UC Davis School of Education

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Steven Athanases

Professor of Education; Chair, UCD Graduate Group in Education
Phone: (530) 752-2621
Email: szathanases@ucdavis.edu

"Despite research and documented exemplary practices in the values of diversifying texts, instruction, and assessments to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse youth in K-12 schools, current policies, tests, and resources often do the opposite--narrowing, limiting, and constraining what teachers and students can do. Within this context, we need to hold on to what we know of best practice and continue to examine ways to meet the learning needs of all youth."


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Expertise
Educational equity; English language arts education; Gay and lesbian issues in education; Minority/Underrepresented Students; Multicultural literature and literacy; Secondary Education; Teacher education research and policy

Education

  • Ph.D., Language, Literacy & Culture; Curriculum & Teacher Education - Stanford University - 1993
  • M.A., Performance Studies/Communication Studies - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
  • B.A., Speech and English Education; Illinois Secondary Teaching Credential, English and Speech - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Highlighted Publications

  • Athanases, S. Z., & de Oliveira, L. C. (2008). Advocacy for equity in classrooms and beyond: New teachers’ challenges and responses. Teachers College Record, 110(1), 64-104.
  • Athanases, S. Z., Abrams, J., Jack, G., Johnson, V., Kwock, S., McCurdy, J., Riley, S., & Totaro, S. (in press, 2008). Curriculum for mentor development: Problems and promise in the work of new teacher induction leaders. Journal of Curriculum Studies.
  • Athanases, S. Z. (2006). Deepening teacher knowledge of multicultural literature through a university-schools partnership. Multicultural Education, 13(4), 17-23.
  • Athanases, S. Z., & Martin, K. J. (2006). Learning to advocate for educational equity in a teacher credential program. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, 22(6), 627-646.
  • Achinstein, B., & Athanases, S. Z. (Eds.). (2006). Mentors in the making: Developing new leaders for new teachers. Teachers College Press (School Reform Series).
     
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Professional Experience

  • Project Director, Evaluating Communities of Learners, School of Education, Stanford University (Ed Haertel, PI), 1994-98
  • Researcher/Team-Teacher, English/History Linked Program, Oakland Unified School District, Oakland, CA, 1994-96
  • Consultant, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, 1991-94
  • Coordinator of Public Programs/English Specialist for Oakland Unified High School District English teachers to better prepare underrepresented minority students for college, ACCESS, UC-Berkeley, 1990-91
  • Reseacher, Teacher Assessment Project, Development and Study of Prototype Assessments to Inform National Board Certification, Stanford University (Lee Shulman, PI), 1988-89
  • High School English teacher, Township High School District 214, Arlington Heights/Mt. Prospect, IL, 1975-85 (also, Instructional Improvement teacher for Writing, 1984-85)

Awards and Honors

  • Distinguished Research Award, Association of Teacher Educators (with Betty Achinstein), 2006
  • Edwin M. Hopkins Award for Outstanding Article Published in English Journal, Volumes 94 & 95, by Non-Secondary Teacher (Honorable Mention), 2006
  • Davis Humanities Institute Fellow, 2002-03
  • Spencer Postdoctoral Research Fellow, National Academy of Education, 1999-2001
  • Promising Researcher in English Education, National Council of Teachers of English, 1994
  • Outstanding Dissertation Award in Curriculum Studies (Honorable Mention), American Educational Research Association, 1994
  • McDonnell Postdoctoral Research Fellow, James S. McDonnell Foundation Program in Cognitive Studies for Educational Practice, 1993-95
  • Award for Outstanding Teaching, Stanford Teacher Education Program, Stanford University, 1990
  • Outstanding Chicago Area Writing Teacher, Retrospective Honor from Gwendolyn Brooks, Illinois Poet Laureate, 1990
  • National Academy of Education, 1999-2001: Spencer Postdoctoral Research Fellow
  • Spencer Dissertation Fellow, Spencer Foundation, 1989
  • Teacher of the Year Award, Township High School District 214, Illinois, 1985
  • Award for Outstanding High School Writing Teacher, English Department, Harper College, Illinois, 1984
  • Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award, Department of Communication Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1982

Associations, Boards & Committees

  • Developer and Trainer of Trainers. Performance Assessment for California Teachers (PACT), 2003.
  • Member. PACT English Language Arts Assessment Development Team, 2002.
  • Participant and Reviewer. Proposal Planning for New Small Urban Public Schools Initiative, Oakland Unified School District, Oakland, CA, 2000-2001.
  • Coordinator and Presenter. Professional Development Workshop for Teacher Leaders, New Teacher Center, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2000-2001.
  • Chair. Literature Special Interest Group, American Educational Research Association, 1995-97.
  • Nominating Committee. Conference on English Education, National Council of Teachers of English, 1995-96.
  • Member. National Communication Association, K-12 Comprehensive Language Arts Standards Committee, 1995-96.
  • Participant. Commission on Teacher Education for Teachers of Urban, Rural, and Suburban Students of Color, Conference on English Education, National Council of Teachers of English, 1994-98.

Courses Taught at UC Davis

  • Research on Response to Culturally Diverse Literature in K-12 Classrooms
  • Cultural Diversity and Education
  • Research on Teacher Education and Development
  • Secondary School Teaching, English/language arts
  • Inquiry into Classroom Practice in English Language Arts: Intervention and Data Collection
  • Research on Class Discussion and Drama/Performance in Education