Heather Cunningham, Ph.D.
Program Coordinator, Associate Professor of Education
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
ACADEMIC AREAS OF INTEREST
Preparing teachers to support K12 students marginalized by socially-constructed identities, such as race and culture; promoting teacher self-awareness of how their own socially-constructed identities, such as race and culture, impact their teaching.
PERSONAL AREAS OF INTEREST
Playing music, especially Old Time Appalachian music.
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Cunningham is an Associate Professor of Education. Before earning her Ph.D. in Instruction and Learning, Dr. Cunningham was a K-12 public school teacher in Washington D.C. and downtown Pittsburgh for 13 years. She has also worked in education internationally in Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and Malawi.
EDUCATION
- Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA), 2015
- M.A., American University (Washington, DC), 1997
- B.A., Allegheny College (Meadville, PA), 1993
CERTIFICATIONS
- Pennsylvania Teaching Certificate Social Studies grades 7-12 -- Level II
- District of Columbia Public Schools Teaching Certificate -- K-12 English as a Second Language & Bilingual Education
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
- “Education For Sustainability in Western Pennsylvania: Connecting Social Justice and the Environment” (2021). Cunningham, H. B.; Henderson, K.; Harty, K. Green Schools Catalyst Quarterly 8(2).
- “Restorative Discipline: Classroom Management for Equity and Justice.” (2020). Cunningham, H.B. Green Notes (October).
- “Responding to what we notice: International student teaching as a pathway to cultural responsiveness.” (2019). Cunningham, H.B. Urban Education, vol 54(2).
- "These Kids Are Out of Control" Why We Must Reimagine "Classroom Management" for Equity (2019). Milner, H. R.; Cunningham, H. B.; Kestenberg, E. G.; Delale-O'Connor, L. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
- Confronting Inequity: Are the kids really out of control? (2018). Milner, H. R.; Cunningham, H. B.; Kestenberg, E. G.; Delale-O'Connor, L. Educational Leadership 76(1).
- Supporting Students Below the Poverty Line (2017) Milner, H. R.; Cunningham, H. B.; Murray, I. E.; Alvarez, A. J.
- What Is “Good Teaching” for Elementary English Language Learners? (2016) Cunningham, H. B.; Crawford, P. A.
- Using Service-Learning as a Tool to Develop Intercultural Understanding (2015) Mattix Foster, A. A., Cunningham, H. B. & Wrightsman, K.
- Pathways to Developing Interculturally Aware Teachers (2014) Cunningham, H. B.; Katsafanas, J. D.