Valerie Ooka Pang (e-mail address: pang@mail.sdsu.edu) Professor, School of Teacher Education, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, 92182-1153 Senior Fellow, Annenberg Institute for School Reform,  Brown University Education Background * B. Ed., Seattle University, Seattle, Washington. * M.Ed., Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington. * Ph.D., University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.

Hi, I am a professor in the School of Teacher Education at San Diego State University. I teach courses in multicultural education, social studies methods, curriculum & instruction, and social foundations. I am especially interested in caring-centered education, culturally meaningful teaching, and the use of culturally familiar analogies.

I enjoy the student teachers who participate in our certification program very much. They are extremely committed to developing and providing the most effective and culturally affirming learning environment for children. In addition to their school work, many of our prospective teachers work an additional 30-40 hours a week so they can complete their degree in order to enter the teacher certification program. As part of my class I take my students on field trips and we are active in inner city neighborhoods in San Diego.
 

I am also a mother of two children. This is their picture when they were very young. Now both our children are college students. Often times, I share their educational experiences in my classes. Our children have taught me a great deal about how to be a better teacher and person.

 

My teaching career began in Seattle where I taught first grade at an all Black neighborhood school. My experiences there showed how unprepared I was to teach children from other cultural groups. Since then, I am continually striving to become a better teacher. I also enjoy working with various groups who have children as their primary concern such as like Children's Television Workshop's Sesame Street, Fox Children's Network, ScottForesman, and Family Communications (Mr. Rogers Neighborhood). In addition I published a book with my friend, Dr. Lilly Cheng, on the educational needs of Asian Pacific American children called A Struggling To Be Heard, which has earned Honorable Mention from the 1999 Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Awards. My publications have appeared in journals such as Phi Delta Kappan, Harvard Educational Review, Theory and Research in Social Education, The Reading Teacher, Multicultural Education, and Education Forum.

I have written a new book called Multicultural Education: A Caring-centered, Reflective Approach (McGraw-Hill, 2001).  In this book I present a framework for caring-centered Multicultural Education.  This framework is built upon the Ethic of Care (Noddings), Education for Democracy (Dewey), and a Sociocultural Approach to Learning (Vygotsky).  In the book I provide examples of how teachers have integrated culturally relevant content and context to their teaching.  A sample of my children's literature resource list is provided.

Sending my good wishes to you. Have a great day!

If you would like to know my credentials please click on one of the following:

Last updated on June 2000 (mp).

------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a personal home page and does not represent the opinions of San Diego State University.

Return to the College of Education Faculty page. | Teacher Education Department page.