My name is Katy Swalwell and I am an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Iowa State University. In 2014, I joined the faculty at ISU after working at George Mason University and the University of Maryland, College Park. Born and raised in Iowa, I graduated from the University of Northern Iowa's teacher education program in 2002 before teaching at a rural public high school in Minnesota and a New England boarding school. In 2011, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction.
What I am most curious about is what helps people develop a critical consciousness necessary for a healthy "thick" democracy. What do citizens need to know and be able to do in order to engage in the world in just and equitable ways? How might this look different for young people growing up in affluent, majority White communities? In what ways can the social studies help this process? And, lastly, what supports do teachers need to do this work? What kind of policies, methods course, and resources help them most?
My work has appeared in Rethinking Schools, Teaching Tolerance, Curriculum Inquiry, Democratic Education, Education Policy, Journal of Social Studies Research, and several edited volumes. My award-winning book, Educating Activist Allies, was published by Routledge in 2013. As a professor, I have worked extensively with undergraduate and graduate students. As a consultant, I have developed workshops for practicing teachers, facilitated professional development for school leaders, and conducted school equity audits. I have been a Zinn Education Project Research Fellow, co-founded the Critical Resources for Elementary Social Studies Teachers group, and served on the board of the Social Studies Special Interest Group and the Critical Educators for Social Justice within the American Educational Research Association. I also produce resources for teachers including the "Amazing Iowa" series of children's books, traveling exhibits, and supplemental curriculum for teachers.
None of this would be possible without the support and inspiration from my my family—particularly my husband and my daughter.
What I am most curious about is what helps people develop a critical consciousness necessary for a healthy "thick" democracy. What do citizens need to know and be able to do in order to engage in the world in just and equitable ways? How might this look different for young people growing up in affluent, majority White communities? In what ways can the social studies help this process? And, lastly, what supports do teachers need to do this work? What kind of policies, methods course, and resources help them most?
My work has appeared in Rethinking Schools, Teaching Tolerance, Curriculum Inquiry, Democratic Education, Education Policy, Journal of Social Studies Research, and several edited volumes. My award-winning book, Educating Activist Allies, was published by Routledge in 2013. As a professor, I have worked extensively with undergraduate and graduate students. As a consultant, I have developed workshops for practicing teachers, facilitated professional development for school leaders, and conducted school equity audits. I have been a Zinn Education Project Research Fellow, co-founded the Critical Resources for Elementary Social Studies Teachers group, and served on the board of the Social Studies Special Interest Group and the Critical Educators for Social Justice within the American Educational Research Association. I also produce resources for teachers including the "Amazing Iowa" series of children's books, traveling exhibits, and supplemental curriculum for teachers.
None of this would be possible without the support and inspiration from my my family—particularly my husband and my daughter.