Haeny S. Yoon

Haeny S. Yoon serves as Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education and Director of Early Childhood Programs in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her academic leadership focuses on critical perspectives in early childhood education, literacy development, and teacher preparation within urban educational contexts.

Her academic credentials include:

• Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction (Language and Literacy) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• M.Ed. in Elementary Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• B.A. in Sociology/Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Dr. Yoon's research investigates children's play and identity formation, popular cultural influences on contemporary childhood, young children's writing practices, and critical approaches to curriculum. She examines how race, ethnicity, and urban environments shape early literacy development and teacher education, positioning educators as public intellectuals engaged in social justice work through her scholarship on transnational dynamics and equity-focused pedagogy.

Analysis of her 2014-2020 publications reveals consistent emphasis on play as a vehicle for literacy development, identity exploration, and social justice in early childhood settings. Key themes include transnational friendship dynamics, critical citizenship education, and resistance to standardized testing through culturally responsive practices, often examined through teacher-researcher collaborations that center children's voices and lived experiences.

As Director of Early Childhood Programs, Dr. Yoon leads curriculum development initiatives and teacher training. She hosts the Pop and Play Podcast exploring innovative early childhood practices, and maintains active research collaborations addressing equity in urban kindergarten classrooms through publications in top-tier journals like Research in the Teaching of English and Harvard Educational Review.