Biography

While his research aims to support all educators in K-12 settings, Dr. Alvarez is particularly interested in educators who work with children of color, children living in urban environments, and children who are exposed to violence and trauma. He uses various race-based, analytic frameworks and diverse methodological approaches to study how race and racism shape the social context of education across various settings. Featured in Theory into Practice, Equity and Excellence in Education, and Teaching Education, his scholarship contributes to a growing body of research, attempting to shift our institutional approaches toward preparing future educators and researchers to recognize and disrupt longstanding school and social inequalities. 

As Assistant Professor of Urban Education in the Department of Early Childhood, Elementary Education & Critical Foundations, Dr. Alvarez teaches graduate courses, such as critical pedagogy, power and privilege, and other topics related to urban education. Additionally, Dr. Alvarez is a core faculty member in the Urban and Diverse Educational Systems, an area of concentration within Rowan’s PhD in Education program for students seeking to either specialize in urban education research or broaden their understanding of and interdisciplinary approaches to exploring race, equity, and justice across various school and social contexts.

B.A., Psychology, Huston-Tillotson University; M.Ed., Educational Leadership and Policy, University of Texas at Austin; Ph.D., Social and Comparative Analysis in Education, University of Pittsburgh

Dr. Alvarez’s Representative Publications

Alvarez, A. & Farinde-Wu. (2022). Advancing a holistic trauma framework for collective healing from colonial abuses. AERA Open.

Alvarez, A. & Tulino, D. (2022). Racial conflict, violence and trauma: Why race dialogues are critical to healing. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education

Alvarez, A. (2020). Seeing race in the research on youth trauma: A critical review. Review of Educational Research.