Soo Hong

Professor of Education

Contact
Phone:
+1 (781) 283-2965
Username:
shong
Department
Education

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 education policy and youth/family studies, capstone seminars on urban education and immigration as well as a first-year seminar on race and education. Across all my courses, students learn how to analyze and conduct research. I have a special affinity for engaging in conversations about research methodologies, so that has become a key part of my courses, especially at the capstone level. 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 agencies as part of their course learning. I am a former elementary and middle school teacher; that experience guides my commitment to action-oriented research.

I feel fortunate to enjoy both the vibrant life of the city as a Boston resident as well as the beauty of this campus everyday. I enjoy listening to audiobooks and taking walks around Lake Waban. I'm a rabid basketball fan who follows the NBA as a Celtics fan and the world of youth basketball as mother to two impressive point guards.

Education

  • B.A., University of Virginia
  • M.T., University of Virginia
  • Ed.D., Harvard University

Currently teaching

First-Year Seminar: From Abbott Elementary to Waiting for Superman: Representing School and Society on the Big Screen

EDUC116Y

Schools have historically been a point of public fascination. Consequently, societal debates on inequality, pluralism, and social movements have played out in the TV- and film-inspired hallways and classrooms of K-12 schools. What do these popular portrayals of school and society teach us about our societal values and the role of public education in a pluralistic society? How does Abbott Elementary reinforce and challenge our conceptions of under-resourced urban schools? How does saviorhood lie at the root of teacher heroism in Dangerous Minds? What do documentary films like The Lottery teach us about education policies related to school choice and charter schools? In this course, we will integrate an analysis of popular media representations of education with examinations of education policy, research, and practice to delve into some of the long-running debates about schools and society.
More Info

  • Seminar: Urban Education and Emancipatory Research

    EDUC335

    First and foremost, this seminar explores urban schools through an examination of research and practice. We study the educational experiences of students, families, and educators shaped by the social, political and economic contexts of urban communities. Students investigate recent educational policies such as school closures and school desegregation through the political and cultural forces that shape policy creation, implementation, and community impact. Students examine policy and practice as distinct forces that profoundly shape the other and yet often exist in conflict and tension. Voices of traditionally marginalized yet profoundly impacted communities frame course discussion of urban education, and students learn to discuss education policies and practices dynamically through an analysis of power, race, and agency. To complement their study of urban education, students will explore the role of emancipatory educational research and decolonizing research methodologies and will demonstrate their learning through the implementation of an original field-based research project.. Enrollment in this course is by permission of the instructor. Interested students should fill out this Google Form.