Explore Pedagogies of Voice: Street Data and the Path to Student Agency
Pedagogies of Voice
by Shane Safir, Marlo Bagsik, Sawsan Jaber, and Crystal M. Watson
Transform your classroom into a liberatory space for student voice, belonging, and intellectual development.
Introducing four domains of agency–Identity, Belonging, Inquiry, and Efficacy–this book presents a framework for creating schools that affirm every learner while dismantling systems of oppression. Pedagogies of Voice invites educators to reimagine their classrooms as spaces where student identity and inquiry are celebrated, agency is nurtured, and everyone belongs.
Related Webinar
Awakening Student Agency Through a Pedagogy of Voice
Duration: 60 minutes
Cult of Pedagogy’s Jennifer Gonzalez joins Street Data author Shane Safir, and educational leaders Marlo Bagsik, Dr. Sawsan Jaber, and Crystal M. Watson as they unveil their forthcoming book, Pedagogies of Voice: Street Data and the Path to Student Agency.
Authors
Shane Safir
Shane Safir has worked at every level of the
education system, from the classroom to the boardroom, for over 25 years. In
2003, after teaching in San Francisco and Oakland and organizing in the
community to launch a new school, Shane became the founding co-principal of
June Jordan School for Equity (JJSE), an innovative national model identified
by leading scholar Linda Darling-Hammond as “supporting the success of
low-income students of color.” Since 2008, Safir has provided equity-centered
leadership coaching, strategic planning, and professional development for
schools, districts, and organizations across the United States, Canada, and
beyond. She facilitates learning on listening leadership, becoming a warm
demander for equity, centering student voice, and the Street Data model for
school transformation. She is the author of The
Listening Leader: Creating the Conditions for Equitable School Transformation
(Jossey-Bass, 2017) and the bestselling
Street Data: A Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School
Transformation (Corwin, 2021), for which Dr. Jamila Dugan contributed the
powerful Chapter 2.
Marlo Bagsik
Since 2013, Marlo Bagsik has dedicated
his career to advancing equity and social justice in education, with a focus on
ensuring the highest quality education for historically oppressed groups. His work,
rooted in English language arts, extends to restorative justice, trauma-informed
care, multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), and adult learning. With degrees from
UC Berkeley and USC, Marlo has been a leader in transforming schools into antiracist,
inclusive environments. Currently, as the district professional learning
coordinator in the SF Bay Area, Marlo continues to champion systemic change that
honors the dignity and humanity of every student and educator. He’s a forever educator,
facilitator, equity strategist, author, and speaker.
Dr. Sawsan Jaber
Dr. Sawsan Jaber is a global educator, author,
presenter, equity strategist, curriculum designer, and keynote speaker of 20+ years.
She is currently a high school English department chair and a district equity
leader. Dr. Jaber founded Education Unfiltered Consulting and works with schools
nationally and internationally. She completed her PhD in curriculum and instruction
with a focus on inclusion and belonging of students from marginalized communities.
Sawsan was nominated for Illinois Teacher of the Year for 2023, awarded the Cook
County Teacher of the year in 2023, IDEA Teacher of the Year in 2022, and is an
ISTE 20 to Watch Awardee for 2023.
Crystal M. Watson
Crystal M. Watson is an innovative, passionate, and
authentic mathematics educator and life-long learner who you can count on to always
ask “What do the students think?” Her work is centered around providing space for
voice and identity development in order for everyone, particularly those most marginalized,
to experience high-quality, deep, and personal mathematics. Crystal has worked alongside
other scholars to develop culturally responsive, reflective, and/or anti-racist
curricular resources that center young people in every lesson. You might catch her
at both local and national conferences, on podcasts, developing and leading professional
development sessions, or having conversations about how we are cultivating youth-centered
spaces.
Featured Endorsements
Bettina Love
Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University
"Right now, more than ever, both in education and in the world around us, there is an urgent and profound need for possibilities, truth-telling, justice, hope, and ultimately, love. The authors of Pedagogies of Voice have given us just that. By listening to educators from across North America, they have developed pedagogies that awaken both student and teacher agency. [...] Pedagogies of Voice is a book that every teacher needs because it has the potential to transform classrooms and help create the world that those of us on the side of justice and love know is possible. This book is an invitation you must accept."
Christopher Emdin
Maxine Greene Chair for Distinguished Contributions to Education and Professor of Science Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
"In Pedagogies of Voice, Shane Safir, Crystal Watson, Marlo Bagsik, and Sawsan Jaber showcase what it looks like to both reimagine and reconstruct the educational landscape. Drawing on the transformative power of Street Data, they challenge traditional paradigms and illuminate a path toward authentic student agency. [...] I celebrated Street Data as 'a guide for educators to transcend surface-level metrics and build systems rooted in humanity and justice.' This book, a necessary extension of that work, is a must-read for anyone devoted to being better equipped to continue the work of reshaping education into a liberatory practice."
Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz
Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University, Author, "Love from the Vortex & Other Poems" and "The Peace Chronicles
"Pedagogies of Voice is a timely call, a vision grounded in justice and hope. It invites educators to imagine their classrooms as liberatory spaces—genius gardens where student agency, belonging, joy, and love take root and flourish. Through its actionable framework, the authors weave historical, cultural, and pedagogical insights into a powerful guide, inspiring meaningful learning that extends beyond the walls of the classroom."
