Dionne Cross Francis
Biographic Data
| ID | 142347 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Dionne Cross Francis |
| GIVEN NAMES | Dionne Cross |
| FAMILY NAME | Francis |
| SIGNATURE | FRANCIS D C |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6851-8867 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 15 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 15 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Bridging Worlds
Transitioning from a K-12 teacher to a teacher educator involves a significant transformation in professional identity, characterized by intellectual, pedagogical, and cultural challenges. This self-study explores the first author’s journey as an international graduate student transitioning from teacher to mathematics teacher educator in the United States. In this study, I investigate how my identity developed through reflective experiences, chal…
Examining Mathematics and Science Teacher Educators’ Experiences with Digital Simulations Designed to Support Pre-Service Teachers’ Facilitation of Argumentation-Focused Discussions
This study investigates the experiences of five elementary mathematics and science teacher educators as they engage pre-service teachers in facilitating argumentation-focused discussions through a series of digital simulations. The research responds to the call for more explicit documentation and sharing of the evolving practices of teacher educators (TEs), particularly those leveraging innovative digital tools in teacher education. Utilizing a f…
Examining the Role of Rehearsals in Preservice Teachers’ Mathematics-Related Teaching Identity Development
This study explores the development of elementary preservice teachers’ (PSTs’) mathematics-related teacher identity through participation in rehearsals as a practice-based pedagogical tool. Data were collected from two cohorts of PSTs: one cohort engaged in rehearsals, and the other did not. Using a single-item identity measure, we quantitatively analyzed shifts in PSTs’ identities and qualitatively examined the reasons underlying these shifts. F…
Black women teachers’ experiences within ‘white’ spaces
Step into another’s shoes
Teacher empathy, which is critical in meeting students’ diverse needs and backgrounds, has been commonly conceptualised with respect to cognitive and emotional capacity. Recognising the significance of an action dimension in empathy, this study aims to investigate how teachers who teach in culturally-diverse classrooms translate their understanding of, and emotional connection with, their students into altruistic actions. Participants included tw…
‘I’m not sure how they would react if they knew…’
Teacher identity development has been increasingly studied in education research, specifically in relation to teachers negotiating multiple intersecting identities. Using critical thematic analysis, this qualitative study seeks to illuminate how teachers negotiate their multiple marginalised identities amid adverse school settings. The study applies identity triangle framework to explore the tensions Sasha, a Queer, Asian-White elementary school …
Wellbeing under threat
The purpose of this study was to better understand threats to the wellbeing of multiply marginalised and underrepresented (MMU) teachers by unpacking the ways their multiple social identities intersect with each other and with their teacher identities. This study foregrounded the eudaimonic aspect of wellbeing, examining the extent to which the participants’ needs for relatedness, autonomy, and competence are met within school systems that tend t…
Elementary preservice teachers' responsiveness while eliciting students' initial arguments and encouraging critique in online simulated argumentation discussions
Engaging children in argumentation‐focused discussions is essential to helping them collaboratively make sense of scientific phenomena. To support this effort, teachers must listen and be responsive to students' ideas to move the discussion forward with the goal of reaching consensus. Given the complexity of this ambitious science teaching practice, in lieu of traditional field experiences, online simulated teaching experiences provide opportunit…
Promoting preservice teachers’ facilitation of argumentation in mathematics and science through digital simulations
A site of radical possibilities
Women from racially/ethnically minoritized communities remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of education in STEM. The pervasive white and heteronormative culture of the STEM environment has contributed to Women of Color feeling isolated, hyper‐visible, and invisible as they contend with racism, sexism, and gendered racial microaggressions. Scholars have found that counterspaces are key sites to support the persistence of Women of C…
The Wrong Tools for the Job
This case study investigates how teachers in a school with a large population of low-income students of color in the U.S. perceived students' cultural capital and associated teachers' roles. Twenty-seven teachers were interviewed and discussed four domains of cultural capital mismatch between students and teachers: behavioral, experiential, academic, and family norm. Teachers often characterized these misalignments as students' deficits and under…
Situating video as context for teacher learning
The Role of Trust
The purpose of this research is to examine teachers’ capacities and the role trust plays in the professional lives of teachers during the transition to a new team of three administrators in an elementary school located in a low-income urban community in the U.S. Twenty-seven teachers’ surveys and interviews showed that the transition caused some level of instability and uncertainty; however, teachers had a positive sense of efficacy, social capit…
An ecological examination of teachers' emotions in the school context
Reflections on Investigating Emotion in Educational Activity Settings
Reflections on Investigating Emotion in Educational Activity Settings
An ecological examination of teachers' emotions in the school context
The Role of Trust
The purpose of this research is to examine teachers’ capacities and the role trust plays in the professional lives of teachers during the transition to a new team of three administrators in an elementary school located in a low-income urban community in the U.S. Twenty-seven teachers’ surveys and interviews showed that the transition caused some level of instability and uncertainty; however, teachers had a positive sense of efficacy, social capit…
Situating video as context for teacher learning
The Wrong Tools for the Job
This case study investigates how teachers in a school with a large population of low-income students of color in the U.S. perceived students' cultural capital and associated teachers' roles. Twenty-seven teachers were interviewed and discussed four domains of cultural capital mismatch between students and teachers: behavioral, experiential, academic, and family norm. Teachers often characterized these misalignments as students' deficits and under…
A site of radical possibilities
Women from racially/ethnically minoritized communities remain significantly underrepresented at all levels of education in STEM. The pervasive white and heteronormative culture of the STEM environment has contributed to Women of Color feeling isolated, hyper‐visible, and invisible as they contend with racism, sexism, and gendered racial microaggressions. Scholars have found that counterspaces are key sites to support the persistence of Women of C…
Wellbeing under threat
The purpose of this study was to better understand threats to the wellbeing of multiply marginalised and underrepresented (MMU) teachers by unpacking the ways their multiple social identities intersect with each other and with their teacher identities. This study foregrounded the eudaimonic aspect of wellbeing, examining the extent to which the participants’ needs for relatedness, autonomy, and competence are met within school systems that tend t…
Elementary preservice teachers' responsiveness while eliciting students' initial arguments and encouraging critique in online simulated argumentation discussions
Engaging children in argumentation‐focused discussions is essential to helping them collaboratively make sense of scientific phenomena. To support this effort, teachers must listen and be responsive to students' ideas to move the discussion forward with the goal of reaching consensus. Given the complexity of this ambitious science teaching practice, in lieu of traditional field experiences, online simulated teaching experiences provide opportunit…
Promoting preservice teachers’ facilitation of argumentation in mathematics and science through digital simulations
Step into another’s shoes
Teacher empathy, which is critical in meeting students’ diverse needs and backgrounds, has been commonly conceptualised with respect to cognitive and emotional capacity. Recognising the significance of an action dimension in empathy, this study aims to investigate how teachers who teach in culturally-diverse classrooms translate their understanding of, and emotional connection with, their students into altruistic actions. Participants included tw…
‘I’m not sure how they would react if they knew…’
Teacher identity development has been increasingly studied in education research, specifically in relation to teachers negotiating multiple intersecting identities. Using critical thematic analysis, this qualitative study seeks to illuminate how teachers negotiate their multiple marginalised identities amid adverse school settings. The study applies identity triangle framework to explore the tensions Sasha, a Queer, Asian-White elementary school …
Bridging Worlds
Transitioning from a K-12 teacher to a teacher educator involves a significant transformation in professional identity, characterized by intellectual, pedagogical, and cultural challenges. This self-study explores the first author’s journey as an international graduate student transitioning from teacher to mathematics teacher educator in the United States. In this study, I investigate how my identity developed through reflective experiences, chal…
Examining Mathematics and Science Teacher Educators’ Experiences with Digital Simulations Designed to Support Pre-Service Teachers’ Facilitation of Argumentation-Focused Discussions
This study investigates the experiences of five elementary mathematics and science teacher educators as they engage pre-service teachers in facilitating argumentation-focused discussions through a series of digital simulations. The research responds to the call for more explicit documentation and sharing of the evolving practices of teacher educators (TEs), particularly those leveraging innovative digital tools in teacher education. Utilizing a f…
Examining the Role of Rehearsals in Preservice Teachers’ Mathematics-Related Teaching Identity Development
This study explores the development of elementary preservice teachers’ (PSTs’) mathematics-related teacher identity through participation in rehearsals as a practice-based pedagogical tool. Data were collected from two cohorts of PSTs: one cohort engaged in rehearsals, and the other did not. Using a single-item identity measure, we quantitatively analyzed shifts in PSTs’ identities and qualitatively examined the reasons underlying these shifts. F…
Black women teachers’ experiences within ‘white’ spaces
Psychology (10 works) · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies (9 works) · Pedagogy (7 works) · Social Psychology (7 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Early Childhood Education and Development (5 works) · Mathematics education (4 works) · Mathematics Education and Teaching Techniques (4 works) · Teacher education (4 works) · Developmental psychology (3 works)