Dolores D. Lopez
She/Her/Hers
- Profile
- Education
- Research
- Fellowships/Grants/ Awards
Profile
Dolores D. Lopez is a PhD Candidate in Education Studies at UC San Diego. She is a first-generation college student and daughter of Salvadoran immigrants. She holds a B.A. and bilingual teaching credential from Chapman University and possesses an M.A. in Social and Cultural Analysis of Education from California State University, Long Beach. Before pursuing a doctoral degree, Dolores taught for several years in a K8 dual immersion charter school. During her time as a classroom teacher, she also supported administrators in developing and implementing culturally and linguistically responsive curriculum for Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE) students in grades 4 through 8.
Dolores’s scholarly work explores how educators can critically (re)imagine curriculum development and implementation to more equitably serve multilingual learners in DLBE. In particular, her research delves into the complex interplay between teacher beliefs and DLBE contextual factors shaping curricular initiatives grounded in social justice principles. Demonstrating a strong commitment to student-centered practice and research, her scholarship also investigates how multilingual DLBE students respond to equity-centered curriculum and teaching practices, particularly concerning identity development, sense of belonging, and agency. Much of her practicum and scholarship draws from Social Justice Education, Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Multicultural Education, and Critical Race Theory.
Education
Doctor of Philosophy in Education: Transforming Education in a Diverse Society, In Progress
California State University Long Beach Long Beach, CA
Master of Arts in Social and Cultural Analysis of Education, August 2017
Thesis: Sixth Grade Latina/o Youth: Voicing Their Experiences and Responses to Racial Microaggressions
Chair: Dr. Lindsay Perez-Huber
Chapman University Orange, CA
Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies and Multiple Subject Teaching Credential, May 2010
Honors: Magna Cum Laude
Research
2020-present. Graduate Student Researcher-Computer Science for English Learners, Center for Research on Educational Equity, Assessment, & Teaching Excellence (CREATE), UC San Diego
Under the supervision of Dr. Susan Yonezawa, Associate Director, CREATE, I am leading the development of qualitative evaluation protocols for a five-year, federally funded study exploring how a professional development (PD) initiative focused on fostering access and opportunity for English Learners (ELs) in Computer Science coursework, leads to increased CS enrollment for students ever identified as ELs. These protocols will be used to measure how PD providers interact, assist, and work with AP computer science teachers partaking in a year-long professional development training. Interviews with teachers and students will be conducted during the 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024 academic years.
2019-2022. Graduate Student Researcher-#USvsHate, Education Studies Department and CREATE, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Under the supervision of Professor and CREATE Director, Mica Pollock, I helped lead research and execution of the K12 #USvsHate project, both in San Diego and nationally. In collaboration with other project leaders, I interviewed teachers and students who engaged with #USvsHate between 2017-2020. Using grounded theory methodological approaches, I aided with coding of gathered data to identify themes associated with teacher and student experiences with #USvsHate. During the 2020-2021 school year, I also co-led the development and implementation of a national #USvsHate Youth Board. In partnership with two other project leaders, we met bi-weekly with youth board members (thirteen 8-12 grade students) for input on how to strengthen social media efforts of the USvsHate project. These students assisted us with the maintenance of the USvsate Instagram account and also offered input on how to further UsvsHate project objectives.
2017-2019. Graduate Student Researcher- 9th-Grade Ethnic Studies Pilot, Education Studies Department, UC San Diego, and San Diego Unified School District.
Under the supervision of Professor Thandeka Chapman, I assisted with the interpretation, synthesis, and analysis of qualitative student data collected from a two-year Ethnic Studies study conducted at a local high school in San Diego, CA. Also responsible for writing and editing materials for publication and presentation.
PUBLICATIONS
2024. Lopez, D. D., Yonezawa, S., Juarez, S., & Tapia, E. Computer science for English learners: supporting teacher learning and improved practice to engage multilinguals in AP computer science principles. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2024.2402359.
2022. Pollock, M., Lopez, D.D., Reed, K., Yoshisato, M., Reece, E., & Kennedy, B. Next Steps Toward an Inclusive Country? Inviting and Amplifying Youth Voice in Public Anti-Hate Messaging. Journal for Multicultural Education, 17(2), 146-167. https://doi.org/10.1108/JME-02-2022-0036.
2022. Pollock, M., Reed, K., Reece, E., Lopez, D., & Yoshisato, M. Keeping the Freedom to Include: Teachers Navigating “Pushback” and Marshalling “Backup” to Keep Inclusion on the Agenda. Journal of Leadership Equity and Research, 8(1).
2020. Chapman, T. K., Jones, M., Stephens, R., Lopez, D., Rogers, K. D., & Crawford, J. A Necessary Pairing: Using Academic Outcomes and Critical Consciousness to Dismantle Curriculum as the Property of Whiteness in K-12 Ethnic Studies. Equity & Excellence in Education, 1-14.
SELECTED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
2024. Lopez, D., Barba, L., Hardman-Greene, L., Grajeda, G., Perez, B. (June 24-26). Critical Consciousness in Action: A Teacher Team’s Journey With Justice-Focused Curriculum Development. [Paper session]. ATDLE Annual Meeting, Riverside, CA.
2023. Lopez, D., Yonezawa, S., Juarez, S., & Tapia, E. (Apr 13-16). Struggling against linguistic apartheid: Teachers’ efforts to include English learners in AP Computer Science Principles. [Paper session]. AERA Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.
2022. Pollock, M., Yoshisato, M., Lopez, D. Kendall, R., & Reece, E. (Apr 21-26). Designing “onramps” to anti-bias work in schools: Participatory design research catalyzing new pedagogies locally and nationally. [Paper session]. AERA Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.
2021. Yoshisato, M., Lopez, D., Pollock, M., Kendall, R., & Reece, E. (Apr 8-12). A vehicle for praxis: Teachers uplifting student voice beyond the classroom in #USvsHate. [Paper session]. AERA, virtual meeting.
2021. Rendall, R., Reece, E., Yoshisato, M., Lopez, D., & Pollock, M. (Apr 8-12). Pushback, backup: Teachers working to keep topics on the agenda today [Roundtable session]. AERA, virtual meeting.
2020. Pollock, M., Yoshisato, M., Kendall, R., & Reece, E., Lopez, D. (Nov 5-10). #USvsHate: The experience of an “anti-hate” initiative in U.S. education today. Conference presentation (Podcast). American Anthropological Association, Raising Our Voices, virtual meeting.
2020. Reece, E. R., Lopez, D., Caduff, A. & Matschiner, A. (Apr 17 - 21). Designing supports for an era with exacerbated, not new, racism and inequity [Roundtable session]. AERA Annual Meeting San Francisco, CA http://tinyurl.com/s8pgjxm (Conference Canceled).
2019. Rogers, K.R., Lopez, D., Stephens, R., Crawford, J., Chapman T.K., Jones M., Gallagher-Geurtsen, T.M. (Apr 5-9). “Our own history, our own legacy”: The actualization of change agents through ethnic studies curricula [Paper session]. AERA, Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada.
2018. Lopez, D. (Apr 13-17). Sixth-grade Latina/o youth: Voicing their experiences and responses to racial microaggressions [Roundtable Session]. AERA, Annual Meeting, New York, NY.
2018. Lopez, D., Rogers, K.R., Stephens, R., Crawford, J., Chapman T.K., Jones M., Gallagher-Geurtsen, T.M. (Apr 13-17). The rhetoric of an ethnic studies course on critical consciousness and self-identity [Paper session]. AERA, Annual Meeting, New York, NY.
Under the supervision of Dr. Susan Yonezawa, Associate Director, CREATE, I am leading the development of qualitative evaluation protocols for a five-year, federally funded study exploring how a professional development (PD) initiative focused on fostering access and opportunity for English Learners (ELs) in Computer Science coursework, leads to increased CS enrollment for students ever identified as ELs. These protocols will be used to measure how PD providers interact, assist, and work with AP computer science teachers partaking in a year-long professional development training. Interviews with teachers and students will be conducted during the 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024 academic years.
2019-2022. Graduate Student Researcher-#USvsHate, Education Studies Department and CREATE, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Under the supervision of Professor and CREATE Director, Mica Pollock, I helped lead research and execution of the K12 #USvsHate project, both in San Diego and nationally. In collaboration with other project leaders, I interviewed teachers and students who engaged with #USvsHate between 2017-2020. Using grounded theory methodological approaches, I aided with coding of gathered data to identify themes associated with teacher and student experiences with #USvsHate. During the 2020-2021 school year, I also co-led the development and implementation of a national #USvsHate Youth Board. In partnership with two other project leaders, we met bi-weekly with youth board members (thirteen 8-12 grade students) for input on how to strengthen social media efforts of the USvsHate project. These students assisted us with the maintenance of the USvsate Instagram account and also offered input on how to further UsvsHate project objectives.
2017-2019. Graduate Student Researcher- 9th-Grade Ethnic Studies Pilot, Education Studies Department, UC San Diego, and San Diego Unified School District.
Under the supervision of Professor Thandeka Chapman, I assisted with the interpretation, synthesis, and analysis of qualitative student data collected from a two-year Ethnic Studies study conducted at a local high school in San Diego, CA. Also responsible for writing and editing materials for publication and presentation.
PUBLICATIONS
2024. Lopez, D. D., Yonezawa, S., Juarez, S., & Tapia, E. Computer science for English learners: supporting teacher learning and improved practice to engage multilinguals in AP computer science principles. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2024.2402359.
2022. Pollock, M., Lopez, D.D., Reed, K., Yoshisato, M., Reece, E., & Kennedy, B. Next Steps Toward an Inclusive Country? Inviting and Amplifying Youth Voice in Public Anti-Hate Messaging. Journal for Multicultural Education, 17(2), 146-167. https://doi.org/10.1108/JME-02-2022-0036.
2022. Pollock, M., Reed, K., Reece, E., Lopez, D., & Yoshisato, M. Keeping the Freedom to Include: Teachers Navigating “Pushback” and Marshalling “Backup” to Keep Inclusion on the Agenda. Journal of Leadership Equity and Research, 8(1).
2020. Chapman, T. K., Jones, M., Stephens, R., Lopez, D., Rogers, K. D., & Crawford, J. A Necessary Pairing: Using Academic Outcomes and Critical Consciousness to Dismantle Curriculum as the Property of Whiteness in K-12 Ethnic Studies. Equity & Excellence in Education, 1-14.
SELECTED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
2024. Lopez, D., Barba, L., Hardman-Greene, L., Grajeda, G., Perez, B. (June 24-26). Critical Consciousness in Action: A Teacher Team’s Journey With Justice-Focused Curriculum Development. [Paper session]. ATDLE Annual Meeting, Riverside, CA.
2023. Lopez, D., Yonezawa, S., Juarez, S., & Tapia, E. (Apr 13-16). Struggling against linguistic apartheid: Teachers’ efforts to include English learners in AP Computer Science Principles. [Paper session]. AERA Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.
2022. Pollock, M., Yoshisato, M., Lopez, D. Kendall, R., & Reece, E. (Apr 21-26). Designing “onramps” to anti-bias work in schools: Participatory design research catalyzing new pedagogies locally and nationally. [Paper session]. AERA Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.
2021. Yoshisato, M., Lopez, D., Pollock, M., Kendall, R., & Reece, E. (Apr 8-12). A vehicle for praxis: Teachers uplifting student voice beyond the classroom in #USvsHate. [Paper session]. AERA, virtual meeting.
2021. Rendall, R., Reece, E., Yoshisato, M., Lopez, D., & Pollock, M. (Apr 8-12). Pushback, backup: Teachers working to keep topics on the agenda today [Roundtable session]. AERA, virtual meeting.
2020. Pollock, M., Yoshisato, M., Kendall, R., & Reece, E., Lopez, D. (Nov 5-10). #USvsHate: The experience of an “anti-hate” initiative in U.S. education today. Conference presentation (Podcast). American Anthropological Association, Raising Our Voices, virtual meeting.
2020. Reece, E. R., Lopez, D., Caduff, A. & Matschiner, A. (Apr 17 - 21). Designing supports for an era with exacerbated, not new, racism and inequity [Roundtable session]. AERA Annual Meeting San Francisco, CA http://tinyurl.com/s8pgjxm (Conference Canceled).
2019. Rogers, K.R., Lopez, D., Stephens, R., Crawford, J., Chapman T.K., Jones M., Gallagher-Geurtsen, T.M. (Apr 5-9). “Our own history, our own legacy”: The actualization of change agents through ethnic studies curricula [Paper session]. AERA, Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada.
2018. Lopez, D. (Apr 13-17). Sixth-grade Latina/o youth: Voicing their experiences and responses to racial microaggressions [Roundtable Session]. AERA, Annual Meeting, New York, NY.
2018. Lopez, D., Rogers, K.R., Stephens, R., Crawford, J., Chapman T.K., Jones M., Gallagher-Geurtsen, T.M. (Apr 13-17). The rhetoric of an ethnic studies course on critical consciousness and self-identity [Paper session]. AERA, Annual Meeting, New York, NY.
Fellowships/Grants/ Awards
HONORS AND AWARDS
SEED Fellowship Recipient, University of California San Diego 2018- Present
Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Scholar, California State University Long Beach 2016-2017
Leadership & Service Award, Santa Ana Youth Employment Program October 2009
Joan Cox Turner Scholarship Recipient, Chapman University May 2009
Departmental Honors, Chapman University, College of Educational Studies May 2009
Delp Service Nominee, Chapman University, College of Educational Studies May 2009
Leadership Nominee, Chapman University, College of Educational Studies May 2009
Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Scholarship Recipient June 2006 - May 2009
Monarch Beach Rotary Club, Scholarship Recipient June 2005-May 2007
