Dr. Stephanie Leite

Dr. Stephanie Leite’s research and teaching focus on integrated approaches to education in formal and non-formal settings, with an emphasis on global citizenship, sustainability and climate change. Her action-research orientation stems from experience as a teacher, trainer and Director of Curriculum at a project-based school in Chicago, which instilled a drive to experiment with integrating curriculum, assessment and pedagogy. She has carried this philosophy to a variety of learning environments in North America, having worked as a middle- and high-school teacher, as an instructor for undergraduate and graduate students and as a trainer-facilitator for secondary teachers and faculty members committed to incorporating project-based and sustainability pedagogies into their courses. She holds a BA in English & Arts Education, an MA in Conflict Transformation and Sustainable Development and a PhD in Educational Studies with a focus on Climate Change and Sustainability Education. 

 

Stephanie’s collaborations with students seek to understand what it means to live, learn and teach in the 21st century – and how education can play a role in preparing students to lead and thrive in these uncertain times. Her teaching approaches permeabilize the walls between classroom and world and apply critical pedagogies as a means to nurture the consciousness needed to transform our complex world in the face of interwoven socio-ecological challenges. Her courses prioritize integration and practical components, so students take active steps to change education systems towards more coherence and relationality. As an educator, she considers herself a lifelong student alongside the learners she works with. 

 

Stephanie’s research examines the interplay between individual and institutional change and how to work at deep leverage points to spark systemic shifts towards sustainability. Her recent publications address pressing questions that educators face in the context of a climate-altered world and explore the structures that enable or constrain transformative education. In her participatory research with educators, she investigates the overlapping roles of teachers and researchers to nurture more collaborative, localized and relational ways of learning and generating knowledge.