ABOUT
Kristien Zenkov is a professor of teacher education and literacy education, the Division Director of Elementary, Literacy, and Secondary Education, and the Program Coordinator of Secondary Education (SEED) at George Mason University. He is the co-director of the "Through Students Eyes" project, which asks diverse high school and middle school youth to document with photographs and writing what they believe are the purposes of school.
Dr. Zenkov received his Ph.D. in Teacher Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was a faculty member at Cleveland State University before coming to George Mason. He has published more than one hundred fifty articles and book chapters and eight books concerning urban teacher education, social justice education, Professional Development Schools, language arts pedagogy, and curriculum standards.
He continues his professional development schools efforts at George Mason through partnerships with Alexandria, Fairfax County, Prince William County, Loudoun County, and Manassas schools. Dr. Zenkov and his colleagues have been awarded grants (totaling nearly $2 million) from private foundations and the US Department of Education in support of the "Through Students Eyes" (TSE) project and numerous other urban teacher education, conflict resolution, and teacher mentoring studies and programs. He has conducted TSE with youth in Sierra Leone, Haiti, and Iraq. He has taught language arts and drama in city high schools across the country. Dr. Zenkov is the former editor of School-University Partnerships and the current Treasurer of the National Association for Professional Development Schools.
Kristien Zenkov, PhD
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Recent Peer-Reviewed Articles
Note: Publications with * denote manuscripts co-authored with teachers and masters/doctoral students
​*Zenkov, K., Taousakis, M., Ewaida, M., Staudt, E., & Gorannson, J. (2023). Positioned as pedagogues,
required to explore their teacher personas: Impacts of clinical experience models on teacher
candidates’ practices and identities. School-University Partnerships, 16(1), 71-
91. https://doi.org/10.1108/SUP-02-2023-0005
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Nagro, S. A., Macedonia, A., Raines, A. R., Day, J., Parker, A. K., Parsons, S., Coogel, C. G., & Zenkov, K.
(2023). A systematic review of teacher factors for successfully educating students with disabilities.
The New Educator, 19(2), 77-102. https://doi.org/10.1080/1547688X.2023.2193226
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Polly, D., Badiali, B., Burns, R. W., Coler, C., Cosenza, M., Goree, K., Stoicovy, D., Zenkov, K. (2023). A
refresh of the Essentials of Professional Development Schools: The Second Edition of the NAPDS
Nine Essentials. Connections: Journal of the California Association of School-University
Partnerships, 12(1), 6.
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Zenkov, K., & Pytash, K. (2022). Critical, project-based clinical experiences as sustainable "third space" reforms. Teacher Education Quarterly. 9(2). pp. 58-85.​
Helmsing, M., Parker, A. K., Glaser, H., Zenkov, K., & Porter, A. (2022). Coaching cubed: Mentor teachers’ perspectives on the exponential nature of supporting teacher candidates during uncertain times. Special Themed Issue: School University Partnerships, 15(1).​​​
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*Zenkov, K. & Pytash, K. (2022). A solution to teacher educators’ existential crisis? Critical,
project-based clinical experiences. Teacher Education Quarterly.
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Glaser, H., Helmsing, M., Zenkov, K., & Parker, A. (2021). Adding the “T” to the “PCK” in clinical experiences: How technology shaped our pandemic teacher education pedagogies and partnerships. The New Educator, 17(4), 353-374. (NOTE: Awarded The New Educator Taylor and Francis Outstanding Article Award). https://doi.org/10.1080/1547688X.2021.1983097
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*Parker, A.K., Zenkov, K., & Glaser, H. (2021). Preparing school-based teacher educators: Mentor teachers’ perceptions of mentoring and mentor training. Manuscript submitted for publication in the Peabody Journal of Education (Special Issue on Clinical Practice and Innovative Clinical Work in Teacher Education) (Edited by D. Polly, R.W. Burns, E. Garin, B. Badiali). https://doi.org/10.1080/0161956X.2021.1877027
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Zenkov, K., Lague, M., & Azevedo, P.C. (2020). SEED “Seeds,” “Stories of Injustice,” and the equity ideals of our partnerships: A program in formation and pre-/in-service teachers as bridges to equity. School-University Partnerships (Special Issue edited by Drew Polly, UNC Charlotte/Christie Martin, University of South Carolina at Columbia).
Zenkov, K., Dennis, D., & Parker, A.K. (Fall, 2019). “Bless your heart,” BBQ, and clinical practitioners as neologists: Developing a lexicon for clinical practice. School-University Partnerships.
Parker, A. K., Zenkov, K., & Dennis, D.V. (2019). Exploring the lexicon or lack thereof in clinical teacher preparation. Action in Teacher Education, 41(3), 249-264.
DOI: 10.1080/01626620.2019.1600601​
Recent Invited and Editorial-Reviewed Articles
Note: Publications with * denote manuscripts co-authored with teachers and masters/doctoral students
Zenkov, K., Rogers, R., Parker, A., & Rogers, D. (September 2024). The Inquiry Initiative and “opportunity
gaps”: Collaborative research structure and challenging inequities in teacher education. Introductory
article in special issue on “opportunity gaps” in teacher education. The New Educator, 20(3).
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Glaser, H., Porter, A., Lague, M., Zenkov, K., & Helmsing, M. (2023). Editors’ Welcome. The Teacher
Educators’ Journal, 16(2).
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Glaser, H., Porter, A., Lague, M., Zenkov, K., & Helmsing, M. (2023). Editors’ Welcome. The Teacher
Educators’ Journal, 16(1).
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Burns, R. W., Badiali, B., Coler, C., Cosenza, M., Goree, K., Polly, D., Stoicovy, D., Zenkov, K. (2022).
Essential 2: “Clinical Practice” is what Professional Development Schools do. PDS Partners: Bridging
Research to Practice, 17(1), 38-41.
(Note: After first author, remaining authors are listed alphabetically.)​
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Polly, D., Badiali, B., Burns, R. W., Coler, C., Cosenza, M., Goree, K., Polly, D., Stoicovy, D., Zenkov, K.
(2022). Essential 3: Professional learning in the context of PDS and School-University partnerships.
PDS Partners: Bridging Research to Practice, 17(3), 39-42.
(Note: After first author, remaining authors are listed alphabetically.)
Stoicovy, D., Badiali, B., Burns, R. W., Coler, C., Cosenza, M., Goree, K., Polly, D., & Zenkov, K. (2022).
Essential 4: A shared commitment to reflection, innovation and generative knowledge. PDS
Partners: Bridging Research to Practice, 17(1), 41-42.
(Note: After first author, remaining authors are listed alphabetically.)
Coler, C. Goree, K., Stoicovy, D., Polly, D, Badiali, B., Burns, R. W., Cosenza, M., & Zenkov, K. (2022). The value of school-university partnerships and Professional Development Schools. The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators, 88(3), 6-14.
Helmsing, M., Glaser, H., Zenkov, K., & Lague, M. (2022). From frustration to innovation: Considering new practices and approaches for teacher education as post-pandemic pedagogy. The Teacher Educators’ Journal, 15(1), iv-xii.
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Zenkov, K., Badiali, B., Burns, R. W., Coler, C., Cosenza, M., Goree, K., Polly, D., Stoicovy, D., Bertrand, S., Haddad, K., Crane, N., & Lague, M. (2021). The “Revised Nine Essentials” article series Essential 1: Justice is our “Comprehensive Mission.” PDS Partners: Bridging Research to Practice. 16(4), 21- 24.
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American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. (2018). A pivot toward clinical practice, its lexicon, and the renewal of educator preparation: A report of the AACTE Clinical Practice Commission. Washington D.C.: Authors.
Pytash, K., & Zenkov, K. (2018). Introduction to the guest-edited issue: Critical, project-based clinical experiences in literacy contexts. The New Educator, 14(3), 185-191.
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Recent Book Chapters
Note: Publications with * denote manuscripts co-authored with teachers and masters/doctoral students
Zenkov, K., Rudder, L., & Polly, D. (in press). An introduction to this collection and consideration of
boundary-spanning work in school-university partnerships. In K. Zenkov, D. Polly, & L. Rudder
(Eds.), Boundary-Spanning in School-University Partnerships. Information Age Publishing.
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*Zenkov, K., Fox, M., Ewaida, M., & Haddad, K. (in press). The metaphors we partner by: Lexical slights of
hand and the limiting language of school-university partnerships. In J. Dresden, J. Ferrara, J.
Neapolitan, & D. Yendol-Hoppey (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of School-University
Partnerships.
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Zenkov, K., Pytash, K., & Lague, M. (2024). "Boundary-Spanners" in literacy education: Roles, activities,
supports, constraints, and futures. In J.R. Feinberg & S.L Ogletree (Eds.), Advancing school-
university partnerships and professional development schools through national research: Revitalized
perspectives for social justice, equity, growth and inclusivity. Routledge.
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*Gorannson, J., Zenkov, K., & Taousakis, M. (2023). Windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors: Co-
teaching and co-supervision internship models for teacher educator learning. In B. Butler, A.
Cuenca, & J. Ritter (Eds.), How teacher educators learn: Profiles in teacher educator professional
development.
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Zenkov, K. & Parker, A. K. (2023). Notions of partnership and projectbased clinical
experiences: An ATE Teacher Educator Standard 5 Case. In R. Burns & J. Jacobs (Eds.), The
complex work of teacher educators: Cases that illustrate teacher educator standards in action.
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Zenkov, K., Lague, M., Haddad, K., Gervacio, A., Sabah, M., & Kolapalli, A. (2022). “Storying” injustice with future English teachers: Narrating our way to the equity foundations of our writing pedagogies. In T. Hodges (Ed.), Handbook of equity-focused writing instruction. pp. 224-247. IGI Global.
Zenkov, K. (2022). Teachers, teaching, teacher educators, teaching education: A case for class-based and classroom-based transitions. In N. Vines & A. Broemmel (Eds.), Teacher reflections on transitioning from K-12 to higher education classrooms, pp. 381-391. IGI Global.
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*Zenkov, K., Parker, A.K., Glaser, H., & Vardas-Doane, A. (2020). Valuing the expertise of school-based teacher educators in school-university partnerships: Creating a sustainable model of mentor teacher preparation. In P.E. Bernhardt, T. Conway & G. Richardson (Eds.), Effective Clinical Practice: Preparing Mentor Teachers and University-Based Educators to Support Teacher Candidate Learning and Development.
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*Johnson, R.D., Parsons, S.A., Parker, A.K., Zenkov, K., Dennis, D., del Prado Hill, P., Garas-York, K., Loving, K., & Slattery, C. (2020). The case for PDS as an exemplary model of school-university partnerships. Proposal accepted for inclusion in P. Chandler & L. Barron (Eds.), Rethinking School- University Partnerships: A New Way Forward.
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*Zenkov, K., Lague, M., & Azevedo, P.C. (2020). SEED “Seeds,” “Stories of Injustice,” and the ideals of our profession: A program in formation and pre-service teachers as bridges to equity. In E. Garin & R.W. Burns (Eds.), The NAPDS Nine Essentials in Action: Cases of Professional Development Schools (pp. 249-255).
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*Zenkov, K., Taylor, L., Pytash, K., Lague, M., & Ayers, A. (2020). Critical, project-based clinical experiences: Formalizing the roles of university- and school-based teacher educators. In E. Garin & R.W. Burns (Eds.) The NAPDS Nine Essentials in Action: Cases of Professional Development Schools (pp. 198-202).
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Zenkov, K. & Pytash, K. (2018). Critical, project-based clinical experiences: Their origins and their elements. In K. Zenkov & K. Pytash (Eds.), Clinical experiences in teacher education: Critical, project-based experiences in diverse classrooms (pp. 1-17). Routledge.
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Zenkov, K., Parsons, S., Parker, A.K., Brown, E.L., Groth, L., Pytash, K., & Pellegrino, A. (2018). From collaborative inquiry to critical, project-based clinical experiences: Partnership pathways to field- based teacher education. In T. Hodges & A. Baum (Eds.), Handbook of field-based teacher education. IGI.
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Parker, A.K., Zenkov, K., & Parsons, S. (2018). Purposeful preparation for roles in boundary-spanning clinical teacher preparation. In D. Hoppey, D. Yendol-Hoppey, & N. Dana (Eds.), Preparing the next generation of teacher educators. IAP.​
Books
Note: Publications with * denote manuscripts co-authored with teachers and masters/doctoral students
Call-Cummings, M., Zenkov, K., & Keller, J. (in press). Talking equity in polarized times: Stories and
strategies from teachers, for teachers. Routledge.
Polly, D., Zenkov, K., & Rudder, L. (in press). Boundary-spanning in school-university partnerships.
Information Age.
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Cushman, K., Zenkov, K., & Call-Cummings, M. (2021). New fires in our lives: Advice for teachers from high school students. New Press.
Zenkov, K., & Pytash, K. (2018). Critical, project-based experiences in teacher preparation: Classroom interventions, teacher training and development, boundary-spanning roles, and collaborative scholarship. Routledge.
*Zenkov, K., & Harmon, J. (2016). Through students’ eyes: Writing and photography for success in school. Rowman & Littlefield.
Richards, J.C., & Zenkov, K. (Eds.) (2015). Social justice, the Common Core, and closing the instructional gap: Empowering diverse learners and their teachers. Information Age.
Gorski, P. & Zenkov, K. (Eds.) (2014). The big lies of education reform. Routledge.
Zenkov, K., Corrigan, D. & Beebe, R. (Eds.). (2013). Professional development schools and social justice: Schools and universities partnering to make a difference. Lexington Books.
Gorski, P., Zenkov, K., Osei-Kofi, N., & Sapp, J. (Eds.). (2012). Cultivating social justice teachers: How teacher educators have helped students overcome cognitive bottlenecks and learn critical social justice concepts. Stylus.
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Navarro, V. & Marquez-Zenkov, K. (Eds.) (2005). Staying connected: Re-framing the contours of partnership work in education with PDS standards. Urban Network to Improve Teacher Education.