Mentorship through Research Helps Educators Find Their Path

Grace Kamukama Tumushabe ’24 hoped to learn about how educators navigate power imbalances within classrooms when she applied for a summer research position in the spring of her freshman year. That happened, but she also gained insight on her own goals as an educator. 

“The study focused on how one teacher’s agency formed and was improved through an advocacy unit,” said Tumushabe. “One of the biggest plot points for me was seeing myself in that teacher’s position. It was really important to imagine myself, where I would be.” 

The teacher was Kierstin Giunco ’17, who had co-developed a literacy unit that encouraged students to read and write about social issues important to them. The unit netted Giunco a 30 Under 30 Award from the International Literacy Association, and also helped solidify a new career focus. 

“Seeing how the students responded to literacy through that unit changed how I looked at curriculum,” said Giunco. “That’s when I knew I wanted to create active learning spaces through curriculum. It inspired me on my current course.” 

A common thread in both stories was research and mentorship with Emmanuel Professor of Education Dr. Christine Leighton. Having worked alongside Giunco and Tumushabe for nearly a dozen years total, she described their work together as an opportunity to learn, grow, and ultimately support teachers in the classroom. 

“I care deeply about children and I think education can be transformative if we do it well,” said Dr. Leighton. “Being able to support teachers as they do this hard work, for the benefit of their students, is what I’m invested in — and I really enjoy the collaboration with other smart, dedicated educators.”

The Cycle of Research

Improving equity for bilingual learners has always been central to Dr. Leighton’s research. This stems from her time as an English as a Second Language (ESL) coordinator, tasked with helping teachers meet the needs of bilingual students.

The challenges of supporting literacy development and instruction — especially leveraging literacy to encourage critical thinking and rich classroom discourse — inspired Dr. Leighton on her current course. 

“The teachers had so many questions and I wanted to know the answers,” she said. “That’s what drove me to my doctorate program: this idea of action research and providing some evidence behind best practices.”

Leighton joined the faculty at Emmanuel shortly after earning her doctorate in literacy and language. She also jumped at an opportunity to partner with a mentor, who was conducting a literacy learning project in the Boston Public Schools.

“It brought me back to what I wanted to do, and all of my projects since have focused on helping the teacher in their actual context,” said Dr. Leighton. “My research goal is to work with teachers to examine things they identify as problems of practice as they teach in increasingly multilingual and multicultural classrooms, to ensure equitably literacy development.”

Collaborating with Giunco to develop the award-winning literacy unit was one such project. 

Pathway to Curriculum 

Originally from Saco, Maine, Giunco was drawn to Emmanuel by the prospect of a tight-knit learning community in the heart of Boston. She started researching alongside Dr. Leighton as a sophomore and the collaboration continued after Giunco graduated and began teaching at Mission Grammar School in Roxbury. 

Giunco was in her second year at Mission Grammar when her interest in curriculum combined with Leighton’s focus on literacy to produce something special.   

Social justice and the power of education to improve lives are core Emmanuel values that resonated with Giunco, and a key goal of the unit was blending student interests with the required curriculum. Students were also given leeway on presenting their findings; producing a podcast, website, and virtual showcase of their work. Overall, Giunco said it was very impactful. 

“They weren’t just engaging with the curriculum’s milestones, they were actively co-constructing knowledge as they learned to read and write,” said Giunco. 

Giunco’s career since then has focused on curriculum and social justice. She’s on track to earn a doctorate in curriculum and instruction at Boston College this spring and her dissertation will chronicle working with a Boston-area school to align its curriculum with social justice standards. 

 “At this particular school they felt the curriculum was Eurocentric, so we adapted that to align with social justice standards,” said Giunco. “In practice, it was things like complicating the curriculum’s narrative and casting a wider net of the experiences and histories that were included through literature and other outside resources.”

Giunco’s goal is to become an educator at a university or college, helping the next generation of leaders carry forward that type of work. She has also stayed connected with Emmanuel as an adjunct and plans to co-author a book with Dr. Leighton, which will feature contributions from Tumushabe, whom she has co-mentored the past three years. 

“Coming to Emmanuel has really taught me the power of relationships,” said Giunco. “The connections I formed at Emmanuel have shaped me into who I am today.”

Finding the Right Path 

Growing up in Haverhill, Tumushabe knew she wanted to work with children. The specifics of her path started coming together during her first year at Emmanuel. 

Originally a nursing major, Tumushabe soon learned that teaching was her passion. She credited Dr. Leighton with helping to draw up a roadmap toward that goal. 

“She was first and foremost a support system for me, and she also helped plan my next step forward,” said Tumushabe. 

Tumushabe discovered an interest in research while taking the first-year education course, “The Great American Experiment.” The course focuses on factors that shaped American education, with themes of promoting access and equity. Tumushabe’s interest was piqued. 

“I came away from the course very interested in self-liberation and Black literacy,” she said. “Those topics had been on my mind, but they really came to the forefront after that experience.”

Dr. Leighton encouraged Tumushabe to pursue those interests, first by reading about culturally relevant teaching and then by studying Giunco’s application of it in the field. When that project concluded, Tumushabe continued to research methods of culturally responsive teaching and has since presented those findings at both regional and national conferences. 

Tumushabe plans to become a teacher when she graduates in December, and thanked Dr. Leighton and Giunco for their roles in her development. 

“They are pillars who have always been there for me throughout my time at Emmanuel,” she said.  “They’ve supported and empowered me and I’m very grateful to both of them.”

A Team Effort 

Dr. Leighton’s theory is that great teachers are constantly researching, finding ways to meet the needs of their students and evaluating how effective they were. She described her own journey in research as a spiral of sorts: It began with her working to support one of her academic mentors, but before long she was in that role, helping the next wave of educators further the profession by following their interests. 

Dr. Leighton said it’s that collaboration that keeps her coming back, adding it’s a great learning opportunity. 

“We are all moved forward by it,” said Dr. Leighton. “Each one of us gets to change and grow and learn more through it.”