Sandra (Sam) Hollingsworth is Professor and Director of the Graduate Literacy Program at San Jose State University. A former published historian and K-12 classroom teacher, Sam has an academic background the University of California, Berkeley, and Michigan State University in addition to SJSU. In all three locations, she studied teachers’ understanding of the equity issues in minority students’ literacy development.
From that work, she and several classroom teachers published many articles and a full-length book, Teacher Research and Urban Literacy Education (TC Press, 1994). Hollingsworth’s latest book, Personal, Community and School Literacies: Challenging a Single Standard, was published in 2002 by Teachers College Press. In all, Sam has published 22 refereed journal articles, 4 books, 6 book chapters, and 13 monographs. She has given 119 presentations on her work and serves as editor on 12 journals. She is the incoming co-editor of the American Educational Research Journal – Social and Institutional Analysis.
Sam’s own classroom and community experiences occurred within urban environments where secondary students struggled with school literacy. She has done extensive research on the issues that girls face in and out of school around the world. Her passion for social justice issues in her personal life and her work earned her the 1999 research award on behalf of women and minorities from the American Educational Research Association.
Another significant piece of Sam’s background has been her work with national and international school reform organizations to ensure that reforms in reading and writing go beyond “skill development” to issues of equity. The heart of that work has been to develop schools as “cultures of inquiry” to sustain the implementation of effective and equitable reading practices.
Sam’s after-hours passions revolve around gardening, visual arts and her five grandchildren.
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