UMass Boston

Da Hei Ku

Department:
Curriculum & Instruction
Title:
Assistant Professor
Location:
Wheatley Hall Floor 02

Biography

Da Hei Ku is an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education and Development in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Massachusetts - Boston. Her research primarily focuses on how social contexts affect the early childhood education landscape.

Area of Expertise

Social context of education, neoliberalism in education, early childhood education policy, teacher education, teacher experiences, qualitative research

Degrees

PhD, Curriculum and Instruction with a Specialization in Early Childhood Education, The University of Texas at Austin

MSEd, Early Childhood Education with a bilingual endorsement (Spanish), Dominican University

BA with Departmental and General Honors, English Language and Literature and a minor in art history, The University of Chicago

Additional Information

Dr. Ku's findings have broader implications on education policy, social policy, and urban planning. She has published in various journals, such as American Education Research Journal, Early Education and Development, Early Childhood Education Journal, Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, and Teaching and Teacher Education. Dr. Ku has presented her work in peer-reviewed national and international conferences, such as American Educational Research Association, National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators, Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education, and Urban Affairs Association. She also has experience working in policy on the state and federal levels. Before academia, Dr. Ku was a bilingual Pre-K teacher at a public elementary school on the South Side of Chicago.