Christine Leighton

Christine Leighton serves as Professor of Education and Chair at Emmanuel College, where she has been a faculty member since 2010. Her work centers on fostering language and literacy development in multilingual and multicultural educational environments through asset-based approaches that prioritize teacher and student agency. She actively collaborates with practicing educators to develop equitable instructional practices that empower both teachers and learners.

Dr. Leighton holds an Ed.D. in Literacy and Language from Boston University, an M.Ed. from George Washington University with licensure in Spanish and ESL, and a B.S.LA. from Georgetown University with a Spanish major and Arabic minor. Her educational journey reflects her deep commitment to bilingual education and language acquisition.

Her research focuses on creating meaningful learning opportunities that promote authentic literacy experiences through culturally relevant pedagogy. She investigates how complex and representative texts, critical reasoning discussions, and identity-centered curriculum design foster academic engagement and rich classroom discourse. Current projects emphasize iterative collaboration with teachers to develop strategies that simultaneously advance students' disciplinary knowledge and academic language while respecting their linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong trajectory toward teacher agency development and digital literacy coaching tools. Her work increasingly integrates identity-focused frameworks with practical classroom applications, particularly in supporting English learners through complex expository texts and dialogic reasoning approaches. A consistent theme across her scholarship is the empowerment of educators as change agents in multilingual classrooms.

Her scientific recognition includes the Emmanuel College Faculty Excellence in Teaching award (2016-2017), the Elsbeth Melville Scholarship from Boston University Women's Guild (2010), and nomination as DC Charter Schools' Teacher of the Year (2001). She has secured research funding including the Sylvia D. Brown Scholarship from MRA for literacy engagement projects.

Dr. Leighton actively mentors pre-service teachers through courses like Literacy and Literacy Methods I/II and Sheltered English Instruction. Her grant work with practicing teachers focuses on implementing complex text strategies and digital coaching tools to enhance literacy instruction. She maintains strong community partnerships with schools to bridge research and classroom practice.

She leads collaborative research teams investigating how literacy coaching through digital platforms expands professional development access. Current projects examine the impact of culturally sustaining texts on reading identity formation and how critical consciousness develops through literacy instruction in middle school settings.