Iliana Alanis

Affiliation

University of Texas at San Antonio

Biography

Dr. Iliana Alanís, a native of South Texas, is a Professor of Early Childhood and Elementary Education in the Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching for the University of Texas at San Antonio. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Texas, Austin in Curriculum and Instruction with specializations in Multilingual Studies and Educational Psychology. As a university faculty member, she engages teacher candidates and practicing teachers for their work in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms with a primary focus on the rights of young children to develop their native language and cultural identity. In her research, Dr. Alanís uses a sociocultural lens to examine effective pedagogical practices in early childhood, dual language contexts. She has over 50-refereed publications including, Translingual partners in early childhood elementary education: Pedagogies on linguistic and cognitive engagement. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishers and Supporting dual language learners in diverse environments in preschool & kindergarten. Washington, DC: NAEYC.