SisterJustine Kane

Whatever we are doing whether art, singing, teaching or researching, we are using our voice to spread the Gospel.

Sr. Justine Kane is an Associate Professor and serves as the director of the Literacy Program and the Reading Clinic in the School of Education. She is an alumna of Aquinas College where she earned her bachelor’s degree in English, teacher certification in Elementary Education, and K-12 Reading Specialist endorsement. She holds a master’s degree in Language, Reading, and Culture from the University of Arizona and a doctorate in Curriculum Studies from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Sr. Kane taught in Catholic elementary classrooms in Michigan and Illinois for more than 20 years and in higher education since 2009. Currently, her professional and research interests focus on the intersection of teaching and learning. She is interested in the ways in which classroom learning spaces influence the development of understanding, but also social and academic identities. She explores dialogue and performance within learning spaces from a sociocultural perspective focusing on the experiences of learners and their membership in communities of practice that foster a sense of identity, or becoming a person who sees themself as one who can do or be a reader, a teacher, a learner, and so on. She is especially concerned about those who have been marginalized because they are “other” or do not fit within the accepted norms of the typical American school, including differences related to creativity, ability, gender, race, and ethnolinguistic heritage. She is interested in developing educators‚’ understandings of the ways they can better shape classroom spaces for more meaningful learning and becoming. Her work crosses disciplinary boundaries, including literacy and science education, and connects her with other university-based researchers, students, and classroom teachers to explore constructs that cut across pedagogical approaches.

Sr. Kane has published numerous articles and book chapters that focus on student identities in integrated curricular contexts.