Featured Scholar: Cristina Santamaria Graff, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Special Education, IU Indianapolis School of Education
Research Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJWos1KB6KA
Family as Faculty! A Project to Authentically Engage Parents, Students, and Community Partners in Meeting Common Goals
For over fifteen years, Professor Santamaria Graff's scholarship has focused on working with Latinx immigrant families of children with disabilities. "Family as Faculty!" is a healthcare approach to working with families of children with disabilities who, through this model, are positioned as leaders who share their expertise with those providing care to their children.
Adapted for education, and specifically for special education teacher preparation programs, "Family as Faculty!" is an innovative approach for family members to be co-instructors in university or college courses aimed to prepare future special education teachers. Latinx immigrant family members of children with Down Syndrome and Autism led preservice teachers in small group discussions about their child. These discussions were guided by hands-on activities we, as co-instructors, developed and led.
Professor Santamaria Graff's translation of research into beneficial health and educational outcomes for students with disabilities is another excellent example of how IU Indianapolis's faculty members are TRANSLATING their RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE.
Selected Publications in IU Indianapolis ScholarWorks
With several research works contributed to IU Indianapolis's free, open access repository, Professor Cristina Santamaria Graff has made translational research knowledge available to professionals, researchers, students, and communities around the world.
Price, J. F., Waechter-Versaw, A., Hall, T., Magee, P., Santamaría Graff, C., Willey, C., & Moreland, B. (2022). The Digital Education Hub Design Process. Digital Education Hub of the IU School of Education-Indianapolis at IU Indianapolis. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/28999
Teemant, A., Borgioli Yoder, G., Sherman, B. J., & Santamaría Graff, C. (2021). An equity framework for family, community, and school partnerships. Theory Into Practice, 60(1), 28–38. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/26850
Santamaría Graff, C., & Boehner, J. (2019). Forming a mutually respectful university/parent-to-parent organization community partnership through a “Family as Faculty” project. Engage!: Urban University Community Journal, 1(1), 46 - 63. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/22117
King Thorius, K. A., Santamaría Graff, C., & Skelton, S. M. (2019). Rooted in legacy & holding space: Our commitment to new beginnings. Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners, 19(1), 1 – 3. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/22133
Warren-Gordon, K., & Graff, C. S. (2018). Critical Service-Learning as a Vehicle for Change in Higher Education Courses. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 50(6), 20–23. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/22075
Santamaría Graff, C. & Vazquez, S. L. (2014). Family resistance as a tool in urban school reform. In E. B. Kozleski & K. King Thorius (Eds.), Ability, equity, and culture: Sustaining inclusive urban education reform. New York: Teachers College Press. https://hdl.handle.net/1805/22131
Find more free articles by Cristina Santamaria Graff in IU Indianapolis ScholarWorks.