Soo Hong

Diane Silvers Ravitch ’60 Professor of Public Education and the Common Good & Professor of Education,
Director of the Teacher Certificate Program

Contact
Phone:
+1 (781) 283-2965
Email:
shong@wellesley.edu
Department
Education (chair)

Links

Explores school-community relationships in K-12 urban schools with an emphasis on race, immigration, and culture.

I am a sociologist of education who studies the relationships between schools and families/communities, exploring the role of race, culture, social history, and political life. While we may typically view educational change through school-centered efforts, I explore the central role of families and communities in school transformation through models that emphasize parent leadership, community organizing and democratic forms of participation.

My recently published book, Natural Allies: Hope and Possibility in Teacher-Family Partnerships (Harvard Education Press, 2019) explores the experiences of five urban teachers who have found innovative and authentic ways to engage their students' families and communities. The book features discussions of culture and community, the deep-rooted histories of the teacher-parent relationship and the necessity of confronting racism, distrust, and misunderstanding when partnership and collaboration is the goal.

My 2011 book, A Cord of Three Strands: A New Approach to Family Engagement in Schools (Harvard Education Press, 2011) explored the role of community organizing efforts to transform public education in Chicago and demonstrates how these participatory models can reframe our conceptualization of parent engagement in schools.

At Wellesley, I teach courses on youth and family studies, capstone seminars on urban education and immigration, as well as a first-year seminar that explores issues in K-12 education through an exploration of popular films and TV shows. I am also the director of the Wellesley Teacher Scholars program which supports students who are interested in classroom teaching. My own career in education began as an elementary and middle school teacher, so it feels special to be working with the next generation of teachers.

Given our close proximity to Boston and a guiding belief that the community is our most valuable classroom, my students often gain valuable experiences in schools and community organizations as part of their course learning. I feel fortunate to enjoy both the vibrant life of the city as a Boston resident and the serene beauty of this campus everyday. Outside of my research and teaching, I enjoy listening to audiobooks, taking walks in Franklin Park, and following the Boston Celtics.

Education

  • B.A., University of Virginia-Main Campus
  • M.A. or M.S. or M.B.A., University of Virginia-Main Campus
  • Ed.D., Harvard University

Current and upcoming courses

Race, Class, & Ethnicity in Education Policy

EDUC306

This course is an examination of education policy in the 20th and 21st century and the social, political, and economic forces that have shaped these policies over the years. We will analyze the different-and sometimes conflicting-goals, motivations, and outcomes of educational policies at the national, local, and school level. Central questions to this course are: who designs educational policy and for whom? Whose interests are served and whose interests are unmet? Using an interdisciplinary approach and case exploration, we examine the ways education policies and practices have responded to or been shaped by social issues such as immigration, poverty, racism and urban development. We will integrate theoretical and conceptual learning with an understanding of cases through both group and individual analysis. In doing so, students will develop critical skills of policy analysis that can allow them to better understand current trends and develop alternative solutions to questions of educational dilemmas and practices.