Joseph Levitan

Title: 
Dr.
Academic title(s): 

Associate Professor

Joseph Levitan
Contact Information
Address: 

 

 

Email address: 
joseph.levitan [at] mcgill.ca
Degree(s): 

Ph.D. Educational Leadership & Comparative and International Education (dual title)
        The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA

M.A. International Educational Development & Social Justice, Peace Education
       Columbia University Teachers College, New York, NY

B.A.  Philosophy cum laude (with high honors thesis)
        Brandeis University, Waltham, MA    

Research Interests

  • Community-Based Participatory Action Research
  • Collaborative Research Methods
  • Learning, Identity, Wellbeing and the Social Good
  • Educational Leadership; Education Policy
  • International/Transnational Research
  • Community-based policy development
  • Social change/transformation
  • Philosophies of human/societal flourishing and education
  • Mixed-Methodologies

 

Areas of expertise: 

Organizational Leadership, Community Development, Education Policy, International Development, Responsive and Relational Pedagogy and Leadership, School design, Collaborative Inquiry, NGOs, Curriculum, Anthropology of Education, Action Research, Ethnography, Social Justice in Education, Culturally Grounded Education, Educational Philosophy/Theory, Indigenous Education, Identity, Reflective/Reflexive Practices, Social-Emotional Learning, Mindfulness, and Intersectional Analysis of Culture, Identity, and Learning 

Group: 
Tenure-Track Professors
Office hours: 

By appointment

Current research: 

Culturally grounded and socially just approaches to education and educational leadership

  • E.g. Identity development of first generation students in secondary and post-secondary schools, supported by:

    • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Insight Grant 2022 (Principal Investigator) $285,180
      Community-Based Participatory Action Research project exploring impacts of Covid-19 on rural youths identities, wellbeing, learning, and opportunities
      Project Title: Salir Adelante Disrupted: Exploring the Impact of Covid-19 on Educational Trajectories of Rural Indigenous youth in the Peruvian Andes
      With Juan Loyaza, Frances Kvietok, Ingrid Guzman, Kayla Johnson

    • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Insight Development Grant 2018 (Principal Investigator) $74,644
      Community-based participatory action research relating to school’s impact on identity development of first-generation, rural, Indigenous students in the Peruvian Andes

      Project Title: The Impact of Postsecondary Education on First-Generation Indigenous Student Identity in the Peruvian Andes
      With: Kayla Johnson, Natalia Incio Serra

    • McGill University Internal Grant 2018 (Principal Investigator) $7,000
      R
      esearch on rural Indigenous students’ identity development at a K-12 culturally grounded education center
      Project Title: The Influence of Culturally Grounded Education on Indigenous Students' Self-Conceptions: A Study in Peru
      With Kayla Johnson, Natalia Incio Serra

  • E.g. Collaborative approaches for culturally grounded curriculum, supported by:

    • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Special Call: Indigenous Research Capacity and Reconciliation 2018 (Co-Investigator) $45,605
      Knowledge-sharing and capacity-building symposium focused on culturally-grounded curriculum development with Indigenous communities in Quebec

      Project Title: Gathering Community Knowledge, Practices, and Traditions to Inform Curriculum Development: A Symposium on Research for Indigenous Curriculum Design
      With: Crystal Bay, Isabella Boutros, Tsohahì:io Lauren Deom, Bethany Douglas, Melissa Drapeau, Jim Howden, Kahsennenhawe Jacobs, Limin Jao, Kayla Johnson, Annie Kasudluak Alaku, Karen Martin, Stephen Peters, Ulaayu Pilurtuut, Pasha Puttayuk, Nunia Qanatsiaq Anoee, Kelsey Catherine Schmitz, Rebecca Sockbeson, Kahtehrón:ni Iris Stacey, Marsha Vicaire

School innovation in Quebec: NEXT Schools

  • E.g. Inquiry into the school change process, supported by:
     
    • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Partnership Development Grant (Co-investigator) $198,184
      Action research project working with English language schools to innovate policy and pedagogy
      Project Title: NEXTSchools: Studying Educational Change in four Québec High Schools
      With: Lisa Starr (PI), Vanessa Gold, Ellen MacCannell, Aron Rosenberg, Lynn Butler-Kisber
       
    • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Connections Grant 2018 (Co-Investigator) $24,423
      Research and development of conference to support innovative learning spaces and leadership practices in Quebec high schools using design thinking
      Project Title: NEXTSchools: Innovative Learning for Québec High Schools
      With: Lisa Starr (PI), Vanessa Gold, Ellen MacCannell, Aron Rosenberg, Lynn Butler-Kisber
       
    • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Partnership Engage Grant 2018 (Co-Investigator) $24,831
      Research and development of innovative learning spaces and leadership practices in Quebec high schools using design thinking

      Project Title: NEXTSchools: Innovative Systems Change for Québec High Schools
      With: Lisa Starr (PI), Vanessa Gold, Ellen MacCannell, Aron Rosenberg, Lynn Butler-Kisber


Collaborative, community-driven ways to develop high-quality, culturally grounded education and its effect on learning, identity, and social-emotional outcomes in the Peruvian Andes

  • E.g. Yachay (Learning) Ayni (through Reciprocity) Digital, supported by:
     
    • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Partnership Engage Grant 2019 (Principal Investigator) $25,000
      Research and development of innovative culturally grounded curriculum, pedagogy and learning spaces in Andean schools using a novel intranet learning platform

      Project Title: Building culturally grounded e-learning opportunities with Indigenous students in Andean Peru
      With: Kayla Johnson (Co-I), Daniel Zuñiga, Jessica Freundt, & Santiago Cueto
       
    • Rotary Foundation Global Grant 2017 (Co-Investigator) $69,300
      Research and train teachers working in rural secondary schools in order to enhance their technical skills and support them in conducting curriculum on critical socio-emotional skills and civic engagement now required by the Ministry of Education in Peru
      Project Title: Visionaria: Teacher Training for Socio-Emotional Skills and Civic Engagement
      With: Paul Spurzem, Paola Saldivias, Genevieve Smith

Leaders' and Teachers' reflexive practices and their influence on relational dynamics in multicultural spaces

Ecological systems understandings of educational spaces, specifically in regards to culture, identity, personal growth, and learning

  • E.G. Service learning and social change, supported by:

    • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Partnership Engage Grant (Co-Investigator) $24,831
      Action research relating to international community engagement programs
      Project Title: The Critical Issues Summit: Engaging and Empowering Students to be Global Change Agents
      With: Kayla Johnson

Projects: 

Community Based Research for Social Change and Social Justice Lab

Yachay Ayni Digital: Creating culturally grounded curricula and re-valorizing community knowledge through project-oriented, competency based learning in a digital platform

http://educacion.colaboraccion.pe/content/621e8083e1ab760029dbea87

Developing a community-grounded and community-driven education center in the Peruvian Andes

NEXT Schools: School innovation for 21st century learning in Quebec

Identity development and education: Experiences of first generation students in secondary schools and universities

Youth Agency and Learning Lab

https://youthagencylab.com/our-mission

Exploring the intersections between youth agency and learning

Selected publications: 

Peer-Reviewed Journals

Low, B., Farmer, F., Levitan, J., Butler-Kisber, L., Rosenberg, A., MacCannell, E., Gold, V., & Starr, L. (2022). Exploring the limits of 21st century educational change discourses. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2022.2043830

Johnson, K. M., & Levitan, J. (2021). Rural Indigenous students’ experiences in Peruvian urban higher education: Interweaving ecological systems of coloniality, community, barriers, and opportunities. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/15595692.2021.1974383

Johnson, K. M., & Levitan, J. (2021). Learning on the mountain: Illuminating educational inequities during Covid-19 in Peru to develop community-informed policy. NORRAG Special Issue #6. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/356082922_Learning_on_the_Mountain_COVID-19_Educational_Inequities_and_Community-Informed_Policy_in_Peru

Levitan, J., & Johnson, K. M. (2020). Salir Adelante: Collaboratively developing culturally-grounded curriculum with marginalized communities. American Journal of Education. https://doi.org/10.1086/706921

Schussler, D. L, Oh, Y., Mahfouz, J., Levitan, J., Frank, J. L., Broderick, P.C., Mitra, J., Berrena, E., Kohler, K., & Greenberg, M. T. (2020). Stress and well-being: A systematic case study of adolescents’ experiences in a mindfulness-based program. Journal of Child and Family Studies

Starr, L.J., Levitan, J., Butler-Kisber, L., Rosenberg, A. Gold, V. &, MacCannell, E. (2020). Educational change and Nextschool: A review of literature informing innovative approaches to teaching and learning. Simon Fraser University Educational Review Journal 13(1).

Levitan, J. (2019). Ethical relationship building in action research: Getting out of Western norms to foster equitable collaboration. Canadian Journal of Action Research

Levitan, J. (2019). Incorporating participant voice in culturally responsive leadership: A case study. Leadership and Policy in Schools doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2019.1585546

Rosenberg, A., Starr, L. J., Levitan, J., MacCannell, E., & Gold, V. (2019). NEXTschool Reform: Situating local perspectives within global trends for 21st century learning. Systemic Change Journal, 2 (1), 1-22.

Broderick, P., Frank, J., Berrena, E., Schusler, D., Kohler, K., Mitra, J., Khan, L., Levitan, J., Mahfouz, J., Chields, L., & Greenberg, M. (2019). Evaluating the quality of mindfulness instruction delivered in school settings: Development and validation of a teacher quality observational rating scale. Mindfulness.

Levitan, J. (2018). The danger of a single theory: Understanding students’ voices and social justice in the Peruvian Andes. Teachers College Record, 120(2).

Levitan, J., Mahfouz, M., & Schussler, D. (2018). Pragmatic Identity Analysis as a qualitative interview technique. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum Qualitative Social Research, 19(3), Art. 18. http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/fqs-19.3.3032.

Levitan, J., & Carr-Chellman, D. (2018). Learning, Selfhood, and Pragmatic Identity Theory. Journal of Educational Thought, 51(2) 140-162.

Levitan, J. (2018) The legacy of postmodernism in popular thought and the emergence of “Inter/trans relational” -isms in educational theory. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 50th Anniversary Special Issue. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2018.1461412

Mahfouz, J., Levitan, J., Schussler, D., Broderick, T., Dvorakova, K., Argusti, M., Greenberg, M. (2018). Ensuring College Student Success through Mindfulness-Based Classes: Just BREATHE. College Student Affairs Journal.

Levitan, J., Carr-Chellman, D., Carr-Chellman, A. (2017). Accidental Ethnography (AccE): A method for practitioner-based education research. Action Research. doi/abs/10.1177/1476750317709078

Smith, W., Fraiser, P., Chykina, O., Ikoma, S., Levitan, J., Mahfouz, J., & Jing, L., (Aug, 2016). What makes a global citizen? The importance of education in a globally integrated world. Globalization, Societies, and Education.  doi/10.1080/14767724.2016.1222896

Mansur, N. N., Kryst, E. J., Levitan, J., Zhang, M., Jing, S., & Lee, S. (Feb. 2016). Child labor and education: New perspectives and approaches. Comparative Education Review. 60(1) 204-211. doi/full/10.1086/684937

Peer-Reviewed Book Chapters

Levitan, J. (2019). The role of reflexivity in performing collaborative student voice research. In I. Berson In M. Berson, & C. Gray (Eds.) Participatory methodologies to elevate children's voice and agency. Information Age Publishing.

Levitan, J., Schussler, D., Mahfouz, J., Frank, J., Kohler, K., Broderick, P., Mitra, J., Oh, Y., Berrena, E., Greenberg, M. (2018). Evaluating student cognitive and social-emotional growth during a high school mindfulness course using mixed-method design. SAGE Research Methods.

Levitan, J., & Post, D. (2017). Indigenous student outcomes and education policies in Peru and Ecuador. In Cortina, R. (Ed.), Indigenous Education Policy, Equity, and Intercultural Understanding in Latin America. Palgrave Macmillan.

Levitan, J. (2015). More than access: Overcoming barriers to girls’ secondary education in the Peruvian Andes. In Baily & Stacki (Eds.), Educating Adolescent Girls Around the Globe: Challenges and Opportunities. London: Routledge Research.

Public Access Articles

Levitan, J., Low, B., Starr, J. (Sept. 2, 2020). Opinion: Preparing our education system for a second wave. Montreal Gazzette Op-Ed.

Low, B., Starr, L., & Levitan, J. (May 26, 2020). Opinion: The digital divide threatens access to education. Montreal Gazette Op-Ed.

Harvey, B., Starr, L., Levitan, J. (January 21, 2020) Education and sustainability: Quebec students want (and deserve) more. Montreal Gazette Op-Ed

Levitan, J., Johnson, K. (2020). Collaboratively developing culturally-grounded curriculum to foster social justice. The American Journal of Education Forum

Levitan, J. (2016). “The difference between educational equality, equity, and justice… and why it matters.” The American Journal of Education Forum.

Levitan, J. (2016). “What the U.S. election results can tell us about research methods.” The American Journal of Education Forum.

Levitan, J. (2015). “Language learning orphans: School language policy in the US.” Education Week Commentary.  

Podcasts

Stieglitz, A., Levitan J. (December, 2020) Episode 8-Acting to Learn and Learning to Act with Dr. Alfredo Ortiz Aragon (Pt. 2). The Action Research Podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-action-research-podcast/id1530092194

Stieglitz, A., Levitan J. (November, 2020) Episode 7 –Acting to Learn and Learning to Act with Dr. Alfredo Ortiz Aragon (Pt. 1). The Action Research Podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-action-research-podcast/id1530092194

Stieglitz, A., Levitan J. (November, 2020) Episode 6 – Reflexivity in Action Research With Dr. Lisa Starr. The Action Research Podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-action-research-podcast/id1530092194

Stieglitz, A., Levitan J. (October, 2020). Episode 5 - Systemic Action Research with Dr. Blane Harvey. The Action Research Podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-action-research-podcast/id1530092194

Stieglitz, A., Levitan J. (October, 2020). Episode 4 - Who is Action Research?. The Action Research Podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-action-research-podcast/id1530092194

Stieglitz, A., Levitan J. (September, 2020). Episode 3 - What is Action Research? (Pt. 3). The Action Research Podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-action-research-podcast/id1530092194

Stieglitz, A., Levitan J. (September, 2020). Episode 2 - What is Action Research (Pt. 2). The Action Research Podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-action-research-podcast/id1530092194

Stieglitz, A., Levitan J. (September, 2020). Episode 1 - What is Action Research (Pt. 1). The Action Research Podcast. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-action-research-podcast/id1530092194

Graduate supervision: 

Samantha Traves is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University. Her research interests include the political economy of segregation in the U.S., class-based school district segregation, education finance, and quantitative and geographic research methods.

Vanessa Gold is a doctoral student in the Department of Integrated Studies of Education at McGill University studying pedagogical change processes in secondary and post-secondary schools. The research areas informing her work include student voice, educational leadership, design thinking, and action research. She seeks opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and creativity whenever possible.

Ellen MacCannell is a doctoral student in the Department of Integrated Studies of Education at McGill university. She studies educational change processes in secondary and post-secondary schools. Her research interests include: school change initiatives, educational leadership, student voice and stakeholder involvement in change processes. Collaboration is an integral part of her doctoral work.

Shikha Diwakar is a doctoral student in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University. Her research area focuses on understanding the role and impact of Dalit women’s identities on their life experiences. Her research interests include Dalit studies, Identity, and learning in higher education in India. She is also developing her skills in many qualitative methodological approaches like Action Research, Pragmatic Identity Analysis, and Narrative enquiry.

**Please note that Dr. Levitan is not currently accepting new students**

Selected talks and presentations: 

Invited Talks

Levitan, J. Stieglitz, A. Salmons, J. (2020). Action Research Podcast Interview with the Editors. Online interview hosted by SAGE MethodSpace. https://www.methodspace.com/.

Levitan, J. (2020). Language as a mediator of identity. University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

Levitan, J. (2020). Culturally grounded learning in K-12 and Higher Education. El Grupo de Analysis para el Desarollo (GRADE—National Research and Analysis Organization for Peruvian Development). Lima, Peru.

Levitan, J., & Johnson, K. M. (2019). Doing good research well: Socially-just approaches for collaborating with marginalized communities as an outsider. UCEA Jackson Scholars Graduate Student Development Webinar.

Levitan J. (2017). Invited keynote presentation at the Peruvian Embassy for a discussion about Indigenous girls’ education in the Peruvian Andes. Washington, DC.

Co-Host of The Action Research Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-action-research-podcast/id1530092194

Awards, honours, and fellowships: 

Society of Transnational Academic Researchers: A. Noam Chomsky Global Connections Award Rising Star Emerging Scholar Certificate

The Consortium for the Study of Leadership and Ethics in Education: Don Willower Award of Excellence in Educational Administration, 2019

AERA Leadership for Social Justice Special Interest Group: Bridge Person Award (Honorable Mention), 2019

United States Department of Education Funded Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship (Pennsylvania State University), 2015-16

Professional activities: 

Co-founder of the Sacred Valley Project, and Centro Educativo Pallata Ayllu Peruvian-US based non-profits dedicated to ensuring Quechua (Indigenous) students have access to high quality, culturally grounded education. 

Back to top