Maggie Beneke

Maggie Beneke is an Associate Professor in the College of Education at the University of Washington, specializing in Special Education and Teacher Education and Teacher Learning for Justice. Her work focuses on transforming deficit discourses around young children's identities and competencies, particularly for those marginalized by ableism, racism, and linguicism.

• Education:
  • Ph.D. in Special Education, University of Kansas
  • M.A.T. in Child Development, Tufts University
  • B.A. in English Literature & Studio Art, Illinois Wesleyan University

Her research integrates critical disability studies and disability justice to examine how young children, families, and educators resist oppressive notions of "normalcy" in literacy contexts. Key themes include:

• DisCrit (Disability Critical Race Theory)
• Early childhood literacy pedagogyEquity in urban education
• Teacher education reform
• Intersectional identity construction
• Anti-carceral teaching practices

Recent publications analyze carceral logics in education, white-ability saviorism, and solidarity practices in research with multiply-marginalized populations. She collaborates with scholars like E. Machado, H. Love, and J. Taitingfong.