Stephanie C Sanders-Smith

Stephanie C Sanders-Smith is an Associate Professor in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois. She holds a Ph.D. in Urban Systems (Rutgers University), M.A. in Cultural and Educational Policy Studies (Loyola University Chicago), and B.S. in Early Childhood Education (Butler University). Her research focuses on culturally sustaining practices in early education, examining teacher-child relationships and family engagement through sociological lenses like Bernstein, Dewey, and Bourdieu. She explores democratic pedagogy in progressive schools and barriers to non-hierarchical family engagement. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes active learning and democratic spaces, informed by her background in preschool teaching.

Recipient of the 2021 NAECTE Outstanding Early Childhood Teacher Educator Award and 2015 NAECTE Early Career Research Award, she has given invited talks on topics such as multilingualism in early education and the Yew Chung Approach to pedagogy. Her work bridges theory and practice, advocating for equity and relational pedagogy in diverse educational contexts.