Mariana Souto-Manning

Mariana Souto-Manning is a Professor of Early Childhood Education and Teacher Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She directs the Early Childhood Education & Special Education Programs and co-founded the Center for Innovation in Teacher Education and Development (CITED). She holds external appointments at the University of Iceland and King’s College London. Prior to academia, she taught in public (pre)schools in Brazil and the U.S.

• Education: Ph.D. in Language Education (University of Georgia), M.Ed. and B.S.Ed. in Early Childhood Education (University of Georgia)
• Research: Focuses on inequities in early childhood education, critical pedagogy, languaging/literacy in pluralistic settings, and community-based research with minoritized communities of color.

Research Themes: Souto-Manning examines colonization, assimilation, and oppression in education, recentering methodologies on intersectionally minoritized people. Her work explores critical narrative analysis, transdisciplinary approaches, and transformative justice in teacher education.

Article Trends: Recent publications address urban teacher education programs, core practices in pedagogy, LGBTQ-inclusive curricula, and spatialized inequities in classrooms. These works align with her interests in critical race theory, multicultural education, and decolonial frameworks.

• Scientific Awards:
  • AERA Division K Innovations in Diversity Research (2011)
  • AERA Mid-Career Award (2017)
  • AESA Critics’ Choice Award (2016, 2013)
  • University of Georgia Distinguished Mid-Career Researcher (2020)
  • Outstanding Teaching Award (2008)

Students: She has mentored doctoral graduates including Dr. Hyeyoung Ghim, Dr. Eun Jeong Jun, and Dr. Ayesha Rabadi-Raol, whose work spans transnational teacher identities, critical pedagogy, and racial justice in education.

Collaborations: Regularly partners with teachers and community-based organizations. Key projects include the federally-funded QUIERE Project and co-editorship of journals like The New Educator and Teachers College Record.