Sarah M Stitzlein , Ph.D. Philosophy of Education

View full website, including publications and information about current writing projects, at http://sarahstitzlein.wix.com/portfolio 

I am a Professor of Education and Affiliate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cincinnati.  I am also President of the John Dewey Society, Co-Editor of the journal, Democracy & Education, and Co-Director of the Center for Hope & Justice Education. As a philosopher of education, I use political philosophy to uncover problems in education, analyze educational policy, and envision better alternatives.  I am especially interested in issues of political agency, educating for democracy, and equity in schools.  
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My previous book, American Public Education and the Responsibility of Its Citizens: Supporting Democracy in an Age of Accountability (Oxford University Press, 2017), responds to the increasing hostile climate toward public education, especially in the era of school choice and lingering neoliberalism.  It argues that citizens should support public schools as a central institution of democracy. My 2014 book,Teaching Dissent: Citizenship Education and Political Activism, investigates the role of political dissent in citizenship education.  My 2008 book, Breaking Bad Habits: Transforming Race and Gender in Schools, draws upon American pragmatism and feminist poststructuralism to offer teachers pathways out of persistent hierarchies of race and gender in schools. 
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My most recent writing projects, describes the state of civic reasoning and discourse for the National Academy of Education.  It describes the philosophical underpinnings of such civic work and how we might better prepare students for it through schools and universities.  I also prepared a commissioned report on the future of education for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

My latest book Learning How to Hope: Reviving Democracy through Schools and Civil Society (Oxford University Press, 2020), responds to current struggles in democracy.  It explains what hope is, why it matters to democracy, and how we can teach it in schools, universities, and civcil society.  The book received an open access grant making it free for all to download. The project was supported by the Templeton Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, and the Center for Ethics & Education. The book has been the topic of the Bode Lecture at Ohio State University, the Wolfe Lecture in American Politics at Boston College, the Life of the Mind Lecture at the University of Cincinnati, a keynote address to the Association of Teacher Educators, a speech at the Carsey Center of Public Policy, and an invited talk at Goethe University in Germany.

I have received the University of New Hampshire Outstanding Professor award and the University of Cincinnati Distinguished Teaching and Golden Apple awards.  I am also the recipient of the American Association of University Women Postdoctoral Research Fellowship and the National Endowment for the Humanities Teaching Development Fellowship.

Philosophy of Education, Ph.D.: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2005

The overarching goal of my scholarship is to make schools more just and equitable places for all students and teachers.  My work centers on two themes: educational equality and education for democracy.  These themes similarly stem from my commitment to diversity within democratic societies and are united by a central concern with political agency.  Political agency involves knowledge, skill, and activity, and is enacted to ensure that one’s well-being is justly considered in political and civic matters.  It is a product of good democratic education and is a tool employed in the struggle for educational and social equality.  My scholarship in the area of educational equality is aimed at understanding how inequality occurs and offering directions for alleviating it.  The most longstanding aim of education in America is the preparation of citizens who sustain and improve democracy.  My research strengthens this venerable tradition by investigating aspects of democratic life that are particularly important for teachers and students to cultivate in schools today.  My publications intervene in current discussions regarding the implications of changing curricula, transformative efforts of social justice education, and political underpinnings of educational policies. 
 

2005 -2007 VIsiting Assistant Professor, Departments of Educational Leadership and Women's Studies, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio

2007 -2012 Assistant and Associate Professor, Departments of Education and Women's Studies, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire

2012 -2017 Associate Professor, Curriculum Theory, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio

2017 - Professor of Education, Affiliate Faculty in Philosophy, University of Cincinnati,

Investigators:Stitzlein, Sarah 06-01-2015 -08-31-2016 Spencer Foundation Revitalizing Public Schools with Citizen Responsibility Role:PI $35,176.00 Awarded Level:Private Non-Profit

Grant: #46501 Investigators:Stitzlein, Sarah 01-01-2016 -12-31-2016 John Templeton Foundation Non-Residential Fellowship Role:PI $46,352.00 Active Level:Private Non-Profit

Grant: #582K304 Investigators:Stitzlein, Sarah 01-01-2017 -10-31-2017 Spencer Foundation HOPE IN DEMOCRACY AND EDUCATION Role:PI $39,986.00 Awarded Level:Private Non-Profit

Published Books

Sarah M. Stitzlein (2017. ) American Public Education and the Responsibility of its Citizens: Supporting Democracy in an Age of Accountability .New York , Oxford University Press

Book website

Sarah M. Stitzlein (2012. ) Teaching for Dissent: Citizenship Education and Political Activism .New York , Routledge

Sarah M. Stitzlein (2008. ) Breaking Bad Habits of Race and Gender: Transforming Identity in Schools .Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Sarah M. Stitzlein (2020. ) Reviving Hope in Democracy: Teaching Hope and Overcoming Despair .New York , Oxford University Press

Free open access book

Book Chapter

Stitzlein, Sarah M. (2021 ) Defining and Implementing Civic Reasoning and Discourse: Philosophical and Moral Foundations for Research and Practice Educating for Civic Reasoning & Discourse, .National Academy of Education

Technical Reports

Stitzlein, Sarah M. (2020. ) Using Civic Participation and Civic Reasoning to Shape our Future and Education .United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization Educational Futures. Part of the International Commission on the Futures of Education chaired by the President of Ethiopia,

2012 Joyce Gibbs Women's Studies Award

2011 University of New Hampshire Outstanding Professor

2011 -2012 American Association of University Women Postdoctoral Research Fellowship

2011 -2012 NSF Noyce Scholarship Program Grant

2011 Center for the Humanities Faculty Fellowship

2009 American Educational Studies Critics Choice Book Award

2006 Miami University Greek System Honored Professor

2003 American Educational Research Association Mentor Award

2010 National Endowment for the Humanities Teaching Development Fellowship

2018 Excellence in Teaching Award

2022 James and Helen Merritt Distinguished Service Award for Contributions in Philosophy of Education

2022 Society for Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award

2020 Sarah Grant Barber for Outstanding Faculty Advisor (university wide award)

2018 Carnegie Fellowship, National Finalist

2022 National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend

Sarah M. Stitzlein*
 
University of Cincinnati   •   615-S Teachers College
2612 University Circle   •   Cincinnati, OH 45221   •   513-556-2439   •   Sarah.Stitzlein@uc.edu
 
Education
            Ph.D.   Educational Policy Studies—Philosophy of Education
Minor: Gender & Women’s Studies, University of Illinois, 2005
 
            M.Ed.  Educational Leadership—Curriculum Theory and Teacher Leadership
Miami University, 2002
 
            B.A. Philosophy, magna cum laude, university honors, & honors in philosophy
            Minor: Mathematics, Miami University, 2001
 
Academic Positions
            Associate Professor, University of Cincinnati, 2012 through present
            Curriculum Theory and Philosophy of Education & Affiliate in the Philosophy Department
Co-Director, Center for Hope and Justice Education, 2014-current
 
Assistant Professor, University of New Hampshire, 2007-2012
            Philosophy of Education & Core Faculty member in the Women’s Studies Program
 
Visiting Assistant Professor, Miami University, 2005-2007
Educational Leadership & Women’s Studies Programs
 
Books
Stitzlein, Sarah M.  Teaching for Dissent: Citizenship Education and Political Activism.  Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers, 2012.

• American Educational Studies Association Critics’ Choice Book Award Winner, 2012.
• Review of book authored by David Oliver Kasdan and published in Education and Culture 30, no. 2 (2014): 107-110.
• Review of book authored by Ian MacMullen and published in Political Science Quarterly, 129, no. 2 (2014): 358-360.
• Review of book authored by Morgan Faison and published in Teachers College Record (2013).
• Review of book authored by Kurt Stemhagen and published in Journal of Philosophy of Education (2013).
• Review of book authored by Gregory Soden and published in the Journal of International Social Studies.
• Review of book authored by H.M. Miller and published in Choice Reviews, 50, no. 9, (2013): 1684.
• Review of book authored by Richard M. Battistoni and published in in Perspectives on Politics, 11, no. 4 (2013): 1135-1138.
• Nominated for the AERA Outstanding Book Award (2013).

• American Educational Studies Association Critics’ Choice Book Award Winner, 2009.
• Review of book authored by Sue Ellen Henry and published in Teachers College Record (2010).
• Review of book authored by Barbara Applebaum and published in Journal of Philosophy of Education (2011).
• Review of book authored by Stephanie Burrell and published in Vitae Scholasticae vol. 27, no. 2 (2010).
• Review of book authored by Kurt Stemhagen in Journal of Philosophy of Edu,

610-F Teachers College
2612 University Circle
CIncinnati  Ohio, 45221
Phone: 513-556-2439
Sarah.Stitzlein@uc.edu