Christina Hewko

UC Santa Cruz
PhD Student & Teacher Supervisor
chewko@ucsc.edu 

I have been engaged in the field of education for over ten years, I started my journey tutoring elementary students and eventually pursued a master’s in education so I could teach high school social studies. I taught for six years and my experiences as a student and educator both intrigued and frustrated me. Ultimately, my desire to improve preservice teacher education and the learning experiences of primary-secondary students led me to pursue a doctorate in education at UC Santa Cruz. Currently, I am a second year doctoral student and I also supervise preservice teachers at San Jose State University. My research interests explore preservice and in-service teacher learning and development in relation to culturally sustaining and abolitionist pedagogies as well as abolition oriented community-engaged research. I hope to contribute to a body of research and a movement that transforms society, one that goes beyond reimagining and reforming, a transformation that disrupts and dismantles the school to prison nexus. I also want to prepare pre-service teachers so they truly feel equipped for the job as well as work to improve the status of the teaching profession in the United States.