Sr. Justine Kane serves as the Dean of the School of Education and Associate Professor
of Education. She is a Dominican Sister of Grand Rapids and an alumna of Aquinas College where she
earned her bachelor's degree in English, teacher certification in Elementary Education,
and K-12 Reading Specialist endorsement. She holds a master's degree in Language,
Reading, and Culture from the University of Arizona and a doctorate in Curriculum
Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Sr. Kane taught in Catholic elementary
classrooms in Michigan and Illinois for more than 20 years and in higher education
since 2009. Currently, her professional and research interests focus on the intersection
of teaching and learning. She is interested in the ways in which classroom learning
spaces influence the development of understanding, but also social and academic identities.
She explores dialogue and performance within learning spaces from a sociocultural
perspective focusing on the experiences of learners and their membership in communities
of practice that foster a sense of identity, or becoming a person who sees themself
as one who can do or be a reader, a teacher, a learner, and so on. She is especially
concerned about those who have been marginalized because they are "other" or do not
fit within the accepted norms of the typical American school, including differences
related to creativity, ability, gender, race, and ethnolinguistic heritage. She is
interested in developing educators‚' understandings of the ways they can better shape
classroom spaces for more meaningful learning and becoming. Her work crosses disciplinary
boundaries, including literacy and science education, and connects her with other
university-based researchers, students, and classroom teachers to explore constructs
that cut across pedagogical approaches. Sr. Kane has published numerous articles and
book chapters that focus on student identities in integrated curricular contexts.
