Areas of Expertise
- Language and Literacy
- Multicultural/Multilingual Education
- Teacher Education
Keywords
Critical and Decolonial Perspectives, Early Childhood Education, Literacy/Literacies, Multicultural/Multilingual Education, Social Justice, Teacher Education, Critical Literacy/Critical Media Literacy in Early Childhood Settings, Children's Literature/Multilingual Literature, Family Engagement/Home-School Connection
Research Methodologies
- Qualitative Methods
Research Levels
- Early Childhood
- Elementary
Research Overview
Dr. Kim’s research centers on early childhood education, with a focus on critical literacy, equity, and learning in culturally and linguistically diverse contexts. Drawing on sociocultural and critical frameworks, her work examines how young children and families engage with language, stories, and media to make meaning, develop identities, and participate in learning across home and school settings. Her work highlights young children’s capacity to engage in critical conversations about identity, power, and social issues through interactions with texts, media, and peers. Dr. Kim has published more than 45 peer reviewed research articles in leading academic journals in early childhood education. Through this scholarship, she aims to support inclusive and equitable literacy practices that center family and community knowledge and empower young learners as active participants in their learning environments.
- Kim, S. J. (2025). “Wake up! You are in the race now”: Recreating classic stories through critical literacy in U.S. bilingual households. Childhood.
- An, S. A., Kim, S. J., Tillman, D. A., Hachey, A. C, & Kosheleva, O. M.(2025).Highway closures and flow detours: Shifting the mindset of pre-service early childhood educators through number operations with base-12 blocks. Early Childhood Education Journal.
- Kim, S. J. (2025). From storytime to civic action: Preschoolers exploring civil rights in school and at home.Social Studies and the Young Learners.
- An, S. A., Tillman, D. A., Minces, V, & Kim. S. (2025). Preservice teachers use of digital and non-digital music composition systems as resources for teaching elementary mathematics. Journal of STEM Teacher Education, 59(1), 73-87.
- Kim, S. J., Cho, H., and Song, A. (2025). Fostering critical media conversations about race and gender in bilingual families: A multiple case study. The Educational Forum. DOI:10.1080/00131725.2024.2428213
- Kim, S. J. (2024). “I’m a kid citizen of two countries”: A case study of bilingual kindergarteners’ discussions about dual citizenships. The social studies, 116(1), 39-51. https://doi.org/10.1080/00377996.2024.2359670
- Kim, S. J., Park, S. Y., Alyse, H., and Lee, I. (2024). Using music media to facilitate family critical media literacy practices: A multiple case study with preschool bilingual children. Early Childhood Education Journal. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-024-01645-5
- Kim, S. J. (2026, upcoming).Teaching civil rights and responsibilities to bilingual kindergarteners through the home-school connection. American Educational Research Association, Los Angeles, CA.
- Kim, S. J. & Han, S. A. (2026, upcoming).Possibilities and challenges of interactive family critical literacy: A multiple case study with immigrant families. Los Angeles, CA.
- Kim, S. J. Carpenter, H. & Pickett, C. (2026, upcoming). Strategies for Supporting Critical Thinking in Young Learners: Insights from Pre-service teachers’ Field Experiences. Association of Teacher Educators, Arlington, VA.
- Kim, S. J. & Han, S. A. (2026, upcoming).Reading Together, Acting Together: Enriching Early Social Studies Curriculum through the Home–School Connection. Association of Teacher Educators, Arlington, VA.
- Kim, S. J. & Park, S. Y. (2025). Kindergartners Reenacting Moral Lessons from Classic Stories through Critical Media Literacy: A Case Study. American Educational Research Association, Denver, Colorado.
- AI in the Classroom, AI-Supported Lesson Planning: Critical Application in Early Childhood Education, 2025, UHM.
- Principle Investigator (PI). Research Grant. Enhancing Early Literacy Instruction for Korean/Korean-American Children through Utilization of 3-dimensional Printing Technologies. Korean-American Educational Researchers Association, 2022.