Ben Kirshner

Ben Kirshner is a Professor of Learning Sciences and Human Development at the University of Colorado Boulder. His experiences working with young people at a community center in San Francisco’s Mission District motivated his research agenda about young people’s critical consciousness and roles in social justice change. Ben works collaboratively with educators, community organizers, and youth to design and study learning environments that support youth development, activism, and civic participation. In his work with the Transformative Student Voice research group, Ben develops research-practice partnerships that increase public schools’ capacity to support student voice and agency through teacher professional learning, policy alignment, and improvement research. With the Research Hub for Youth Organizing he co-designs educational tools and research studies with youth organizing groups and networks that build capacity for young people to influence policy and public narratives. Ben’s book, Youth Activism in an Era of Education Inequality, received the social policy award for best authored book from the Society of Research on Adolescence. Ben has also published in journals that include Journal of the Learning Sciences, Journal of Research on Adolescence, Applied Developmental Science, Journal of Community Psychology and Cognition and Instruction.