Biography
Judy Pace is an education professor who uses case studies, inquiry projects, and film to challenge students to explore multiple perspectives on issues of educational justice. She does qualitative research on classroom teaching and its sociocultural and political dynamics, and her current project examines how teacher educators prepare preservice teachers for teaching controversial issues in divided societies and politically turbulent times.
Recent articles include “Contained risk-taking: preparing preservice teachers to teach controversial issues in three countries” and “Preparing teachers in a divided society: Lessons from Northern Ireland.” Her forthcoming book is titled Hard Questions: Learning to Teach Controversial Issues. Professor Pace earned her doctorate of education from Harvard University where she worked on school reform efforts at Project Zero. Prior to that, she taught in diverse special education and progressive school settings in the Boston area.
- Appointments
- Visiting Scholar, 2016–2017
- Teacher Education Department Chair, 2013–2016
- Coordinator of MAT master's courses, 2012–present
- Education
- EdD, Harvard University
- CAS, Harvard University
- MEd, Lesley College
- BA, Brandeis University
- Experience
- Taught special education and in progressive K-12 settings in the Boston area
- Researcher and professional developer, Harvard Project Zero
- Research
- Teacher education
- Social studies education
- Teaching controversial issues and contested history
- Classroom relationships, curriculum, and teaching in the sociopolitical contexts of schooling
- Selected Publications
Pace, J. L. (in press). Hard questions: Learning to teach controversial issues. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Pace, J. L. (2019). Contained risk-taking: Preparing pre-service teachers to teach controversial issues in three countries. Theory & Research in Social Education, 47.
Pace, J. L. (2015). The Charged Classroom: Predicaments and Possibilities for Democratic Teaching. New York, NY: Routledge.
Pace, J. L. (2012). Teaching literacy through social studies under No Child Left Behind. Journal of Social Studies Research, 36(4), 329-358.
Pace, J. L. (2011). The complex and unequal impact of accountability on untested social studies across diverse school contexts. Theory and Research in Social Education, 39(1), 32-60.
Bixby J. & Pace, J. L. (Eds.). (2008). Educating democratic citizens in troubled times: Qualitative studies of current efforts. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
Pace, J. L. & Hemmings, A. (2007). Understanding authority in classrooms: A review of theory, ideology, and research. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 4-27.
Pace, J. L. & Hemmings, A. (Eds.). (2006). Classroom Authority: Theory, Research, and Practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Awards & Distinctions
Spencer Foundation Grant, 2016–2017
Spencer Research Training Grant, 1995–1998