Research

In this section, I delve into the knowledge base supporting my current research on TNGC students and the challenges for criticality and equity in education in the U.S.A. and globally

Social Justice and Epistemology

A definition of social justice, as well as definitions of equality/equity, depend on perceptions of reality (Davis & Harrison, 2013, pp.1-17), and they, in turn, depend on how power is distributed within the culture (Crider, 2016).

As positivism and post-positivism became the mainstream epistemological frameworks to inform western perceptions of what is real outside the subjectivity of the observer, the American society has historically developed a conservative approach to normativity, especially with regards to race, sex, gender roles, ableism, religion, and other non-conforming intersectional identities (Davis & Harrison, 2013, pp.1-17; Holliday & Macdonald, 2019).

Education: A Battleground for Equity

Historically, ensuring that all individuals have equal opportunities to receive an education regardless of ethnicity, class, gender identity, religion, disability, etc., has been a primary battleground for vulnerable groups within the U.S.A. (Spring, 2022). Racialized groups, members of lower income households, women, people with disabilities, TGNC, and other marginalized groups have all struggled in political and ideological battles against white American exceptionalism, and they have done so by putting educational reforms at the forefront of their requests (Davis & Harrison, 2013, pp. 19-49; Spring, 2022, 2024).

Contributions to critical pedagogy

Our research and contributions move from foundational literature on critical pedagogy, such as Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppresed (2000), bell hooks's Teaching to Transgress (2014), and Henry Giroux's On Critical Pedagogy (2020).

Scholarly research on intersectional oppression for transgender and gender-non-conforming youth also supported with building the knowledge base presented here.

Critical Archive Studies:
Myths and preconceptions erase alternative narratives and historical grassroots experiences to create a representational void of TGNC identities in history (Billard, 2023), especially when intersectionality of identities come to play (Higgins, 2025).
Activism at the intersectionality of working-class, people of color, sex workers, etc., tried to change the social structures that marginalize TGNC folk and erase their historical narrative, as well as to aim at visibility and respectability for individuals and their collectives (Billard, 2023). One way to do so has been through advocacy for critical archival practices to redefine categories and subcategories of queer literature and knowledge (Caswell et al., 2017; Lee, 2017).

Embodied Knowledge:

As the body is a central stage for the negotiation of trans identities in educational settings, and also the receptacle of physical and psychological violence (Davidove, 2025), transgender narratives can take the form of embodied knowledge to communicate and understand trans experiences: using a methodology inspired by performative pedagogy students are compelled to create and reenact embodied narratives to explore root causes of transphobia and come up with strategies to embody defiance (Faingersh, 2023).

Digital Activism:

Through the use of digital technologies, “marginalized youth can learn to create with emerging technologies while also learning to challenge dominant narratives and represent new possible worlds and ways of being that center their experiences” (Paré, 2025, p. 2014). Representation itself is not sufficient to overturn the biopolitics and the current pedagogical shortcomings: digital narratives can provide proof of everyday negotiations of TGNC individuals, a look on the types of activism and what history informs them, and establish affective connection with other learners without being objectified (Tenorio, 2022).

Queer Theory is Critical Pedagogy

Critical pedagogy is not neutral: it actively challenges systems of oppression and reframes education as a place of liberation from the constraints of the colonial, white, cis- and heterosexual, Christian norm (Davis & Harrison, 2013; Freire, 2000). Through critical pedagogy we can address the intersectionality of vulnerable identities and how they create conditions for layered oppression, where race, gender, class, and other forms of discrimination negatively impact students (hooks, 2014). Moreover, because critical pedagogy promotes activism, it pushes for transformative goals such as critical reflection and paradigm shift, challenging hegemonic beliefs, assumptions, and traditional pedagogical methods (Ukpokodu, 2009). Because of the hardships for trans and queer students to navigate harassment, hate and violence in educational settings, especially in more conservative environments, queer 2 theory becomes a tool to critically unravel mainstream assumptions and cultural expectations (Andrews & Govender, 2022).

“The collective liberation of queer and trans people is inherently tied to the liberation of all those oppressed by white supremacy and racism, ableism, classism, ageism, sexism, and other asymmetrical systems of power”
(Marx et al., 2025, p. 185).

Collaborate on Research

References:

Andrews, G., & Govender, N. (2022). Queer Critical Literacies and Initial Teacher Education: Transnational moments. Gender Diversity & Sexuality in English Language Education: New Transnational Voices, 11–28. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350217591.ch-001
Billard, T. J. (2023). The origins and development of the national transgender rights movement in the United States of America. Journal of Social History, 57(2), 296–318. https://doi.org/10.1093/jsh/shad072
Caswell, M., Punzalan, R., & Sangwand, T. (2017). Critical Archival Studies: an Introduction. Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.24242/jclis.v1i2.50
Crider, P. (2016). Crider argues that a better conception of social justice addresses oppression and equality of human dignity. Libertarianism.org. Retrieved March 28, 2026, from https://www.libertarianism.org/columns/libertarian-social-justice
Davidove, E. (2025). Embodied knowing: How trans critique creates liberatory pedagogical possibilities [P.h.D. dissertation, Claremont Graduate University]. In Scholarship @ Claremont. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/983/
Davis, T. P., & Harrison, L. M. (2013). Advancing Social Justice: tools, pedagogies, and strategies to transform your campus. In Jossey-Bass eBooks. Jossey-Bass.
Faingersh, A. (2023). Confronting propaganda. Canadian Journal for the Academic Mind, 1(1), 151–166. https://doi.org/10.25071/2817-5344/57
Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 30th Anniversary Edition. Continuum.
Giroux, H. A. (2020). On critical pedagogy. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Higgins, F. (2025). Categories are made to be broken: uncovering strategies and pedagogies of BlaQueer resistance. USF Scholarship: A Digital Repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. https://repository.usfca.edu/ijhre/vol9/iss1/4
Holliday, A., & Macdonald, M. N. (2019). Researching the Intercultural: Intersubjectivity and the Problem with Postpositivism. Applied Linguistics, 41(5), 621–639. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amz006
Hooks, B. (2014). Teaching to transgress (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203700280
Lee, J. A. (2017). A Queer/ed Archival Methodology: Archival Bodies as Nomadic Subjects. Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.24242/jclis.v1i2.26
Paré, D. (2025). Toward Critical Joy in Learning: Lessons from Trans Youths’ Placemaking in Virtual reality. Proceedings., 2013–2017. https://doi.org/10.22318/icls2025.548176
Spring, J. H. (2022). American Education (20th ed.). Routledge.
Spring, J. H. (2024). American Education (21st ed.). Routledge.
Tenorio, D. (2022). Teaching Disloyalty: trans activism and digital storytelling in the U.S. Feminist classroom. Journal of Cinema and Media Studies, Online. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/idx/j/jcms/18261332.0061.702/--teaching-disloyalty-trans-activism-and-digital-storytelling?rgn=main;view=fulltext
Ukpokodu, O. (2009). The practice of transformative pedagogy. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 20(2), 43–67.