Dr. Selena E. Van Horn (she/her/hers) is an Assistant Professor in the Kremen School
of Education and Human Development at California State University, Fresno. She is
a member of the Liberal Studies Department and is a core faculty member in the Doctoral
Porgram in Educational Leadership.
Dr. Van Horn's scholarship focuses on equity, social justice, and activism among K-12
teachers, students, and educational leaders. Specifically, her research and publications
focus on LGBTQ+ literature, queer pedagogy, children's literature response and literacy-social
studies integrated curriculum.
As the Fresno State Student California Teacher Association (SCTA) faculty advisor,
Dr. Van Horn supports future educators and their work to organize and advocate for
social justice issues in their current and future fields.
Dr. Van Horn believes the purpose of education is to work for equity and social justice.
Her areas of research and interest include the following:
- Social Justice and Education Activism
- Advocacy in Education
- LGBTQ+ History and Topics in K-12 Curriculum
- Queering Pedagogy/Education
- Critical and Social Justice focused Literacy Coaching
As a researcher, Dr. Van Horn engages and thinks with qualitative research theories
and methodologies, such as:
- Participatory Action Research (PAR)
- Youth Participatroy Action Research (YPAR)
- Arts-Based Methodologies
- Photovoice, Filmmaking, Artography
- Discourse Analysis
- Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)
- Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA)
- Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA)
- Critical, Queer, & Poststructural Theories
- Post-Qualitative Data Collection, Analysis, and Writing
Zapata, A., Van Horn, S. E., Moss, & D. Fugit, M. (2019). Improvisational teaching as being with: Cultivating a relational presence towards justice-oriented literacies. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 63(2), 179-187. DOI: 10.1002/jaal.968.
Hawkman, A. M., & Van Horn, S. E. (2019). What does it mean to be patriotic? Policing patriotism in sports and social
studies education. The Social Studies, 110 (3), 105-121. DOI: 10.1080/00377996.2018.1553841.
Van Horn, S. E. & Hawkman, A. M. (2018). First comes love, then comes marriage (equality): Welcoming
diverse families in the elementary classroom. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 31(2), 24-32.
Van Horn, S. E. (2018). Sharing LGBTQ+ Literature with Young Readers: Critical Engagement for Equity.
In C. Leland, M. Lewison, & J. C. Harste (Eds.), Teaching Children’s Literature: It’s Critical (2nd Ed.).
Zapata, A., & Van Horn, S. E. (2017). “Because I’m smooth”: Material intra-actions and text productions of young,
Latino picturebook makers. Research in the Teaching of English, 51(3), 290-315.
Van Horn, S. E. (2015). “How do you have two moms?” Challenging heteronormativity while sharing LGBTQ
inclusive children’s literature. Talking Points, 27(1), 2-12.
Van Horn, S. E., & Darolia, L. (2014). Social justice-themed book clubs: Possibilities and wonderings.
In C. Felderman, B. Kissel, & K. Nash (Eds.), Perspectives and Provocations in Early Childhood Education (Vol. 3). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
