Jiwon Kim, Ph.D., is an associate professor of Social Studies and Foundations of Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Monmouth University, where she also serves as a member of the graduate faculty. She is Program Coordinator for Social Studies Education and Program Director for Interdisciplinary Studies for Elementary Educators (ISEE).

She earned her Ph.D. in Cultural Foundations of Education from Purdue University. During her doctoral studies, she was awarded the Andrews Fellowship and the Bilsland Dissertation Fellowship in recognition of her academic excellence. Before joining Monmouth University, she worked as a researcher at governmental educational research institutes in South Korea, contributing to the development of national curriculum and educational policy in moral education.

Her research asks a central question: How can education promote a more democratic, inclusive, and just world? Drawing on her international experience and engagement with United Nations initiatives and John Dewey scholarship, her work focuses on social studies education as global citizenship education; inquiry-based and interdisciplinary teaching and learning; diversity and sustainability education; and the role of aesthetic experience in moral and justice education.

She is an active member of the scholarly community. She serves on the Board of Directors of the John Dewey Society and previously chaired the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Dewey Studies Special Interest Group. She has also contributed to the field through editorial board service, including Teaching Social Studies, a joint publication of the New York and New Jersey Councils for the Social Studies.

She has presented her research at national and international conferences and has published widely in peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of Moral Education, Education and Culture, and Teacher Educator. She is co-editor of two books: Interdisciplinary Teaching and Teacher Education: Developing Teacher Competencies for Interdisciplinary Instruction (2024) and Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Advancing Sustainability and Sustainable Communities Through Teaching and Research (forthcoming). In addition, she serves as Co-Principal Investigator on a three-year, nearly $1 million grant-funded climate change learning collaborative supported by the New Jersey Department of Education.

Education

Ph.D., Purdue University, Cultural Foundations of Education

M.A., Korea University (Seoul, Korea), Philosophy and History of Education

B.A., Korea University (Seoul, Korea), Education and Sociology

Research Interests

Kim’s research focuses on social studies education as a site for global citizenship development, with particular emphasis on inquiry-based and interdisciplinary teaching and learning. Her work also explores diversity and sustainability education, as well as the role of aesthetic experience in moral and justice education.

Scholarly Articles

Selected Publications

• Datta, R., Kim, J., Sadovnikova, A. & Burrows, N. (forthcoming). (co-edited). Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Advancing Sustainability and Sustainable Communities Through Teaching and Research. Bloomsbury Publishing.
• Kim, J. & Zak, S. (2024). (co-edited). Interdisciplinary Teaching and Teacher Education: Developing Teacher Competencies for Interdisciplinary Instruction. Rowman and Littlefield. https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/interdisciplinary-teaching-and-teacher-education-9781475871593/
• Kim, J. (2024). Introduction to interdisciplinary education. In J. Kim & S. Zak (Eds.), Interdisciplinary Teaching and Teacher Education: Developing Teacher Competencies for Interdisciplinary Instruction. Rowman & Littlefield.
• Kim, J., Zak, S., & Zambak, S. (2024). Interdisciplinary Elementary Teacher Preparation. In J. Kim & S. Zak (Eds.), Interdisciplinary Teaching and Teacher Education: Developing Teacher Competencies for Interdisciplinary Instruction. Rowman & Littlefield.
• Kim, J. (2019). Dewey and Teacher Training. In M.A. Peters (Ed.). Encyclopedia of Teacher Education. Singapore: Springer. 
• Kim, J. and Grabowski, C. (2019). Learning Global Citizenship through UN Sustainable Development Goals. Teaching Social Studies, 19 (1), 31-41.
• Kim, J., Wong, C., & Lee, Y. (2018). Transformative Learning through Online Global Class Project in Teacher Education. The Teacher Educator, 53(2), 190-207.
• Kim, J. & Riddle, M. (2017). “Taking Ownership of Their Learning”: Three Examples of Performance-Based Social Studies Assessment. In M. Pearcy (Ed.), Best Practices in Social Studies Assessment (pp. 107-116). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
• Lee, Y. Kim, J., & Wong, C. (2017). Developing Pre-Service Teachers’ Understanding of Good Teaching: A Global Collaborative Project Using Online Discussion. International Journal for Educational Media and Technology, 11(1), 68-75.
• Kim, J. (2016). “Living drawing”: Aesthetic Teaching for Moral Artists. Journal of Moral Education, 45(4), 465-480.

Presentations/Invited Talks

• Kim, J., Zambak, S., & Zak, S. (2026, June). Investigating Teacher Candidates’ Competencies and Perceptions about Interdisciplinary Pedagogies in an Innovative Elementary Education Program. The Paris Conference on Education.
• Zak, S, & Kim, J. (2026, May). Mathematics in Unit Plans for the Interdisciplinary Studies in Elementary Education Major. RUMEY Conference, Rutgers University, NJ.
• Kim, J. (2026, May). Two Kinds of Fear in Communication: Transformative Intercultural Communication for Creative Democracy. The Asian Conference on Education Conference.
• Kim, J., Grabowski, C., Pearcy, M., & Zak, S. (2024, October).  Implementing Interdisciplinary Instruction in Elementary, Middle and High Schools. Annual Meeting of New Jersey Council for Social Studies.
• Kim, J. (2024, May). Invited Speaker, “Interdisciplinary Instruction for Sustainability: Teacher Training for Climate Change Education”, International Workshop on Environment, Sustainability, & Education, hosted by Center for Sustainable Futures, Teachers College, Columbia University
• Kim, J. & Zak, S. (2023, June). Interdisciplinary Elementary Teacher Education for Global Sustainability. International: Sustainability in Teaching and Research (STAR) Symposium. Monmouth University, NJ.
• Kim, J. & Grabowski, C. (2021, July). Inquiry-Based Learning PD Workshop for K-5 Teachers in Somerville and North Plainfield Districts:  Part 1 “Inquiry and Active Learning Strategies” and Part 2 “Interdisciplinary Connections”.  Hosted by NJ Council for Social Studies and Somerville and North Plainfield Districts.
• Kim, J. & Zak, S. (2021, April). Effectiveness of Interdisciplinary Elementary Teacher Education for Social Responsibility. Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Annual Conference, Seattle/Virtual.
• Kim, J. (2020, April) Rethinking Dewey for Clinical Experience-Based Teacher Education. American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting San Francisco, CA. (Conference Canceled due to Pandemic; Presented Virtually)
• Kim, J. & Zak, S. (2020, March). Interdisciplinary Teacher Education for Teaching Social Justice and Global Issues. Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Annual Meeting, Miami, FL. (Conference Canceled due to Pandemic)
• Kim, J. & Grabowski. C. (2018, November). Young Learners Learn about Sustainability and Take Action! National Council for Social Studies (NCSS) Annual Conference, Chicago. IL.
• Grabowski, C. Kim, J. & Signorile, V. (2018, October). Creating Interdisciplinary Units to Incorporate Social Studies into STEAM, New Jersey Council for Social Studies Annual Conference, Rutgers University, NJ.
• Kim, J. & Grabowski, C. (2018, April). Global Citizenship Education: A Case of Lesson about United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in Elementary Classroom. Korean-American Educational Research Association 2018 annual meeting, New York City, NY.
• Bazler, J., Kim, J., Romagnoli, A. (2018, March). The Design and Implementation of a Methods Course Linked to a Year-Long Clinical Practice. American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), Baltimore, MD.
• Wong, C., Kim, J. & Lee, Y. (2017, July). The Effects of Developing Teacher Candidates Global Understanding through a Global Class Project in a Teacher Education Program. Learner: 24th International Conference on Learning, Honolulu, HI.
• Kim, J., Wong, C., & Lee, Y. (2017, April). Transformative Learning in Teacher Education: Development of Global Understanding through a Global Class Project Using Technology. Korean-American Educational Research Association 2017 annual meeting, San Antonio, TX.
• Kim, J. (Accepted 2017). Rethinking John Dewey’s Creative Democracy for Intercultural Communication in Higher Education Class. Annual John Dewey Society (JDS) Symposium, San Antonio, TX..

Additional Information

Grant Support/Academic Funding

• Co-PI, New Jersey Department of Education Grant, Monmouth University Climate Change Learning Collaborative (MU CCLC), Year 1 (2024 – 2025), over $300k, Year 2 (2025-2026) over $300k, pre-awarded for Year 3 (2026-2027) $325,000
• Summer Faculty Fellowship, Research project: “Effectiveness of Interdisciplinary Elementary Teacher Preparation”, Monmouth University, Summer 2024, $10,000
• Research Sabbatical Fellowship, Monmouth University, Spring 2022
• Spring 2020 CETL SoTL Mini Grant, “Effectiveness of ISEE Program” (with co-researcher, Dr. Sandra Zak, Department of Math) $1,000
• Summer Faculty Fellowship, Research project: “Rethinking John Dewey’s creative democracy for intercultural communication in higher education class” Monmouth University, Summer 2018, $10,000
• Transformative Learning Grant, “Using Technology for Teaching Future Teachers Global Education and 21st Century Skills”, School of Education, Monmouth University, 2015-2016 $3,026