Shane Safir has worked at every level of the education system, from the classroom to the boardroom, for over 25 years. In 2003, after teaching in San Francisco and Oakland and organizing in the community to launch a new school, Shane became the founding co-principal of June Jordan School for Equity (JJSE), an innovative national model identified by leading scholar Linda Darling-Hammond as "supporting the success of low-income students of color." Since 2008, Safir has provided equity-centered leadership coaching, strategic planning, and professional development for schools, districts, and organizations across the United States, Canada, and beyond. She facilitates learning on listening leadership, becoming a warm demander for equity, centering student voice, and the Street Data model for school transformation. She is the author of The Listening Leader: Creating the Conditions for Equitable School Transformation (Jossey-Bass, 2017) and the bestselling Street Data: A Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation (Corwin, 2021), coauthored with Dr. Jamila Dugan.
Transform your classroom into a liberatory space for student voice, belonging, and intellectual development.
Too often, traditional educational models silence students’ voices and stifle their genius. Pedagogies of Voice invites educators at all levels to reinvent their schools and classrooms into spaces that celebrate student identity, nurture agency, awaken inquiry, and cultivate deep belonging for every child. Pedagogies of Voice introduces four domains of agency: Identity, Belonging, Inquiry, and Efficacy—foundational pillars for fostering student engagement and growth. Additional features include
- 8 Pedagogies in Practice: Strategies like microaffirmations, questions over answers, learning design templates, and radical inclusion to spark concrete transformation in your schools and classrooms.
- Awakenings: Reflective moments designed to foster self-awareness and deepen pedagogical practice.
- Integrative Case Study: A powerful exploration of Indigenous land-based education and learning by British Columbia leader John Harris.
Developed using the Equity Transformation Cycle introduced in the bestselling Street Data: A Next-Generation Model for Equity, Pedagogy, and School Transformation and informed by conversations with educators across North America, this book presents a compelling framework for creating schools that affirm every learner while dismantling systems of oppression. Reimagine your role as an educator and create classrooms that honor every student’s voice.
Foreword Preface Part I: Foundations of a Pedagogy of Voice Chapter 1: The Case for a Pedagogy of Voice Chapter 2: Choosing the Margins of Our Classrooms Chapter 3: 10 Toxins That Undermine a Pedagogy of Voice Chapter 4: 10 Ways of Being That Awaken a Pedagogy of Voice Part II: The 8 Pedagogies Chapter 5: Pedagogies that Awaken Identity Chapter 6: Pedagogies that Awaken Belonging Chapter 7: Pedagogies that Awaken Inquiry Chapter 8: Pedagogies that Awaken Efficacy Part III: Awakening Teacher Voice and Agency Chapter 9: Reimagining Pedagogy Through the Equity Transformation Cycle Chapter 10: Awakening Teacher Voice and Agency Integrative Case Study: Kwuyx-t tu Snuhwulh Hwulmuhk "Steering the Canoe": Indigenous Land-based Education and Pedagogy Epilogue Glossary References