Sandra M Gonzales Ed.D. (bm6380)
University information
Contact information
College of Education
- Ed.D., International Educational Development, Teachers College, Columbia University, 2009.
- M.Ed., International Educational Development, Teachers College, Columbia University, 2002.
- M.A., Psychology, Mental Health Counseling, Antioch University, Seattle, Washington, 1996.
- Certificate, School of Social Work, Ethnic Minority Mental Health Specialist, University of Washington, 1996.
- B.S., Psychology, Michigan State University, 1992.
Office Hours: Tuesdays, 1:30-4pm, 285 College of Education and 6:50-7:50pm, after class
Thursdays, 1:30-3pm, 285 College of Education, or by appointment
Research interests include the intersection of Bilingual/Bicultural and Family and Community Education with Indigenous and Latino Studies. Family and Community Education is utilized as a foundation through which to examine learning from the perspective of the learner as opposed to the institution. Such examination is critical to teacher education because it provides a useful lens through which one can examine the social, political and historical constructs that hinder educational collaborations between Latino students/families and the school, the community and society at large. Also of significance is "autohistoria-teoría," a term coined by Gloria Anzaldúa, a Chicana literary scholar, to describe how personal narratives can become critical pedagogies that inspire social justice, dialogue and cross-cultural understanding. Autohistoria-teoría and Indigenous pedagogies are infused with the contemporary and the urban, to establish a new discourse within Bilingual/Bicultural Education that counters the effects of "subtractive" schooling models by creating an "additive" environment that uses stories and storytelling as a pedagogical tool to promote cultural, linguistic and intellectual diversity in the classroom.
- 2016
Wayne State University College of Education Scholarship Award
- Michigan Department of Education, ELL Advisory Committee
- The Detroit Latino Agenda, Education Committee
- Education reform in Latino Detroit: Achievement gap or colonial legacy?
*Gonzales, S. M.* and Shields, C. 2014 Race Ethnicity and Education 18(3) - Belonging in the academy: Creating a “casa away from casa” for Latino undergraduate students
*Gonzales, S.M.*, Brammer, E. C. and Sawilowsky, S. 2014 Journal of Hispanics in Higher Education 14(3) - Abuelita Epistemologies: Counteracting Subtractive Schools in American Education
Gonzales, S. M. 2014 Journal of Latinos and Education 14(1) - “CEOs don’t cry.” “But, this one does”: Gender, Identity, Language and Culture at the Periphery of School Leadership in Latina/o Detroit
*Gonzales, S. M.*, Ulloa, A. and Muñoz, C. 2016 National Forum of Educational Administration and Supervision Journal 33(2)
Office of International Programs
Associate Professor, Teacher Education
Dr. Sandra M. Gonzales is an Associate Professor of Bilingual/Bicultural Education in the Division of Teacher Education at Wayne State University. She received her master's and doctorate in International Educational Development from Columbia University, Teachers College.
Her research interests include: Latinx identity and belonging; K12 school reform efforts; culturally and linguistically responsive teaching and learning practices; and the revitalization of elder and Abuelita epistemologies, such as testimonio, stories and storytelling centering on Detroit’s Chicanx, Mexican and Indigenous Mexican community.
Gonzales coordinates the Native Development Network and Learning Community, a student success initiative for Native American students and allies at Wayne State University. She is also the faculty PI for the College of Education Upward Bound program, a TRIO pre-college initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
Courses taught by Sandra M Gonzales Ed.D.
Winter Term 2025 (future)
- LED6580 - Culture as the Basis for Language Teaching
- TED2210 - Foundations II: Intersections of Culture, Language, Identity & Schooling
- TED6210 - Foundations II: Intersections of Culture, Language, Identity and Schooling
Fall Term 2024 (current)
- BBE6590 - Culture and Language in Bilingual/Bicultural Education
- LED6580 - Culture as the Basis for Language Teaching
- TED2210 - Foundations II: Intersections of Culture, Language, Identity & Schooling
- TED6210 - Foundations II: Intersections of Culture, Language, Identity and Schooling
Winter Term 2024
- BBE6590 - Culture and Language in Bilingual/Bicultural Education
- LED6580 - Culture as the Basis for Language Teaching
- TED2210 - Foundations II: Intersections of Culture, Language, Identity & Schooling
- TED6210 - Foundations II: Intersections of Culture, Language, Identity and Schooling
Fall Term 2023
- BBE1005 - Multicultural Education in Urban America
- BBE5000 - Multicultural Education in Urban America
- TED2210 - Foundations II: Intersections of Culture, Language, Identity & Schooling
- TED6210 - Foundations II: Intersections of Culture, Language, Identity and Schooling
Winter Term 2023
- BBE1005 - Multicultural Education in Urban America
- BBE5000 - Multicultural Education in Urban America
- BBE6590 - Culture and Language in Bilingual/Bicultural Education
- LED6580 - Culture as the Basis for Language Teaching
- TED2210 - Foundations II: Intersections of Culture, Language, Identity & Schooling
- TED6210 - Foundations II: Intersections of Culture, Language, Identity and Schooling
Fall Term 2022
- BBE6590 - Culture and Language in Bilingual/Bicultural Education
- LED6580 - Culture as the Basis for Language Teaching
Spring-Summer Term 2022
Winter Term 2022
- BBE1005 - Multicultural Education in Urban America
- BBE5000 - Multicultural Education in Urban America
- BBE6590 - Culture and Language in Bilingual/Bicultural Education
- LED6580 - Culture as the Basis for Language Teaching
Recent university news spotlights
- Wayne State celebrates and acknowledges November as Native American Heritage Month
- WSU to host Powwow in the D, a powerful annual celebration of Native American heritage, culture
- Warriors in the Community, episode 8: Upward Bound
- Sandra Gonzales, associate professor of Bilingual/Bicultural Education and principal investigator for the COE Upward Bound program discussed how the program provides academic and guidance opportunities to high school students
- Wayne State employee and three-time alumna Vanessa Reynolds first to explore experiences of Latina administrators in higher education in Michigan
- Wayne State University College of Education receives nearly $1.5M to support its Upward Bound program for another five years
- Sandra M. Gonzales named Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year and featured in The Latino Press
- Sandra M. Gonzales named Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year
- U.S. Department of Education awards $1.4 million to college's Upward Bound program