers. She is currently engaged in an archival project in partnership with Fred Rogers Institute for which she has been able to include graduate students. Dr. Vanderbilt is also currently engaged in exploring the ways teachers experience teaching reading.
Specializing in teaching qualitative methods, Dr. Vanderbilt supports students in the GSEHD community and those across the university and consortium. She enjoys exploring the ways that theory informs research practice and working with students to find ways to best hear and learn from study participants. Dr. Vanderbilt actively collaborates with students and fellow researchers to engage individuals as experts in the topics being investigated through innovative methods.
Dr. Vanderbilt is the current President the American Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies (AAACS), having served on the executive leadership board since 2022. Dr. Vanderbilt is also a board member for the Foundation of Curriculum Theorizing and serves as co-editor of general topics for the Journal of Curriculum Theorizing. Previously a schoolteacher and reading specialist in Chicago and Washington, DC, she continues to work with schools, neighborhood community centers, and local arts-based and youth activist organizations.
- EdD, Curriculum & Instruction, The George Washington University (Graduate School of Education & Human Development)
- MAEdHD, Curriculum & Instruction, Reading and Literacy Concentration, The George Washington University (Graduate School of Education & Human Development)
- BA, Secondary Education, English Major , DePaul University
- Qualitative, Post Qualitative, Critical, and Ethnographic Methods
- Community-based and Youth-Engaged Research
- Critical Literacy
- Curriculum Studies and Curriculum Theory
- Critical Disabilities Studies and Disability Studies in Education
- Racial Justice
- Educational Philosophy of Fred Rogers
- K-12 Academic Intervention and Diversity Training
Select Publications:
K. Vanderbilt, S., Buffington-Adams, J., & Vaughan, K. (2024). Demanding More: Currere and dis/Ability. The Currere Exchange Journal, 8(2). https://cej.lib.miamioh.edu/index.php/CEJ/article/view/274
Vanderbilt, S. (2024). Demanding more than equity and inclusion: Historical and Emerging Understandings of Dis/Ability Justice. In Social Foundations of Education Reader: Critical essays on teaching, learning, and leading (Volume II). https://emma-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/vfscb/c9b4fc3f9937b19cfc7d6398d9992b04/Vanderbilt_2024.pdf
Vanderbilt, S. (2023). “Bridging a Conversational Chasm: White Antiracist Confrontations in Personal Spaces.” Educational Theory, 72, 6.
Vanderbilt, S. and Ralston, D. (2023). “Young people reading and writing the world through meme curation, creation, and critical conversation” in Leah Panther and Darren Crovitz (Eds). Critical Memetic Literacies in English Education: How do you meme? Routledge.
Vanderbilt, S. (2021). Hope in Remembrance of a Life Well Lived. Hope and Joy in Education: Engaging Daisaku Ikeda Across Curriculum and Contexts. Jason Goulah and Isabel Nunez (Eds.). Teachers College Press.
Vanderbilt, S. and Ali, A. (2020). Community Engagement and Meaningful Trust as Bedrocks of Well-Crafted Research. Critical Youth Research in Education: Methodologies and Praxis. Teresa McCarty and Arshad Ali (Eds.). Routledge.
Vanderbilt, S. (2019). “The Ethics of Care in Research with Youth.” Neos: A Publication of the Anthropology of Children and Youth Interest Group, February 2019.
Buffington-Adams, J., Cannon, M.A., Hernández-Saca, D.I., Vanderbilt, S., Vaughan, K., and Winfield, A. (2019). "Radical (Re)naming through a tapestry of authoethnographic voices: healing through dis/ability theorizing.” Journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies 13 (1).
Vanderbilt, S. (2018). "A Playground with Swings:” Counterstories of Black Adolescent Girls Living in Urban Public Housing. ProQuest. ISBN: 9780355826432. ProQuest Document Id: 2030415750.
- June 2025 - Dr. Sandra Vanderbilt published an article titled, "'Let’s make the most of this beautiful day’: Progressive Futuring through despair, hope, and Fred Rogers," in the Currere Exchange Journal.
- May 2025 - Dr. Vanderbilt, along with master's student Cooper Sved (Education Policy), presented, "King Friday’s Wall: The Magic of Make Believe to Face the Spectacle of the Present,” at the American Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies 2025 Annual Conference in Colorado. Dr. Vanderbilt also presented, "Radical Solidarity Avenues and the Teachings of Fred Rogers," at the conference.
- November 2024 - Dr. Sandra Vanderbilt presented at two conferences,"Inhabiting contradictions: Black girls’ imaginary of themselves in Washington, DC public housing," on a panel titled Poetry and Arts-Based Methodologies: Dismantling Racism, Microaggressions, Discrimination, and Social Justice Across Diverse Settings at the 2024 American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting; and “Learning from imperfect pasts: currere, LatDisCrit, and hope for interconnectedness in the classroom," at the 25th Annual Curriculum and Pedagogy Group Conference.
Dr. Vanderbilt and Doc Student Present Book Chapter at Convention
Dr. Sandra Vanderbilt and staff/student DJ Ralston (Human and Organizational Learning) present at National Council for Teachers of English Convention.
GSEHD Faculty, Students, Alumni Share Research and Keynotes at 2023 JCT/Bergamo Conference
GSEHD was well represented by our faculty, students and alumni at the Journal of Curriculum Theorizing (JCT) Conference in Dayton, OH.