Sonia Nieto is a Professor Emerita of Language, Literacy and Culture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, School of Education
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...
. With experience in teaching students at all levels and from many socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, Nieto is an author who teaches in the field of
multiculturalism
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...
. She has won several awards in her field, for instance, the 1997 Multicultural Educator of the Year award from the National Association for Multicultural Education, the 2005 Educator of the Year Award from the
National Council of Teachers of English
The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is a United States professional organization dedicated to "improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education. Since 1911, NCTE has provided a forum ...
, and honorary doctorates from
Lesley University
Lesley University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. As of 2018-19 Lesley University enrolled 6,593 students (2,707 undergraduate and 3,886 graduate).
History ...
(1999),
Bridgewater State College
Bridgewater State University is a public university with its main campus in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. It is the largest of nine state universities in Massachusetts. Including its off-campus sites in New Bedford, Attleboro, and Cape Cod, BSU h ...
(2004), and
DePaul University
DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...
(2007).
Nieto was raised in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, where she attended the public school systems until eventually attending
St. Johns University where she received her B.S. in Elementary Education. Later, she studied abroad in
Madrid, Spain
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, receiving her M.A. in Spanish and Hispanic Literature. In the following years she taught in Brooklyn and the Bronx until moving to Massachusetts and receiving her doctorate in curriculum studies with concentrations in multicultural and bilingual education, from the University of Massachusetts in 1979.
Personal website
/ref> In May 2017, Nieto delivered the commencement address for the Graduate School of Education at St. John's University in New York City, where she reflected on her life work and her undergraduate days at St. John's.
About her work
In Nieto's book ''Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education'' (the fifth edition of which is co-authored by Patty Bode), Nieto takes an in-depth look into public school systems and describes how they fail to serve many students, particularly children of color and those who live in poverty. Her text often describes structural flaws in the education system and how to challenge them in the classroom. Her work can be regarded as a reference for teachers in a multicultural environment.
''Affirming Diversity'' also includes multiple case studies of students of various sociocultural backgrounds so that teachers can learn from the voices and experiences of young people themselves. This resource can prove to be useful in a classroom setting.
Nieto's work seeks to shed light on common institutional policies and practices (racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...
, inequality
Inequality may refer to:
Economics
* Attention inequality, unequal distribution of attention across users, groups of people, issues in etc. in attention economy
* Economic inequality, difference in economic well-being between population groups
* ...
, ''discrimination'', and other forms of exclusion) in multicultural learning environments and to show teachers how to effectively confront these challenges. According to her, institutional policies and practices that jeopardize student learning are evident at many different levels: negative societal ideologies, inequitable power relationships, rigid national policies, unresponsive school districts, and even the biases and beliefs of teachers themselves.
Her books also offer activities both in the classroom and out that the teacher can engage in with students, colleagues, and community members to provide an enhanced learning environment. These activities usually seek to bring about positive change in the school, the community, and inside oneself. Her book also offers web resources for a multimedia learning experience.
Other publications
Nieto has written dozens of journal articles and book chapters and is also author of several books (see "Works" below).
Nieto is also a signatory to the Support 4 Bill Ayers petition, which has been signed by more than 3000 academics.
Works
* A compilation of previously published journal articles and book chapters.
*
*
*
; As editor
*
*
*
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nieto, Sonia
Living people
Cultural academics
1943 births