University at Buffalo

Tasha Austin

Tasha Austin

Assistant Professor

LEARNING AND INSTRUCTION


Specialty/Research Focus

Curriculum and Instruction; ESL/ENL/Bilingual; Educator Preparation; Racism and AntiBlackness

Contact Information
505 Baldy Hall
Buffalo, NY 14260
Phone: 716-645-2455
tashaaus@buffalo.edu


Professional Summary:

Tasha Austin is an assistant professor of teacher education, language education and multilingualism. She is the outgoing Teacher Education Special Interest Group Representative for New Jersey Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages-New Jersey Bilingual Educators (NJTESOL-NJBE) and co-created and hosted their "Critical Conversations" YouTube series. Her research uses critical race theory and Black feminist epistemologies through a raciolinguistic perspective to qualitatively examine language, identity and power, and the ways in which anti-Blackness emerges in language education and (language) teacher preparation. Through her purposeful enactment of critical consciousness and engaged pedagogies, her praxis seeks to effect meaningful change in the field of language education and within teacher education more broadly.

Education and Training:
  • PhD, Rutgers, School of Graduate Studies, Education (2022)
  • MA, Rutgers School of Graduate Studies, Education (2021)
  • EdM, Rutgers, Graduate School of Education, Language Education (2007)
  • BA, Douglass College, Spanish Language and Culture (2006)
Awards and Honors:
  • Anthony J. Papalia Award for Outstanding Article in a State or National Foreign Language Publication; New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers; 2024-11-08;
  • Early Career Award; American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Research Special Interest Group; 2024-09-13;
  • NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship; National Academy of Education/Spencer; 2024-05-29;
  • Stephen A. Freeman Award for Best Published Article; Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages; 2023-03-04;
  • Outstanding Dissertation Award; Critical Educators for Social Justice Special Interest Group, American Educational Research Association; 2023-02-15;
Recent Publications:
Journal Article:
  • Austin, T. (2024). Black mothers as bad teachers: Intersectional raciolinguistic erasure in teacher preparation curricula. Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, 1–23.
  • Austin, T. & Anya U. (2024). World Languages for Black Linguistic Reparations. Foreign Language Annals.
  • Austin, T. (2023). Limited capital: a genealogy of culturelessness in (language) teacher education. Educational Linguistics.
  • Austin, T. (2022). “A Hard Time Seeing the Relevance”: Race and discourse identity in language teacher preparation. International Journal of Literacy, Culture and Language Education.
Book Chapter:
  • Austin, T. (2023). Modeling Cultural Competence: Digital Reflective Journaling in Teacher Preparation. In From Being Woke to Doing# theWork (pp. 240-250). Brill
Recent Grants:
Grant:
  • Excavating the Oral Histories of Black World Language Teachers; Foundation and Research Organization; Spencer Foundation; Awarded; (02/01/2024-01/31/2026)
  • American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Advancing Academic-Research Careers (AARC) Award; Foundation and Research Organization; American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; Awarded; (09/01/2023-05/01/2024)
  • University at Buffalo, Graduate School of Education Micro-Funding for Research Program; Foundation and Research Organization; University at Buffalo, Graduate School of Education; Awarded; (02/01/2023-06/30/2023)
Recent Activities:
Editorial and Review:
  • Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Journal
    09/01/2023-10/01/2023
  • Equity & Excellence in Education
    06/01/2023-08/01/2023
Professional Service:
  • Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Bi and Multilingual Special Interest Group Newsletter Co-Editor
    06/01/2023-06/01/2024
  • American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Association and Modern Language Journal ACTFL-NFMLTA/MLJ Emma Marie Birkmaier Award for Doctoral Dissertation Research in World Language Education Co-Chair
    01/01/2023-12/31/2023
Recent Editorships:
Editorship:
  • Editorial Board; Foreign Language Annals
    01/01/2024-12/31/2026

Contact Information

505 Baldy Hall
Buffalo, NY 14260
Phone: 716-645-2455
tashaaus@buffalo.edu