DR. JENNI CONRAD RECEIVES PRESTIGIOUS CUFA AWARD
SYNOPSIS:
Dr. Jenni Conrad, Assistant Professor of Social Studies and Teacher Education at OSU-Cascades discusses her research in the area of social studies and recent award from the College and University Faculty Assembly.
Published March 17, 2025
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In December 2024, Dr. Jenni Conrad, Assistant Professor of Social Studies and Teacher Education at OSU-Cascades in Bend, was presented with the College and University Faculty Assembly (CUFA) Early Career Award.
The award is presented to a scholar in the early stages of their career who has made significant contributions to research and teaching related to important problems of theory and practice in social studies education. Recipients of the award must be engaged in research addressing new or persistent issues of concern to the social studies field, filling a gap in current knowledge, and serving as exemplary teachers and community members.
Jenni’s interest in social studies began in undergraduate cultural anthropology courses at Wesleyan University. “My classes, fieldwork, peers, and mentors really interested me in better understanding how to mobilize human diversity in learning spaces to support social change - and what my role could and should be in that work,” said Jenni. She continued to explore this as an experiential and outdoor educator, then as a social studies and language arts teacher in Seattle Public Schools, serving a wide range of students and families across the city for 8 years. Her students developed community action projects, planned and led teacher professional development on inclusive and LGBTQ+ affirming pedagogy, participated in mock trials and demonstrations at the state legislature and federal court, and worked alongside community members with project-based learning. “My students continually challenged and inspired me to teach in ways that supported their lives, communities, and more just futures,” she explained.
After moving into higher education in 2016, Jenni’s research focused on exploring inclusive, justice-oriented teaching and curriculum. In particular, she is interested in how social studies teachers learn to teach in ways that support student dialogue and action on issues of power and injustice.
“Social studies are so essential since schools function as laboratories for democracy,” Jenni said. “Social studies classes give teachers and students a language and a space to explore and support a more just world. Right now we’re living with the consequences of not prioritizing that learning.”
Jenni encourages teachers to make their classrooms student-centered with dialogue on important social and cultural issues such as racism, immigration, gender, and colonialism.
“There’s often a lot of pushback on social studies teachers because their work is seen as uniquely political,” said Jenni. “But all teaching is political. And for democratic processes to work, students must have support to think about and discuss uncomfortable issues. Classrooms need to be spaces where students regularly question, discuss, and contribute to the choices we make as a society.”
Such teaching requires skill and commitment, and Jenni’s next research projects look at how teachers learn to take up student-centered and justice-oriented instruction. She focuses on how teachers learn to plan and facilitate inclusive dialogues so everyone’s ideas can be heard – to support students’ agency in working towards justice.
“I’m looking at how teachers learn to facilitate discussions that don’t just end in the classroom but rather transform into action beyond it. Too often when students discuss social, political, and ecological issues, they get mired in futility or being overwhelmed. Students deserve to be part of solutions, and to learn with impacted communities already working towards them,” said Jenni.
You can learn more about Jenni’s research through her most recent publications:
College of Education students at OSU-Cascades participate in unique fields-based methods classes, gaining hands-on experience under the guidance of instructors.
The College of Education, in partnership with the Oregon Department of Education, concludes a wide-reaching project to study, identify and address inequities in the public school system.
ESOL helps Oregon's PK-12 teachers work effectively with students learning English as an additional language.