Available now

How Schools Make Race

Teaching Latinx Racialization in America

An investigation into how schooling can enhance and hinder critical-racial consciousness through the making of the Latinx racialized group

Stanley Wu Photography

About Laura Chávez-Moreno

Stanley Wu Photography

Laura C. Chávez-Moreno is an award-winning researcher, qualitative social scientist, and assistant professor at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in the Departments of Chicana/o & Central American Studies and Education. She received her PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education in Curriculum & Instruction.

Dr. Chávez-Moreno’s research has been published in top-tier journals such as Review of Educational Research, Educational Researcher, American Educational Research Journal, Research in the Teaching of English, and Journal of Teacher Education. Her research has been recognized with multiple awards, including from the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Division G Social Contexts in Education; AERA Latinx Research Issues Special Interest Group (SIG); AERA Bilingual Education Research SIG; American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education; and National Association of Bilingual Education. Notably, she was a fellow of the 2020–2022 cohort of NCTE Research Foundation’s Cultivating New Voices among Scholars of Color, and she was awarded a 2022 National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship. The National Council for Teachers of English awarded the 2023 Alan C. Purves Award to her article in Research in the Teaching of English, “The continuum of racial literacies: Teacher practices countering whitestream bilingual education.

Prof. Chávez-Moreno is sought after as a speaker by school districts, university organizations, and teacher preparation programs. She draws from her research and extensive teaching experience across a variety of educational levels—including elementary, secondary, tertiary, teacher education, and older-adult education. She served as a high school teacher of Spanish in the School District of Philadelphia for five years, wrote district curriculum, and served on boards of community organizations. She grew up in Douglas, Arizona, and Agua Prieta, Sonora, México.

Education

B.S. in Education

Northern Arizona University

  • Secondary Education
  • Extended Major in Spanish
  • Minor in Latin American Studies
  • Magna Cum Laude

M.A.

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Educational Studies

  • Emphasis: Literacy, Language, and Culture

Graduate Certificate

Boston College

Curriculum & Instruction

Ph.D.

crest

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Curriculum & Instruction

  • Emphasis: Languages & Literacies, Critical Race Studies, and Pedagogy
  • Minor: Qualitative Research Methods & Methodology in Education

Research Funders

Available now

How Schools Make Race

Teaching Latinx Racialization in America

How Schools Make Race: Teaching Latinx Racialization in America examines how a bilingual-education school program in the US Midwest works as a racial project (a project that engages in racialization, the process of delineating racialized groups and hierarchies). It focuses on how the racially and linguistically diverse dual-language program constructs ideas about race and Latinidad, and forms the Latinx group.

Prof. Chávez-Moreno posits that the bilingual program advanced an imagined Spanish as the signature boundary delineating the Latinx racialized group in relation to other racialized groups. She also argues that bilingual schooling may become a false champion for a future anti-racist, anti-imperialist, decolonial Latinidad if this schooling does not disrupt racially inequitable outcomes and encourage Latinxs’ critical consciousness. She invites teachers and educators to embrace ambitious teaching about the ambivalence of race, an approach aimed at enhancing critical consciousness about race.

Praise

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Publications

Refereed Articles in Research Journals

Examining race in LatCrit: A systematic review of Latinx critical race theory in education

Review of Educational Research, 0 (0) | 2023

A raciolinguistic and racial realist critique of dual language’s racial integration

Journal of Latinos & Education, 22(5), 2085-2101 | 2023

The continuum of racial literacies: Teacher practices countering whitestream bilingual education

Research in the Teaching of English, 57(2), 108-132 | 2022

Book Chapters

A literature review of raciolinguistics in dual-language bilingual education: A call for conceptualizing racialization

In J. Freire, C. Alfaro, & E. De Jong (Eds.), Handbook of Dual-language Bilingual Education, p. 254-265. Routledge | 2024

The experiences and preparation of teacher candidates of color: A literature review

In C. Gist & T. Bristol (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Teachers of Color and Indigenous Teachers, p. 165-180. American Educational Research Association | 2022

The problem with Latinx as a racial construct vis-à-vis language and bilingualism: Toward recognizing multiple colonialisms in the racialization of Latinidad

In E. G. Murillo, Jr., et al. (Eds), Handbook of Latinos and Education (2nd ed., pp. 164-180). Routledge | 2021

Media

Interviews

The Harvard EdCast
November 14, 2024
Laura Chávez-Moreno discusses how bilingual education programs influence the racialization of Latinx students.
Educator Forever
October 30, 2024
Chávez-Moreno discusses her journey from becoming a Spanish teacher in Philadelphia to pursuing a PhD in Los Angeles due to a hiring freeze. She delves into why she wrote her book, How Schools Make Race, which explores how schools contribute to racialization, focusing on bilingual education and Latinx students.
Latinx In Power
October 29, 2024
In this episode, Laura Chávez-Moreno discusses her journey into the field of Latinx education and the systemic barriers that hinder effective bilingual education. She will share insights for educators, parents, and policymakers aimed at ensuring equitable educational outcomes for all Latinx students.
Chancleta Generation Podcast
October 11, 2024
In this episode we have an expert in racial education in American public schools, Dr. Laura Chávez-Moreno and we’ll take a look into what’s happening now, how schools can create a safe and welcoming space for Latino students, and what can we do as a community so our kids make the most out of their education in schools.
Black, Brown & Bilingüe
October 7, 2024
In this episode, Lissette and Maurice spoke with Dr. Laura C. Chávez-Moreno about her book How Schools Make Race: Teaching Latinx Racialization in America. The discussion focused on how schools shape ideas about race through policies and practices, often reinforcing racial inequalities.
UCLA Newsroom
October 1, 2024
UCLA professor Laura C. Chávez-Moreno makes the case for ‘ambitious teaching’ about race
The Vocal Fries
September 23, 2024
Megan and Carrie talk with Dr Laura C. Chávez-Moreno, assistant professor at UCLA in the Departments of Chicana/o and Central American Studies and Education, about her book How Schools Make Race: Teaching Latinx Racialization in America, coming out October 1.
AESA Conversations
March 16, 2023
In this episode we have a short conversation with Dr. Laura C. Chávez-Moreno about a paper she presented at the 2022 AESA Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh.

Features & Reviews

Forbes
October 16, 2024
Laura Chávez-Moreno is interested in how schools contribute to the racialization of Latinx students in the U.S. Her new book How Schools Make Race (Harvard Education Press, 2024) provides a critical examination of how race is constructed and taught in U.S. schools, with an emphasis on how these processes shape Latinx students.
The Daily Bruin
October 16, 2024
Laura Chávez-Moreno, an assistant professor of education and Chicana/o and Central American studies, said she wished she had access to a bilingual program during her own education. These programs, which aim to prepare students for linguistic and academic proficiency, are the core concept of her new book, “How Schools Make Race: Teaching Latinx Racialization in America.”
Ms. Magazine
October 10, 2024
How Schools Make Race, featured on Ms. Magazine.
American Educational Research Association (AERA) Special Interest Group (SIG)
August 5, 2024

Prospective Students

Laura C. Chávez-Moreno with Isabella De Francesca (Gender Studies) and Montserrat Juarez (Labor Studies and Chicana/o Studies). Photo by Laura C. Chávez-Moreno.

Prof. Chávez-Moreno is deeply committed to mentorship, emphasizing support for students from underrepresented backgrounds and/or those dedicated to social justice causes. Among her many service activities, she has mentored undergraduate and graduate students through several organizations, including the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.

Student Advising

Dr. Chávez-Moreno welcomes applications from prospective graduate students who are interested in developing lines of research with these or similar topics:

  • how education makes Latinidad
  • the specificity of the Latinx racialized category in education
  • teachers’ racial-literacy practices
  • teaching of critical race & ethnic studies in secondary classrooms
  • using a relational racialization lens in education research
  • advancing critical race theory in education research
  • examining imperial privilege
  • and other areas where she can employ her expertise to advise students in their independent research projects

Prospective graduate student applicants: Please read Dr. Chávez-Moreno’s publications to gain insight into her research expertise. She reviews applications through her primary appointment in the Department of Chicana/o & Central American Studies. Applicants interested in working with her should apply directly to this department. Dr. Chávez-Moreno especially welcomes candidates with secondary-level classroom teaching or other relevant practitioner experience, though all applicants with a strong interest in her research areas are encouraged to apply.

Guest Speaker in Prof. Zeus Leonardo’s graduate course “Critical Race Theory, Education & Society” (University of California Berkeley)

Photo by Zeus Leonardo (Nov 2024)

Events

Upcoming Event

MALCSistas Book Talk

December 9, 2024 4:00 pm
Virtual (Zoom)

International & Comparative Bi/multilingual Education Research Group Book Talk

January 20, 2025 11:00 am
February 15, 2025 8:30 am
NC State’s McKimmon Center (1101 Gorman Street, Raleigh, NC 27606)

Past Events

October 1, 2024 10:30 am
159 Education Building, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 1025 West Johnson Street, Suite 785, Madison, WI
November 19, 2024 11:00 am
Chicano Studies Center Library, 144 Haines Hall, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA

Contact

For General Inquiries

For Media Inquiries

Publicist Nanda Dyssou at Coriolis Company

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