Nadia Behizadeh

Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies, Emory University, 2012
Master of Arts in Educational Studies, Emory University, 2011
Teaching Credential in English, History, with a Subject Matter Authorization in Music, California State University, 2005
Bachelor of Arts in English, University of Georgia, 2002

Adolescent writing instruction and assessment (including large-scale sociocultural portfolio assessment)
Authentic literacy instruction
Culturally relevant pedagogy
Reading and writing across the curriculum
Problem-based and project-based learning
Social justice teacher education

Nadia Behizadeh is a professor of adolescent literacy in the College of Education & Human Development’s Department of Middle and Secondary Education. She is also a co-director for the Center for Equity and Justice in Teacher Education. Her scholarly endeavors are centered on increasing access for students in urban, public schools to critical literacy instruction that prepares them to envision and enact a more just world. Because lack of access is created by complex factors, Behizadeh has employed an interdisciplinary research agenda that approaches the problem from three different angles: authentic and critical writing instruction theory and practices, large-scale writing assessment and teacher evaluation methods, and social justice-oriented teacher preparation, particularly for English language arts teachers.

She has published in a wide range of journals, including Review of Research in Education, Educational Researcher, Journal of Teacher Education, English Journal, Equity and Excellence in Education, Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, and Assessing Writing. Behizadeh’s research has been funded by grants from the Spencer Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education. She serves as the chair of English Language Arts Teacher Educators (ELATE) and will host the ELATE summer conference at Georgia State University on July 6-9, 2023. Behizadeh serves on multiple editorial boards, including the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy and Language Arts. In 2019, she was awarded the Ron Colarusso Outstanding Urban Education Research Award, and in 2022, Behizadeh and her co-authors were awarded the 2022 Janet Emig Award for best article in the journal English Education.

In addition to her scholarly activities, Behizadeh teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in educational research and theory, English language arts methods and content literacy, and advises doctoral students in two concentrations of the Ph.D. in teaching and learning program: language and literacy, and teaching and teacher education. Behizadeh serves as program faculty for the B.S.E. in middle level education and Ph.D. in teaching and learning programs, and she also coordinates the M.Ed. in literacy education program. Previous to joining the academy, Behizadeh worked as a practitioner in urban, public schools in Oakland, Calif., where she co-designed and taught at a small project-based focused school. At this site, she taught English language arts, history and reading; co-developed  an advisory program; and led school-wide professional development using critical friendship groups. She is an active member of the National Council of Teachers of English, the American Educational Research Association, English Language Arts Teacher Educators and the Scholars Strategy Network.