Kristen Driscoll earned her B.A. in Early Childhood Education in 2012 and an M.Ed. in Teaching and Learning with a Specialization in Literacy in 2015—both from Coastal Carolina University. She recently graduated with her Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction – Literacy Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Tell us about your research interests.

My research resides at the intersection of theory and practice in my collaboration with educators, children, and their families as I examine the ways educational policy at federal and state levels influences early literacy instruction and assessment in elementary schools and in teacher education.

How does this translate to your instruction?

My work informs how I support preservice teachers in developing equity-minded stances, racial literacy, and ways to advocate for children who are historically underserved in public schools, particularly when mandated literacy curriculum and assessment does not always leverage students’ literacies, languages, and cultural practices. As a former K-1 teacher, I am interested in the role that university coursework plays in supporting preservice teachers in their literacy teaching trajectories in schools.