Jenna Cushing-Leubner
Associate Professor

Dr. Jenna Cushing-Leubner (she/her) was raised in West-Central Wisconsin and is an Associate Professor of Multilingual Teacher Education in the department of Curriculum & Instruction (College of Education and Professional Studies). She coordinates the language and culture teaching license programs (World & Heritage Language Teaching K-12, Bilingual/Bicultural Teaching K-12, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages K-12). Her research focuses on three main areas: heritage language reclamation education, linguistically and racially conscious curriculum theory, and language teacher education/professional development. She is part of multiple collaborative research teams that are grounded in community-driven approaches as acts of participatory change-making. Her research and scholarship grows from work with community language and knowledge keepers who are designing heritage language programs in school-based and community settings. Her work that uses participatory design methodology involves K-12 heritage language and ESL programs that emphasize culturally sustaining community knowledge, identity work, language and educational justice, transformative teaching, and intergenerational healing. Her scholarship examines the relationship between settler colonialism, racial capitalism, and language justice and how displaced communities live out theories of change and world-making in collective actions that are driven by desires for sustainable futures. 

Regularly taught courses:
EDUINDP 250: Race & Racism in Schools
CIGENRL 350: Foundations in Bilingual/Bicultural Education and ESL
CIGENRL 320: Theories for Developing Languages & Literacies
SECNDED 427: World/Heritage Language Teaching Methods
SECNDED 460: Secondary Education Field Study Seminar

Courses for Heritage Language Teachers
Critical Approaches for Heritage Language Education
Nourishing Identity in Heritage Language Courses
Heritage Language Through the Language Arts
Inquiry Approaches in Heritage Language Curriculum Design 
Race & Ethnic Studies for Heritage Language Reclamation
Developing Translingual Readers & Writers
Arts-Based Approaches in Heritage Language Education
Collaborative Unit Design with Heritage Language Educators

Resources for Hmong Heritage Language Education with Lub Zej Zog Project:
https://www.hmonglanguageresourcehub.org/

Affiliated Faculty (dissertation committees focusing on heritage language education)
University of Minnesota
Edgewood College
Northern Illinois University
 

Selected Publications (CV available on request)
Morita-Mullaney, T. Cushing-Leubner, J., Greene, M.C.S., Stolpestad, A., & Benegas, M. (forthcoming). EL teachers’ positioning their identities as assumed, negotiated, and resisted during COVID-19 emergency remote teaching. TESOL Quarterly.

Engman, M., Ennser-Kananen, J., & Cushing-Leubner, J. (2023). Mapping (metaphorical) journeys in and against the academy. In P. Jandrić, A. MacKenzie, & J., Knox. Constructing postdigital research: Method and emancipation. Cham: Springer.

Cushing-Leubner, J., Engman, M., Ennser-Kananen, J., & Pettit, N. (2022). Imperial straightening devices in disciplinary choices of academic knowledge production. Language, Culture, and Society [Special Issue]. DOI: 10.1075/lcs.21001.cus

Tillett, W. & Cushing-Leubner, J. (2021). Hidden, null, lived, material, and transgressive curricula. In W.H. Schubert & M. Fang He (Eds.) Oxford Encyclopedia of Curriculum Studies. New York: Oxford University Press. Doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.1601

Cushing-Leubner, J. (2020). Looking for racial equity in English language teaching. MinneTESOL Journal, 36(1). Online: http://minnetesoljournal.org/uncategorized/looking-for-racial-equity-in-english-language-teaching/

Cushing-Leubner, J. (2020). Discourse and whiteness. In Z. Casey (Ed.), Encyclopedia of critical whiteness studies in education, pp. 133-143. Boston: Brill Sense.

Cushing-Leubner, J. (2020). Reparations. In Z. Casey (Ed.), Encyclopedia of critical whiteness studies in education, pp. 543-551. Boston: Brill Sense.

Cushing-Leubner, J. (2020). Heritage language education: A holistic view. In S. Laviosa & M. González Davies, The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Education, pp. 303-321 London: Routledge.

Allen, M., Ortega, L., Cushing-Leubner, J., Pergament, S., & Hang, M. (2019). Perspectives on power and equity in externally-funded community-based participatory research projects. In D. Warriner & M. Bigelow (Eds.), Relationships, reciprocity and research with minoritized communities; Methodological meta-reflections on power and equity. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

Vanek, J., Cushing-Leubner, J., Engman, M., & Kaiper, A. (2019). Exposing vacancies: Interactive agency in adult education language policy. In G.P. Glasgow & J. Bouchard (Eds.), Agency in language policy and planning: Critical inquires. Volume two: Acquisition planning. Routledge.

Cushing-Leubner, J. & Eik, J. (2018). Our wild tongues: Language justice and youth research. In J. Ayala, J. Cammarota, M. Rivera, L.F. Rodriguez, M. Berta-Avila, & M. E. Torre (Eds.), PAR Entremundos: A pedagogy of the Américas, p.117-133. Peter Lang.

Cushing-Leubner, J. & King, K.A. (2015). Heritage language learners, long-term English learners, and language education policy. In A. Yiakoumetti (Ed.) Multilingualism and language in education: Current sociolinguistic and pedagogical perspectives from Commonwealth countries, pp. 199-220. London: Cambridge University Press.

Recent Presentations at Academic Conferences
Cushing-Leubner, J., Xiong-Lor, V., Vue, P., Thao, M., & Jasperson, M.T. (2023). Re-visioning critical Hmong educational studies through critical refugee and Hmong epistemologies. Symposium presented at American Educational Research Association Annual Conference. Chicago, Illinois.

Cushing-Leubner, J., Xiong-Lor, V., Vue, P., & Jasperson, M.T. (2023). Hmong heritage language reclamation: Heteroglossic concerns in sustaining a severely endangered language. Colloquium presented at American Association of Applied Linguistics Annual Conference. Portland, Oregon.

Cushing-Leubner, J. Xiong-Lor, V., Vang, T., Vue, P., Jasperson, M.T., Xiong, C. (2022). Envisioning HMoob futurity in and for educational studies. Symposium presented at American Educational Studies Association Annual Conference. Pittsburgh, PA.

Engman, M., Cushing-Leubner, J., Ennser-Kananen, J., & Vanek, J. (2022). Language as nourishment: Language teaching and learning as practices of healing, belonging, and (re)generation. Colloquium presented at the British Association of Applied Linguistics Annual Conference. Belfast, Ireland.

Engman, M., Cushing-Leubner, J., & Ennser-Kananen, J. (2022) Maps as method in critical applied linguistics. Paper presented at the Carnet Users Conference, Šibenek, Croatia.

Xiong-Lor, V. & Cushing-Leubner, J. (2022) Grappling with HMoob: Hmong community translanguaging in language survivance and reclamation. Paper presented in symposium at American Educational Research Association Annual Conference. San Diego, California.

Stephens, C., Brooks, M. Xiong-Lor, V., Cushing-Leubner, J., Cíoé-Peña, & Kaveh, Y. (2022) Power as caring relations: An intersectional, antiracist examination of the power of mothers in minoritized language education. Colloquium presented at American Association of Applied Linguistics Annual Conference. Pittsburgh, PA.

Cushing-Leubner, J., Engman, M., Ennser-Kananen, J., Motha, S., & Shin, H. (2022) Toeing the line: Imperial straightening devices and choice in critical language research. Colloquium presented at  American Association of Applied Linguistics Annual Conference. Pittsburgh, PA.

Morita-Mullaney, T., Cushing-Leubner, J., Benegas, M., Greene, M., & Stolpestad, A. (2022) The criticality of EL teacher roles and identities during emergency remote teaching and learning. Paper presented at American Association of Applied Linguistics Annual Conference. Pittsburgh, PA.

Cushing-Leubner, J., (2021) Politics of desire, politics of replacement: Race, empire, and worth(iness) in displaced community language education. Paper presented in symposium of British Association of Applied Linguistics Annual Conference, Held Virtually.

Cushing-Leubner, J., Yang, P., & Neri, V. (2021) Youth participatory action research transforming heritage language classes. Paper presented at American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages Annual Conference, Held Virtually.

Cushing-Leubner, J. (2021) Commonly and less commonly taught language communities’ designs for curriculum and teacher education. Paper presented in Symposium at American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Held Virtually.

Cushing-Leubner, J.  & Vang, T. (2021) Don’t we deserve our energy?” Nurturing complexity and contradictions in linguistically and culturally sustaining environments. Paper presented at American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Held Virtually.

Morita-Mullaney, T., Cushing-Leubner, J., Greene, M., Stone, K.., Stolpestad, A., & Benegas, M. (2021) Invoking ‘disruptive’ teacher leadership among EL pre-and in-service teachers. Paper presented in Symposium at Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Convention Annual Meeting. Houston, TX.

Cushing-Leubner, J. (2020) Without Hmoob/Hmong…”: Race, empire, and worth(iness) in less commonly taught language bilingual education. Paper presented at American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting San Francisco, CA

Cushing-Leubner, J.  & Eik Diggs, J. (2020) #educadoresdelfuturo: Heritage language education as growing grounds for critically conscious multilingual teachers of color. Paper presented at American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting San Francisco, CA

Cushing-Leubner, J. (2020) Commonly and less commonly taught language communities shaping curriculum, teacher preparation, and professional development. Paper presented in Symposium at American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting San Francisco, CA