Christopher Kazanjian
Dr. Kazanjian is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology. Since 2015, he has served as the program director for the after-school program Kidz n' Coaches-El Paso. Kidz n’ Coaches is a program where volunteer college students plan and facilitate prosocial group activities for emerging children, in order to support their social and emotional development.
Biography
Christopher J. Kazanjian, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at El Paso Community College. He has earned a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Master's degree in Education from the University of Texas at El Paso. Dr. Kazanjian earned his doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in critical pedagogies from New Mexico State University.Dr. Kazanjian's research interests include humanistic psychology, social and emotional intelligences, after-school programs, multicultural education, critical pedagogies, and global transmigration, to name a few. Since 2015, he has served as the program director for the after-school program Kidz n' Coaches-El Paso. Kidz n’ Coaches is a program where volunteer college students plan and facilitate prosocial group activities for emerging children, in order to support their culturally relative self-actualization processes. Kidz n’ Coaches was created by psychology professor James D. Smrtic at Mohawk Valley Community College in 1983. In 2018, Dr. Kazanjian won the Power of One Award from Ysleta Independent School District for his work in Kidz n’ Coaches-El Paso. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, Multicultural Education Review, Pedagogy, Culture, & Society, and The Journal of Intercultural Education.
Dr. Kazanjian enjoys adventuring on hikes, spending time with his dogs, meditating in nature, watching the Korean dramas, and weightlifting.
Education
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Ph.D. C&I, New Mexico State University, 2012
M.Ed. Secondary Ed., University of Texas at El Paso, 2008
B.A. Psychology, University of Texas at El Paso, 2006
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
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Social and Emotional Intelligences, Social and Emotional Learning, Humanistic Psychology, After-School Programs, Self-Actualization, Multicultural Education, Child Development, Teacher Education, Educational Psychology
Books
Articles
Culturally relevant long-term potentiation in higher education: Neuroscientific curricular models to foster equitable educational experiences.
Published: Jun 02, 2020 by Teaching & Learning for Social Justice and Equity in Higher Education: Theory and Foundations, Volume I
Authors: Kazanjian, C.J., & Rossatto, C.
Subjects:
Education
Specifically, we will show how critical culturally relevant pedagogies that utilize a student’s daily life experiences are highly effective in stimulating the brain’s emotional centers. As a result, through engaging pedagogical praxis, stimulating intellectual motivations, and developing socio-emotional aptitude curriculum can empower students to be historical agents in an ever-challenging and diversifying world.
A descriptive multicultural phenomenology for culturally responsive leadership
Published: Jan 15, 2020 by Journals of Educational Leadership in Action
Authors: Kazanjian, C.J., Rutledge, D., & Gandarilla, S.
Subjects:
Education
A phenomenological framework positions educational leaders to understand the nature and essence of personal experience. This approach will help educational leaders better understand the experiences of the diverse children within their school. Therefore, leaders may utilize a multicultural phenomenological research methodology to build appropriate culturally responsive initiatives and interventions to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse schools.
Culturally responsive secondary education: Exploring cultural differences through existential pedagogy
Published: Jan 21, 2019 by Multicultural Education Review
Authors: Kazanjian, C.J.
Subjects:
Education
It is argued in this paper that in culturally responsive curriculum, existential pedagogy holistically engages the learner to critically reflect on how knowledge is constructed within cultures while exploring what it means to exist as an individual person in a diverse world. As a result, culturally diverse classrooms begin to understand the human experience in a more significant context and explore existential concerns through cultural differences.
Toward a descriptive multicultural phenomenology
Published: May 07, 2018 by Pedagogy, Culture, & Society
Authors: Kazanjian, C.J.
Subjects:
Education
Ultimately, this paper argues that by employing a descriptive multicultural phenomenology, public school teachers may access the personal meanings of culturally diverse experiences to attain a pedagogically useful perspective on cultural phenomena in the classroom.
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