Maria Malagon

María Malagon is Associate Professor of Sociology and Vice Chair at California State University, Fullerton. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, she holds a Ph.D. in Social Sciences & Comparative Education from UCLA (2011) and completed a UC/ACCORD postdoctoral fellowship. Her scholarship employs Chicana feminist frameworks to analyze educational inequities.

Education

• Ph.D. Social Sciences & Comparative Education, UCLA (2011)
• M.A., University of California, Los Angeles (2005)
• B.A., University of California, Irvine (2004)

Malagon's research examines how racialized femininities/masculinities manifest in educational policy and practice. Her current book project explores Mexican American girls' experiences in 1940s reformatory schools. She uses critical pedagogies emphasizing lived experiences to foster sociological thinking.

Her publications in Harvard Educational Review, Contemporary Justice Review, and Nevada Law Journal document educational pathways of marginalized youth, analyzing racial nativism, undocumented student experiences, and alternative education trajectories.

Malagon teaches Sociology of Education and Writing for Sociology, implementing social justice-oriented approaches that challenge students intellectually while supporting diverse learning needs.