David E. Kirkland

David E. Kirkland, PhD/JD, is a distinguished professor of urban education in the Department of Teaching and Learning at New York University’s (NYU) Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. He also serves as Executive Director of The Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and The Transformation of Schools. He has been described as an activist and educator, cultural critic and author. A leading national scholar and advocate for educational justice, Dr. Kirkland’s transdisciplinary scholarship has explored a variety of equity related topics, including how to improve schools and how to teach vulnerable learners at the intersections of race, gender, class, and ability. With many groundbreaking publications to his credit, he has analyzed the cultures, languages, and texts of urban youth, using quantitative, critical literary, ethnographic, and sociolinguistic research methods to answer complex questions that sit at the center of equity and social justice education. Dr. Kirkland taught middle and high school and served as a school administrator for several years in Michigan and New York. He’s also organized youth empowerment and youth mentoring programs for over a decade in major U.S. cities such as Detroit, Chicago, and New York. He currently leads efforts to enhance education options for vulnerable youth throughout the U.S. Dr. Kirkland has received many awards for his research and educational advocacy work, including the 2016 AERA Division G Mid-Career Scholars Award, 2018 New York University Distinguished Teaching Award, the 2019 MLK Advocacy and Social Justice Award, and the 2019 NCTE Advancement of People of Color Leadership Award. A Search Past Silence: The Literacy of Black Males, the fifth book that Dr. Kirkland has authored, is a TC Press bestseller and winner of the 2015 Daniel E. Griffiths Research Award, the 2014 AESA Critics Choice Award, and the 2014 NCTE David H. Russell Award for Distinguished Research in the Teaching of English. He is also co-editor of the newly released Students Right to Their Own Language, a critical sourcebook published by Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, and executive editor of the scholarly journal Voices in Urban Education.

Learn more about Dr. Kirkland by clicking on the following links:

· “How a Dyslexic Boy Fell in Love with Words”

· “Elements of Oppression”

· “Transformation Needed to Integrate School”

· “English Professor Directs NYU Center to Make Education More Equitable”